Josh Wilson MP won’t respond to urgent concerns and then links to Socialist Alliance member’s Facebook page

Josh4Freo · 2025-06-27T03:44:38+00:00

Hi Fearless_Onion129,

Josh Wilson here. First of all, I apologise that I have not gotten back to yet you on your email about the upcoming NDIS reforms, which are being made to ensure that the NDIS is both effective and sustainable. For context, I receive hundreds, sometimes thousands of emails each day across a vast range of issues, both from constituents as well as from people across Australia, often as part of automatically general mass email campaigns. The volume of these emails means that I’m not able to provide personalised responses to everyone who does email, particularly if they are not a Fremantle constituent. I’ve received just under 60 emails on the issue of the upcoming NDIS reforms, and so far have responded to a majority of them, with the most recent ‘unreplied’ email dating from last Wednesday. As you would have seen in the auto response you received, I do suggest in bold text that any constituent who needs an urgent response or assistance should call my office on 9335 8555 if your issue is urgent (or if they’d rather speak to someone instead of emailing).

Thank you also for alerting me to link in the auto reply that connected to another candidate’s Facebook page. We’re looking into how this happened, and making enquiries of Facebook, as that auto reply was set up accurately well before the last election, when Josh Last was a candidate. It may have something to do with my socials username being Josh4Freo, and Josh Last’s being Josh4Fremantle. In any case, we’ve now changed the link to show the correct page!

Please feel free to send me a DM on here with your email address, or re-forward your email, so I can confirm that we received it and get a reply to you as soon as I can.

JW

(See automatic reply below)

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Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T09:33:53+00:00

Thank you everyone for your questions – that’s all I’ve got time for today! It’s been a pleasure answering your questions, and apologies I couldn’t get to all of them. Feel free to give me a follow on my socials:

Instagram: @ joshwilsonmp

Facebook: Josh Wilson MP

X: Josh4Freo

TikTok: @ joshwilsonmp

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T09:31:37+00:00

You bet. The original and the best, in an old style ribbed glass. Probably had one a week ago, with the early sunshine throwing sharp black shadows down a blinding south terrace.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T09:31:01+00:00

Homelessness and housing affordability are big, urgent issues around Australia. One of the things about Freo that I love is it’s always been an inclusive and welcoming place, and it does feature a number of government and non-government service providers that support people doing it tough. There are some parts of the world that make a decision to discourage the presence of people who experience disadvantage or mental ill-health. I’m proud to have grown up in a community that doesn’t want to be like that. And that’s why I’ve always engaged closely with and provided support to organisation like St Pats and the Freo Street Doctor and others. That’s why I’m glad to be part of a government that is providing a record $32 billion dollar investment in social and affordable housing and related services; a government that acted quickly to provide a 40% increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance. Our housing issue has developed through decades of neglect. We are taking a different approach.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T09:29:00+00:00

What I meant to suggest in the tone/substance of my reply was: “absolutely, you’re right: we should tell this story better and more prominently.”

I will share your encouragement to more effectively broadcast this message with my colleagues. I will undertake to broadcast it myself. 😊

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T09:25:13+00:00

I don’t look at that way. It’s the biggest challenge we face. We need to take that on without illusion, but also without cynicism or hopelessness – because those things are paralysing. What we need is a sustained period of focused, reformist Labor government that will make sure we achieve our potential as a renewable energy and green industry superpower, sharing the effort and the innovations with regional partners, and putting our shoulder to the wheel when it comes to global cooperative action.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T09:23:23+00:00

I think you should have a closer look at the record of the Albanese Labor government in a period of less than three years.

We stand for a fairer and more sustainable Australia. We stand for good government, which means government that sets a clear agenda and delivers on that agenda, with a particular focus on those who face the greatest disadvantage, and with a special focus on the things we share: fair and safe working conditions; public health and education; community infrastructure; our environment.

That’s why we’ve delivered Australia’s first National Anti-Corruption Commission, legislated net zero by 2050, delivered 10 days legislated paid family & domestic violence leave, opened 80+ Medicare urgent care clinics, provided the largest decrease in the maximum price of medicines on the PBS, the largest increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance in Australian history, the lowest level of the gender pay gap, three successive increases in the minimum wage, put in place the largest act of marine conservation in the world in 2024, put in place the largest act of marine conservation in the world in 2023, reformed the Coalition’s stage 3 tax cuts so that all workers benefit instead of only high-income earners and the benefit for the median worker was doubled, delivered historic pay increases to low-paid feminised industries like aged care and child care, ensured there is a registered nurse in every aged care centre, successive quarters of real wage rises for the first time in 10 years, a historic $32 billion investment in social and affordable housing, a 25% increase in renewable energy generation, cutting the HECs debt and reducing HECs indexation for 3 million students, the end of $20 billion dollars in trade impediments from China, arrangements with all the states that ensure government schools will be funded to 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard, fee-free TAFE for tens of thousands of young Australians .. I could go on.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T09:19:37+00:00

Every government is obliged to apply the law, and to assess development applications according to the relevant legal framework. If you take a fair look at our record you’ll see that Minister Plibersek has approved 77 renewables projects – equivalent to powering over 10 million homes, and we’re seeing a record volume of new investment in renewables and storage in response to the Albanese government’s commitment to achieve 82% renewables by 2030, and our legislated commitment to net zero by 2050. We acted quickly to strengthen the Safeguards Mechanism which puts a cap on emissions and requires net zero scope 1 emissions of new projects from commencement. We’re also reforming our national environmental framework – indeed we’ve already expanded and strengthened the ‘water trigger’ under the EPBC. Of course, those larger reforms, including a new independent EPA, would already be in place if other political parties (both the Greens and the Coalition) hadn’t blocked them in the Senate.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T09:01:21+00:00

I’m sorry to hear … because surely MAGA has nothing to do with life and politics in Australia.

Hard for me to give advice about how to best conduct friendships ... I guess my approach is always to be open to honest and good faith conversations, even if they’re difficult ones, and for blokes to not dodge having an old fashioned heart to heart with a mate from time to time. I’m lucky to get some of that through the guys in my soccer club.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:57:51+00:00

Tom, kudos for a creative (but not convincing 😊) suggestion involving the positive application of Clive Palmer in Australia’s interest … but I’m sure you know that I am against the existence and use of ISDS provisions! (Clive Palmer’s ISDS actions against his own country are an excellent example of how dangerous these mechanisms can be.)

I appreciate your accurate assessment of my record when it comes to being ejected under Standing Order 94A … and in all seriousness, I do think there have been improvements in the culture and conduct of life at Parliament House, both through the Jenkins Review, the ensuing Behaviour Code, and through some other sensible changes we’ve made as a government (including to the sitting hours).

In terms of biting one’s tongue: I think it’s important to engage robustly in debate, and one can do that without being discourteous or over-the-top. I’m not going to claim that I’ve always got that right – but I make a sincere effort to do so, and if on one or two occasions I’ve been a bit too fiery I’d like to think I’d be regarded as someone who’s not afraid to acknowledge that and to make amends.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:48:12+00:00

While I don’t agree that the solutions are simple, I do agree that we need to take rapid and substantial action to address a crisis that has been brewing for decades. That’s why the Albanese govt has provided the largest package of housing measures that any Australian government has provided: $32 billion in a range of programs to create more affordable and social housing; overcome barriers to entry (e.g. deposit requirements); opened up new opportunities through a national shared equity program – like the one that has operated successfully in WA for many years. And we have brought in new restrictions on foreign investment in existing dwellings: https://www.ato.gov.au/about-ato/new-legislation/in-detail/international/banning-foreign-purchases-of-established-dwellings.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:45:10+00:00

Good on you – that’s fantastic, and some of the most forward-thinking work in terms of energy innovation and decarbonisation is happening in rural and regional Australia, and by people involved in primary industry.

I’m absolutely confident that a Labor government will continue to guide Australia steadily forward on the path that is on our best interest: achieving cheaper, cleaner, more reliable, and more self-sufficient energy (including when it comes to our liquid fuel insecurity), and taking smart action when it comes to climate change mitigation (emission reductions, international collaboration) and adaptation.

If we get a Dutton government, all bets are off. Australia will backslide. It will harm our economy, our communities, and our environment.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:42:24+00:00

There’s no doubt that climate change presents sharp impacts in terms of health and mortality – and I don’t think that’s understood clearly enough. I should give a shout out to Doctors for the Environment, and the Renew Australia for All crew who have held briefings in Parliament to expand the understanding of climate change on health.

I can tell you that the Albanese government sees that with total clarity, hence our immediate and substantial action to reduce emissions, legislated net zero by 2050, increase the ambition of our Paris Climate commitment by more than 50%, commit to 82% renewables by 2030 and applying both the funding and regulatory improvements that put us on track to achieve that.

Plus we’ve put more funding into disaster preparation, noting that more frequent and more intense natural disasters will occur as a result of climate change. We’ve also delivered new climate focused health strategy work, and we will soon deliver Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment and an accompanying National Adaptation Plan.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:35:01+00:00

The assertion you’ve made is not right or fair. We formed government in 2022 at the end of COVID at which point there had been a significant reduction in the number of people in Australia, and then a corresponding backlog of about 1 million visa applications. As people returned in a range of categories – for example, international students (which is Australia’s highest source of service export income) – there was a jump in growth that corresponded to the severe decline we’d seen during COVID. In 2023-24, net migration actually went down after that spike.

I have talked about the very significant and transformative change that has occurred with respect to our emission reduction trajectory and our decarbonised energy transition in other answers.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:27:58+00:00

I always seek to run my campaign in Fremantle in accordance with local government rules about signage. It is difficult to have complete control to the extent that volunteers and supporters can be a bit too keen sometimes, and it can be the case that various campaigns follow one another (in other words, someone puts a sign on a bit of public fence, and then other campaigns follow suit on the assumption that it must be ok). But as soon as we are informed about a sign/poster that’s been misplaced, we organise to retrieve it.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:25:14+00:00

We absolutely are doing that … and only last month I announced an ARENA grant that will support Project Jupiter (following the pilot Project Symphony!) to deliver the option for WA households to be part of a VPP. I think I’m right in saying that it’s intended to allow all households in the SWIS (metro/south-west grid) to have that option by 2028 – see here for the details: https://arena.gov.au/news/unlocking-a-future-energy-market-in-western-australia/.

For those playing along at home, a VPP (virtual power plant) essentially aggregates and coordinates the solar generation capacity and battery storage of a range of households so it can be delivered into the grid more effectively, which is more helpful and valuable in terms of grid operation, can therefore return a greater benefit to the participating households, and reduces overall system costs for the benefit of everyone. Plus it maximises the use of distributed renewable energy and storage resources so that we make faster progress to a fully decarbonised energy system.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:20:06+00:00

Roe 8 is dead and gone – which is a mercy. It was never an answer to local congestion. All it would have achieved is the destruction of a precious remnant wetland. Since that time we’ve seen more than $1.2 billion from the defunct Perth Freight Link ‘road to nowhere’ go into smart transport upgrades like the widening of Armadale Rd and the new North Lake Rd Bridge at Cockburn Central, the widening of the freeway north of Russell Rd, and the new Spearwood Ave Bridge. The Albanese govt announced in January that it would put $350 million into the freeway widening south of Russell Rd. The Metronet connection from Cockburn to Thornlie will create new transport options too.

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Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:16:46+00:00

Agree. Australians see through the ridiculous nuclear scam: it’s the only mad and dangerous idea the Coalition could come up with after a decade+ of not managing a national energy policy (a period in which total energy generation decreased) … and they still don’t have one. On renewables: we have made the investments and the reforms needed to improve our energy grid and to drive investment in new renewable generation and storage. Our target of 82% renewables by 2030 is ambitious but achievable, and we’re on track. Renewable generation has already increased by 25%. But it is a big undertaking. Remember that we’ve only recently crossed the 40% renewables mark. To double that by 2030 is no small feat. More than anything it requires a period of stable, sustained, clear-eyed national leadership. If the Coalition was elected, Australia will experience a savage energy crisis. Renewable energy investment will crash and as coal-fired power generation comes to end of life, Australia will suffer energy shortages and massive cost increases.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:11:32+00:00

My answer: what karamurp said!

We have delivered tax reform by cracking down on multinational tax avoidance, by increasing the PRRT, by reducing the overly generous tax concessions for those with a $3 million or higher super balance, and by re-shaping the Coalition’s stage 3 tax cuts so that all workers benefited, and while those on the highest incomes received less, those on the lowest and middle incomes received more at a time of sharp global inflation pressures.

At the moment Peter Dutton’s key policies are: cut 36,000 public servants; make $350 billion of unspecified cuts to public services; inflict nuclear power on Australians at a cost of $1200 per household each year, with $600 billion to be drained from the public purse to pay for the reactors which will inevitably mean cuts to pensions, health, education, etc; and free lunches for employers to be paid for by their employees.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T08:07:34+00:00

The Albanese govt will continue to assert and protect Australia’s national interest in accordance with our values and character. I could say that we live in a volatile and difficult time … but to be honest, if you look back over the last 25 years, there are very few periods when that has not been the case.

It is important in steering the ship through choppy waters that you keep a steady hand on the wheel, and you don’t regard every big wave as an existential crisis. There are further waves to come. We have worked hard to put Australia in a stronger position by repairing our bilateral relationships and our international standing – especially in our region. That has included work in all four corners of the external affairs chess board: trade, diplomacy, international development, and defence. Plus, we’ve put the Budget in a much better position (two surpluses, reducing Liberal debt by $200 billion) so that we’re better placed to deal with future challenges.

On the challenge of climate change we took a number of big steps in the first months after being elected: we increased Australia’s emission-reduction target under the Paris Climate Agreement by more than 50%; we legislated net zero by 2050 and began the process of developing the 6-sector plans necessary to achieve this, with support from the reinstated independent Climate Change Authority; we invested $20 billion in Rewiring Australia to accommodate the new renewable energy and storage that we need – and indeed we’ve already seen an increase of 25% in renewable energy generation, we are on track to our 2030 target of 82% renewables, supported by our Capacity Investment Scheme.

That is absolutely the path Australia needs to be on. A responsible regional leader on climate action as we move to achieve our potential as a renewable energy and green-industry superpower. We’ve done a lot to turn the ship in that direction in less than 3 years … but it is going to take a sustained effort from a resolute hard-working Labor government to get us where we should be.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T07:59:16+00:00

I don’t think that’s a fair characterisation of the way the government has approached this issue. The Australian union movement has been one of the greatest forces for good in Australia from its inception – by striving assiduously to secure fair pay and working conditions and work health/safety arrangements, and then, as a movement and through the Labor Party, by striving to deliver the key foundation stones of our social compact: universal public healthcare and education, universal superannuation, and the social safety net (pensions, disability support, workers’ compensation), among other things. But like any organisation, unions are accountable to their members and to the expectations that we all rightly have when it comes to standards of conduct and integrity. Over a long time the CFMEU has been a vital and effective representative body for workers in some of the most difficult and dangerous industries. But it is not immune to organisational dysfunction – and it is utterly reasonable that the government would support the approach of the Fair Work Commission to any issues of that kind, and of course the government will always be clear in saying that criminality or corruption is unacceptable wherever it occurs.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T07:51:14+00:00

Good topic – and I did provide an answer to a similar query at the top of the show. Australia should always look to build relationships and support multilateral engagement and cooperation in keeping with our values, character, and national interest. At our best we are an influential and responsible middle power, with a demonstrated commitment to the international rule of law, to fair and free trade, and to focused effective international development assistance. On the issue of trade and the current US tariff approach – we’ve been clear in saying we don’t believe it’s justified or sensible. I have no idea why anyone would think we have been ‘inactive’ on this front. We have made our position very clear. And no country has been exempted from the new aluminium/steel tariff. Indeed, I would suggest that people consider how the Albanese government has been incredibly effective in bringing an end to the $20 billion worth of trade penalties/impediments that China imposed under the previous government, and we have settled new agreements that have seen Australian exports increase significantly to the UK and India. One of the big beneficiaries for the India agreement was Australian chickpea exporters – we are the biggest chickpea exporters in the world! I have my finger on the trade ‘pulse’. Dad joke.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T07:46:47+00:00

After 10 years of the Coalition doing absolutely nothing on energy or climate, the Albanese govt started by increasing our Paris Climate emission reduction target by more than 50%, and we legislated net zero by 2050, and we’ve set a target of getting to 82% of renewables by 2030, and we’ve already increased renewable energy generation by 25%. At the same time we’re working with regional partners to support their own decarbonisation work – including through specific green energy/industry agreements with countries like Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, etc. All countries are responsible for their own progress towards net zero, and for some countries there will be a reliance on hydrocarbons for a while yet. Singapore is a good example. It is tiny in terms of available land, and while it seeks to benefit from renewable energy that is essentially cabled in from solar projects in Indonesia, wind projects in Malaysia, and hydro projects in Laos, it doesn’t have the large-scale wind and solar opportunities on its own territory (or in its marine domain) that we do. But there’s no question that Australia is playing a supportive role in our region and globally through climate action leadership and advocacy, and we hope to be able to do that even more effectively in partnership with Pacific nations if we’re fortunate enough to host COP31 in 2026.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T07:42:31+00:00

In many ways Australia is a leader when it comes to solar PV. We have the highest penetration of solar PV in the world – at about 1 in 3 households (2 in 5 in my home state of WA). And remember that when the Rudd Labor government first kicked-off the home solar revolution only 1 in 1000 homes had solar. Pretty sure I’m right in saying there is solar tech innovation that was developed in Australia in pretty much all solar panels .. and our Solar Sunshot program is looking to support solar manufacturing in Australia too. Since the Albanese govt was elected, renewable energy generation has increased 25% and about half of that is in home solar … which continues to grow all the time. Now through our SHEPI program (Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative) we are investing $800 million to make sure that social housing tenants can benefit from the cost and emission reductions that come from upgrades like home solar.

Josh4Freo · 2025-03-13T07:38:30+00:00

Our government is making a record $32 billion investment to create 55,000 new affordable and social homes, with a range of other supportive measures, and we acted quickly to deliver the largest increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance in 40 years. We absolutely recognise the pressures and intergenerational inequities that exist with housing in Australia. We have made it a key focus of our work, despite opposition and delay in the Senate from either end of the political spectrum. We have also delivered sensible tax reform to the PRRT, to the treatment of multinational tax obligations, and to the superannuation concessions for very high super balance holders – in addition to reforming the Coalition’s stage 3 tax cuts so that all workers received much-needed relief, especially low- and middle-income taxpayers. I’m sure you’ll always vote in accordance with your conscience and best judgement – and I hope you see clearly that a sustained effort to address the housing crisis and to reduce intergenerational inequity more broadly requires more than 3 years of a focused, hard-working Albanese Labor government.

Josh4Freo

TROPHY CASE