September 2022 Newsletter

After another busy sitting week, I thought I’d give you a quick update on what went down in Parliament House.

We're returning integrity and trust to Parliament.

At the 2022 Federal Election, we demanded a return to integrity and trust in our Parliament.

And on Wednesday, we introduced legislation to establish a National Anti-Corruption Commission.

This powerful, independent and transparent commission will investigate serious or systemic corruption in the federal public sector. It will also have the power to hold public hearings.

It will be able to investigate corrupt conduct across federal politics and look into things that happened before its creation.

Many of you put your trust in me to restore integrity to politics, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

Learn More

We're delivering cheaper early childhood education.

During the election, many families I met with, told me that the cost of early childhood education was putting immense pressure on the household budget. Up to 10,000 families in Bennelong and over a million more around Australia will benefit from our cheaper early childhood reforms from July next year. This legislation is life-changing and will make a real difference to family budgets. A family earning $120,000 with one child in centre-based daycare three days a week, will be more than $1,700 better off a year. I know this is just one part of what’s needed to help tackle the cost of living crisis across the country and that there is more work to do. Learn More

We're implementing the Respect@Work Report in full.

You might remember last year that there was a really important report called Respect@Work which discussed the widespread incidences of sexual harassment and violence in Australian workplaces. The former government promised to implement all 55 recommendations, but they failed to deliver. During the election, we promised to implement all 55 recommendations of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s, Respect@Work Report. As part of this, we introduced a new law this week that requires employers to take active preventative measures to keep workers safe from sexual harassment. I believe that everyone deserves to be safe and free from harassment at work and it’s important that employers understand their duties to their employees, read more here: Learn More

We're delivering cheaper medication.

We promised to strengthen Medicare and cut the cost of medication, and we’re getting on with that promise.

This week we debated legislation to deliver the biggest cut to the cost of medication in the 75-year history of the PBS, down from $42.50 to $30.

This is not just a great thing for the hip pockets of millions of Australian patients; it’s also good for their health.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics told us that as many as 900,000 Australians every year choose to go without medication that their doctor has prescribed for their health.

These changes will save someone taking one type of medication a month, $150 every year and a family with two or three types of medication, $300-$450 a year.

Learn More

Lastly, I delivered my inaugural speech.

It was an honour to deliver my first speech to parliament this week in front of an audience that included friends, family and colleagues.

Thank you to all those who tuned in to watch. I’m proud to be the voice of our beautiful Bennelong community.

As always, if you have any questions about legislation passed in Parliament this week or want to know more, please feel free to contact me via email jerome.laxale.mp@aph.gov.au or call my office on 02 9869 4288.

Yours sincerely,

Jerome Laxale MP
Member for Bennelong

During my time as a Councillor and Mayor, I used social media to connect and engage with our local community. I’d like to extend that level of service to my new role as your federal MP.

Please follow me online, and in particular, engage with comments and join my Facebook Group “Dear Jerome Laxale”. See you online!