Private Members' Statements

Private Members' Statements

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:39): The Albanese Labor government's third federal budget last night was a very poor budget for many reasons, but I wish to draw the house's attention to one particular radical change that has flown under the radar: the entrenchment of compulsory student unionism on our university campuses.

Nearly 20 years after the Howard government introduced voluntary student unionism and 13 years after the Gillard government brought in the student services and amenity fee, compulsory student unionism is back. It is an ideological move from an ideological federal Labor government that takes very seriously its primary role as the political wing of the union movement, just as our state Labor government does. Their ideal world would see everyone required to be a union member.

This move will force the average student to pay for student unions across the country whether they engage with them or not, whether they support them or not, whether they object to the way their money is spent or not. If unionism is not compulsory in the workplace, why should it be on campus?

Full-time students are charged $351 a year for the student services and amenities fee with no choice in the matter. The average student has little input into how that money is spent, and amidst a cost-of-living crisis Labor is foisting more debt onto young people by forcing universities to pass on 40 per cent of the revenue raised from that fee to student unions, many of which are quite radical organisations, sometimes with problematic examples of antisemitic sympathies, many of which present radical social agendas, to say the least, and all of which are now celebrating the efforts of their mates in the federal Labor Albanese government.

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (15:40): I rise because last week we had a flurry of media activity around the potential name change at Snowtown to coincide with the release of a prisoner some 25 years after the crimes occurred. It is not necessarily that I have been misquoted or anything like that—I have been treated fairly by all the journalists I interacted with on that occasion—but I did want to try to slightly redirect the conversation.

It is wonderful to talk about the name change, but that was an exceedingly brief component of the discussion about how we move that wonderful town forward and into the future. The main part of the conversation, the part I would have loved everyone to focus on, was more about the wonderful things that are going on in Snowtown.

Derryn Stringer and the progress association have some tremendous initiatives underway. They have planted a whole heap of new trees around the footy oval to beautify the place; they have brand-new change rooms at Snowtown; there are brand-new clubrooms at Snowtown that have made that precinct a wonderful place to be. They have moved the courts and resurfaced them, obviously, in their new location to make space for a beautiful RV park for people to come off the highway and stay.

There is a tremendous school at Snowtown, led by principal Trish, doing a tremendous job of educating the next generation there, and there are wonderful opportunities for new housing that Derryn is working on with the housing minister, to try to provide affordable housing in that community.

As we move forward, and the flurry of activity about the release of a certain prisoner continues to permeate through the media, I really want the focus to be on the wonderful things that are happening at Snowtown, and how the people there are making an effort to move forward into the future and not focus on the past.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:42): I rise to make a contribution, particularly with the announcement of the federal budget last night. If I look at trade and investment, it was very disappointing. What we saw was a lot of renouncement, particularly with the South-East Asia trade strategy. It was a $509 million relationship strategy with South-East Asia, but it was announced in March so, again, this was just another renouncement.

I want to touch on one trading issue that has gone missing. We have a state green thumb trade minister—the minister has just been brought in to that portfolio—but we have a very experienced trade minister in the federal arena, and not one word has been said about the lobster industry. We have seen the lobster industry brought to its knees over trade with China, live lobster into China.

There is great representation. Justin Phillips from the southern rock lobster industry and Kyri Toumazos from the northern zone rock lobster industry have gone to extreme lengths to meet with politicians, to have the industry represented, to have that trade reinstated. It is an over $220 million industry, it is premium seafood to the world, yet we have these two Labor political teams that have left these lobster fishermen hanging on a rock. They are going crazy over lack of action with government departments.

Ms CLANCY (Elder) (15:44): Every day, particularly on 15 May, I, along with many others, including the members for Light and Adelaide, mourn for Palestine. We mourn for the lives and lands, hopes and dreams, that were lost during the Nakba, the great catastrophe that followed the partitioning of Palestine on this day in 1948.

On this day 76 years ago, the seizure of Palestinian homes, businesses and agricultural lands had begun. Around 80 per cent of the Palestinians living on occupied areas, some 750,000 people, were driven out or fled in fear. Over the next two years, hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages were forcibly taken over, killing around 15,000 Palestinians, as those who attempted to return to their homes were shot and killed.

In the decades that have followed, Palestinian people have been made second-class citizens in their own country. Human Rights Watch tells us that the Palestinian people are subjected to crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution. In the past six to seven months, more than 35,000 Palestinian people have been killed. That is the equivalent of two packed-out games at Coopers Stadium plus a thousand or so more, in well less than a year.

Our community is rightfully appalled at the death and destruction which quickly became almost impossible to fully grasp or comprehend, but as we feel powerless watching from afar our strength is in our solidarity. History has shown and continues to show that despite desperate attempts to the contrary the spirit of the Palestinian people has not waned.