MARK DREYFUS MP

Sadly, this is yet another example of a government that is committed to secrecy and committed to furthering the belligerent rhetoric that we have become used to in the area of asylum-seeker policy from this government.

We are seeing here, in this first piece of environmental legislation from the new coalition government at the federal level, a taking away of protections of the environment.

It is an honour to have been re-elected for a third time to represent the people in my electorate of Isaacs. I thank them for their support and their trust. Today I will talk about three things. The first is Labor's economic record.

As well as responding to local emergencies, our volunteers give their time to assist with emergencies in other locations around Victoria, including at the Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday bushfires, and sometimes interstate.

This assistance is an immediate one-off payment to Australians affected by natural disasters at the time they need it most. It can be used to cover the cost of accommodation, personal items and urgent medications - exactly the kinds of expenses victims of bushfires need to meet when they are isolated from their homes in an emergency situation.

What Mr Abbott is intent on doing here is taking our nation backwards.

I thank my local constituents who continue to advocate for the release of peaceful human rights and democracy campaigners in Vietnam and around the world.

This bill focuses on removing disincentives to making public interest disclosure by affording robust protections to public officials who come forward to report wrongdoing.

The Public Interest Disclosure Bill and the Public Interest Disclosure (Consequential Amendments) Bill represent an important reform to strengthen the process in which wrongdoing in the Commonwealth public sector is handled, and to strengthen the protections for those who report wrongdoing. 

The standardisation of Commonwealth regulatory powers will help to reduce the complexity and inconsistency of legislation that has developed since Federation. Complex and inconsistent legislation makes it difficult, expensive and time-consuming for people to understand their legal rights and obligations. This creates burdens for business and restricts access to justice.