MARK DREYFUS MP

Blowing the whistle, or speaking out against suspected wrongdoing in the workplace, can be a very risky course of action.

I rise today to congratulate the terrific children who have been given the responsibility of being a school captain or holding a leadership role at the 49 primary and secondary schools in my electorate.

This legislation is long overdue. It is legislation which the former government should have introduced many years ago. This legislation as is the case with very much of the legislation that this government has been able to introduce in the parliament is legislation which I commend to the House.

There are vulnerable minorities in our society. There are vulnerable minorities who suffer from discrimination by other parts of our society. The people who are part of those vulnerable minorities have rights, and legislation like this ensures that those rights are respected and it defends those rights

The Red Cross, alongside the Country Fire Authority and other volunteer organisations, are working in the bush as we speak here. More than ever, we thank them for their work. In this crucible, in which our resolve is cast, we find our cohesion as a nation and resilience as a people.

I grieve for those who have passed, for those whose loved ones have passed and for those who have lost everything. I hope they can still have hope for the future. We are behind you. We will help you. As the Prime Minister said today and the Leader of the Opposition confirmed, the whole of this parliament is committed to doing whatever it takes to put these communities and all of those affected back on their feet.

I rise today to speak about Jack Pompei OAM, a man who touched many lives and helped shape our local community

The amendments in the Foreign Evidence Amendment Bill 2008 facilitate the process of adducing business records held overseas as evidence in Australian courts. By changing the Foreign Evidence Act, they will assist in the prosecution of persons who, by hiding money in the world's shadowy places, seek to defraud the Commonwealth. They will add to the federal government's arsenal against tax evasion, money laundering and organised crime.

The true measure of a government is not its performance during a time of prosperity but its response in a time of crisis. The Nation Building and Jobs Plan, coming on top of the Economic Security Strategy delivered in December, shows the depths of this governments commitment to doing all it can to protect Australian jobs and families from the maelstrom that has engulfed the global economic system.

These additional estimates bills are presented during a crisis that is unprecedented in our lifetime not just in scale but due to the global nature of the modern economic system.