Newsletters 2024

Now that we're in the final two parliamentary sitting weeks of the year, it appears the Government has shifted its focus to just two things: cheap political point scoring, and forcing through reform that really should have been introduced for proper scrutiny and debate months ago.

As you can imagine, it's been a particularly frustrating few days.

We kicked off the sitting week with a highly problematic package of electoral reforms that the Government is ramming through Parliament with the Coalition's support.

As Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman MP noted while introducing the legislation on Monday, this is the single biggest change to our democracy in over 40 years. And yet, despite crossbench attempts to refer it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for scrutiny, this bill was introduced to the Lower House on Monday, and passed on Wednesday. Tellingly not a single member of either of the major parties – beyond the Minister who introduced it for the Government and the Shadow Minister who responded – even bothered to speak on the legislation.

While I absolutely agree that reforms are needed to increase transparency and defend our democracy from undue influence, let's be real and call this bill as it is: a blatant, cynical attempt to protect the cosy two-party duopoly. Here's what I had to say about it in Parliament.

There was also a great deal of chatter about the Government's proposed social media ban for under 16s. After speaking at length with subject matter experts, educators, parents, young Australians and others in our community, I am opposing this proposal as I believe it will do more harm than good for the mental health and wellbeing of our kids.

There are multiple issues with this ban. Firstly, we have no idea how the platforms will verify a user's age — and as a parent, I have no appetite whatsoever for my children to be uploading their birth certificates onto Facebook or Snapchat for verification. Secondly, by relying on an under-16 ban, we're essentially absolving social media platforms from responsibility for the types of content that they are publishing, instead of putting the onus of care on these companies to make sure they are providing content that is suitable for their users. Legislation should be about doing what's best for our citizens and not about simply doing what looks good on paper. I will continue to hold the government to account on this regard as the debate continues.

I'm also keeping my eye on the Government's Migration Amendment Bill, a concerning piece of legislation that if passed, will help the government get around the High Court's NZYQ ruling against the indefinite detention of non-citizens. I really wish the government would put as much effort into drafting laws to ban gambling advertising as they have put in to trying to legislate their way around High Court rulings!

I also had the opportunity to once again raise the issue of the elevated levels of aircraft noise affecting residents of Boronia Park and Hunters Hill and call for greater community consultation around proposed reforms to the Sydney Airport demand management framework. While our community is largely supportive of many of the measures in this bill it was a good opportunity to call the government’s attention to the ongoing overuse of the North-South runway and our community’s disproportionate share of aircraft noise. I was fascinated that the two other MPs who represent communities most affected by this noise – those being the Member for Bennelong and the Member for Grayndler – were nowhere to be seen during the debate...

Thank you to all who have been in touch to share your views on these and other topics. I'll be back in Canberra next week for the final sitting week of the year and I think it’s going to be doozy so watch this space.

- KT

WHAT'S ON IN NORTH SYDNEY

IN THE NEWS

ABC Sydney Breakfast with Craig Reucassel - ABC Radio Sydney, 22 November 2024. Speaking on the Government's proposed social media ban, Kylea argues that "a ban is not going to work. We have no way to enforce it, there is no technology to bring this into being, and it has been tried in other markets and it has failed." Listen from the 2:03:30 mark.

'It's just not a level playing field': Kylea on Government's electoral reforms and proposed social media ban - ABC News Breakfast, 22 November 2024. Kylea discusses a number of major issues with the government’s proposed social media ban for under 16s — including the practicality of having people verify their age, and the failure to hold platforms responsibile for the content they publish — as well as the highly problematic package of electoral reforms that the Government has forced through the lower house with the Opposition's support.

Tink urges voters to consider local MPs behaviour during question time at the polls - The Guardian, 21 November 2024. Kylea has urged voters to consider their local federal member’s behaviour in question time at the polls, highlighting the poor conduct she has witnessed in her first term in parliament. She was joined by fellow community independent Zali Steggall, who said “Australian taxpayers are paying for question time” and should therefore get more out of it beyond “spin and bad behaviour”.

'Detrimental impact': Independent MP Kylea Tink opposes social media ban - ABC News, 21 November 2024. Kylea says she will oppose the proposed social media ban, describing the plans as an example of Labor chasing headlines over substantive policy reform. "If what's being dished up on social media is having a negative impact on young people, then platforms should be held to account for how that content is moderated," she says.

Rushed deportation bill faces Senate headwinds - AAP Newswire, 21 November 2024. Media coverage of the Government's plan to pay countries to accept deported non-citizens, which has been opposed by a Labor-led parliamentary committee on Human Rights. Kylea has spoken out against the bill, saying: “We are yet again here debating a government’s rushed attempt to ensure they can continue to impose their own political will rather than abide by international law."

Kylea calls for federal battery rebate scheme to support 1m household batteries - Media release, 19 November 2024. Kylea has advocated in Federal Parliament for a federally funded, national battery rebate scheme to support households and small businesses to invest in battery storage technology, referencing a Solar Citizens petition of over 8,000 signatures calling for this support.

Electoral reform, 2035 climate targets & Kylea's future in politics - Sky News, 18 November 2024. In a panel interview, Kylea discusses the 'duopoly' at play by major parties in electoral reforms, stating: "We talk a lot in this country about equality and equity. What I'm arguing for is that it should be equitable. All Australians should be able to access this political system." She goes on to speak about climate targets and her future in politics.

Climate of secrecy “not an option” when it comes to climate policy - Media Release, 18 November 2024. With the Prime Minister confirming his government has no intention of releasing Labor’s 2035 emissions reduction target prior to the next election, this government - which promised transparency and ambition during the 2022 election - is creating a climate of secrecy when it comes to Australia’s climate policies.

More media mentions here.