E&OE Transcript

Radio Interview

Drive with ABC Radio Canberra

Monday 21 July 2025

James Findlay: But now Parliament is back this week for the first time since the election in May, Labor have 93 members in the House of Representatives this term. That's the most a government has had since the coalition won 94 seats with John Howard in 96. So what are the priorities with this huge majority? Alicia Payne is the member for Canberra for Labor. Good evening to you, Alicia Payne. Look, no doubt, a lot on the agenda, but what are on the top of the priority list as you're settling back in?

Alicia Payne MP: Good evening, James and yeah, it's very exciting to be starting Parliament tomorrow. This afternoon, we've had our caucus meeting, which was the room was absolutely packed with all our new members.

JF: Yes, when was the last time that the Labor Party had that many members in there? Is this the highest. A question without notice.

AP: Yeah it's going back a long way. And it is really exciting to be in that room with so many new faces, and really excited to see what all the new voices in our caucus means. So that was exciting this afternoon, and then with many of us just attended the last post ceremony at the War Memorial, which is, you know, important ceremony that happens every afternoon, and traditionally, the one before the parliament begins a session, the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader and Members and Senators attend to remember before we start Parliament, you know, the importance of the sacrifice of Australians who've served, so we've just done that. And then tomorrow is a big day, largely of ceremony. We'll be all sworn in, and we'll have welcome to country will be the beginning of the day, which is very special, and the Opening of Parliament. But our top priorities this week, the legislation we'll be introducing is to cut 20% of HECS debt. That will help over 3 million Australians with their debt on average, by cutting around $5,500 from the average debt, we'll be introducing legislation to ensure children are safe in early childhood education and care. And this was something we had before the last election. This was legislation we were bringing, but it's urgent this week, given obviously the really disturbing reports that people have seen of abuse of children in childcare, and we want to make that a priority this week. And also important legislation around protecting penalty rates for workers who are on award wages and ensuring that penalty rates don't get where they're offered a salary that they don't lose those penalty rates as part of that ,no worker is left worse off by rolling penalty rates into a rate of pay, and, yeah, ensuring that they get that additional reward for working outside of normal hours.

JF: And look you have the major majority in the House of Reps, but not in the Senate. I believe that the the Coalition have already said that they'll support the HECS and the childcare reforms. Is that correct?

AP: That's my understanding, which is good news. But the Senate will still be a place for debate. You know less easy for us to get our agenda through, always. But we're hopeful that we can work together with the new Senate to get the reforms that we want done.

JF: How about for the rates of pay there is that something that you've got support for in the Senate?

AP: I'm not sure about the Coalition's position on that, to be honest. But this is something that this was one of our key election promises. This is not something that we've sprung on anyone, but something that, yes, was something we talked about a lot during the election, and are keen to, in our first week, be prioritising the rights of workers who deserve their penalty rates.

JF: Alicia Payne is with you here on Triple Six ABC Radio Canberra. She's the member for Canberra, and Parliament starts tomorrow. Everyone's going back to work here in Canberra. But look, we've got to move on in just a few moments. Alicia Payne, but look, it was big news. You've had big news this year. Congratulations are in order, as you'll become a new even welcome a new baby to the family in October. So congratulations on that. Look how is that going to, you know, you've already got two kids, but how is that going to maybe affect the way that you'll see working in Parliament, or the way that you see making legislation?

AP: Thank you very much, James, yes, I'll be honest, it's a little bit daunting. It's going to be busy, but this is what all families are facing that are working and raising young children, and I think it's important that that's reflected in our Parliament as well. And I think, you know, obviously being one of the representatives of Canberra means I don't have to travel away for sittings, which does make it a little bit easier for me than some of the other members. But having members have babies in Parliament is no longer extraordinary, and I think that is a good thing. We've seen lots of you know, women in Parliament have babies, and we've got better in the Parliament at accommodating that and helping to balance work and family, but it is something that you know, everyone's dealing with, and I will just say on that, something that our government have just done to make that easier is extending paid parental leave that happened from the first of this month, extending it to 24 weeks, and also paying superannuation on that for the first time. So all of these things help families to balance work and and children, which is a special time.

JF: Well, look good luck with settling back in with all your new colleagues. It's going to be an interesting makeup in the house, so it'll be fun to watch. Alicia Payne, thanks for your time this evening. Talk to you soon.

AP: Thanks very much for having me, James.