Photo caption: Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton delivered his valedictory speech to Parliament last week.

Valedictory speech

It was an incredible honour to deliver my valedictory speech to the House of Representatives last week, just short of 17 years since I was elected as the Member for Parkes.

I was really pleased that all my family and a lot of friends and supporters from the electorate, as well as current and former staff, were able to travel to Canberra to be there in person. I couldn’t have done this job for the past 17 years without their support and my speech was an opportunity to thank all those who have played a part in this journey.

I also took the opportunity to highlight some of my achievements over the years such as the Western Cancer Centre in Dubbo, the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge, the Baaka Cultural Centre in Wilcannia, the library in Broken Hill, the small animal abattoir in Bourke, and the Inland Rail. But it’s some of the more personal small differences and policy changes I’ve been involved in that are positively impacting people’s lives that I’m most proud of.

In my very first speech to Parliament, I said that I have a deep and unshakeable belief in inland Australia, and I still believe that today. It holds the keys to the future prosperity of our country, but regional Australia should not be taken for granted. I’m becoming increasingly concerned that the regions are being compromised so that city-dwellers can feel good about saving the planet.

So, my final message to Parliament was to stop treating regional Australia as a magic pudding for reducing emissions, or future generations will be forced to worry about food security. We also need to stop making our children fearful of the future and instead reassure them that they live in the best country in the world and have every opportunity to succeed in life.

Insincere On Farm Connectivity Program

Many farmers in my electorate have missed out on claiming rebates to purchase smart farming equipment after the On Farm Connectivity Program closed less than a week after applications opened.

It’s baffling that all $18 million of Round 2 was exhausted in less than one week when Round 1, worth $15 million, was open for six months!

It’s obviously been a very popular program, but something isn’t adding up. The insincere application process has only created frustration and disappointment amongst suppliers and growers.

This process needs to be reassessed to ensure it’s fair for everyone. I do hope that there were many farmers in my electorate who were successful, but there were certainly people who missed out.

Social media age limit

Last week the Labor Government introduced its legislation to enforce an age limit of 16 for social media, including Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and X.

The Coalition committed to implementing an age limit of 16 back in June because it’s clear that social media is creating a problem for our young people. Our children are vulnerable and while limiting access to anyone under 16 does have some merits, it is a vexed issue. A big problem is age verification.

I’ve been contacted by a number of my constituents who are concerned about this legislation for various reasons, but the major one is privacy concerns. I understand these concerns and agree that we don’t need to be giving social media companies access to all our personal information.

We need to full review the details of this Bill – it’s important that clear privacy protections are included in this legislation.

Super tax concerns

Labor has refused to rule out forcing farmers to pay tax on the unrealised capital gains of their farm, if the property is held in a self-managed super fund (SMSF).

In Parliament House last week, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed that farmers would have to find the cash to pay the tax even if they have a failed season with no income. Minister Collins’ response was really quite chilling. She clearly had no understanding or concern of the enormous financial hardship that this decision will make for so many farmers.

Farmers have been using SMSF for succession planning and these changes will mean many farms will have to get sold to pay tax on unrealised gains.