Portfolio — 1 July 2026

Minister Kristy McBain's parliamentary day on 30 June covered two distinct but thematically connected fronts: Indigenous heritage recognition in the Parliamentary Zone and the government's emergency management record.

In the House, McBain moved a motion to commemorate Nangar (Jimmy Clements) and Ooloogan (George John Noble) in the Parliamentary Zone [TA-260630-house-1314b1cdbe60:s054]. The National Capital Authority will construct a life-size figurative sculpture of the two men and their dogs on the lawns opposite Old Parliament House, with completion targeted for May 2027.

Regal Innovations will lead the design and construction team, and sculptor Julie Squires will deliver the sculptural elements. The motion reflects the portfolio's continued engagement with Indigenous heritage recognition in nationally significant spaces.

On emergency management, McBain told the House that Australia experienced 60 severe weather events in the last high-risk season, affecting more than 190 local-government areas. She pointed to specific community impacts in Harcourt (VIC), Dolphin Sands (TAS), Julia Creek (QLD) and Katherine (NT), where homes, livestock, businesses and infrastructure were damaged and some community members, including first responders, were lost.

Against that backdrop, she catalogued the government's emergency management investments: the National Emergency Management Agency, the $1 billion Disaster Ready Fund, the National Emergency Management Stockpile, the AusAlert national warning system, and more than $100 million for national aerial firefighting capability [TA-260630-house-1314b1cdbe60:s138]. The portfolio's investment frame was reinforced by the $7.3 million Stuart Highway intersection contract announced on 26 June, which sits within the same regional-safety emphasis.

The session also produced a direct political exchange. McBain criticised the Leader of the Opposition for alleging that rural firefighters "let the 2003 Snowy Mountains bushfires run", calling the comment shameful [TA-260630-house-1314b1cdbe60:s138]. That exchange sharpened the government's positioning on emergency services ahead of what the minister described as a continuing high-risk environment.