June 2026 – Page 23

Opposition, Greens holding up stronger protections for LGBTQIA+ people

Stronger laws to protect the LGBTQIA+ community from hate crimes are being held hostage by the Opposition and Greens who have rejected multiple attempts to pass these laws including a bid to fast track the reforms.

The Minns Labor Government in March introduced reforms to expand ‘post and boast’ offences to assault and robbery following a string of horrific attacks against members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

These laws are in limbo after the Opposition and Greens teamed up with Mark Latham on Tuesday to vote against a Government motion to have the bill urgently debated in the Legislative Council.

In attempting to score a political point against the Government, the Opposition, Greens and Mark Latham have delayed greater protections for LGBTQIA+ against hate crimes.

Today, Greens Member of the Upper House, Abigail Boyd went so far as to say most of the Bills the Government was trying to pass, including these reforms, are “not very important”. Greens MP Sue Higginson also demanded that the motion to pass this reform to protect LGBTQIA+ people be withdrawn, further delaying these important reforms.

As well as expanding ‘post and boast’ laws, our reforms create new offences directed at offenders who lure victims on false pretences only to offend against them, including via dating apps.

Under the reforms, publicly threatening or inciting violence on the grounds of a protected attribute such as sexual orientation or gender identity will rise from three to five years’ imprisonment.

A higher penalty of up to seven years will apply if violence results from threats or incitement.

We are also seeking to amend the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 to make it easier for prosecutors to prove an offence was motivated by prejudice or hatred.

This will strengthen the ability of police and prosecutors to pursue hate crime charges and ensure that prejudice-motivated offending is properly recognised and punished by the courts.

Attorney General Michael Daley said:

“These laws provide much-needed protections for LGBTQIA+ people who have been attacked and robbed simply because of who they are. We are determined to hold perpetrators of this appalling violence to account.

“But instead of working with the Government to pass greater protections for LGBTQIA+ people, the Opposition and Greens have decided to play politics. This must end.”

Future of Maitland Community Health location secured

Community health services in Maitland will have a new home, with a location for the facility confirmed in the heart of Maitland’s town centre.

The Maitland Community Health facility will help deliver improved access to community health services for the Maitland region in a central location following a $22 million investment from the NSW Government.

The NSW Government has purchased a site at 525 High Street, Maitland marking a significant milestone in delivering an enhanced community health service for the region.

The existing two storey building will be refurbished to support best-practice models of care and provide a safe, welcoming environment for staff, consumers and the community.

When complete, community health services including adult, older person, child and adolescent community mental health services, sexual assault services, and palliative care services will be relocated from the former Maitland Hospital site, into the new facility.

The new Maitland Community Health facility will offer health services for all ages in a modern, collaborative and culturally safe environment.

On-site car parking will be available to staff and the community, with the building also conveniently located close to local shops and transport routes.

Planning and design are under way, with a builder for the Maitland Community Health facility expected to be appointed later this year. The timeframe of the refurbishment will be confirmed once a builder is appointed.

While refurbishment is underway, the community health and community mental health services will continue to operate from the former Maitland Hospital.

For more information, please visit: https://www.nsw.gov.au/maitland-community-health-project

East Maitland Community Health Centre will not be relocated as part of this project.

Across the state, the Minns Labor Government is delivering 32 new or upgraded hospitals, helping to ensure people can access the care they need, when they need it, closer to home.

Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park:

“This milestone means we are one step closer to delivering centralised and more accessible health care to the Maitland community.

“The new location will be refurbished into a contemporary facility that will support world-class care and provide a safe, welcoming environment for all.

“The Minns Government is making the investments in health care that regional NSW needs, ensuring communities can access care closer to home.”

Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley:

“We know health care only works when people can actually get to it, and that’s why bringing services together in one place matters so much for the Hunter community.

“When services are closer to home, it takes the pressure off people having to travel long distances or juggle appointments across multiple locations – it makes getting care far more realistic for busy lives.

“This is about making sure communities in the Hunter aren’t an afterthought in the health system and that reflects the Minns Labor Government’s focus on building services around people’s lives, not the other way around.”

Minister for Mental Health Rose Jackson:

“This project is exactly the kind of investment we need more of in mental health care — local, community-based services that meet people where they are and provide support before people reach crisis point.

“We know too many people can fall into the gap between hospital care and independent living. That’s why investing in strong community mental health services matters — because people deserve access to care and support close to home, in environments that are safe, welcoming and connected to their community.

“This is another example of the NSW Labor Government putting community-based care at the centre of our mental health system.”

Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison MP:

“I’m delighted to see community health services in Maitland will soon be delivered from an easily accessible and modern health facility.

“Importantly, community health services will continue at the former Maitland Hospital until the new building is completed, ensuring people can access the services and care they need.

“This is another example of how the Minns Labor Government is making healthcare accessible for everyone, right across the state.”

Supercharging investment in local low-carbon manufacturing and jobs

The Minns Labor Government is investing a further $225 million to create more local jobs in domestic manufacturing and help NSW businesses build the products and materials needed for the low-carbon industries of the future.

The funding will support projects that are part of the growing low-carbon manufacturing industry in NSW. It will help businesses expand local production, attract private investment and make more of the equipment, materials and technologies needed for a low-carbon economy.

Support will be allocated with a view to creating more skilled jobs, new opportunities for local workers and stronger regional economies. Applications open today.

As global demand grows for clean energy and low-carbon products, the Minns Labor Government is backing NSW businesses to seize this global opportunity by manufacturing more of these products here at home, including:

renewable energy components such as wind towers, solar panels, batteries and transmission cables
low-carbon products such as blended cement, cross-laminated timber and biofuels
emerging clean technologies such as new-generation renewables and storage, AI-driven agricultural systems and lithium battery recycling.

This funding builds on the success of the Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative grants which are already backing more than 40 projects creating around 1,000 new jobs.

These include a new solar panel manufacturing facility in the Hunter Valley, a Renewables Manufacturing Hub in Western Sydney, the expansion of manufacturing to include Super High Voltage transformers at the heart of Renewable Energy Zones, expanded production of low-carbon flat-pack housing in Orange, and pioneering battery component technology in the Illawarra.

This investment can also make it cheaper to manufacture in NSW by reducing energy costs for businesses. In Sydney’s Horsley Park, NSW Government funding is supporting a new bioenergy facility that will turn organic waste into renewable gas. That biomethane will be used by a co-located brick plant, cutting the plant’s natural gas use by 50 per cent.

This round of funding will focus on commercial and construction-ready projects that can deliver immediate impact.

Successful projects will attract significant private investment to NSW, with grant recipients required to match or exceed NSW Government funding dollar-for-dollar.

In the first round, every dollar of NSW Government funding has yielded one and a half dollars of co-investment in NSW.

The investment will create jobs, further the transformation of our energy system, and support the state’s legislated targets to cut emissions by 70 per cent by 2035 and reach net zero by 2050.

For more information, visit: www.energy.nsw.gov.au/NetZeroManufacturing

Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Penny Sharpe said:

“Our investment in low-carbon manufacturing has already supported the creation of around 1,000 jobs, and this boost will power the next wave of industry and opportunity across NSW.

“This additional funding will help ensure NSW does not just import technology, but builds more of it locally to benefit communities and workers.”

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said:

“By backing local manufacturing, we are helping build the industries that will power the next generation of jobs and growth in NSW.

“We want more of the products, materials and technologies needed for a low-carbon economy to be made right here, using skilled local workers.”

Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement, Courtney Houssos said:

“This investment will support manufacturers to grow, create local jobs and strengthen regional economies.

“The Net Zero Manufacturing grants are a key part of how our Minns Labor Government is backing local manufacturing and backing NSW workers.”

Business NSW Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Hunter said:

“This investment by the NSW Government will back manufacturers to expand, invest and compete for the next generation of industrial opportunities.

“The funding will help businesses scale up, invest with confidence and make more of the products the economy will need in the decades ahead.

“We still have courageous and world-beating businesses making things in NSW – from clothing to modular housing and medical technology.”

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union NSW/ACT State Secretary, Brad Pidgeon said:

“NSW manufacturing workers have the skills and experience to build the products needed for the future, from renewable energy components to low-carbon building materials.

“This investment is an important step towards creating secure, skilled jobs in the regions that have powered NSW industry for generations.”

Minns’ education claims do not match reality for NSW students

Despite today’s claims about strengthening the teacher workforce, the Minns Labor Government’s own reporting shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in NSW public schools has gone backwards since 2023.

Shadow Education Minister Mark Speakman criticised the Minns Labor Government for its deceptive portrayal of the state of public education in NSW.

“It’s deceptive to trumpet the conversion of temporary roles without acknowledging that the total FTE number of teachers in our classrooms has gone backwards, as shown by comparing the 2023 and 2025 NSW Public Sector Reports,” Mr Speakman said.

Mr Speakman also rejected claims that the Government’s school infrastructure program was expanding, pointing to the Government’s own budget papers, which show the education infrastructure budget shrinking.

“Most of the school infrastructure the Minns Government is opening was planned and funded by the former Liberals and Nationals Government. Labor is cutting ribbons on projects that were already well underway,” he said.

“Despite rhetoric about record investment, the education capital budget in 2025–26 is down 7.7 per cent compared with the previous year’s budget. That means a pipeline of fewer new classrooms and continued pressure on growing communities.”

“We all want to see the proper investment in our teachers and school infrastructure, but that starts with acknowledging the facts. You can’t fix problems that you refuse to acknowledge and pretend don’t exist.”

Mr Speakman called on the Minns Government to provide a transparent account of staffing levels and infrastructure delivery.

“Our education system needs sustained investment, not selective statistics designed to hide the truth.”

Accused ISIS bride Rayann El Houli tried to recruit own kids into terror group, court told

The ISIS bride currently on trial in Melbourne has been accused of trying to indoctrinate her own children and expressing an intent to kill “non-believers”. It seems that she married multiple Islamic State fighters, and it appears that she only left Islamic State when it was defeated, not because there was any change in her views. Apparently, the reason she hasn’t attended any deradicalisation classes since returning to Australia is because the process is “a bit much for her”.

I wonder how much this charade is costing the Australian taxpayer? This vile individual clearly despises Australia and all that we stand for. She should never have been allowed to set foot in our country again.

Albanese Labor Government delivers additional diesel to Queensland

The Albanese Labor Government has secured another 40 million litres of additional diesel for Queenslanders, through an agreement between Export Finance Australia (EFA) and independent supplier Freedom Fuels.

This shipment is due to arrive to Brisbane in June for onwards distribution to regional Queensland. This is in addition to 16 separate shipments already secured in partnership with Ampol, BP Australia, IOR and Viva Energy.

Combined, this brings the total amount of additional fuel shipments through the Government’s new Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility to approximately 690 million litres of diesel and approximately 150 million litres of jet fuel across 17 additional shipments.

EFA has partnered with Ampol, BP Australia, Freedom Fuels, IOR and Viva Energy to make these 17 additional cargoes of diesel and jet fuel possible so far. More shipments are expected under these agreements.

Under its Strategic Reserve powers, the Albanese Government has also now supported an additional approximately 205,000 tonnes of agricultural grade urea through agreements between EFA, CSBP and Incitec Pivot.

Through these measures and ongoing negotiations with industry, the Albanese Government is securing essential fuel and fertiliser supplies to safeguard Australians from the impacts of continuing global volatility, and to keep our nation and our people moving.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“In the face of global instability, we are leaving no stone unturned as we work to keep Australia moving, working and flying.

“This is a win for regional Queensland when they need it most, through a partnership between our Government and a business with demonstrated and reliable pathways to ensure fuel gets to farmers and growers who need it.”

Minister for Trade Don Farrell

“By underwriting additional fuel purchases, the Albanese Government is helping to keep our road transport and farm machinery moving at a time of supply volatility.

“This particular purchase of diesel will provide confidence to tourists planning to undertake road trips to regional Queensland.”

Minister Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen

“Our Government is continuing to do everything we can to secure our fuel security, to shield Australians from the impacts of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“This 40 million litres of extra diesel will ensure that we keep households, farmers and businesses in regional Queensland moving.”

Anna Cody is wrong: women are being harmed by biological males in female spaces

“There is no evidence that trans women are harming other women in toilets or change rooms.” — Anna Cody, Sex Discrimination Commissioner

Anna Cody’s assertion in today’s The Australian is as reckless as it is naïve.

While Ms Cody claims there is “no evidence” that biological males identifying as women pose risks to females in female-only spaces, women in Australian prisons have already paid the price for this ideology.

In South Australia, multiple allegations have emerged involving violent male prisoner Krista Richards being housed in women’s prisons. The case became a national scandal after reports that female inmates had allegedly been sexually assaulted and intimidated after authorities prioritised gender identity ideology over women’s safety. Family First has repeatedly called on the Malinauskas Government to remove biological males from women’s prisons and protect vulnerable female inmates.

In Victoria, the Allan Government was forced into damage control after a biological male prisoner who identified as a woman sexually assaulted a female inmate after being transferred into a women’s prison. The victim reportedly received a secret compensation payout while the government quietly rewrote prison placement policies after the scandal became public.

These are not hypothetical concerns.

These are real women harmed by real men who should never have been placed in female facilities.

Ms Cody’s comments demonstrate the danger of ideology replacing common sense.

If biological males can harm women in prisons, where women are a captive population unable to leave, it is entirely reasonable for women and girls to be concerned about the erosion of sex-based protections in other female-only spaces.

Family First rejects the increasingly common claim that a man becomes a woman simply by declaring it.

Women and girls deserve privacy, dignity and safety.

Even more concerning is Ms Cody’s promotion of the notion that sex is merely an identity rather than a biological reality.

This ideology has already contributed to thousands of vulnerable children being encouraged to question their sex, leading many onto pathways involving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and irreversible surgeries. Around the world, governments and medical authorities are retreating from these practices as the evidence of harm mounts.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has become one of the nation’s most powerful promoters of gender ideology while increasingly ignoring the rights and concerns of women.

Family First therefore reiterates its policy to abolish the Australian Human Rights Commission and the highly paid bureaucracy that sustains it. Anna Cody is on $400,000+ in her role as Sex Discrimination Commissioner.

Australians should be asking why taxpayers fund a Human Rights Commission that spends so much time advancing radical gender ideology while failing to defend the rights of women and girls.

Ms Cody correctly notes that 22 women and children have allegedly died this year as a result of gendered violence.

She is right that violence against women deserves national attention.

But protecting women from violence also means preventing biological males from being placed in women’s prisons, women’s sport, women’s change rooms, women’s shelters and other female-only spaces.

Women’s rights are not protected by pretending biological sex does not exist.

Family First will continue fighting for laws that recognise biological reality, protect women and children, and restore common sense to public policy.

Proposed NDIS changes risk leaving people with life-limiting illness without essential support

Palliative Care Australia (PCA) has warned that proposed amendments to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Act risk leaving people with life-limiting illness without access to essential care and support.
In a submission to the Senate Committee Inquiry into the amendments to the NDIS legislation, PCA raised serious concerns that the Bill, as currently drafted, presents an unacceptable risk to the safe and dignified care of people whose support needs arise from a life-limiting condition.

PCA said the legislation acknowledges that people may face barriers to appropriate treatment because of where they live or because they cannot afford direct or out-of-pocket healthcare costs. However, the Bill also states that it is not the role of the NDIS to fill gaps in affordable and accessible health services.

PCA National Policy Director Josh Fear said this creates a dangerous gap for vulnerable Australians.
“Under this approach, people with life-limiting or terminal illness could find themselves locked out of both systems,” Mr Fear said.
“The Bill effectively accepts that some people may be unable to access appropriate healthcare because of cost or geography, while also excluding them from accessing functional supports through the NDIS.

“That is not an adequate safeguard for people with complex and highly vulnerable care needs.”
Mr Fear said the proposed changes fail to recognise the reality faced by many Australians living with serious illness, particularly in rural, regional and remote communities where access to specialist health and palliative care services is already limited.
“People approaching the end of life should not be left navigating gaps between systems while trying to manage serious illness, disability and distress,” Mr Fear said.

“We are calling on the Senate Committee and the Australian Government to ensure the legislation protects equitable access to both healthcare and disability supports for people with life-limiting conditions.”
PCA’s submission urges the Committee to consider safeguards to ensure people with permanent and significant disabilities arising from a terminal diagnosis are not left without essential supports.

PCA’s submission raises concerns regarding:
· Unreasonably precluding entry to the NDIS for people with life-limiting conditions who are undergoing treatment, or struggling to access treatment.
· Reducing the already-constrained capacity of the NDIS to respond flexibly and swiftly to fluctuating functional capacity and to rapid functional decline.
· Delayed decision-making timeframes that are unsuitable for people with short-life expectancies, including a proposed 90-day timeframe for decisions about unscheduled plan reassessments.
· Decreased NDIS capacity to intervene early to meet the functional support needs of people with progressive terminal conditions before they reach crisis point.
· Further fragmenting the care and supports offered to people with life-limiting conditions by the health system, the NDIS and other service systems.
PCA’s submission also encourages the Senate Committee to consider options to ensure the functional support needs of people under 65 with life-limiting conditions are prioritised in the disability reform process, with the aim of resolving the current service gap for those not eligible for NDIS supports.
Palliative Care Australia is the national peak body for palliative care.

ADF no place for woke gender bending

Family First National Director Lyle Shelton says Australia’s military must focus on defending the nation, not accommodating gender ideology.

Mr Shelton was responding to reports that transgender and non-binary recruits to the Australian Defence Force are assessed according to their “affirmed gender” rather than their biological sex in fitness testing and other service requirements.

“The military is not a laboratory for social experiments. Biological males should not be allowed to pass a female fitness test because they identify as female,” Mr Shelton said.

“The primary purpose of the Australian Defence Force is to defend Australia and win wars. It is not to validate personal identity choices or promote the latest ideological trends.”

“Family First agrees with the standards now being enforced by the United States Department of War under President Donald Trump. Military personnel should be assessed according to their biological sex, not an asserted gender identity.”

Mr Shelton said the revelations raised serious questions about combat readiness, fairness and interoperability with Australia’s most important defence ally.

“The fact that transgender and non-binary personnel are reportedly unable to participate in parts of the AUKUS nuclear submarine program because of United States military requirements should be a wake-up call for Canberra.”

“If people wish to change their gender, a career in the military may not be the right path for them. Australia’s national security is too important to be compromised by policies that deny biological reality.”

Side effects of gender conversion therapy treatments include impaired brain function, muscle atrophy and sterility.

Mr Shelton said Australians expected defence recruitment and promotion standards to be based on merit, capability and objective physical requirements.

“At a time when the ADF faces recruitment challenges and growing strategic threats in our region, Defence leaders should be focused on military effectiveness, not woke agendas.”

Investing in low-carbon manufacturing and jobs in the Hunter

The Minns Labor Government is calling on manufacturers across the Hunter to apply for a share of $225 million to create more local jobs and help NSW build the products and materials needed for the industries of the future.

The Hunter is one of NSW’s great manufacturing regions, with the skills, industrial base and supply chains needed to play a leading role in the next generation of low-carbon manufacturing.
The $225 million grant round will support commercial and construction-ready projects that can expand local production, attract private investment and create skilled jobs.

As global demand grows for clean energy and low-carbon products, the Minns Labor Government is backing NSW businesses to seize this global opportunity by manufacturing more of these products here at home, including:

· renewable energy components such as wind towers, solar panels, batteries and transmission cables
· low-carbon products such as blended cement, cross-laminated timber and biofuels
· emerging clean technologies such as new-generation renewables and storage, AI-driven agricultural systems and lithium battery recycling.

This funding builds on the success of the Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative grants, which are already backing more than 40 projects creating around 1,000 new jobs.

In the Hunter, that funding has supported projects including Hunter Valley Solar Foundry’s new large-scale solar panel manufacturing facility in Black Hill, which received $20 million and is expected to create 300 jobs.

Other Hunter projects backed through the first round include $4.85 million for FPR Energy Limited in Mayfield West to scale renewable heat and power technology, $1.1 million for Renewable Metals Pty Ltd in Muswellbrook to support development of NSW’s first lithium battery recycling refinery, and funding for Orica Australia Pty Ltd in Kooragang to explore industrial carbon capture and reuse.

This next round of funding is an opportunity for more Hunter manufacturers to expand, diversify and help build the industries that will support the region’s economic future.

Successful projects will need to attract significant private investment to NSW, with grant recipients required to match or exceed NSW Government funding dollar-for-dollar.

The investment will create jobs, further the transformation of the state’s energy system, and support NSW’s legislated targets to cut emissions by 70 per cent by 2035 and reach net zero by 2050.

Applications open today. For more information, visit: www.energy.nsw.gov.au/NetZeroManufacturing: http://www.energy.nsw.gov.au/NetZeroManufacturing

Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Penny Sharpe said:

“Our investment in low-carbon manufacturing has already supported the creation of around 1,000 jobs, and this boost will power the next wave of industry and opportunity in the Hunter and across NSW.

“This additional funding will help ensure NSW does not just import technology, but builds more of it locally to benefit communities and workers.”

Minister for the Hunter, Yasmin Catley said:

“The Hunter has always been an industrial powerhouse for NSW, and this funding is about making sure the region is at the centre of the next generation of manufacturing.

“There is a huge global opportunity in clean energy and low-carbon products, and we want Hunter businesses and workers to be in the box seat.”

Member for Port Stephens, Minister Kate Washington said:

“Our local industries are perfectly placed to seize this opportunity to become the leader in low-emissions manufacturing, benefiting local workers, their families and our communities in the Hunter.”

Member for Maitland, Minister Jenny Aitchison said:

“People in the Hunter are some of the most resilient Australians. We have always adapted, innovated and worked hard to deliver for NSW – from energy to commodities to heavy and advanced manufacturing.

“The Minns Labor Government is investing in our region to ensure the Hunter continues to offer secure, skilled and cutting-edge manufacturing jobs close to home, to support the generations of workers who have built this state and our nation.”

Member for Charlestown, Minister Jodie Harrison said:

“This funding will support local workers and manufacturers as the Hunter continues to transition to a low-carbon future.”

Member for Newcastle, Tim Crakanthorp said:

“Newcastle is leading the charge in the transition to net zero industries. We have already seen great Newcastle-based net zero manufacturers receive funding from the NSW Labor Government, and the Government is ready to support even more!

“The Net Zero Manufacturing Centre of Excellence at Tighes Hill TAFE is inspiring and educating the manufacturers of the future. Grant programs like this back in the innovative ideas coming out of the Centre of Excellence.”

Member for Wallsend, Sonia Hornery said:

“This welcome funding will create important jobs in low-carbon manufacturing across the Hunter, supporting local workers and a cleaner, more sustainable economy.”

Member for Cessnock, Clayton Barr said:

“The Hunter has a proud manufacturing history and is well placed to play a leading role in NSW’s clean energy future.

This grant funding will help local businesses expand production, attract investment and create skilled jobs across the region.”