Portfolio — 1 April 2026

The Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, Mr Rae, had a light but procedurally complete day in the House, combining two housekeeping motions with an electorate statement cataloguing delivered government commitments in Hawke.

On the procedural side, the Minister moved by leave to discharge Mr Violi as trustee of the Parliamentary Retiring Allowances Trust and appoint Mr Caldwell in his place, and separately to appoint Mr Burnell as a participating member of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters for its inquiry into the 2025 federal election [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s024].

Both motions were routine administrative steps with no substantive policy content.

The more substantive parliamentary contribution was an address on community activity and government delivery in the Hawke electorate [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s107]. The Minister highlighted two milestone community events — the 50th anniversary of SunFest in Sunbury, which drew 20,000 attendees, and the 50th Ballan Autumn Festival — before turning to a run of specific government investments.

These included the opening of the Murrum early learning centre in Weir Views, the Cobblebank Community Services Hub backed by a $15 million Thriving Suburbs Program commitment, and an 80 per cent bulk-billing rate among clinics across Hawke following Medicare reforms [TA-260401-house-6ae0f5f9fd41:s107]. The Minister for Health and Ageing was present and acknowledged during the address, with the Medicare bulk-billing outcome attributed jointly to cross-government work — a signal that the Hawke electorate statement was partly designed to showcase the Health portfolio's reform dividend in a growth-corridor seat.