Speeches

  • Local first

    CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS National Police Remembrance Day Remembrance Day Hinkler Electorate: Small Business   Mr BATT (Hinkler—Deputy Nationals Whip) (09:42): Like many in this House, I recently attended a moving National Police Remembrance Day event on 29 September. I joined my community in Bundaberg to pay respects to the police officers who run towards danger when…

  • Beer tax freeze

    BILLS Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025 Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025 Second Reading Mr BATT (Hinkler—Deputy Nationals Whip) (18:55) I rise to speak to the Excise Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Draught Beer) Bill 2025. My electorate of Hinkler is famous all over Australia and…

  • Hinkler champions

    27 October, 2025 Last week, I had the privilege of personally presenting 17 sporting champions from Hinkler with certificates of recognition for their amazing efforts across a wide range of sports, including Lincoln Davis from Hervey Bay, who represented Australia in Muay Thai. These school-age stars represented our region in sports such as basketball, touch…

  • Get Ready

    It’s Get Ready Queensland Week, a time to prepare for unpredictable weather. Get Ready Queensland’s catchphrase, ‘Weather doesn’t plan – but you can,’ rings true for my community of Hinkler. In the five years prior to being elected as the federal member for Hinkler, I worked as the community resilience and disaster management officer at…

  • Local media

    I’d like to applaud the local media in my electorate of Hinkler for helping me spread the word about democracy and how civics works in all three levels of government, and for letting the people of Hinkler know what’s happening in the parliament while I’m here in Canberra. A special mention goes to the eloquent…

  • Road safety

    Too many lives are being lost on our roads. In my electorate, I’m sad to say the statistics are among the worst in Queensland. The Wide Bay district, which includes Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, has recorded the highest number of road crash deaths this year—31 lives lost. That is 11 more than the same time…