What a fortnight! 

The new Albanese Labor Government has hit the ground running in its first sitting period of the 47th Parliament. Australians voted for change in May and your new Government wasted no time in tackling the big issues. 

First up on the agenda was the opening of Parliament, the election of a new speaker, and the swearing in of members. I was honoured to officially be sworn in as your re-elected Member for Canberra. I will strive to be the best representative I can on behalf of our community and our city.

Officially sworn in as the Member for Canberra in the 47th Parliament.

One of the best things about the start of a new Parliament is listening to the first speeches of new members. I’ve been deeply impressed by the thoughtfulness and passion of my new colleagues who are brimming with ideas on how to make Australia a better place. If you haven’t seen any of these speeches yet I’d encourage you to check some of them out on the new members' social media channels.

Some of the incredible speeches came from (clockwise from top left): Sally Sitou, Zaneta Mascarenhas, Jana Stewart, Fatima Payman, Gordan Reid, Louise Miller-Frost.

We achieved a lot in this fortnight, including the introduction of 18 pieces of legislation into the Parliament, and passing through the House of Representatives a number of important reforms, including climate action, aged care reform, 10 days paid domestic violence leave, and the scrapping of the cashless debit card.

Importantly for Canberrans, my colleague Luke Gosling and I introduced a Private Members' Bill to restore territory rights, delivering on Labor’s promise to prioritise this debate. The Andrews Law was passed in 1997 in response to the Northern Territory becoming the first jurisdiction in the world to legalise voluntary assisted dying. Its purpose was to block the territories from debating the issue, and as such for 25 years the democratic rights of Canberrans have been less than those of our state counterparts. Every state in Australia has now passed VAD laws yet the Andrews Law remains, leaving us behind. 

My NT colleague Luke Gosling and I introduced a private members bill to right this wrong. I’m proud to say that after the debate, passed through the House of Representatives with a vote of 99-37. The fight now moves to the Senate and I will continue to talk to my colleagues to convince them of the need to restore our rights. I’m optimistic our bill will pass later this year, righting this historic wrong. 

You can watch my speech here.

Top: Speaking with territory Labor colleagues about the introduction of the Restoring Territory Rights Bill 2022. Bottom: The successful vote. The Bill was passed by a margin of 99 votes to 37.

Importantly for the nation and the planet, Labor moved to take action on climate change after a decade of denial and delay. The election showed us that Australians understand the urgency of this challenge and want their Government to tackle it head on.  

Our bill does a number of things – it enshrines into law our target of 43% emissions reduction by 2030, as well as net-zero by 2050. Of course, we hope that we can exceed those emission reduction targets and have made clear that those targets are a floor not a ceiling. The bill also gives investment certainty to the business community so that they can start buying into our carbon neutral future, and it establishes key accountability mechanisms such as the requirement for the Minister for Climate Change to update the parliament annually about how the nation is tracking on our targets.  

The passing of this bill also showed the power of cross-parliament political cooperation. Good faith negotiations led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen with the cross-bench guaranteed the bill passed the lower house 89-55 and will have the Greens' support in the Senate. Australia voted for a kinder and more cooperative parliament and that’s exactly what is being delivered. Less fighting, more doing. 

Labor had a clear mandate to take this climate action and it was disappointing to see the Coalition continue its climate denialism despite this voter sentiment by dealing itself out of negotiations and voting against the bill.

Australians and Canberrans have been very vocal in your desire for real climate action, and I spoke in favour of the bill which will help us deliver on our promises to you. You can watch it here. 

Climate action and the environment was a significant focus of my fortnight.  

In week #1, tabled the #everydayclimatecrisis visual petition in the Parliament. The petition was a collection of 1,247 images and personal statements documenting the state of the environment across Australia. It’s a deeply moving document and I was honoured to ensure it will forever be recorded by our Parliament. You can watch my speech here. 

I also joined Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Senator Jenny McAllister, and ACT Minister for Transport Chris Steel to visit Australia’s first public hydrogen re-fuelling station, the ActewAGL facility in Fyshwick.

Top: Visit to Australia's first public hydrogen re-fuelling station with Assistant Minister Jenny McAllister. Bottom: Presenting the #EveryDayClimateCrisis visual petition to Parliament.

In week #2, I met with members of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition to receive letters from young people urging climate action and I also joined Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek see the amazing work Landcare volunteers, the Red Hill Regenerators, have done at the Red Hill Nature Reserve. The group formed 30 years ago and have transformed the reserve from one covered in weeds and rubbish to a nationally significant woodland which is home to more than 50 regionally rare or threatened species and 12 nationally listed threatened species. 

I spoke about this visit and the State of the Environment report in Parliament. You can watch it here.

Joining Minister Tanya Plibersek and the Red Hill Regenerators on Red Hill.

Important progress was also made over the past fortnight on reconciliation with First Nations Australians. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave a monumental speech at the Garma Festival, setting out a path to progress the Uluru Statement from the Heart by enshrining a First Nations Voice to Parliament, outlining a draft referendum question and amendments to the Constitution.

Left: Speaking about the need to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Right: The Prime Minister's Garma Speech was significant moment in the history of reconciliation.

The process of reconciliation is a long one, but Labor is completely committed to ensuring it is done and done right.  

I spoke in the Parliament in support of Uluru and the need for reconciliation. Watch it here.

Other legislative achievements from this fortnight include introducing legislation that will enable Australians to access 10 days paid domestic violence leave if they are placed in one of the most challenging and difficult of circumstances. 

And after a rolling crisis in aged care, the first bill passed by the Albanese Labor Government delivered on our commitment to reform the sector in line in with the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. The bill implements 17 of the Royal Commissions recommendations. 

I'm honoured to have been appointed this week to several parliamentary committees. I'm pleased to announce that in the 47th Parliament I'll be serving as:

• Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories.
• Member of the House Standing Committee on Economics.
• Member of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
• Member of the House Standing Committee on Privileges and Members' Interests.
• Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Labor Party Social Policy Caucus Committee.

I’m incredibly proud to represent Canberra in our Federal Parliament and I’m looking forward to working with my fellow National Capital Committee members to improve our great city, as well as working in the interests of our fellow Australians living on our external territories.

I’m looking forward to using all of these positions to advocate for better policy outcomes for all Australians.

When you change the Government you change the country. Over the past fortnight we've seen what that looks like. But Labor is just getting started – we won’t waste a minute of the next three years.