My earliest political memory is of sitting on the kitchen lino, playing. Mum was on the phone to the bank, negotiating more time to manage the tension of the family budget with the burden of the 18 per cent interest rate on the family home and the obligations of Dad’s plumbing business. Mum negotiated because Dad worked seven days a week, as well as doing the council bin run at dawn. Mum squeezed in shifts as a retail assistant at a day-night chemist. I would’ve been about six.

It was an honour to address the inaugural CPAC Conference in Sydney on the 9th of August. 

Most people have a longer memory than those on the crossbench and in Labor, but for those who can't remember, let me help them out.

I'm a big believer in the rule of law and in the notion that we all must be equal before it.

The latest Adani protest in North Queensland isn't remotely a breach of press freedom, nor is it a return to the days of protests being banned in Queensland. If anything, the Queensland police protected the stopadani.com crowd and ensured that they had a voice and that they could protest safely, despite the fact that they were engaged in dangerous behaviours.

The Greens do not have a monopoly on compassion. Indeed, there is nothing compassionate or fair about encouraging people to pay tens of thousands of dollars to organised criminal people-smuggling rings.

2019 has been already been a bad year for some our hitherto most trusted institutions. However, the Hayne Royal Commission report on misconduct in the banking and financial services sector, and the conviction of Cardinal George Pell...

National security, keeping Australians safe from harm, is the highest priority of every government, but it is a particularly important priority for this government.

 I rise to speak in support of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Protecting Your Superannuation Package) Bill 2018. The government has been working tirelessly to ensure that more of the money earned by Australians stays with Australians.

Today, tabled in this chamber was the report of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs dealing with its inquiry into the proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act that came from the Labor Party and also the Greens.