Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, member for Wannon. You do not have to stop; you can keep going if you like. For the past nine years it has been my privilege to represent the widely diverse group of people who live in Swan. I would like to now make a few comments about the campaign in Swan. As we prepared ourselves for the longest campaign in more than half a century I could not have been more appreciative to those who contributed towards retaining the seat of Swan. Over the eight-week campaign we had over 500 volunteers—people who devoted themselves to achieving the end result of keeping a Liberal in the seat of Swan. The 500 volunteers did letterboxing in their local areas, did volunteering at one of the 33 booths, did envelope stuffing or put yard signs in their front gardens. I was appreciative of their efforts towards the retention of the seat of Swan.

One of these volunteers was Liberal stalwart Ray Peek, who at the age of 88 was one of our star letterboxers. Ray, your commitment to the Liberal cause is inspiring and I would like to personally thank you for all your efforts not only in this campaign but for the entire four decades you have been a member of the Liberal Party. I also wish you all the best with Margaret, who I know is not in the best of health at the moment. I know you will be spending time by her bedside. I wish you and Margaret the best, Ray.

The successful campaign was a testament to the support I received from each and every volunteer, who devoted themselves to a government who are committed to budget repair, stability and cohesion and who are not prepared to sit idly by and let Labor's lies and untruths take advantage of vulnerable Australians—I will return to this later. I would like to thank my wife and campaign manager, Cheryle, who is well known within this place. The hard work she put into the Swan campaign each and every single day was astonishing. Her dedication to the campaign was evident in the professionalism she showed in her approach to coordinating our volunteers. I cannot thank her enough for all she did and all she continues to do as I serve the people of Swan. I am very proud of her.

When I returned to the House for my third term I noted that we put forward positive local plans for the people of Swan, that we outlined a positive plan that would help shape the future of Swan. As I return today for my fourth term I stand by the positive approach to politics. At the start of the campaign, unfortunately, I was labelled a rich white man by the Labor candidate. Those who know my background I am sure can see the irony of that, as I came from a very low-SES background. To be labelled like that I am sure would make many people raise the spectre of 18C, which I did not do.

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