It’s hard to believe it’s been a month since the election and a week since the formal AEC declaration. There’s been a huge amount going on during this time so I wanted to share a quick update.
Policy priorities
With just over a month until parliament returns for its first sitting of the new term, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has laid out the government’s top three legislative priorities.
This includes introducing legislation to provide for 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave, to establish Jobs and Skills Australia, and to legislate their 43% by 2030 emissions reduction target.
After more than a decade of inaction and hugely damaging climate wars that have left us so far behind on the incredible opportunity of the smart energy transition. Now is the time to crack on with catching up and making some major progress.
I’ve been asked a lot over recent days about whether I will vote in support of the 43% target.
We need a target with integrity, that puts an end to climate inaction, banks some gains and provides a platform to push forward for more ambition.
Cleaning up the Emissions Reduction Fund, getting all the junk credits out of the system, stopping the development of new ways to generate questionable carbon credits must go alongside any target if it is to be meaningful.
You can see my full response in this video and in my speech at the Climate Action Network Australian conference on Tuesday.
And when it comes to legislative priorities, I am continuing to push for restoring Territory rights to be front and centre among them. More updates on this very soon.
Catching up with the community
As well as #ShowYourStripes day on Tuesday (thanks to Common Grace for the scarf!), this week also marks Refugee Week and it was an honour to be invited to the Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services Giving Day morning tea. Thank you so much for the work you do every day along with so many others welcoming and supporting refugees in our community.
I also caught up with the Refugee Action Campaign. The new government has made some important commitments in this area, including putting an end to Temporary Protection Visas and increasing Australia’s humanitarian intake – both raised as key issues in our community during the campaign.
These conversations were alongside a whole host of others with people in the community and meetings with local and national businesses and organisations ranging from National Capital Attractions, to the Tech Council of Australia and members of the super impressive team of emerging young leaders launching Australia’s first youth-led national security strategy.
New digs
Over the past week we have picked up keys to both the Electorate and Parliament House offices and have been busy getting them set up and operational.
This morning the old signage at the Electorate office came down and while it might be a little while before the new one goes up, our doors are open and we are excited to be there serving our community.
Save the date for our ‘official’ electorate office opening, 12:30pm on Friday 8 July at Shop 1, 25 Ernest Cavanagh St, Gunghalin, ACT 2912. You can RSVP here.
For now, here are our contact details for keeping in touch:
Electorate Office
Shop 1, 25 Ernest Cavanagh St, Gunghalin, ACT 2912
P | +61 6247 6444
Parliament House
P | +61 2 6277 3117
PO Box 6100, Senate, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600
Upcoming events
In a couple of weeks’ time I am planning a trip to Norfolk Island where I’m looking forward to meeting with the community and learning more about the easternmost part of our electorate. More details to follow soon and I will share a wrap up of our visit afterwards.
I’m also excited about our first Town Hall meeting on 20 July (register here) which is shaping up to be a terrific opportunity to get together and discuss ideas, feedback and your priorities heading into the first parliamentary sitting fortnight. You can see the proposed parliamentary sitting schedule here and if you would like to come along and watch the swearing in on 26 July, you are very welcome to do that too.
In the meantime, please keep in touch and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Senator David Pocock