Mr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (17:59): I’m very proud to stand in this chamber as the member representing the first community in Australia that had the gumption to attack one of the great social evils within its midst-in particular, excessive alcohol consumption. That community is Ceduna and the surrounding communities of Yalata, Oak Valley, Koonibba and…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (15:52): When the coalition was elected to parliament in 2013 there were no premises in my electorate of Grey connected to the NBN. Work had started in Port Augusta, but it had ceased because the contractor had withdrawn from the contract. In fact, they’d gone broke. It was the same in…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (13:46): As Christmas nears, it gives me great joy to be delivering good tidings to Whyalla. In fact, we have announced a 14,000-tonne rail order for the Inland Rail, for Parkes to Narromine-something I am sure you’re very pleased about, Mr Deputy Speaker Coulton. The order will be worth around $20…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (15:15): I rise to speak in support of these amendments. Of the five amendments put forward, this one is the most palatable to all. I actually find it quite difficult to believe that this chamber would not overwhelmingly adopt these amendments, which have no reflection at all upon the Marriage Act…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (17:57): It was Churchill who told us that democracy was the worst form of government, except for all of the rest. So it has been with our postal survey: democracy has been celebrated. It has shown that it can succeed, with a postal survey to assess the country’s desire to legalise…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (13:54): Diabetes Australia is 60 years old, and last week in the Great Hall in this place we held a 60th birthday celebration. Diabetes Australia is a wonderful organisation with wonderful partners like the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the DANII Foundation, and they were all there. We were privileged to…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (10:41): I swear never to commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women. This is my oath. In 2014 I took this oath when I became a White Ribbon ambassador, as part of my strong belief that women should live in safety and free from all forms of violence. For…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (16:35): Sometimes you know when you’ve come into the right place and it’s your place in time-when all your little ducks line up, if you like. And so it is with the National Energy Guarantee. I’ve been in this place since the 2007 election. It would be fair to say that…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (13:41): I’m very pleased to take this opportunity to congratulate the Crystal Book Primary School on winning two prizes in the 2017 Anzac Day Schools’ Awards. The school has displayed great initiative and creativity in the way it commemorates Anzac Day, helping students to understand more deeply the significance of our…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (15:45): I thank the member for Jagajaga for bringing this subject matter to the House’s attention today: poverty and inequality. It brings me to question some of the driving motives of those of us who are brought to this place, and the differences between the government and the Labor Party. I…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (18:53): I would like to thank the member for Indi for bringing this motion before the parliament. It gives me an opportunity to discuss the coalition’s electoral commitment of $15.2 million from 2017-18 to 2020-21 to establish up to six regional study hubs across Australia. In the electorate of Grey we…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (11:04): I rise to speak on the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform) Bill 2017. At the heart of the raft of reforms that were in the bill presented on I think 22 August is the implementation of drug testing for welfare recipients. This really highlights the very big philosophical debate…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (10:39): Sometimes I’m asked why I’m in parliament and asked: ‘What do you achieve?’ Last Friday was a graphic example of what can be done when people work together, and that is the handover of the Arrium assets to Liberty House-GFG Alliance-and one Sanjeev Gupta, a British citizen. So in Whyalla…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (19:00): I’m sad to announce that I don’t really have a great grievance! I’m more happy than anything this evening. That’s because, last Thursday, the Minister for Social Services, Alan Tudge, tabled the final report on the Ceduna and East Kimberley cashless debit card. Wow, what great results! This is really…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (17:46): Spoken like a true member for Canberra! Let me say to the member for Canberra: it’s not all about Canberra. There are other people in this nation-I represent quite a sizable slice of them-that actually don’t see Canberra as the answer to everything. Every now and then they actually even…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (13:40): On the weekend I had the great privilege of opening the art exhibition for the painters of the Flinders Ranges at Wilpena Pound. This group has been operating since 2002, and it features nine highly-skilled artists: the chairman Graham Chapman, Don Gangell, Trevor Hancox, David Chalmers, John Simmons, Elizabeth Collins,…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (10:54): To the member for Makin, it’s a pity they hadn’t put the money up then-that’s all I can say. But I thank the member for Wakefield for bringing this motion forward. He must be very pleased with his work. But before it got into the House we’d acted on it,…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (19:54): Today in South Australia there was a rather significant announcement for my electorate with the state government announcing that they had done a deal on a purchase for renewable energy with a company called SolarReserve. SolarReserve have a solar-thermal concentrating facility in Nevada, which I’ve visited, where they store energy…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (11:00): Last week, Mr Kunmanara Lester was buried on his ancestral homelands on the APY Lands in South Australia. I am very sorry to have missed the occasion-I was here in parliament. I do express my deepest condolences to his family. I only met Mr Lester twice. I was elected to…
DetailsMr RAMSEY (Grey–Government Whip) (13:50): Along with Senator Anne Ruston, I’m very pleased today to host a delegation from my Upper Spencer Gulf cities of Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla. Mayors, CEOs and councillors came to Canberra to lobby for a range of projects for that part of my electorate, that part of South…
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