It was a privilege to represent the Attorney-General, Senator the Hon. George Brandis QC in opening the 47th Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum.

"As Geoffrey Blainey wrote in his seminal history of the continent over fifty years ago, this ‘tyranny of distance’ had a profound and enduring effect upon the shaping of Australia’s history.  However, in revising his work for the 21^st century, Blainey was forced to acknowledge that while Australia’s geographic isolation remained, revolutionary developments in communications technology had, in the intervening half-century, reduced much of its tyranny.

As Blainey observed, ‘The timeless obstacles, imposed on the movements of people and goods by wide oceans and high mountains and long deserts, are being lowered’, and as a result, distance is fading, for both the message and the messenger.  And in concert with this revolution in communication has come an explosion in data, and the technologies we use to make sense of it.

These innovations now permeate nearly every aspect of our lives, from the way we interact with friends and family, to the provision of the essential services of government. 

Taken in full, these technologies have undoubtedly given the modern world innumerable social and economic benefits. But data is also vulnerable and not every use of it is to be welcomed.   And in an age where the use of data is growing exponentially, and advances in data analytics is transforming the way we use this wealth of information, data protection has emerged as a rapidly evolving regulatory and enforcement challenge."

 Check out my full speech below.

Over the past two weeks numerous parents who send their children to our local Catholic schools have contacted me, concerned about the changes our education reforms will have on our schools and our children. 

I understand that this is a complex issue with a lot of misinformation out there, and that parents are understandably worried, so here are the facts when it comes to funding Catholic schools in Australia.

The Federal Government has never funded Catholic schools directly, we have always funded the Catholic Education Commission. The CEC has sought, demanded, always had, and continues to have full autonomy on how to distribute those funds. 

During a meeting last Tuesday with Bishop Comensoli, Ross Fox, Peter Hamill, the Minister Simon Birmingham, and I, the Minister suggested that if the CEC felt the wording in the legislation did not provide them with enough security, they could provide him with wording they felt more comfortable with, and he would move an amendment in the Senate to have the legislation changed. We are yet to receive the proposed new wording the CEC would like us to introduce. 

Since 2004, the funding the CEC receives has been calculated on the basis of their schools’ SES scores. If a school, or parents at a particular school, believe they are being disadvantaged, the CEC can ask for an individual school to be audited by the Federal Department of Education. A number of schools in NSW have done so in the past, however I am advised that this has never been requested by the NSW CEC. 

The Quality Schools Package will increase money to the Catholic school system, including Broken Bay, by 3.8% in 2017 and by 43% over ten years. 

Last year, off their own bat, the CEC decided to increase fees for schools on the North Shore, and redistribute the funds to other parts of NSW, as is their prerogative. I opposed this at the time, but respect the Catholic Education Commission’s right to allocate funds.

Both my wife and I went to schools in the Catholic system; in fact, OLGC is my old school, and I fondly remember playing tackle football on the asphalt playground.  All my nieces and nephew attend Catholic schools, as does my daughter. So it will come as no surprise to you when I say I strongly believe in school choice, and the role that the Catholic system plays in that. 

Jason

"Not lip service, nor obsequious homage to superiors, nor servile observance of forms and customs...the Australian army is proof that individualism is the best and not the worst foundation upon which to build up collective discipline" General Sir John Monash"

It was a great privilege to be able to recognise the contribution of General Sir John Monash to our armed forces and national history in Parliament. 

Watch my speech

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has” - Margaret Mead.

Watch my speech about the Mums for Mums and how your Government is supporting community groups trying to make a difference.

Today, I announced six new Australian Government-funded mental health and suicide prevention services at the Community Care Northern Beaches in Mona Vale.

These services will significantly boost support available to those in need across Northern Sydney, an area that includes the Northern Beaches.

Mental health is one of the four pillars of our Government’s Long Term National Health Plan and we are committed to developing a better approach to mental health care.

These new services, commissioned by Northern Sydney Primary Health Network (PHN), are innovative, culturally sensitive and already on the ground to ensure that people get the right help, at the right time.

It is estimated that more than four million Australian adults experience mental ill-health each year, and in Northern Sydney this figure is 12 in every 100 people.

The Australian Government has allocated $14.2 million to the Northern Sydney PHN through to the end of June 2018 to commission mental health services that best support the needs of their local community.

As part of the commissioning process, the PHN has undertaken extensive research and community consultation to understand the specific mental health needs of this region.

The services can be tailored to individual requirements and will fill the gaps in mental health services in the North Sydney area.

Every service that this Government is supporting has been identified through a competitive tendering process as the best suited to meet our local needs.

It’s not about throwing more money at a mental health problem; it’s about making sure that we get the best possible outcome for our residents. The decisions are being made here, on the ground, because that’s how we will get the best results.

Speaking to Laurie (Community Care Northern Beaches) & Lynelle (Sydney North Primary Health Network)

Where does our food come from?

A question more and more Australians are asking themselves at the supermarket every day.

So far we have lacked unified system, but no longer! I am happy to inform you that the Turnbull Government has undertaken key reforms in this area.

We are rolling out a clear and unified system that will give you information about where your food comes from at the glance of an eye right now. 

Our new country of origin food labels will show you:

• Food that is grown, produced or made in Australia – these labels will feature the kangaroo symbol with a bar chart showing its percentage of Australian ingredients
• Food that is packed in Australia – will just show the bar chart with its Australian content 
• Imported foods – these labels will only show the product’s country of origin.

Starting 1 July next year these changes will be mandatory and apply to all products.

Importantly, imported foods that only undergo minor processing or packaging here cannot claim to be made here or carry the logo.

Vaccination Matters.

And we are putting our money where our mouth is with a $5.5 million immunisation awareness campaign to encourage Australian parents and carers to get their kids vaccinated, especially when there is so much misinformation out there. 

I have previously spoken to you about The Turnbull Government's efforts to strengthen vaccination rates through polices like: 'No Jab No Pay’ (has already resulted in over 200,000 extra children being vaccinated since the start of last year), and limiting childcare access to vaccinated children.

While some parents may have concerns about the safety of vaccination, it is an effective, proven tool that prevents the spread of serious diseases that cause hospitalisation, serious ongoing health conditions and sometimes death.

You Government is committed to ensuring all Australian children are fully vaccinated before they start school, by launching a new 3 year immunisation awareness campaign that will address myths and misconceptions about vaccinations.

Latest Telstra update

I have been assured by Telstra that full service has been restored to the Frenchs Forest area, following the Easter Long weekend outages. 

The damaged underwater cables causing the outages have been repaired. 

If this is not the case, please let me know by emailing jason.falinski.mp@aph.gov.au, or call my office on 8484 0300. 

Watch my interview with Peter Van Onselen on Sky News discussing the need for good ideas in politics, the makeup of our Senate and it's implications for our current political climate, as well as the upcoming Federal Budget. 

I had the absolute honour of attending many ANZAC Day services throughout the Northern Beaches today.

It was moving to see how many families joined the different events to commemorate our servicemen and women. Whether it to be commemorate a family relation, or teach their children about this important day, you all came out in force.

Below you can watch and reach my ANZAC Day commemorative address, which I had the pleasure of giving at the Avalon RSL service.