Speech to the Goolwa RSL's Blessing and Dedication of the Garden of Honour Ceremony, Sunday 31 May 2009 President of the Goolwa RSL sub branch, Mr Bob Plummer President of the State RSL, Mr Jock Statton Mr Adrian Pederick, the Member for Hammond Mr Kym McHugh, the Mayor of Alexandrina Council Representatives of the armed services in South Australia, Group Captain Reg Carruthers and Commander Craig Pritchard. Honoured members of the Goolwa RSL sub branch Ladi... more

Jamie interviewed on Skynews Agenda Please download here - LinkClick.aspx

Speech to the Main Committee, CONSTITUENCY STATEMENT, DEFENCE, 28 May 2009  Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (9:35 AM) —It gives me great pleasure to talk about two Defence Force related events in my electorate I participated in recently. The first was a visit a couple of weeks ago to the cadets in their regular training session down in Victor Harbor, in the southern part of my electorate. Twenty cadets attend once a week to do their training. They are a great group of young people, led by Sergeant Graham... more

Phantom Water Purchase Is A Con Once again the people of South Australia especially around the Lower Lakes have been ignored by the Rudd Government when it comes to addressing the water crisis.   Today’s announcement by the Rudd Government, packaged up as a history making deal, that $303 million will be spent buying back water from the Twynam Agricultural Group will not result in one extra drop of water flowing into the ailing River Murray  in South Australia.   Eighteen... more

Speech to the House - ADJOURNMENT DEBATE, MR JOHN HOWARD, 25 May 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (9:30 PM) —I rise tonight to comment on a recently released book covering the final term of the Howard government, the rise to the leadership of the Labor Party of the current Prime Minister and the success of the Labor Party at the subsequent election. The book, To the Bitter End, written by Peter Hartcher from the Sydney Morning Herald, covers the last three years, and, in particular, the last year, of the ... more

Speech to the House - APPROPRIATION BILL (NO.1) 2009-2010, 25 May 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (6:40 PM) —I rise to speak in the debate that we are having on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2009-2010 and cognate bills. As the member for Bass scurries out, I will firstly address one comment that she made which was part of Labor’s grubby attack on the Leader of the Opposition for being successful in his business. This is a great campaign the Labor Party like to mount. They do not like people who are succ... more

Speech to the Main Committee - SOCIAL SECURITY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (DIGITAL TELEVISION SWITCH-OVER) BILL 2009, 25 May 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (5:09 PM) —I rise this evening to speak on the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Digital Television Switch-over) Bill 2009. I am sure the Deputy Speaker will appreciate the areas in my electorate that I will talk about in my remarks. As many on this side know, I am a big supporter of digital television. It has a lot of benefits for the Australian peo... more

The Coalition's Plan for Recovery On Tuesday night the Government’s Budget should have laid out a foundation for recovery and growth.   Australia should have had a Budget that marked a path out of this downturn, offering confidence and hope for a better future for the people of Mayo.   Instead Australians saw a Budget that delivered the same old Labor cocktail of higher debt, higher unemployment and higher deficits.   A Budget which confirmed that Australians are now paying... more

Speech to the House, MATTER OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE, ECONOMY, 14 May 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (4:59 PM) —I rise also to speak on this very important matter of public importance raised by the Leader of the Nationals—and I follow his very good remarks earlier—about the failure of this government to provide a credible plan to ensure Australia’s economic recovery. What we have heard during question time over the last few days has been quite extraordinary. We hear it on the doors; it is all part of the Ho... more

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Speech to the House - EXCISE TARIFF VALIDATION BILL 2009, CUSTOMS TARIFF VALIDATION BILL 2009, Second Reading, 12 May 2009 Mr BRIGGS (Mayo) (1:15 PM) —I also rise to speak on the Excise Tariff Validation Bill 2009 and the Customs Tariff Validation Bill 2009, which has been rushed into this parliament today—on budget day. And that is what this bill is about, of course. It is a revenue raiser to fill the black hole created by the reckless spending of the Rudd government. The member for Petrie ha... more

New Tourism Grants Available The Federal Government has recently announced a tourism grants programme that many tourism businesses in Mayo may be able to access. The TQUAL Grants program aims to support Australia’s tourism sector and will help to boost the industry during uncertain times and in an ever growing competitive market. The tourism industry faces many challenges in this recession and it is crucial the Federal Government responds to these issues by supporting industry development a... more