Question Time in Parliament
Donations to Political Parties
September 15, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:50): My question is for the Prime Minister. Today is the International Day of Democracy. Last year, Transparency International ranked the Commonwealth equal-last nationally on lobbying transparency. In...
Read MoreGas Industry: Environment
August 11, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:59): My question is for the Minister for Resources. Renters expect to pay a bond before they move in and often a cleaning fee when they leave, but...
Read MoreCybersafety
June 25, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:07): My question is to the Prime Minister. Last night, ASIO chief Mike Burgess said social media was 'promoting discord and inflammatory rhetoric, exacerbating polarisation and creating a...
Read MoreWorkplace Relations
June 24, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:07): My question is for the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. The government's Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Building Cooperative Workplaces No. 1) Bill 2026 would allow the...
Read MoreMigration: Skills Recognition
March 31, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:15): My question's for the Treasurer. One-third of all occupations in Australia are in shortage, yet Australia has 253,000 permanent migrants, already here, that are working below their...
Read MoreGas Industry: Taxation
March 23, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:35): This question is for the Treasurer. The war in the Middle East is driving gas price spikes, which is great for resource company revenue, but Australians are...
Read MoreArtificial Intelligence
March 04, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:03): My question is to the Treasurer. AI is already having a significant impact on the country and is rapidly evolving. My community is concerned that the government...
Read MoreDiscrimination
March 03, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:12): My question is to the Prime Minister. Last weekend I marched in the Mardi Gras, and I recognise that you were the first prime minister to do...
Read MoreCost of Living
February 10, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:46): My question is to the Treasurer. Australians are worried about inflation. There's been a lot of arguing in this House about whose fault it is, but the...
Read MoreAntisemitism
January 20, 2026
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:42): My question is to the Prime Minister. Radical extremism—Islamist and other forms—is a threat to Jewish Australians and all Australians, as we saw so devastatingly in Bondi...
Read MoreParliamentary Procedure
November 27, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:22): My question is to the Prime Minister. Many constituents complain to me that question time is 'question time', not 'answer time'. That is driven by the standing...
Read MoreDeregulation
October 30, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:57): My question is for the Treasurer: Many people in the business community and at the economic reform roundtable have asked for regulation that better enables growth as...
Read MoreFreedom of Information
October 09, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:44): My question is for the Prime Minister. The royal commission into robodebt found that cabinet secrecy enabled the appalling abuse of power to continue for years, yet...
Read MoreFreedom of Information
September 03, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:13) My question is to the Prime Minister. The Attorney-General has asked us to be open-minded to the government's proposed freedom-of-information reforms as a step towards greater transparency....
Read MoreClimate Change
September 02, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:10) My question is for the Prime Minister. Today, former chief admiral of the Defence Force Chris Barrie reiterated the BOE Declaration's warning that climate change is the...
Read MoreAntisemitism
August 26, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:49) This question is for the Prime Minister. The last summer was one of the hardest in memory for my Jewish community. It was terrorised by antisemitic attacks,...
Read MoreDefence Procurement - Submarines
July 29, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:17) My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. Last week the US Navy told congress that its submarine production continues to be around half the level needed...
Read MoreSmall Business
February 06, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:05) This is a question for the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Small businesses in Wentworth are really struggling, and one of the main...
Read MoreClimate Change
February 04, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:39): My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Australia has refused to sign a pledge to end new public subsidies for fossil fuels. These...
Read MoreReferencing nationality in question time
February 04, 2025
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:10): I have a question for you, Mr Speaker. I am seeking your advice in relation to standing order 100(d)(i), building on the point of order by the...
Read MoreBusiness Investment
October 10, 2024
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:16): My question is for the Treasurer. e61 research has shown that young, innovative firms drive productivity, yet Australia's early-stage investment per capita is roughly a third of...
Read MoreBanking & Financial Services - Scams
October 10, 2024
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:22): My question is to the Assistant Treasurer. Organised crime syndicates are scamming households, who are losing life-changing sums of money, including in Wentworth. Ninety-four per cent of scam...
Read MoreWorkplace Relations
August 12, 2024
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:14): My question is for the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. The construction industry is different. We've lived through 11,000 pages of royal commission...
Read MoreEarly Childhood Education
June 27, 2024
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:15): My question is for the Minister for Education. One of the biggest cost-of-living pressures facing families in Wentworth is early childhood education. In my pop-up office last...
Read MoreMental Health
June 04, 2024
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:44): My question is to the Minister for Health and Aged Care. The senseless attack at Bondi Junction on 13 April left six people dead and traumatised my...
Read MoreEquality - Discrimination Law Reform
March 20, 2024
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:58): My question is to the Prime Minister. My community is deeply concerned about protecting all Australians from discrimination, no matter their gender, sexuality or faith. During the...
Read MoreEducation - Changing HECS Indexation
February 26, 2024
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:06): My question is for the Minister for Education. Last May, the crossbench wrote to you with concerns about indexation of HECS and HELP loans, which are now...
Read MoreEconomy - Intergenerational Equity and Young People
February 08, 2024
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:19): My question is to the Treasurer. Young people in Australia are going backwards. In the last decade or so, a family headed by somebody over 65 saw...
Read MoreHousing - Strengthening Renters' Rights
November 28, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:48): My question is to the Prime Minister. In August, National Cabinet committed to strengthening renters' rights by ending no-grounds evictions, limiting rent increases to once a year and...
Read MoreEnergy - Support for Home Electrification
October 18, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:14): My question is to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Households are struggling with their power bills because of high fossil fuel prices. The best way...
Read MoreServices Australia – addressing wait times and poor service
September 12, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:12): My question is to the Minister for Government Services. Constituents from Wentworth and across the country are becoming increasingly frustrated at the wait times, calls not...
Read MoreHousing – funding to build more homes
August 09, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:57): My question is to the Prime Minister. In National Homelessness Week, the stark truth is that housing has become a nightmare for many Australians, particularly young...
Read MoreClimate Change - new fossil fuel projects and environmental law reform
July 31, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:33): My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, Europe is burning, and Australians remember our own Black Summer with fear for the future. The UN...
Read MoreHousing - a citizens assembly to break the deadlock
June 15, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:26): My question is to the Prime Minister. Thirteen House and Senate crossbenchers have called for a citizen's assembly on the housing affordability crisis. If 100 randomly...
Read MoreEnvironment – ending native forest logging
May 25, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:48): My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water. This week the Labor government in Victoria said it would end native forest logging, yet...
Read MoreChild Care - increasing wages for childcare workers
May 09, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. One of your arguments for last year's IR reforms was the need to increase wages...
Read MoreIntegrity – delivering value for money on infrastructure projects
March 27, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:14): My question is to the Prime Minister. In 2014 you told this House that independent cost benefit analysis of infrastructure proposals was necessary to ensure that...
Read MoreEconomy – the need for tax reform
March 08, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:47): My question is to the Treasurer. Australians want their governments to focus on the long term, not the news cycle. They understand we need economic reform...
Read MoreRefugees – permanent protection for those failed by fast track
February 13, 2023
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:13): My question is to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. Today, 19,000 refugees received the wonderful news that they would be granted permanent protection...
Read MoreIndustrial Relations - review of Awards
November 30, 2022
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (15:05): My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Senator Pocock has said that you made a commitment to him to review modern awards....
Read MoreClimate Change – more ambition in emissions reduction
November 22, 2022
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:48): My question is for the Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Minister, many people in my community are concerned about climate change. Climate scientists are telling...
Read MoreIndustrial Relations – delivering wage rises in low paid industries
November 07, 2022
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:24): My question is for the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister agree that real, effective wage rises in low-paid industries can be achieved through the awards,...
Read MoreIntegrity – a strong National Anti-Corruption Commission
September 26, 2022
Ms SPENDER (Wentworth) (14:43): My question is to the Attorney-General, the member for Isaacs. The Labor Party went to the election with a commitment to legislating a national anticorruption commission....
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