The Albanese Government has delivered on its election commitment to boost gender equality and diversity in politics by announcing $5 million over 5 years to support the work of Women for Election Australia.
More than 4,000 women nationwide will directly benefit from this program.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: It is quarter time of the sitting fortnight. It's 100 days to cheaper childcare. And because of the vote in the Senate last night, we now know we will have a referendum for a constitutionally enshrined voice to Parliament later this year.
I am so happy to be speaking with you.
Parliament is about debate. Difference of opinion. Sometimes, conflict.
But today, I feel I am amongst like-minded Australians.
You and I are unusually interested in our Constitution.
The institutions that make our nation.
And the knowledge to help guide our future.
I was 19 before I got to visit this building.
Not many high school students from Western Australia make it here.
So, it is fair to say I am jealous of each of you.
And I encourage you to grab this opportunity.
Indigenous Australian university students will be given an opportunity to reach for the stars, with a new internship program supported by the Australian Space Agency (ASA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Launched in Adelaide today as part of the NASA Administrator’s visit to Australia, the National Indigenous Space Academy (NISA) will see up to five students studying in STEM fields travel to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL) in California for a 10 week full time summer internship program.
PATRICIA KARVELAS, HOST: The Government now has a sitting fortnight to get key legislation through the Parliament. But Labor faces an uphill battle on the Safeguard Mechanism which is about reducing emissions, and the Referendum Machineries Act, as the Coalition and the Greens withhold their support unless Labor makes some big concessions. Katy Gallagher is the Minister for Finance and Women and joins me ahead of this sitting fortnight. Welcome to Breakfast.
SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Thanks for having me on, PK.
The Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Attorney General, the Special Envoy for Reconciliation and the Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart met with the Referendum Engagement Group.
The fourth meeting of the Referendum Engagement Group was held in Adelaide, on the lands of the Kaurna people.
The Referendum Engagement Group acknowledged the progress towards a referendum to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Constitution, to give First Nations people a say on the matters that affect them.
KYAM MAHER, SA ATTORNEY-GENERAL: Thank you everyone for being here, it has been a distinct pleasure to host the referendum Engagement Group here in South Australia today, and as the South Australian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, it was an even greater pleasure to hear of the enthusiasm and the work that is being done in preparation of a referendum later this year. It was an even greater pleasure today to be able to share with the Referendum Engagement Group the work that we're doing in South Australia.
The Minister for Indigenous Australians, the Attorney‑General and the Special Envoy for Reconciliation and the Implementation of the UluruStatement from the Heart met with the Referendum Working Group in Adelaide.
Adelaide was the city where the 1967 ‘Yes’ campaign was launched, and working group members reflected on the importance of the 1967 referendum campaign as a model for national unity ahead of the 2023 referendum.
SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Thanks very much for coming out today. It's great to be here with my friend and colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and of course, the Acting Premier of South Australia as well. It's been a week of big announcements, obviously, the Government announcing the optimal pathway for the AUKUS nuclear submarines. And, you know, the single biggest undertaking of our defence uplift, our investment in our national security and importantly, a huge role for South Australia.
RITA SAFFIOTI, WA MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT: Thank you very much. It's a great pleasure to be here to mark another milestone on this project, the Tonkin Gap Project, together with the Morley-Ellenbrook rail line. On Wednesday, the traffic will be shifted on to this new Broun Avenue Bridge. So this bridge together, with the bus interchange, is over 60 metres wide. I'm advised it's wider than the Sydney Harbour Bridge. So, what we've got is four lanes of traffic that we'll be opening up on Wednesday.