It’s an honour to rise today as a representative of the people of Indi to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to her life spent in service to the Commonwealth and to the way she fulfilled her duty with dignity, honour and good humour.

As members of the crossbench in the House of Representatives and the Senate, we were elected by our communities for our commitment to fight for integrity in politics and hold the Government to account when it comes to delivering a federal integrity commission.

It’s heartening that this government is moving quickly on the recommendations arising from the royal commission into aged care.

This is a once in a generation opportunity to implement an integrity commission that holds politicians to account and creates a better level of transparency and governance at the federal level.

Across the board, in our large regional centres, in our bustling tourist hotspots, in small towns, employers are struggling to find staff.

Family and domestic violence is an epidemic in our society and this is just one of many measures the government must take to address an issue that leaves a wide and deep scar across the lives of too many people, predominantly women and children.

Nowhere is the impact of climate change more dramatic than on the frequency and the intensity of extreme weather events in Fiji.

We do not just have an affordability problem; we have an availability problem.

We need to ensure the people of Benalla have real access to the safety net, and I call on the government to reopen the Centrelink office as soon as possible.

Independent Federal Member for Indi Helen Haines has been awarded the prestigious Alan Missen Award by the Accountability Round Table, in recognition of her work to introduce a federal integrity commission.