Entries for November 2009

Matter of Public Importance - Water and Environment Programs

Matter of Public Importance - Water and Environment Programs Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (5:20 PM) —I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this matter of public importance. I would actually be happy to move an extension of time for the Parliamentary Secretary for Water so he could tell us about those on-farm irrigation investments, because we have not seen them. We have not seen one drop of water returned to the system since this government came to office in 2007—two years ago yesterday. They were hande... »

Speech to the House, ADJOURNMENT, DIGITAL TELEVISION PETITION, 25 November 2009

Speech to the House, ADJOURNMENT, DIGITAL TELEVISION PETITION, 25 November 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (7:41 PM) —I rise to present petitions from two parts of my electorate, Yankallila district and Gumeracha district, in relation to the Rudd government’s complete disregard for their right to have television services after 2013. The first petition is from the Yankalilla district. The petition read as follows— To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives This petition... »

Speech to the House, ACIS ADMINISTRATION AMENDMENT (APPLICATION) BILL 2009, 24 November 2009

Speech to the House, ACIS ADMINISTRATION AMENDMENT (APPLICATION) BILL 2009, 24 November 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (6:59 PM) —It is very disappointing that my favourite Rudd government minister is not able to stay for my contribution this evening to the debate on the ACIS Administration Amendment (Application) Bill 2009. Mr Champion —It better be good! Mr BRIGGS —And, to the member for Wakefield, the contribution will be short. Thank you for the intro. As I understand it, this bill corrects a... »

HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (STUDENT SERVICES AND AMENITIES) BILL 2009, 23 November 2009

HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (STUDENT SERVICES AND AMENITIES) BILL 2009, 23 November 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (7:34 PM) —I appreciate the warm welcome that the member for Isaacs just gave me as the warm-up act to my contribution this evening. It is always nice to hear from the member for Isaacs and be reminded of the talent that is sitting over there on the Labor Party back bench—so he tells us. Mr McMullan —No-one would ever say that about you, mate. Mr BRIGGS —I think there was a... »

Speech to the House, (WATER ENTITLEMENTS AND HOME INSULATION) BILL 2009-2010, 19 November 2009

Speech to the House, (WATER ENTITLEMENTS AND HOME INSULATION) BILL 2009-2010 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (10:30 AM) —It is a pleasure to rise to speak on the Appropriation (Water Entitlements and Home Insulation) Bill 2009-2010 and the Appropriation (Water Entitlements) Bill 2009-2010 and follow the member for Lindsay, who I do acknowledge is one of the more thoughtful members on the other side. It is pleasing to see the member for Lindsay speaking from some notes but without a written speech, which is a... »

Speech to the House, ADJOURNMENT, WOODSIDE ARMY BARRACKS, 19 November 2009

Speech to the House, ADJOURNMENT, WOODSIDE ARMY BARRACKS, 19 November 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (12:19 PM) —Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak on what is International Men’s Day, a very important initiative. I rise to speak today in this adjournment debate about a very important issue to my local electorate, which is that of the Woodside Army base and the plans of the Rudd Labor government in relation to Army bases, particularly smaller Army bases. My concern is for the Wood... »

Speech to the House, FAIR WORK AMENDMENT (STATE REFERRALS AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2009, 17 November 2009

Speech to the House,  FAIR WORK AMENDMENT (STATE REFERRALS AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2009, 17 November 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (6:55 PM) —In the debate on the Fair Work Amendment (State Referrals and Other Measures) Bill 2009 it was fascinating to listen to a member of the ETU—he is now leaving the chamber—discuss how this great reform of a national workplace relations system is seemingly being moved wholly by the Labor Party. That of course is a complete and utter joke. The national system a... »

Faster Broadband Speeds for Strathalbyn

Faster Broadband Speeds for Strathalbyn I welcome the news that Telstra identified poor broadband speeds in Strathalbyn and that it undertook an outage earlier this month to upgrade the exchange.   A number of constituents from the region contacted my office expressing their concerns with the exchange and speeds, particularly at times of peak usage.   After contacting Telstra on their behalf, I was pleased to hear upgrade work would be completed and that residents should expect fa... »

The column on Kevin Rudd you wouldn't get in the post

The column on Kevin Rudd you wouldn't get in the post In the dying days of the1996 election campaign Paul Keating famously said “when you change the government, you change the country” in an attempt to scare people away from taking the baseball bat to his Prime Ministership.  He did it on the basis that the Australian people recognised John Howard and what he had stood for over the years.  The line didn’t work, the government changed and so to did the country. In 2007 when the doom o... »

Telstra's $2.20 Back Down: A Victory For Common Sense

Telstra's $2.20 Back Down: A Victory For Common Sense The decision by Telstra to scrap its $2.20 over-the-counter bill payment fee is a victory for common sense and for the thousands of older Australians who pay their bill over-the-counter.   I raised the issue in the media when the fee was first introduced because many older constituents within my electorate contacted my office to express their outrage.   In fairness to Telstra they have listened to community concerns and have r... »