This week we had a major win in Parliament, thanks to the action of almost 300,000 Australians and the advocacy of Kooyong locals who put this issue on the agenda in the first place. On Wednesday, the House passed its HECS legislation, wiping $3 billion off the HECS debts of more than 2.9 million Australians. This came after I launched a petition – backed by more than 290,000 others – to compel the Government into making significant changes to the system. While this was a big win, there is still a lot more to do. I moved six amendments to this legislation which would have made some more significant advances. These included measures to change the way HECS debts are indexed, and to halve the cost of Arts degrees after they were drastically increased under the Morrison Government’s Jobs-Ready Graduates Scheme. None of these amendments were accepted by the Government. Indexation remains an important issue, and one that I will keep pushing for. Graduates continue to see their debts increase even after they’ve effectively paid them down. As I said in Parliament House this week: “We wouldn’t put up with this on our mortgages”. Regardless, this legislation was a big win for our community. Thank you to those of you who signed and shared my petition, and to those who have written into my office to share their personal experiences with HECS repayments. I will keep pushing to make HECS more fair. |
Taking action on the Camberwell Activity CentreI’ve been busy over the past fortnight following up on my promise to represent the concerns that over 100 Kooyong constituents have shared with me about the Camberwell Junction Activity Centre. Let me be clear: We need more affordable housing, and we need it in our communities. But the Victorian Government’s lack of community consultation and transparency has been disappointing. So last month I made a submission to the Victorian Planning Authority sharing concerns raised by a number of constituents on the consultation process, heritage protections, sustainability, and local infrastructure, amenities and the lack of affordable housing. I spoke with Raf Epstein on ABC Melbourne about the Camberwell Junction Activity Centre. I discussed the absence of an impact assessment on the area, and the lack of certainty around how much of the new housing would be public, social, or affordable housing. |
I wrote to John Pesutto, State Member for Hawthorn and Victorian Opposition Leader to share the community feedback I’ve been receiving about this important Victorian Government issue with him. I remain committed to ensuring the people of Kooyong have their voices heard on proposals that affect them. This issue is too important to our community to sideline local perspectives. I’ll continue to liaise with the Victorian Government and Victorian Planning Authority on this matter. |
My Next Town Hall: Social Media and Young PeopleThe Government recently announced its plan to introduce age restrictions on social media. I’m concerned about the harms of social media on children and young people. We need to find solutions to the impacts of social media on mental health, social isolation, cyberbullying, and exposure to inappropriate content. But I also question whether an age ban is the best way to address these problems, and how effective this proposal may be in practice. |
Join me on Saturday 26 October at 2:30 PM, at Malvern Town Hall (1251 High St, Malvern) for a panel discussion on the proposed social media bans. I’ll be in conversation with Zoe Daniel, Independent Member for Goldstein, and 6 News founder Leo Puglisi, as well as other special guests. I’m especially keen to hear from young people, because they’re the ones who are directly affected by this proposal. So please do share this event with any under 25s in your life – and bring them along. |
Community Update: 3G is shutting downThe national 3G network is closing to boost the speed and reliability of 4G and 5G networks on 28 October 2024. This means that, from this date, devices that depend on the 3G network will no longer work. To check if your device is affected by the shutdown, text ‘3’ to ‘3487’. |
This is important even if your device is not exclusively a 3G-dependent device, as the shutdown will prevent some devices from being able to call Triple Zero while calls to other numbers still work. For more information, click here for the Communications Department fact sheet on the 3G shutdown. |
Upcoming event(s) |
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And holding the Victorian Government to account