Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I am very proud to rise in this chamber as Leader of the House to give a valedictory speech in the closing period of this parliamentary year. I wish to take the opportunity to acknowledge the support that is received from all staff who work in this chamber but want to single some people out, beginning with you, Mr Speaker. You have managed, in a difficult period—some times more difficult than others—to rise to a position whereby you have the respect of all members of this chamber. You undertake your duties with a sense of good humour, with impartiality, with fairness and with objectivity, and that is often remarked upon to me outside of this chamber. To you and your family, I wish you all the best for this season. I look forward to coming back here next year, in 2010, when I am sure that the difficulties that are raised from time to time by individual members of the House will become far less as time goes on.

I want to thank the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has given me an extraordinary privilege of being Leader of the House and holding a major economic portfolio in government. I grew up in a single-parent household, in public housing in inner Sydney, and the fact that I was able to rise to be the Leader of the House of Representatives shows this is a pretty good country, where people do get a fair go and where people do have opportunity. The Prime Minister has shown enormous faith in me, requiring me to provide the day-to-day strategic advice that comes with being the Leader of the House and the chair of the parliamentary tactics committee.

I think that the Prime Minister has done and will continue to do an extraordinary job in providing leadership to the nation, not only leadership in economic terms in dealing with the impacts of the global economic crisis but also leadership in ways which are above partisan politics such as we saw at the beginning of last week with the apology to the forgotten Australians, which followed on from the apology to the stolen generations.

The Prime Minister has an enormous capacity for work, for intellectual rigour and for being ahead of the game when it comes to the policy frameworks that are necessary. He is passionate about this country’s future and its place in the world. I believe Australia is all the better for Kevin being elected Prime Minister.

To the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard: she is an ongoing source of advice as well. Julia was the Manager of Opposition Business while I was the Deputy Manager of Opposition Business. She is a very welcome source of strategic advice on the parliament while holding an enormous portfolio in which the achievements of replacing Work Choices with the Fair Work Act and the changes that are taking place in education—including Building the Education Revolution and the changes in relation to a national curriculum and to lifting standards in education—show that her enormous capacity is having an outcome for the nation.

To the Treasurer, Wayne Swan: there was a moment earlier this year, in April, when the Treasurer and I found ourselves having a drink at Buckingham Palace with the Queen. That was something that we probably would not have envisaged would occur when I first met him more than 20 years ago. I had the honour of attending the G20 summit in London with the Treasurer and the Prime Minister. I do not think the regard in which the Australian economic performance is held globally is quite understood. Minister after minister from other countries come and talk to us about our economic stimulus package and how the decisive action which we took ensured that we were ahead of the game. To finish the year as the only economy in the advanced world which did not enter into a recession and which has surpassed its economic growth and which has the lowest debt, the lowest deficit and the second lowest unemployment is a tribute to his economic leadership. The Treasurer also has a passion about what economic growth is for, which is to not leave people behind. He was as comfortable at the G20 as he was in my electorate at the Exodus Foundation, which deals with some of the most underprivileged people in Australia. The Treasurer shows a commitment to equity as well as a commitment to a strong economy.

To the Deputy Leader of the House, Stephen Smith: the position of Minister for Foreign Affairs is a difficult one. He is overseas representing the nation, as he does in an outstanding way. Stephen provides extraordinary strategic capacity in his contribution to the tactics committee and in his assistance to me as Leader of the House.

I thank the other ministers for their support. We have had a huge program in my portfolio: establishing Infrastructure Australia and the Building Australia Fund, doubling funding to roads and quadrupling funding to rail, forming Regional Development Australia and strengthening the partnership with the local government sector through the Australian Council of Local Government. All of that can be achieved only if you have the support of your colleagues. I thank all of them but single out Senator Stephen Conroy, who represents me in the other chamber and when I am away, as I do him. Stephen has been a very supportive minister, in particular, as well as advancing the NBN as a great reform of this government.

To Roger Price, the Chief Government Whip, and his assistants Jill Hall and Chris Hayes: they are an outstanding team. The whips carry out an excellent job implementing the tactics of the government. From time to time they may not agree with them, particularly the Chief Government Whip. He is usually in good humour. I wish him all the best as well.

We rely very much upon the bureaucracy that is provided to assist us. To the Parliamentary Liaison Office—Henry Thomson and the team in the PLO: they keep the House running and make sure that the government’s agenda is turned into the appropriate legislative process, from the Monday morning meetings of the PBC that then result in the activity that we see from Monday to Thursday in this chamber. To the Chamber Research Office and the Parliamentary Library, in particular Anna, Penny, Naomi and Chris: they work tirelessly in keeping up-to-date information and statistics on the working of the House. They provide us with a great deal of support.

To the retiring Clerk of the House, Mr Ian Harris: he retires with the respect of all those in the House. We acknowledge his 37 years of service to this parliament. Ian became the Deputy Clerk of the House way back in 1991 and has been the Clerk of the House since 1997. I worked with Ian when I was an opposition office holder and now when in government. I must say that his advice has always been impartial. His advice when we were in opposition did not secure us any majorities on the floor of the House and his impartial advice now has without fail resulted in a majority of the House agreeing with the actions that we have taken. That is the nature of the workings of the House of Representatives. He is a lover of this parliament and its processes. He is passionate about it and there is of course no more important building in the country. I think that he can be very proud and look forward to his retirement. To Bernard Wright, who is replacing Ian as Clerk of the House from 5 December, can I say that I hope we are not still sitting then. I very much look forward to working with you, Bernard.

To the rest of the House staff, including the Serjeant-at-Arms, catering, housekeeping, HRG, IT Support, security, the attendants, the staff at Aussie’s and other DPS staff, without whom this House simply would not function, I say thank you. I want particularly to thank Lupco Jonceski and the cleaners who look after my office, Anna Jancevska and Luzia Borges, who come in with great humour whenever you see them around the building.

I acknowledge the work of the opposition, of Malcolm Turnbull, the Leader of the Opposition; Julie Bishop, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition; Warren Truss, the Leader of the Nationals and one of my shadow ministers; and Christopher Pyne, the Manager of Opposition Business, who declares himself the best of the bunch—we are having leadership challenges declared here in the chamber as we speak! Christopher and I have a good working relationship. I do not want to cause him too much damage with his party colleagues by being too effusive about that. We do have the odd difference, such as the attempted verbal of last week in the chamber, but by and large we have a constructive working relationship. When I was Manager of Opposition Business for the entire time I had two conversations with the then Leader of the House. I believe this House functions better when there is communication between the government and the opposition and a constructive framework worked out in the interests of the people that we are all here to represent. If we can minimise those disagreements over procedural issues and get on with the real debate about the future of the country, that is a good thing. I think that Chris enjoys the parliamentary process and I look forward to ongoing debate with Chris next year in an election year.

To the media, particularly those in the press gallery, I enjoy the briefings that I give after every caucus meeting and I look forward to boring you next year, every Tuesday after the caucus, with the great details of South Sydney victories the previous weekend. You do have a difficult job. The pressures that are on the media to deliver up-to-date information need far greater debate about the nature of how changing technology is producing an impact in terms of media debate in this country. You have a difficult job, and I look forward to working with you on most occasions in the coming year.

To my department, Mike Mrdak, the new secretary of the department, is an outstanding choice as secretary. He is reforming the way the department functions. He is a career public servant who represents the best of the Public Service. To my office, Michael Choueifate, and my chief of staff Karen Bissaker, and my personal assistant, Jo Haylen, who looks after the tasks for the Leader of the House, and Tanya Jackson-Vaughan, the chief of staff in my electorate office and to my branches and supporters, I thank all of you.

In terms of the ability that I have been given, I want to make some comments as Leader of the House and as minister. As Leader of the House we have had 1,171 questions answered in question time so far this year. We have passed 191 bills through this chamber. The last time that the House passed more legislation than this was back in 1999, so it is the largest number for a decade. We have had some 102 ministerial statements so far in this parliament, the 42nd—41 ministerial statements this year and nine Prime Ministerial statements to the 42nd Parliament. This compares with a total of 11 ministerial statements in the last parliament.

We have had a seven per cent increase in the amount of time spent answering opposition questions this year compared with 2007, and we have had on 21 occasions in the 42nd Parliament a number of question times that exceeded 20 questions—where there were more than 20 questions. In the previous parliament there were none. In terms of your patience, Mr Speaker, it has been tested with some 1,331 points of order. The Manager of Opposition Business has moved 219 points of order this year, or 13 for every week of question time.

Indeed, that is an absolute record, beating the previous record set by Joe Hockey last year. Indeed, in the parliament, in total, the Manager of Opposition Business has moved 254; Joe Hockey has moved 213; and Malcolm Turnbull, the Leader of the Opposition, has moved 116 himself, something that in previous parliaments leaders of the opposition certainly did not do.

It is important, as we leave this place at the end of these sittings, to acknowledge that, as a minister, it is certainly the case that one of the great privileges is undertaking the work we do outside this chamber. A great privilege of being the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government is that I get out and about. In recent months I have been to Geraldton, Port Hedland, Karratha, Kununurra, Daly River, Mount Gambier and Alexandra. I have been to the region affected by the Victorian bushfires on a number of occasions. I agree with the sentiments expressed by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition that those local communities showed extraordinary courage.

I also went to Bendigo, Wodonga, Geelong, Parkes, Bourke, Wagga Wagga, Lismore, Dubbo, Bathurst, Orange, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Tweed Heads, Cairns, Ingham, Townsville, Hervey Bay, Gympie, Gladstone, Maroochydore, Ipswich, Launceston and to the electorate of Maranoa. When I was there I spent a day with the member for Maranoa. I want to acknowledge that last night the member for Maranoa won the Politzer Prize. It is an annual photographic competition between federal MPs and senators who submit a picture which best captures the essence of their electorate. The photograph of a region not far from where I was with the member for Maranoa in far-western Queensland is indeed just that. It is a pelican rookery on the flood plains of the Georgina River in far-western Queensland. I congratulate the member for Maranoa on this fine achievement. Being a minister, it is a great privilege being able to attend communities, large and small, city and rural. As a minister, one of the things that I will remember is a visit to Birdsville, with the member for Maranoa; a visit to Bourke, with the member for Calare; and other visits right around the country. One of the cultural aspects that often people do not see is the extent to which, by and large, we as parliamentarians do treat each other with respect and do agree with each other a lot of the time. Certainly, going out there and meeting with communities is indeed one of the great privileges of being a minister.

I conclude with thanks to my family—my wife, Carmel, and my son, Nathan. It is hard for all of us as parliamentarians and it is particularly hard for our children. Indeed, a community cabinet has been set for my son’s birthday on 8 December, in Townsville. This makes life very difficult to juggle, and our families are very tolerant of it. But I put on the record that I certainly appreciate the support I am given and I look forward to spending time with them over the Christmas and festive period. I wish all members and their families a happy and safe festive season and, in conclusion, as transport minister, can I say: please drive safely.

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