Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would also like to offer my contribution on Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2017-2018. When it comes to this government, this budget proves that you should pay attention not to what it says but to what it does. That is very clearly something that we should have learnt, particularly coming off their zombie measures. We know that their actions speak louder than words. Bear in mind that this is the government of Work Choices. This is the government that sought to cut the living standards of pensioners, those on disability support and unemployed young people. Now they want us to believe they have changed. Jeez, I tell you what: Crosby Textor must be working overtime these days. The budget does nothing to protect the everyday lives of Australians. It has clearly failed the fairness test. It fails to address the growing inequity in Australian society.

How is it fair that the only tax cuts coming out of this budget apply to millionaires and big business?

What type of government robs schoolchildren and university students of $22 billion, on the basis of handing out a $65 billion tax cut to big business? It means that, on average, $2.4 million per school will be lost.

This is a government that certainly needs to do some reviewing of its priorities. I remind everybody here that an investment in education is an investment in our future—it is an investment in this country's future. I think that is something that has been lost on the government.

Schools in my community will suffer over the next two years from a staggering $37.5 million being taken out of the schools in the Fairfield and Liverpool areas. To put this is in some perspective, I would like to cite just two examples of schools which are to be very hard hit. Cabramatta High School is set to lose a massive $3.9 million over the next two years, and Canley Vale High School will lose $3.6 million over the same period. These figures raise a huge question mark over how the current government sees the future of education—as a matter of fact, over how they see the future of children.

Bear in mind: these cuts apply to schools in my electorate, an electorate that plays host to a disproportionately large number of migrant and refugee communities—one of the largest number of migrant and refugee communities in the country. There are students with special needs: students for whom English is not a first language. These cuts will no doubt make it more difficult for teachers and schools in our community.

The unfairness does not stop there. Health cuts are also at the heart of this government's unfair budget—a government that is asking everyday Australians to pay more for health care, cutting Medicare and threatening bulk billing. This is a government that does nothing to protect vulnerable Australians and the health of our nation. It is clear that this government has no intention of making health care a priority for everyday Australians, proving that their values do not lie in an inclusive, smart and healthy nation.

I have learnt a fair bit about the health system of late. You might put it down to personal experience. But I must say that I am in awe of the dedication and the professionalism of all those serving our community, attending emergencies and caring for our fellow Australians.

On 26 February this year, I had, as many would be aware, a rather serious motorcycle accident just outside Queanbeyan. It is the first accident I have had in over 40 years of motorcycling. As a result of the accident, I spent 15 days in the Canberra Hospital, six days of which were in intensive care. I broke several ribs and suffered a collapsed lung as well as significant internal injuries.

For what started out to be a pleasant afternoon of motorcycling to end up in ICU in a world of pain certainly remains a nightmare. However, I consider myself to be very fortunate that Senior Constable Mark Smith of the Queanbeyan highway patrol was in the immediate vicinity at the time of my accident. He was probably booking somebody! But, nevertheless, he was there. And an off-duty nurse, Donna Hodgson, who was passing with her husband, stopped to render me assistance. Donna and Senior Constable Smith sat beside me, keeping me talking to ensure that I did not pass out after the accident. Being in shock, I could not remember, for instance, the security code on my mobile phone, but, after talking to these two good Samaritans, eventually I recalled that code and Senior Constable Smith was then able to notify my wife, Bernadette, of what had occurred and to have her meet me at Canberra Hospital. Meanwhile, Donna Hodgson was able to get word through to Parliament House security, alerting them to what had just occurred as well.

Despite the serious nature of the accident, as I say, I consider myself very fortunate that this police officer was immediately to hand and that this nurse, who was travelling with her husband, simply saw it and unselfishly pulled off the road and attended to me until the paramedics arrived. They certainly made a difference for the better in my particular circumstances. In Canberra Hospital, both Donna and Senior Constable Smith visited me on a number of occasions, checking on my welfare.

I would think it is probably not likely that there would be many interactions with officers of the highway patrol where members of the public might be so moved to write a letter of commendation to their commissioner. I did on this occasion. I thought this officer went well beyond what I considered his duties to show me care. To Donna Hodson, who was carrying an injury at the time, for stopping and staying with me until the ambulance arrived, I am indeed very grateful.

Given the impact of the accident on my wife, Bernadette, and my family, I have agreed to put motorcycling behind me, with a fair degree of regret, and the minister at the table would appreciate it. Nevertheless, I will stay involved with the various motorcycle safety campaigns that I have always been associated with. I will particularly stay involved with the police Wall To Wall Ride for Remembrance, which is now one of the biggest motorcycle rides in the country, in order to show our support for the police, particularly to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the course of their duties.

I am certainly very indebted to this particular police officer and to this particular nurse. They have shown professionalism and a profound sense of care and compassion. They did what they were not necessarily obliged to do, and it certainly made a difference for the better for me. In turn, I will also thank the ambos who came, managed to get my helmet off, cut me out of my leather jacket, shredded me out of my jeans and everything else, and probably filled me with morphine as well. I do not really recall the pain as I was travelling to hospital.

On arriving at hospital, I was processed in the emergency department. They were very professional people and they cared for my wife as well, but once the scans showed that I had a lacerated spleen the tempo sort of changed object and I found myself in the intensive care unit for the next six days, undergoing a number of operations. I would like to particularly thank from the Canberra Hospital's trauma team Dr Frank Piscioneri, Dr Thembikile Ncube, Dr Nicole Rodrigues and Dr Yunfei Hun. They are certainly very, very skilled and dedicated young people working very long hours and they are all there to assist those of us in need. I would also like to mention the nursing staff—Kate Evans, Thimitra Panteleon, Rebekah Ogilvie and Lisa Farrall—not only for what they did for me but also for the way they stayed in contact with my wife, ensuring that everyone knew what was going on and that they were kept in the loop. I think that had a huge impact on my recovery, but it certainly also made a very significant contribution to settling down my family.

When I wanted to travel back to Sydney, the nursing staff and doctors at Canberra made arrangements with the Liverpool Hospital's trauma team and with the Camden Hospital's fracture clinic. As I stand here, I am held together by plates and screws and probably rubber bands and other things, but it is very nice to sometimes—as I did the other day when I had a sore throat—think, 'At least I can feel it.' The alternative was a little bit more dire than that, so it has probably changed my outlook on life a little bit and put me in touch with my own mortality. Sometimes these things can happen in the blink of an eye and, as my mother keeps saying—she is a very religious woman—'You should keep your bags packed, because you never know when you're really going to go travelling.' I will take mum's comment on board.

I would like to thank all of my colleagues here in this rather eclectic work environment for sending their wellwishes. It was not just my Labor colleagues who I received emails and wellwishes from. I received many from all those on the other side and the minister at the table did say that he certainly felt my pain and that he thought perhaps as an alternative to motorcycling I might take up sports-car racing with him. I will get back to him on that; I have not checked it with Bernadette!

It does show that all here care for one another. Those who turned up, I thank them for it. Those who turned up and who I cannot remember, I still thank them for it! With the amount of drugs that I was on, my recollections of being in the intensive care unit are very scratchy at best.

And to my wife—I had better thank her! Today is our 41st wedding anniversary. I did not get choked up when we got married, but 40 years later I am working up to it. When you are a mother—and, in Bernadette's case, when you are a grandmother of 10—you sort of sign on to do various things. You wash and look after your kids—bath them and do all that sort of stuff. I do not think that she realised when I came out of hospital—covered in plaster, my leg in a brace, my arms in the air and all the rest of it—that I had to be washed and that my bandages had to be treated every day. She certainly did that. I can say that much of my motorbike was mostly written off and has been repatriated slightly into her jewellery box as a sign of some appreciation for all that additional care that she had to show me. I have indicated to a few people that one of the upsides of this incident is the fact that I was able to spend more time with my wife.

As I said, I also think it is time to reflect on all those in our community who unselfishly undertake careers and professions to work very long hours to look after the community. I mean those doctors in the trauma teams in emergency; the nurses and the ambos who attend; the police officers; and members of the community, such as Donna Hodgson, who pulled off the road to see whether she could help. It shows that we live in a very fine country. There are a lot of good people. We can sit here and argue about various things which are matters of state, but one of the things we should be very proud of is the people who serve our community. Much of what we should be looking to do in budgets, like the one we have before us, is to make sure that we do everything that we can to help those people who make a change for the better in the lives of many in our society.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank you for giving me some indulgence; I did not spend too much time on the budget. I will work up to that as the bills are introduced progressively into the House. I am sure I will find a number of things to say. But this is an opportunity to come in here and to thank all my colleagues for their care and concern, and also to thank all those who offered prayers on my behalf. I did get a call from Father Frank Brennan, to tell me the Jesuits were praying for me. I thought that was probably a good thing! It is just nice to know that, despite our differences, we do care for one another.

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