The Coalition needs to get over its anxieties about the future. The market is really clear, renewables are the future and investing in renewables is the most effective long term way of bringing down prices for ordinary households.

First day of estimates, and what did we learn yesterday? Well, we’ve had confirmation this is a Government racked by chaos, beset by internal division, and completely out of touch.

Labor has moved to establish a Senate Inquiry to examine financial services that were excluded from the terms of reference of the Financial Services Royal Commission.

Labor is committed to tackling child poverty and putting Australia’s children first. A new report shows that 1 in 6 children are living in poverty, reinforcing the need for a concerted, sustained effort to tackle this issue.

Well, here we are, it’s our first day back in Canberra after a couple of weeks and, of course, it is the first day where Scott Morrison enters the Parliament as the Prime Minister. But it's a little bit like Groundhog Day because today, like almost every other day for the last five years, the Coalition presents to this place without any energy policy whatsoever.

Senator Jenny McAllister and Patrick Deegan today visited Jumbunna Pre-School and Early Intervention Centre and Baptist Church Community Preschool in Casino, New South Wales as part of National Child Protection week (2-8 September 2018). Labor recognises the importance of institutions like these in helping to raise happy and healthy children on the NSW North Coast. 

Tax officials informed a hearing of the Senate Economics References Committee inquiry into the Tax Practices of For Profit Aged Care Providers that they had concerns about arrangements used by some in the sector. Such arrangements – including the use of profit shifting via related party transactions, and stapled structures – had been highlighted by a report by the Tax Justice Network in collaboration with the Australian Nurses and Midwives Association.

t’s an honour to be appointed as the Shadow Assistant Minister for Families and Communities. I am excited to be taking up Labor’s fight in this portfolio with my friend and colleague Linda Burney. I thank Bill Shorten for this opportunity.

Labor will lead a comprehensive Senate inquiry into Malcolm Turnbull’s My Health Record fiasco amid ongoing privacy and security concerns. We remain deeply concerned that the Government’s bungled rollout of the My Health Record opt-out period has severely undermined public trust in this important reform.

The position of Merit Protection Commissioner for the Australian Public Service is not one that receives much public attention.  Despite its low profile, it plays a crucial role in ensuring integrity across the APS. It is deeply concerning that the Turnbull Government allowed the position to remain vacant for over six months.