Portfolio — 24 March 2026

Senator Chisholm — serving as Assistant Minister for Regional Development, Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Assistant Minister for Resources, and Deputy Manager of Government Business in the Senate — was active across three distinct parliamentary matters over 23–24 March 2026, spanning NDIS integrity, First Nations child welfare legislation, and transport infrastructure.

The most substantive parliamentary contribution was Senator Chisholm's second reading introduction of the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Bill 2026 [TA-260323-senate-573d70b7987f:s135]. The bill establishes the first permanent statutory agency independent from government to protect the rights, interests, development, safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people [TA-260323-senate-573d70b7987f:s135].

The government committed $33.5 million over the forward estimates and $8.4 million ongoing to fund the national commissioner's statutory functions. Senator Chisholm framed the bill as a direct response to decades of advocacy by First Nations leaders, citing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership Group's Safe and Supported initiative, and positioned improved outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children as central to closing the gap [TA-260323-senate-573d70b7987f:s135].

On NDIS integrity, Senator Chisholm argued in Senate debate that fraud and noncompliance in the scheme frequently correlates with exploitation, abuse and neglect of people with disability. The government's procedural position was that the Minister for the NDIS has already written to the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme proposing a dedicated integrity inquiry, and that committee — established precisely for that purpose — is the appropriate forum [TA-260323-senate-573d70b7987f:s122].

On that basis, the government opposed a separate Senate inquiry [TA-260323-senate-573d70b7987f:s122].

On 24 March, Senator Chisholm responded to a Senate transport infrastructure motion by cataloguing the government's dual-track approach to fuel security and long-term public transport investment [TA-260324-senate-dd516f85acd4:s168]. On the immediate fuel-supply front, the government has empowered the ACCC to act against unfair price rises, released 20 per cent of the baseline minimum stockholding obligation for petrol and diesel, temporarily amended fuel standards to boost market supply, and coordinated with industry and state and territory governments to direct fuel to regional communities.

The public transport spending portfolio Senator Chisholm enumerated is substantial: $5.6 billion for Perth Metronet, $5.1 billion for Sydney Metro to Western Sydney Airport, $2.2 billion for the Suburban Rail Loop, $1 billion to extend the Sydney south-west rail network, $659 million for high-speed rail planning, $343.9 million for Canberra light rail stage 2A, $115 million for zero-emissions bus infrastructure at Macquarie Park, $100 million through the Active Transport Fund, and $100 million for Western Sydney rapid bus infrastructure [TA-260324-senate-dd516f85acd4:s168].

Senator Chisholm characterised the government's method as constructive engagement with councils and state governments on infrastructure delivery, running in parallel with the management of immediate fuel supply pressures.

Across the two sitting days, Senator Chisholm's chamber appearances reflect the breadth of his ministerial responsibilities — NDIS integrity sits outside his listed portfolio role and was addressed in a procedural Government Business capacity, while the First Nations commission bill and transport motion align more directly with his regional and resources brief.

The regional development thread connecting the transport and fuel security contributions is the most coherent policy arc across the window.