David Pocock

Choosing Budget day, when almost all federal political journalists are literally locked in rooms without their phones or internet access, to release key reports into gambling & aged care wait times is not the level of transparency our community expects and deserves from government. This is an age-old political tactic to “take out the trash” - releasing disappointing information under the cover of bigger news when people are distracted - needs to be called out. canberratimes.com.au/story/9246815/…

Canberra is both our national capital but also a growing city in our own right. We need to see proportionate investments in the infrastructure we need from the federal government. Labor has invested more but just because the Coalition were so much worse doesn't mean Canberrans should be grateful for whatever we get. I will keep pushing for a fairer share. canberratimes.com.au/story/9245668/…

Canberra is the startup capital of the country, an incubator for extraordinary innovations and we want it to stay that way. While I've pushed hard for and welcome sensible reforms to CGT concessions in housing, we need to avoid unintended consequences for the start up sector & and this is something I raised with the Assistant Treasurer yesterday. So important that govt gets this right. afr.com/technology/gov…

Disappointing to see funding cut from Invictus Australia at a time when we are still losing so many veterans to suicide. Invictus does great work supporting veterans and their families and creating connection through sport and connection. It's doing precisely the job we need it to do - I've seen that first hand. And it was only last month that Minister Keogh stood with Invictus and the Duke of Sussex to talk about how important this organisation is. Now it's been cut. I urge the Govt to reconsider or to provide some immediate clarity on alternative funding pathways. abc.net.au/news/2026-05-1…

The PM continues to echo the gas industry’s lines that tax on offshore gas (PRRT) will go up over time, but the budget papers revised the revenue for this year DOWN and show revenue from the tax will be LOWER in 2029-30 than it is today 🤯 sbs.com.au/news/article/a…

Surely we can do better than this? Despite 12 month+ avg wait times the budget didn't fund a single extra home care package. This report exists because of an amendment I negotiated to make govts more transparent & accountable. 48,000 older Australians are on a 'triage' waitlist - that's the waitlist to get on the waitlist for an aged care assessment to then get on the waitlist for a Support at Home package 🤯 Hundreds of thousands waiting for support. We have to do better. abc.net.au/news/2026-05-1…

Answering some of the questions you submitted on taxing gas in Australia. You can check it out on Spotify or YouTube and subscribe to get future episodes. Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0isfZx… YouTube: youtu.be/GhhYqeUyeeQ

The ACT Minister has abandoned efforts to access Specialist Disability Accommodation funding to improve public disability housing. Her excuse? There are “multiple barriers”. I’d say one of the biggest barriers to living a good life as a person with disability is living in a house with mushrooms growing inside. If the system is not working, fix it. Don’t just abandon funding and leave people behind. canberratimes.com.au/story/9244039/…

Heartbreaking to read Kyle Hudson’s story. Sportsbet’s own systems reportedly raised repeated warnings about his gambling behaviour, yet at times allegedly did nothing while continuing to offer inducements. This is exactly why the Murphy Review called for a full gambling ad ban, a ban on inducements, and a regulator with real teeth. Today we’ll see the Government’s response. We already know they’ve rejected a full ad ban. Now we’ll see what else they water down. theage.com.au/national/victo…

It was pretty clear that when it came to data centres, voluntary “national expectations” weren't going to cut it. Good to see energy ministers looking at rules to require data centres to fully offset their power usage. With the speed & scale of data centre construction underway, this is urgent & something I’ll keep pushing for. afr.com/policy/energy-…

In some of the best budget new yet, Treasurer @JEChalmers & Ministers @tanya_plibersek + @ClareONeilMP have announced $60m to help more young people out of homelessness & into secure housing. It's something I've pushed hard for alongside powerful advocates @HomelessnessAus & the Home Time campaign. More to do but this a GREAT step that will help fix a longstanding injustice in our social safety net. canberratimes.com.au/story/9244304/…

There are more than 2,200 people with privileged access all areas lobbyist passes to Parliament House. After repeated calls for transparency, not a single Labor, Coalition or Greens senator or MP has disclosed who they are giving this access to. At a time of intense lobbying on issues like making sure Australians get a fair return for our export gas, that should concern all of us. canberratimes.com.au/story/9182651/… Go to passregister.com.au to call on your MP to disclose who they are giving access to.

Breaching BetStop rules more than 500 times and not facing a single dollar in fines shows how completely ineffective ACMA is as a gambling regulator and how hopeless our regulatory framework is. Right now the consequences for gambling companies are minimal while the harm to people is real. smh.com.au/business/compa… Allegations that someone was effectively told they had to place a bet to withdraw their own money, instead of being told they could use BetStop and get a refund are, if true, completely unacceptable. We know the response to the landmark multi-partisan Murphy review the govt will table tomorrow is completely inadequate and fails to address the key sources of gambling advertising harm.

Shell, whose Australian CEO couldn't tell me what their revenue was or how much 🇦🇺 gas they export during a senate inquiry, make huge $ by exporting gas through Singapore. Of course gas companies + countries like Singapore don't want us to get a fair return for our gas - they're making a killing out of it. But why do the major parties want this to continue? It's time to get a fair return for our gas exports. abc.net.au/news/2026-05-1… Go to ourgas.com.au and write to your MP to call on them to support a 25% tax on gas exports.

This additional $387.4 million for CSIRO is welcome and reflects huge and effective advocacy from scientists, staff and the community. Tens of thousands of people signed our petition to Save CSIRO, and alongside other senators I pushed for a senate inquiry into the agency’s resourcing because 🇦🇺 can’t afford to keep hollowing out public science. But after years of declining investment, more long-term funding is still needed. I’ll keep pushing the government to back the science and scientists we need to meet the huge challenges ahead. Thanks to @SenKatyG and @ayrestim for making this decision to invest in our national science agency. canberratimes.com.au/story/9242617/…

To everyone at CSIRO: thank you for the incredible work you do on the huge challenges we face. Ongoing job losses at our national science agency are the result of chronic underfunding. The Government must halt and reverse the real terms decline in CSIRO's appropriation in the budget next week. canberratimes.com.au/story/9241532/…

The resignation of Aged Care Inspector-General Natalie Siegel-Brown is a significant loss for aged care oversight in Australia. While I never had the chance to meet her outside of senate inquiries, I deeply admired the way she called things as she saw them. She was willing to speak frankly, even when it put her at odds with government policy, and consistently stood on the side of older Australians when the system was failing them. That kind of independent, fearless scrutiny is exactly what this sector needs. At a time of major reform, we must ensure her departure doesn’t weaken accountability or slow the push for better outcomes. thesenior.com.au/story/9239803/…

The failed Job ready Graduates Scheme has now been in operation for longer under the Albanese Govt than under the Morrison Govt. Tens of thousands of students in commerce, law, art & humanities have racked up crushing debts that will take decades to repay. This is stopping many young people from building the lives they aspire to. The case for reform is urgent & can't keep being kicked down the road. theguardian.com/australia-news…

Decisions about getting a return for our gas exports should start with what is best for Australians. The pressure on govt to act is growing and, at some point, the PM has to put 🇦🇺 first. theguardian.com/australia-news… Call on your local member to act at: ourgas.com.au

We’re having huge problems as a country yet our investment in research as a % of GDP is at a record low. We have to turn this around and invest in CSIRO and science more broadly in 🇦🇺. region.com.au/give-csiro-sta…