MARK DREYFUS MP

The arts are a public good they enrich us all. They are not a private market.

The proper funding of those courts goes to the core of that responsibility. I call on the government to be very clear about how it will proceed to support our federal courts into the future. I commend this bill to the House.

Labor believes that our security agencies and national institutions should have the powers and resources they need to keep Australians safe from the threat of terrorism, and we will support the government in providing those powers and resources.

The single issue that was raised most frequently was the Abbott Government's plans to introduce a $7 GP tax to visit the doctor. Many seniors in my electorate, in particular those with chronic health problems, simply cannot afford $7 payments to visit their local GP.

When he took office, the Prime Minister told us that the hallmark of his government would be that 'It says what it means and means what it says.' But, after 14 months of dishonesty and dissembling, broken promises and backflips, I am reminded more of Humpty Dumpty, who famously said to Alice: 'When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean neither more nor less.'

Repeal day might be just Mr Abbott's overindulgence in his own ideological obsessions, but it could be ordinary Australians who wake up with the hangover.

Labor supports the provisions in this bill that bring responsibility for determining the remuneration and full-time-member recreation leave entitlements of the chair and members within the Remuneration Tribunal's jurisdiction. There is no question that that is the best place for them and where they ought to be

The Foreign Fighters Bill directly addresses current threats to Australian security which have arisen out of present circumstances in Syria and Iraq