Andrew Wallace MP on Re-election
It’s a great privilege to be here today. As I’m no longer Speaker, I once again get the opportunity to talk in the Federation Chamber and also the House. It’s been an unbelievable privilege for me to have won the election. The people of Fisher have put their faith in me once again. It is […]
St Thomas More Lecture – Freedom of Religion
Thank you Bill and the St Thomas More Forum team for inviting me along to share tonight. I’m honoured to be here in the parish whose namesake is that of another former Speaker of the House, albeit 500 years (in 1523) and 17,000 kilometres apart. And of course St Thomas More was declared by Pope […]
Tribute to HM The Queen
Whether in St George’s chapel on bended knee, or enthroned in the House of Lords, it was Her Majesty’s example of Christianity, humility and duty which marked this Second Elizabethan Age. Her faith and her faithfulness, her service and her selflessness have anchored our nation, and our family of nations, through thick and thin.
Speech on my election as Speaker of the House of Representatives
I thank the Leader of the Opposition. I want to begin by paying tribute to the service of the former Speaker the honourable member for Casey. The former Speaker is acknowledged by all of us to have been one of the very best to ever have taken this chair.
Mobile Payment & Digital Wallets
Australia’s payment ecosystem is of a foundational importance to Australia’s economy and society, supporting around 55 million payments, worth up to $650 billion, each day.
SMEAC Camp X-Ray
Near the Ewen Maddock Dam in Fisher is a campsite which once educated thousands of school students every year. Today it lies empty, but one dedicated group of Fisher veterans have a bold vision for how this campsite can make a difference in our region once again.
MIE Labs – Encouraging young people in STEM
My mission is to help make the Sunshine Coast the place to be for education, employment and retirement. To make that a reality as we look forward from COVID-19, we need to encourage growth in new sectors, like health care and high-tech manufacturing, and we need to ensure local young people are ready to take on the smart jobs of the future in these sectors on the Sunshine Coast. That’s why recently I was pleased to deliver a grant of $524,455 from the Morrison government to the MIE Lab project, organised by dedicated University of the Sunshine Coast lecturer Natalie McMaster.
Timber Shortages
I begin by thanking the member for Eden-Monaro for giving an old carpenter and joiner like me a chance to speak here in parliament about one of my favourite subjects. Like the most famous scene from Forrest Gump where Forrest receives a lesson from his new army buddy Bubba about the many different ways shrimp can be cooked and eaten, I could take a lot longer than five minutes telling the chamber all about timber—how it’s grown, the different species and how it’s used—but, out of consideration for members present, I will restrain myself. However, I will not have any suggestion that we talk about wood, because we all know you put wood in a fire and you build things with timber.
Protecting yourself from Cyber attacks
According to survey data compiled by cybersecurity company NortonLifeLock, some 7½ million Australians over the past 12 months have experienced cybercrime and more than 1.4 million Australians were victims of identity theft. Every eight minutes, a case of cybercrime is reported to the Australian Signals Directorate or the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
Opposing Light Rail on the Sunshine Coast
Unfortunately, Sunshine Coast Council has totally ignored the voices of the many residents in my community who rightly oppose this ill-considered idea. Yesterday, council voted in majority to send their mass transit options paper to the Queensland state government, recommending light rail as a high-scoring option for consideration. Council clearly do not care what our community thinks.
