Senate Chamber (part 2 of 3)
14 October 2026
Contents updated on 15 Oct 2026
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Senate Parliament of Australia
Follow its sittings00:00 - 00:16
Speaker 6
competing under numerous flags here. We need one country, one people, one shared Australian identity. Melbourne deserves better. Australia deserves better. And as I said yesterday, it's one nation or no nation.
00:16 - 00:19
Speaker 2
Senator Walsh. Senator Thorpe.
00:19 - 00:51
Speaker 19
Ah, thank you, Acting Deputy President. Well, today I'm so pleased to read you a speech from Sameea, an amazing young Victorian woman, as part of the Raise Our Voice in Parliament campaign. Here is what Sameea had to say. Hi, my name is Sameea. I'm 16 years old.
I was born in Egypt and moved to Australia when I was five. I've grown up here. My friends are here. My school is here. My future is here, and I'm an Australian citizen.
00:51 - 01:17
Speaker 14
I'm also Muslim. I'm proud of my Egyptian background, my religion, and my family. But sometimes, even after living here for most of my life, I still feel like I have to prove that I belong. When politicians and public figures make comments that target migrants, Muslims, or multiculturalism, those words don't just disappear when the speech ends. They reach people like me.
01:17 - 02:15
Speaker 9
They make us wonder, do I really belong here? Am I Australian enough? And I don't think any 16-year-old should ever have to think that. This issue isn't just about me. Australia is home to the world's oldest continuing cultures belonging to First Nations peoples and to millions of people whose families have come here from around the world.
That's why I want Parliament to strengthen Australia's protections against racism and Islamophobia and create clearer ways for young people to report and receive support when they experience it. I want an Australia where belonging isn't something you have to earn because of your religion, your skin color, culture, or your parents' birthplace. I shouldn't have to choose between being Egyptian, Muslim, and Australian. I am all three. Thank you, Sameea, for sharing your speech.
02:15 - 02:17
Speaker 1
Senator Lambie.
02:17 - 03:16
Speaker 7
Thank you. Tasmania has the oldest, poorest, and sickest population in the country. As the Tasmanian Department of Health's own statistics report, we consistently rank among the lowest for health outcomes and recently had the lowest-ranked emergency department in the country. When you have high rates of disability, greater socioeconomic disadvantage, and risk factors like physical inactivity, smoking, and poor diet, you absolutely cannot have a public system that is not up to task. Tasmania's public hospitals are overrun and under-resourced.
It is quite literally a matter of life and death. It was recently reported that there are around 97,000 entries across Tasmania's public health system health waiting list. In a state of around 600,000 people, that means that one in six are stuck on the waiting for care. You know what the department's solution was? They revised down their performance targets so that one in three elective surgery patients can wait longer than clinically recommended.