Cathy in Parliament

Presented in conjunction with member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, the Office for Regional Australia Bill sought to develop an office for regional Australia modelled on the Productivity Commission, where the community was provided with greater input to policy implementation; which supported the development of regional strategic plans and regional deals; and which backed the Regional Development Australia network’s research and analysis to drive development in regional Australia.

Introduced to parliament in 2018, the Regional, Rural and Remote Education Commissioner Bill established a regional, rural and remote education commissioner to enhance the access, outcomes, opportunities and strategies to support educational institutions in regional Australia.

The National Integrity (Parliamentary Standards) Bill was part of a suite of bills – including the National Integrity Commission Bill 2018 – designed to create a culture of integrity and honesty in parliament, the public sector and the Australian system of government.

The National Integrity Commission Bill aimed to establish the Australian National Integrity Commission as an independent, broad-based, public sector anti-corruption commission for the Commonwealth. The Bill built on the work of others, such as the Committee of Privileges and Members’ Interests, the Australian Greens and The Australia Institute’s National Integrity Committee, and was moved by Cathy following broad scale public consultation, which demonstrated community appetite for measures that would create a culture of integrity and a proactive, solutions-focused approach to preventing corruption.

Moved by Cathy McGowan in 2015, this Bill called on the federal government to ensure a regional impact statement – the Regional Australia Statement – was prepared to accompany every year’s federal budget, to ensure the impact of government fiscal policy decisions on regional Australia was well understood.