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Welcome to this week’s e-Newsletter!

Somewhere Nice Grand Opening

I attended the grand opening of Somewhere Nice, a wonderful, one-of-a-kind Op Shop and Cafe that is dedicated to creating a brighter future for Australians with disability.

An initiative of Autism Advisory and Support Service and their CEO, Grace Fava, Somewhere Nice will collaborate with TAFE NSW to create opportunities for participants to gain tertiary education in retail and hospitality in an inclusive environment.

I look forward to seeing it thrive in our local community.

Biosecurity Detector Dogs in Parliament

I met the talented dogs from the Biosecurity Detector Dogs Program in Parliament House last week.

On average a detector dog finds 9,000 biosecurity risk items over their working life, playing an important role in protecting Australia from pests and diseases.

National Skills Agreement

The Albanese Government is prepared to invest $12.6 billion, including $3.81 billion for New South Wales, to expand and transform access to the VET sector, support quality training and implement reforms to address critical skills needs.

If States and Territories access all the Commonwealth funding available under the NSA, the combined investment by governments would exceed $30 billion over 5 years.

This is on top of an additional $414 million for the delivery of 300,000 more Fee-Free TAFE places from 2024, supporting students facing cost of living challenges to gain skills.

Expanding Paid Parental Leave

The Albanese Labor Government is keeping its commitment to improve the lives of Australian families by introducing legislation to expand the Paid Parental Leave (PPL) Scheme.

Once the bill has passed, Paid Parental Leave will increase by two weeks each year from 1 July 2024 until reaching 26 weeks in July 2026. Four weeks will be reserved for each parent to encourage shared care.

The changes to PPL represent the largest investment in the scheme since its introduction in 2011.

Monitoring Domestic Air Services

The Albanese Government will direct the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to monitor domestic air passenger services to help ensure Australians see the benefits of a competitive airline sector.

The direction will require the ACCC to monitor prices, costs and profits in the domestic air passenger sector, releasing quarterly reports.

It will also monitor cancellations and delays as well as how airlines are providing better access for people with a disability.

If you wish to provide further feedback regarding airline conduct to the ACCC, you can submit a complaint online via the button below.

Pathway To Citizenship For New Zealanders

Nation-wide, more than 30,000 New Zealanders who have lived in Australia for more than four years have applied for citizenship just 100 days after the Albanese Government’s direct pathway to citizenship opened.

The Albanese Government has reduced the citizenship processing times by 50% ensuring that people can get from application to ceremony quicker and making it fairer for those who have been living in the local community for years.

The direct pathway further strengthens the close ties between our two nations and highlights the contribution New Zealand citizens make to Australia.

Record Solar Output

The Australian Energy Regulator recently released a report that showed that average wholesale electricity prices for the last quarter were less than half those in the same period last year.

This highlights the significant impact of the Albanese Government’s coal and gas price caps in limiting the worst impacts of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on power bills for Australian homes and businesses. Those caps were opposed by Peter Dutton and the Coalition.

The report also shows that getting cleaner, cheaper renewable energy into the grid, including on millions of Australian rooftops, is bringing down prices.

September installations of rooftop solar are up 41% on last year, cutting energy bills and household emissions.

Speeches In Parliament

I also spoke on several other occasions in Parliament.

Click the button below to watch my latest speeches.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me on

Anne.Stanley.MP@aph.gov.au or 8783 0977.