Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I wish the member for Kingston good health. I know she has been feeling poorly and I wish her well for the Christmas season. It is in that spirit of Christmas that I rise and extend my personal best wishes to all MPs from both sides of the House, to the parliamentary staff and to our families. I would like to capture the goodwill of the PM’s valedictory speech just moments ago in the House and perhaps echo the sentiments of the Leader of the Opposition about his reflections on the standards of behaviour here in the parliament, the level of interaction we can have as members of parliament and the opportunity for us to raise the level of debate. I believe we can hold each other to account without some of the animosity which sometimes trickles into debate and I think we are all lessened by those types of comments.

I think that we can aspire to higher standards, and I believe that the people of Australia expect us to do better. To win their respect we will need to do better in the future. It does reflect poorly on the House when we sometimes descend into the juvenile heckling and name-calling that we have seen in the past. I guess that none of us are saints; we have all done it, but I look forward to, perhaps, a New Years resolution from all of us to aim for higher standards.

As a newly elected member of parliament—this being my first year in parliament—I would like to thank the people of Gippsland for entrusting me with their vote and for honouring me with this important role that I have to carry out. In doing so, I wish all Gippslanders a very happy and safe Christmas, particularly on our roads. It is a busy time of year and I wish them all safe passage as they travel throughout our region. The holiday season in Gippsland is a very busy time, and we encourage people to just slow down and enjoy the festive season with their loved ones.

I would also like to extend a personal thank you to my staff for the magnificent support that I have received in my first six months in office—in particular, Joanne Crawford, Diane Lilburne, Jenny Graham, Heather Buntine, Renae Cook, Nicole Conway, Kirsten Collins and Ruth Lucas. It may seem like there are a lot of them, but they do work in a job-sharing type arrangement. My staff have brought to my office an incredible amount of experience, developed over many years working with the former member, Peter McGauran, and having such highly-skilled staff to support me has made my transition into this high office for the people of Gippsland a far easier one. I could not have done it without them.

I would also like to mention my own family and the support I have received from them during the last six months—my wife, Julie, and my four children: Morgan, Jamieson, Clancy and Lachlan. The difficulties partners face when members of parliament are away for extended periods of time has been reflected upon many times today already, and I extend my best wishes to the families of all members of parliament at this time of the year.

Finally, I want to reflect on a little fellow who did not quite make it to his first Christmas. Riley O’Brien was born here in Canberra on 14 September, and, despite the love of his parents, Danny and Vicky, and the dedication of hospital staff, he passed away within hours of his birth. It may have been a brief life but he touched the hearts of many. Adding to the tragedy is that Riley’s twin brother, Finn, is also facing many challenges and is in hospital as I speak. He is a seriously ill boy. Many members on this side of the House will know the boys’ father, Danny, well. Danny was an adviser to former Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile and a former chief of staff to the Victorian leader of the Nationals, Peter Ryan. The enormous courage that he and Vicky have displayed in the past three months has been inspirational to us all. All those who love and care for the O’Brien family send their best wishes at this time of the year. To Danny and Vicky, the love and support of National Party families is with you at this special time of the year, and we pray that you get to enjoy Finn’s company at home on Christmas Day.

Regardless of our religious beliefs, Christmas is a time of great love, fellowship and sharing of good times with family and friends. It is also a chance for us to reflect on the year just past. There have been many challenges for us all on both sides of the House, and this is a good time to set our course for the future. For many of us Christmas is also, hopefully, a time to get some rest and some quiet time with our families. I look forward to returning in the New Year refreshed and ready to take on the challenges of that time.

It is a great honour and privilege to serve in this parliament; to be here on behalf of this great nation. As I mentioned earlier, I would like to see us aspire to higher standards of personal interaction with each other on both sides of the House. The experience that I have had already on committees in the very short time I have been in this place shows that there are many things that we can do by working together. I believe that the sum of us is greater when we do work together than when we descend into the heckling and name-calling that is sometimes an inglorious feature of this place. I would like to wish all a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year.

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