The election result was formally declared by the AEC on Friday 29 May and it so good to be joined by some of our Team Pocock volunteers for this. It’s such a privilege to have the chance to keep representing a community I love and it was terrific to have the opportunity to again thank the people of the ACT, my family, my team and the brilliant volunteers who I couldn't have done this without. I’m really looking forward to another three years working hard for our community.
We’ve now got the sitting calendar for the remainder of this year, with federal parliament not returning until 22 July and a pretty light on schedule after that, but I’ll be looking to make the most of it. We’ve got one week of Senate Estimates in October which will be a really important chance for scrutiny after budget estimates were cut short by the federal election.
The shorter sitting calendar leaves plenty of time to get stuck into some critical community work and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.
Speaking out on Gas, Gaza, Seniors and Women’s safety
Along with many of you I was hugely disappointed that the re-elected Albanese Government’s first act after being re-elected was to approve the North West Shelf Project extension.
This will be the biggest fossil fuel project in Australia, pumping out 4.4 billion tonnes of carbon emissions over the life of the project, equivalent to ten times Australia’s total current domestic emissions. It betrays future generations and will do nothing to increase east coast gas supply or lower prices for households and businesses. Worse still, our poorly designed Petroleum Resource Rent Tax means we won’t get a fair return on the development and sale of this gas. I spoke out strongly against the decision in the media, including writing this opinion piece, and have also launched a petition which I intend to table in parliament. I’d be grateful if you can support this and share it with your networks.
It was tremendous to see more than 1,000 Canberrans turn out to hear from Dr Mohammed Mustafa at the Eyes on the Ground in Gaza public lecture. It was a powerful event focused on our shared humanity and an important way to keep attention focused on the need for more urgent action in response to the horrors continuing to unfold in Gaza. As I argued in this opinion piece, if that’s not our country’s red line, then I don’t know what is. If you missed the event you can watch a recording in full here. For over a year I’ve been calling for targeted sanctions and the announcement this week by Australia, the UK, Canada, Norway and France was a welcome first step that’s well overdue and needs to go further. I will keep up the pressure for more urgent action by Australia and the international community to apply pressure on the Israeli Government to stop the killing of civilians and ongoing withholding of humanitarian aid. 
The second significant thing the Albanese Government did since resuming office was to delay implementation of the Aged Care reforms that passed parliament with multi-partisan support at the end of last year. While there is broad agreement that delaying some elements of the reform package is necessary to enable more time to prepare, there is no reason to delay the commencement of 83,000 promised new Home Care packages, due to roll out on 1 July but now postponed until November. We know the ACT has some of the longest assessment times in the country and that nationally more than 82,000 people are already on the wait list. Already someone looking for a level 4 package faces a wait of some 12 to 15 months. This delay will have a huge impact on older Australians and their families needing support. Research shows that the longer people go without appropriate Home Care supports, the higher their risk of injury, hospitalisation and earlier entry into residential aged care. People are dying while waiting for support and that is, as the Health Minister said from opposition, a national disgrace.
I coordinated an open letter from nine other independents on the crossbench calling on the Albanese Government to bring forward at least 20,000 packages and will keep pushing this when parliament returns if we haven’t seen any action in response. The new packages were funded in the last budget and older Australians can’t afford to wait any longer.
Women’s safety has also been in the spotlight again following two attacks in two months on women out running in Canberra. This is completely unacceptable and we need to call out this behaviour and push harder for both cultural and behavioural change as well as more practical safety measures, like adequate lighting on popular running tracks, especially during the winter months. We also need to put more of the onus on men to fix this, not just tell women to “stay vigilant”. It’s something I’ve tried to spark more of a conversation around this and get men in particular to really think about it, including what it means to be a man and focus more on positive masculinity.
Upcoming Town Hall at the ANU
Another big ongoing issue for our community has been university governance and higher education reform more broadly, given the ACT is without doubt, a university town. The PM has signalled that wiping 20% of student debt will be the first bill introduced when parliament resumes. While welcome, this doesn’t deal with the structural changes we know from the Universities Accord are so desperately needed around the cost of degrees, especially reforming the failed Job Ready Graduates, and changing the timing of indexation on student debt.
I'll be hosting my second community Town Hall for the year on Tuesday 17 June from 5.30 - 7pm at Manning Clark Hall in the Lowitja O’Donoghue Cultural Centre, ANU.
We'll be talking about a whole host of priorities alongside university matters, including environmental law reform, gas, health, aged care, disability supports, housing and integrity. Come along for a jam-packed night of discussion. I'll be taking questions, getting your feedback, ideas and doing a lot of listening.
Please RSVP here to reserve your spot, I’d love to see you there.
A Night Out for Homelessness
This Friday 13 June from 5.30pm at Palace Electric Cinema, Independent MLA Tom Emerson will be hosting an event to raise awareness and funds for people experiencing homelessness.
The evening will consist of a panel discussion between Tom, Canberra/Goulburn Vinnies CEO Lucy Hohnen, Community Housing Canberra CEO Nathan Dal Bon and Nguru Manager at Canberra Rape Crisis Centre Paula McGrady.
This will be followed by a screening of the documentary RUNN. Produced by local Canberra company WildBear Entertainment, RUNN follows Nedd Brockmann, an electrician turned national hero, as he embarks on a 4000km run across Australia to raise money for people experiencing homelessness.
Anti-Bullying Rapid Review
Earlier this year, Education Minister Jason Clare announced an Anti-Bullying Rapid Review to look at options for the development of a consistent national standard for responding to bullying and its underlying causes in both government and non-government schools.
I am receiving a growing number of concerns about primary and secondary education so wanted to share details of this review with you and the online public submission process that closes on 20 June 2025. You can read more about the review here and make a submission - including an anonymous one - here.
Best,
David