Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Today is most likely the last sitting day, and it is appropriate that we should reflect on the year that has been and offer some thoughts as to the year that is to come. While every year is remarkable in its own way, for many, 2014 will be more memorable than most. Much has happened over the past year: expected events like the G20, unexpected events like the MH370 and MH17 tragedies and also the emergence of the ISIL death cult in the Middle East and elsewhere.

As the parliament winds down for the year, it is right and proper that we all should acknowledge the families of those lost in the MH370 and MH17 tragedies. Our thoughts are with them at this sad Christmas. The search for MH370 continues in the Indian Ocean. It should be completed by the middle of next year. It is one of the most difficult searches—if not the most difficult search—in human history over a vast area of the seafloor. Nevertheless, it is being conducted with the best technology that we can muster, and let us hope that we are in a position sometime before the middle of next year to resolve what is currently the most baffling and perplexing mystery of our time.

Similarly, the quest for justice for the families of the MH17 victims goes on. It is important that the perpetrators of this unspeakable atrocity be brought to justice. I should also acknowledge the 500-plus Australian personnel who were deployed to Europe as part of Operation Bring Them Home. They were reflecting Australia at its best. On the same note, I should particularly thank Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston who not only coordinated our efforts in the Ukraine but has been coordinating recovery efforts in the Indian Ocean in respect of MH370.

This year a new horror burst upon the world: the ISIL death cult which swept out of eastern Syria into northern Iraq. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people were uprooted and disrupted by the dreadful advance of this barbaric force. We have all seen on our TV screens the beheadings, the crucifixions, the mass executions and the sexual slavery. This is an utterly barbaric outbreak. The ISIL death cult, which I refuse to call Islamic State because it is neither, has declared war upon the world, and Australia, to its credit, has responded. Our thoughts, our prayers and our best wishes are with the Australian military personnel in the Middle East right now, both our air contingent, which is engaging in effective strikes against the death cult, and also our special forces contingent working with the Iraqi security forces.

There has been much contention in this parliament, as you would expect. It is right that the policies of the government be exposed to scrutiny in this parliament. It is right that the government and the opposition fiercely debate the issues in contention. Notwithstanding all the contention, all the controversy and all the political static, I think this has been the year of delivery from this government for our country. The carbon tax has gone, the mining tax has gone, a massive infrastructure spend is underway and three free trade agreements, a decade in the making, have finally been negotiated, and the benefits of these agreements should shortly be flowing for our exporters and for our consumers.

As the year began, our country faced two intractable problems: the boats and the budget. I think we can say that the illegal boat problem has largely been addressed. I do not say that it is finally solved. No problem of this magnitude is ever finally solved. Nevertheless, thanks to the policies of the government and the professionalism of our armed forces, police, customs personnel and others, we have had almost no boats over the last 12 months. Long may that continue.

Another intractable problem, the budget, is being addressed. I cannot say that this problem has been fully addressed—far from it. Nevertheless, a good start has been made, and whatever criticisms people might make of this government, I do not think anyone could question our clarity of purpose and our strength of character when it comes to tackling this particular issue. And it must be tackled. This country cannot go on living way beyond its means, and this government is determined to ensure that the task that has been begun this year is successfully prosecuted next year.

Then, of course, on a high note, there was the G20. Hosting the most extraordinary gathering of leaders our country has ever seen was obviously a great moment for the city of Brisbane. I thank the people of Brisbane for putting up with the inconvenience over that weekend. I congratulate the officials and the Queensland Police for the way the G20 was carried off. Just for a moment, we here in Australia had a chance to see ourselves the way the world sees us—as a country which is as free, as fair and as prosperous as any on earth and, indeed, as a country which is the envy of people all around this globe of ours. It was a fragrant moment for our country, a fragrant moment for all of us.

Madam Speaker, it would be remiss of me to see out the year without thanking you for the work that you do—you have a difficult job and I think that you have performed it with grace and humour. I refrain from talking about who or what might make your life harder than it could otherwise be, but you do your work well. I thank the clerks for the work they do—the clerks are the permanent guardians of the traditions of this House. I thank the attendants for keeping this place running smoothly and the Hansard staff for recording our words, hopefully of wisdom, for posterity. I also thank the guides, who make our fellow citizens welcome and better informed about the workings of this place; the Comcar drivers, who get us around here safely and efficiently; and, of course, the cleaners, who ensure that every morning our offices are bright, sparkling and welcoming—I particularly thank Anna, Maria and Lucia, who look after me, as they have looked after previous prime ministers.

This has been a year when our threat level has risen from medium to high. The impact of that has been felt around this building. I thank everyone who keeps us safe—the Australian Federal Police in particular, our security service and everyone who enables us to do our job as well as we can. I thank the Parliamentary Library for the work they do to make us better informed and sometimes even wiser than we might otherwise be.

I do extend compliments of the season to the Leader of the Opposition and to his colleagues on the opposition benches. Yes, there has been plenty of contention across the table, as you would expect. There are two fundamental tasks of government—national security and economic security—and on at least one of those tasks we have received a great deal of cooperation from the opposition; as I trust, were the positions reversed, a different government would receive from us. John Howard often used to say that the things that unite us are bigger and more important than anything that divides us, and certainly that has been abundantly demonstrated this year on national security.

I thank the Australian Public Service for their work over the last 12 months. I particularly acknowledge the work of my own department. I should, in this place, pay tribute to the just-retired head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Dr Ian Watt. Dr Watt is perhaps the finest public servant of his generation. He entered the public service 40 years ago and had a brief break in academe before returning to spend 30 distinguished years in the Australian Public Service, 13 of those as the secretary of four departments—Communications; Finance, where he was the longest serving secretary of the finance department; Defence; and, most recently, Prime Minister and Cabinet. He was the quintessential professional public servant. He was careful, cautious and considered but he always got things done and that is the hallmark of the Australian Public Service—they always get things done. He leaves big shoes but I am sure that they will be amply filled by his successor, Michael Thawley—a very distinguished servant of our country who brings to the Australian Public Service the benefits of a decade in senior levels of business. It is good to have this cross-pollination between the public sector and the private sector and that is exactly what we will get from Michael Thawley.

I thank all my colleagues. The Deputy Prime Minister, who sadly is still recuperating from illness, has been a fabulous colleague and friend over the past 12 months; the foreign minister and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party has had a stellar year; my senior colleagues in the Senate—including senators Abetz and Brandis—have all done well; and the Leader of the House, the member for Sturt—who is obviously detained on pressing business—has done the kind of splendid work you would expect of him and I acknowledge his efforts. I thank my staff—led by Peta Credlin, the fiercest political warrior I have ever worked with—for everything they have done. All of us ride on the shoulders of our staff. I thank my family and we should all thank our families because none of us could do any of this without the forbearance and support of those who love us.

Finally, though this is the season of goodwill, it should not blind us to the fact that the coming of Christmas does not protect people from the vicissitudes of life—if anything, life's tragedies are more pronounced at this time of year. This Christmas marks 10 years since the Boxing Day tsunami and it marks 40 years since Cyclone Tracy in Darwin. Of course, it also marks 100 years since the start of World War I and on this centenary I am reminded of the work of Charles Bean, the official historian of the Great War. He was witness to the most bloody and brutal conflict in human history. Yet, the worst of times can sometimes bring out the best in people—we are all aware of the famous story of the British and the German soldiers fraternising in no man's land on Christmas Day 1914 playing soccer and singing Christmas carols together. On Christmas Eve 1916 Charles Bean wrote some words which unite believer and unbeliever, Christian and non-Christian. He wrote:

I am not a religious man … But this day represents the birth of a very precious ideal into the world; and the observance of it is the sign of the attachment … to the highest ideals yet imported on the earth.

This is a significant time. It is a significant celebration. May it be, this year as it is in all years, a time to reflect, a time to be with family and loved ones, and a time to rededicate ourselves to our highest ideals.

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