Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's been quite some time since I rose to address this chamber—96 days in fact, not that I was counting, of course. It's been 96 days since I stood in this chamber and declared: I am not done. Well, after a very long and very gruelling election campaign, I am once again proudly representing the good people of my electorate, Longman, here in parliament. Like I said 96 days ago, I am not done, and I am not done because there is still so much work to do.

This government needs to be held to account, and I'm going to continue to keep doing that. I will hold this government to account when they cut millions of dollars from our Caboolture Hospital. I will stand up against this government when they cut vital funding and resources from our schools—great schools in Longman, like Morayfield East State School and Caboolture State School. And I will always fight back against this government when they try to give billions of dollars of taxpayers' money to the big banks. I've always said that politics is about priorities. A good local member prioritises their community. They prioritise people. They prioritise people over big banks, and I will do that. I will do exactly that.

The past 96 days have allowed me the opportunity to spend even more time in my wonderful community, having conversations with local people. These are conversations I love having. Longman is a wonderful community with wonderful people. These conversations, whether they are at a shopping centre or a train station, whether they're at a community meeting, on the doors or on the phones, helped me get a better understanding of the issues that are keeping people awake at night. Well, there's Andrew. He's from Caboolture. I met with him while I was out doorknocking late one Saturday afternoon. He's a nurse, and he's worried about Malcolm Turnbull's cuts to the Caboolture Hospital. $2.9 million is a lot of money. It's a lot of money, and Andrew knows firsthand the impact that these cuts will have. And then there's Simon. He's furious about this government giving $17 billion to the big banks. He's furious and rightly so. I got to know Simon quite well over the campaign, and I'm very glad I did. Then, of course, there's Jack and Grace. Jack and Grace are both completing year 12, going to a school in the area, and I chatted with them quite often about education. But it's not just students who are concerned about universities and schools; it's the parents, it's the grandparents, it's teachers and it's employers. It's the whole community that is concerned about education. I prioritise this community, our community, and I will fight against this government and their cruel priorities. And I'm going to keep that promise.

Fortunately I have a great united team who is standing up for Australians with me, a great united team that will fight for affordable and accessible health care and quality schools. I'm proud to be a member of the federal Labor caucus, alongside our leader, Bill Shorten, and deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek, to be standing up for Labor values, to be standing up for local people, to be standing up for working people. I'm also very proud to have been sworn in alongside three amazing Labor people, people like the member for Braddon, Justine Keay; the member for Fremantle, Josh Wilson; and, of course, Patrick Gorman, the new member for Perth. I know each of these three are just as committed as I am to making Australia a great place for everyone—regardless of what job you do, regardless of how much money you have in the bank.

We all know there's a general election on the horizon, likely to start next year. I'm going to take this opportunity to again put the Prime Minister and his government on notice, because I intend to again fight for the people of Longman. I intend to fight for the people of Longman against this government and their cuts. I intend to fight for the people of Longman because together the people, with me, will fight and prioritise our community. We will prioritise people and not the banks. The member for Braddon has just mentioned that, in this by-election, not one corflute could be seen at any polling booth that mentioned how great this policy was of giving big banks a tax cut—not one corflute. And I can tell you why: it's because this is not a good idea. This in no way helps any person who lives in my electorate.

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