Community Newsletter

18 December 2023

As the year draws to end I’d like to thank the Warringah Community for all their support over the last 12 months. Together we have certainly had a huge and productive year.

On the climate and environment front, the year has included introducing my Stop Pep 11 and Voter Protections private member's bills, urging the government to get serious on methane emissions, pushing for 75% emissions reduction by 2035, suspending standing orders to urge the government to share a declassified version of its ONI Climate Risk Assessment, participating in an ocean and waterways plastics enquiry as a committee member for the DCCEEW and most recently seeing an expanded water trigger (more below) .

I have met with Manly and Mosman Chambers of Commerce as many local businesses are doing it tough and the costs of living are impacting many in our community. I questioned the Treasurer on this recently and have continued to press the government for greater targeted relief for the most vulnerable in our community.

Together with other members of the crossbench it has been great to see us work collaboratively to improve legislation in many other policy areas and put pressure on the government for a more robust Safeguard Mechanism, pushing for additional paid parental leave, raising the age cut off from 8 to 14 for the parenting payment and splitting the Closing Loopholes IR legislation.

Here is a snapshot of how I have represented Warringah’s voice in Parliament:

And of course, I cannot forget to mention the Referendum, with our wonderful Voice to Parliament Community Forum, over 900 people volunteering for Warringah for the Voice, and a 60% yes vote in Warringah.

My team are looking forward to a short break over the holiday season and coming back keen and ready to represent you in 2024.

Zali in Parli

Voter Protections:
I introduced my Voter Protections in Political Advertising Bill in mid-November as a private member’s bill. It is a resubmitted version of the Stop the Lies Bill I have already introduced twice in parliament. This reform is key to ensuring the integrity of elections, especially after most recent federal elections and the Voice referendum had multiple instances of misleading and deceptive political advertising. If our consumer rights have such strong protections, then our democratic rights need to as well – currently, they have none. I’ve had many constituents and even voters from outside the electorate ask what they can do to help make this bill law. You can write to your local MP, urging them to support my bill. You can also write to the Special Minister of State responsible for electoral reform, Don Farrell: [email protected], and to the Prime Minister using this link www.pm.gov.au/contact.

Migration Amendments:
The government has introduced multiple bills in recent sitting weeks following the High Court ruling against indefinite immigration detention. These new powers include the ability to hold people in preventative detention if a court forms the view that they pose an unacceptable risk of harm to the community, which is similar to anti- terrorism legislation. These bills were introduced in haste and it has been difficult to properly scrutinise and assess them. It is highly likely that these further legislations will be challenged in the High Court.

Closing the Loopholes:
A large chunk of the final few sitting weeks was spent debating the government's omnibus industrial relations reform bill, known as the ‘Closing the Loopholes’ Bill. The entire Bill was hundreds of pages long and had a number of changes I felt would impact small businesses in a negative way, in particular changes to the definition of casual workers. I spoke and voted against the initial government Bill, after moving some amendments to stop changes to casual employment which will just put more pressure and uncertainty on employers and employees alike. Following debate in the Senate and pressure from the Crossbench, the government agreed to split the Bill to fast-track the less controversial elements. I supported the amended legislation to ensure immediate relief could be provided to a number of workers including first responders with PTSD, those facing domestic violence, better protection for those who are made redundant in businesses that downsize and better action on those suffering from silicosis.  

Domestic and Family Violence:
The horrific rate of women dying from domestic violence in Australia is at catastrophic levels. I am dismayed and frustrated at the lack of urgency on this issue, especially when the government and opposition have no problem with urgently passing legislation in response to the High Court’s ruling on indefinite detention on the basis of ‘keeping the community safe‘. This is a real and present issue of women and children being at risk in our communities. Where is the urgency to keep Australian women alive? I questioned the Prime Minister directly about this. I also made a Constituency Statement talking about how this issue affects Warringah directly and thanked some of the great groups who work to keep women safe in our electorate. Parliament was lit up orange for 16 days of action against domestic violence. I will continue to press State and Federal government for more urgent reform and action on this key community safety issue.

Approval of Nature Repair Bill and expansion of Water Trigger:
There were wins for the environment with the passage of the Nature Repair Bill to create a market to boost environment and wildlife conservation via private investment and philanthropy. After a lot of pressure from the Crossbench in both the House and the Senate, the Government finally agreed to amend the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act by expanding the water trigger to include fracking so that it applies to all forms of unconventional gas development.  I supported it in the House.

Vale Peta Murphy MP:
All of us in parliament were shocked with the passing of Peta Murphy. She and I both made our maiden speeches on the same day in 2019. She was smart, funny, caring and hardworking, committed to serving her community as long as possible. I was unable to get back to parliament in time to speak to the condolence motion, but Helen Haines, the MP for Indi, said some words on my behalf.

A Minister for Children & defining the rights of the child:
I spoke in the House on a campaign from Smiling Mind, which has received over 11,000 signatures calling for greater investment in children’s mental health and a Federal Minister for Children to better coordinate all the legislation and portfolios that impact children. Importantly, whilst Australia is a signatory of the UN Convention for the Rights of the Child, we have not codified it in legislation, something my team and I will seek to amend in 2024 with a private member's bill.

Additional Legislation:

• I moved amendments to the government's anti-gambling legislation to stop the use of credit cards for online lotteries. 
• I moved amendments to the small business legislation to expand the amount for the instant asset write-off and energy incentive bonus and prolong the scheme for an extra year.
• I spoke in support of the government paid parental leave legislation, which is well overdue and expands it to 26 weeks by 2026.
• I spoke out against the ongoing prosecution of whistleblower David McBride.
• I spoke in support of the Economic Inclusion Committee, which will provide evidence-based, considered policy recommendations to government and feed into the yearly budget process.
• I supported legislation to implement a final recommendation from the Respect at Work report that reduces the risk to complainants of harassment or assault in the workplace from having to pay the other party's cost should they be unsuccessful in their claim through court action, as the risk of adverse costs orders has been found to deter many from bringing their complaints forward.  
• Finally, it was very disappointing to see the Government introduce a 'wedge’ bill in respect to increased consequences for consultant companies (following the PWC scandal) and its inadequate proposed reform to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) to collect minimal revenue from super-profit-making gas companies. These two issues have nothing to do with one another and should never be in the same legislation but the Government is trying to wedge the Crossbench into supporting its weak proposal. I spoke against the legislation as it is an insult to good legislation. 

View all of my Parliament Updates.

I seek to represent the views of Warringah and welcome feedback. My approach to legislation is on my website as is my voting record.

Warringah Matters

Transport Update
Warringah’s transport woes have been considerable this year, with disruptions to ferries and buses, and the cancellation of the Beaches Link tunnel without an alternative solution has left many residents concerned in respect to the viability of our current infrastructure and planning to deal with traffic congestion.

I recently met with NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen to raise these concerns and understand how we can work together from the Federal and State levels to improve the roads network and address ageing infrastructure, increase access to public transport, as well as supporting better ‘active transport’ opportunities.

And while there is some good news, with a continued commitment to support the $75m upgrade of Wakehurst Parkway, there are further opportunities for improvement. I look forward to keeping you updated on these issues in the new year.

Local Business Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
The Northern Beaches Council is organising a PPA for interested local businesses who use 100Mh or more of electricity per year. The electricity will come from a wind farm and rates will be lower than what you’re currently paying.

A PPA can help local businesses make significant savings on their energy bills as well as help businesses offset their carbon emissions. While businesses with high electricity usage are most suitable, smaller businesses are also encouraged to register their interest.

You can also find more information here.

Out & About in Warringah

In our last newsletter for the year, we wanted to highlight some of Warringah’s amazing Community Organisations. Christmas is a particularly tough time, often with great spikes in demand, so if you are able to support these organisations with a donation of money or time, please do.

The Give Hub
Thank you to our very generous Warringah community members for donating over 40 boxes of non-perishable food items through The Give Hub initiative. The items will be donated to local organisations including Women & Children First, Mary’s House, Community Northern Beaches, Northern Beaches Women Shelter, and One Meal Northern Beaches, who are offering food relief to individuals and families at Christmas.

Northern Beaches Domestic Violence Gala
It was great to attend the Northern Beaches Domestic Violence Network Gala to acknowledge and fundraise for the 32 local organisations supporting victims of domestic violence and to commence the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

A very special part of the night was the announcement of the Community Awards, acknowledging the essential support these organisations and individuals have provided. Congratulations to: The Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services; Todd Darvas from Horizons Family Law for the Legal Support Award; Gabrielle Morrissey from Women & Children First for the Support and Rights Award; Link Wentworth Housing for the Community Organisation Award; Jo Kemp from Streetside Medics for the Service to Others Award; Robyn Stowe from WDVCAS for the Leadership Award; and Rachael Leah Jackson and Narelle Hand from the Northern Beaches Women's Shelter.

Community Christmas Gathering
It was lovely to host an end of year gathering with our wonderful policy support and constituent correspondence volunteers as well as some of our local community groups who do so much to support the Warringah community.

There was representation from our dedicated police force and surf clubs, the business chamber and dedicated not-for-profits looking after some of the most vulnerable in our community.

Here's to their collective efforts that make Warringah an even better place for us all.

Grants Watch

2023 Active Kids Grant

The Australian Sports Foundation (ASF) has announced the recipients of the 2023 Active Kids grant.

There were 32 successful applicants in NSW with one of these organisations, the Manly Ultimate Frisbee League, based in Warringah.

The organisations receive free sporting equipment and uniforms thanks to the generosity of The Dickinson Foundation in partnership with the ASF. The recipients of the 2023 ASF Active Kids Grants include 126 community clubs from 24 sports. It is estimated some 29,302 young sportspeople will benefit from this year’s round of grants alone.

Stronger Communities Program
Under this year’s Stronger Communities Program, the Marine Rescue unit at Middle Harbour received a grant of $8,000 to upgrade the navigation system on their main rescue boat, MH30. This volunteer unit, based at the Spit, operates an 11.5 metre Steber cruiser fitted out as an emergency search and rescue boat for use in Sydney Harbour and near offshore waters. The grant was used to replace the old and unreliable electronic screens for displaying essential data including marine charts, radar plots, depth soundings, and boat location and performance. This marine rescue service gives the community a sense of confidence to enjoy safe water activities knowing that, if someone gets into difficulty, there is a professional rescue organisation on hand to provide a fast response.

Local Sporting Champions and Para Champions program

The Local Sporting Champions and Para Champions program provides financial assistance for coaches, officials and competitors participating in state, national or international championships. Successful applicants receive up to $950 towards the cost of attending their event.

Applications for Round 3 2023-24 of the Local Sporting and Local Para Champions are now open until 31 January 2024.

Seasons Greetings!