Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great honour to stand here in this parliament, embedded beneath a grassy hill on the lands of the Ngunnawal and the Ngambri people, the traditional custodians of the Canberra area. I pay my respects to their elders, past, present and emerging. I also acknowledge the Wurundjeri and Wadawurrung people, who have for millennia been custodians of the earth, the trees, the water, the animals and the sky that now make up the electorate of Hawke. I extend my respects to the First Nations members of this parliament and to all First Nations members people here today.

The Uluru statement is a gracious offering, a road map towards reconciliation—voice, treaty, truth. If, like me, you believe in Australia and believe it to be the greatest country on this planet then we must have the courage to face history, find a shared truth and forge a future together with our Indigenous sisters and brothers, steeped in the confidence of justice. I thank and applaud the Prime Minister for his characteristic conviction and leadership on this most important matter.

I would not be here today but for two extraordinary women: my mum, Penelope, and my partner, Zoe. My mum is an educator, a unionist, a community activist and a matriarch. The sharpest of intellects, and with the strength of weathered granite, Mum devoted her professional life to public education. She lived her collectivist values every day and proselytised them as she weaponised education against structural disadvantage, inequity and misfortune in our community. Mum raised my younger brothers and I here in Canberra, in Tuggeranong, the deep southern suburbs, far from the civic splendour of the parliamentary precinct. She poured her love into us. She was the patient, omnipotent manifestation of security and protection, and occasionally the furious personification of consequence when circumstances demanded it.

My brothers, Joshua and Isaac, are testament to her parental artistry. They are men of integrity, of consideration, of humanity and of humour. With all my love and pride, I acknowledge them and their beautiful families: Josh, his partner, Silvie, and their son, Ernest, and Zac, his partner, Ella, and their children, Gene and Clement.

Mum, thank you for your unwavering, limitless love and for giving us absolutely everything you have to give. I love you very dearly.

The other seminal woman of my life is my partner in all things: Zoe Edwards. Zoe is my best friend, my confidante, the person I most admire. She is the smartest, funniest, most passionate, compassionate and inspiring being to grace this planet. She has devoted her own professional life to furthering the interests of working people, as an industrial lawyer, as a scholarly practitioner of public policy and as a proud trade unionist. Our life together is gloriously lit in chaotic technicolour by our beautiful children, Hunter, Banjo and the eagerly anticipated little sister in mum's tummy.

Hunny, Banji, little sister: I'm sorry for the inevitable sacrifices that we have chosen for you to make. Like all the other parents here, we make these sacrifices so that you and your generation can inherit a world that is kinder, stronger and more just. You are the sun and the stars and the very quiet space in between of our universe. Mum and I are so proud of you, and we love you with every atom of our beings. And Zoe: I lack the eloquence required to give lyrics to the music of our life together. I love you and I adore you. Thank you.

I also want to acknowledge the presence of Zoe's mum, Sarah, a fiercely loving mother and grandmother. Thank you for being here and for all that you do—and the absence of Zoe's dad, Scott, who passed away in 2015, a brilliant intellectual, a passionate Labor activist and a beloved friend of mine. He would have been elated by the election of this Albanese Labor government and had much to contribute in terms of unsolicited policy direction.

Bob Hawke has always been my political hero. His enthusiastic ambition for our great country was fuelled by his zealous belief in its exceptional potential—a belief that I share. He brought together disparate interests and ideologies. He gave our nation the confidence to face our region and the world, to make an impact far beyond our dry weight. And, it must be said, he had an exquisite head of hair. In humbly standing here as the inaugural member for Hawke, named for this great Prime Minister and patriot, I pay tribute to him and his legacy, to Blanche d'Alpuget and the extended Hawke family.

The electorate of Hawke is aptly named—encompassing places and people that I believe Bob would have been proud to be associated with. Stretching from Sunbury, Bulla and Diggers Rest in the north-east, we clinch Hillside on the outer edge of Melbourne suburbia. Heading west, Melton is the geographical heart of Hawke, before the Western Freeway drops down into the evocative agrarian valley where Bacchus Marsh lies at the convergence of the mighty Werribee and Lerderderg rivers. Further west again is the beautiful town of Ballan, where Zoe and I have chosen to raise our family. To the north is the goldrush town of Blackwood, surrounded by the wilderness of the Lerderderg and Wombat forests, and to the south, the Brisbane Ranges, straddled by the bucolic regions of Beremboke and Balliang.

Our communities are diverse. We have some of the fastest growing parts of Australia—Melton is on track to have a bigger population than Canberra by 2050—where the grazing and rock farms yield to new houses and new families, families buying their first homes, in many cases establishing themselves in Australia for the first time, in all, working hard to make a better life for themselves and their loved ones. These pioneers contribute richly to the social, cultural and economic fabric of our existing communities, and we welcome them.

But these enrichening changes also bring significant challenges. Population growth is putting our physical and social infrastructure under immense pressure. After a decade of wilful investment failure by those opposite, our roads and transport infrastructure are inadequate to service our communities, severely impacting our quality of life and, in some cases, our safety. Our primary healthcare system is collapsing. It takes weeks to see a GP. Our modest hospitals can't handle the increased demand and lack the capability to treat the complexity of conditions that come with population explosion and diversification, much less a global pandemic. We have great schools and dedicated teachers, but enrolments are rapidly increasing. We need better facilities, and our teachers need a federal government—this federal government—that will have their backs and value their toil. In all of Hawke we have no TAFE, no university, no public technical or trade apprenticeship school, no local education prospect beyond year 12 for our kids to aspire to. We need jobs—local, secure, well-paid jobs—and we need the economic investment to sustain those jobs perennially.

The people of Hawke are workers, and through that work they contribute to our society and they derive dignity. We are the teachers, the healthcare workers, the cleaners, the farmers, the drivers and the baggage handlers. We work in hospitality, child care, factories, construction and transport. During COVID the workers of Hawke kept our country moving, delivering medicines and vaccines, caring for our loved ones, maintaining our domestic supply chains and putting food on our tables. They paid a disproportionate cost for these contributions with their health and the health of their families.

Like the people I represent, I am a worker. When I first left school I worked as a labourer in a factory in Queanbeyan. I've washed dishes. I've cared for kids. I've answered phones in a call centre. I've advised on policy and campaigned for the things I believe in. I've been a partner at one of the biggest firms on the planet. I am equally proud of each of these contributions. From each I have learnt something of myself and the world. I've learnt how to fight for the things I believe in. I'm here to fight for the people and communities of Hawke and play a role in the fight for our national interests.

The electorate of Hawke was drawn from McEwen, Ballarat and Gorton. I want to acknowledge and thank my Labor colleagues Rob Mitchell, Catherine King and Brendan O'Connor for their support during the campaign and for previously representing our communities so admirably. While I get the great honour of standing in this place, Labor's victory in Hawke is due to the collective heroic efforts of Labor members, union comrades, community activists and friends.

I thank Brad Macpherson, Chantal and Brad Yates, Ryan Little, Ravinder Kaur, Derrick Simpson, Brad Stewart, Rhonda Edmonds, Daryl Baker, Tor Roxburgh, Barry Agg, Kylie Spencer, Nathan Miles, Jarrod Bell, Andrew and Shannon Gould, Russell Bell, Ed Abrehart, Jo Fox, Ben Davison, Ken Hardy, Ash Vandenberg, Lara Carli, Steve Abboushi, Carly Moore, Dut Athian, Beth Maplestone, Greg Fleming, Glenn Barfoot, Chris Wells, the great Andrew 'Tiny' McLean and so many more.

I specially acknowledge the wonderful people associated with the Khalsa Shaouni Sikh temple in Plumpton, especially my dear friends Gurdarshan, Avtar and Simar.

At the vanguard of our campaign was my campaign organising team: Nat Gonzalez, Cam Hine and Tal Pelach—all led by the brilliant Gabriella Dawson.

I am also grateful and humbled by the support I received from our sisters and brothers in the trade union movement: Michael Donovan and the SDA, Dylan Wight and the AMWU, and my friends at the ETU, ASU, RTBU and ANMF. I particularly want to acknowledge the mighty Transport Workers Union. I'm a proud member of the TWU and am ever grateful for the support and friendship of Secretary Mike McNess, former secretary John Berger, National Secretary Michael Kaine, National Assistant Secretary Nick McIntosh and all of the TWU organisers and members.

I especially want to acknowledge and thank my great friend Assistant Secretary Mehmet Suleyman. Mem has devoted his life to serving the members of our union, to fighting for their rights and their safety. I would not be here were it not for his friendship, encouragement and strategic nous. I am eternally pledged to our union's struggle for safe rates and better conditions for all transport workers.

As I find my feet in this new role I am very ably supported by the best of staff: Henry Fox, Di McAuliffe and Millie Page. I thank you for your wisdom, passion for our community and tolerance of me.

Throughout my various professional incarnations I've been so lucky to enjoy the mentorship of the superlative exemplars in each field: Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, a person who approaches politics, public policy and life with the deepest of consideration and intelligence; Senator Don Farrell, my first boss in politics, who, along with his wife, Nimfa, remains my benchmark of integrity and decency in our business; former senator Stephen Conroy, a person of such profound conviction, coupled with the courage and strategic brilliance to drive that conviction to impact; and James Mackenzie and Peter Konidaris, who have mastered the noble art of progressing the public good from the shimmering towers of the business sector. And in all matters of life there's my fraternal friendship with Philip Dalidakis—all the candour of his intellect and the generosity of his spirit.

There is a great presence missing from this House tonight, a mentor and a friend without whom I would not be here. Former senator Mehmet Tillem was a person of consequence. He was deeply principled, intelligent, full of humility and humour. He was a natural leader of people. He was inspiring and courageous. His generous friendship was protective and warm. He should have been here today, as he should have remained in the other place to continue his life's work in the pursuit of fairness for all people. But, sadly, he was lost to us far too young, just shy of three years ago. His wife, Ferda, and son, Mikhail, are here today, and I'm honoured by their presence. Mikki: your father was a great man who was respected and loved, and who I admired immensely. He loved you so very much, and he was so proud of you. You were the absolute centre of his universe. Thank you both for being here today.

It is not individual exceptionalism that has propelled me here, but rather the collective efforts and investments of so many special people. I have mentioned some already, but there are others who must be acknowledged for their talents and friendship, those who have watched upon the wall and laboured with me for our shared values: Ella George, Noah Carroll, Cal Viney, Tig Huggins, Bassel Tallal, Samuel Lynch, Emma Henderson, Jett Fogarty, Martha Haylett, Christopher Ford, Hakki and Natalie Suleyman, Chris Lovell, Steve Palmer, Kos Samaras, Alan Griffin, Ros Spence, the Palmer Street family, the comrades, the Memorial Ducks, the ANU foresters, the PwC crew and the MBS legends.

Thank you to the team at Victorian Labor and the ALP national secretariat for executing a brilliant campaign. Thank you to my Labor colleagues, friends whom I admire and am proud to count myself amongst. And thank you to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for your principled leadership and for reminding Australia that we are a compassionate, intelligent and ambitious nation.

As I have already said, I'm here to fight for the people of Hawke, and to stamp our values upon the national conversation. Fundamental to the issues we face as communities and the nation is the concept of prosperity. I don't speak of the false prosperity espoused by those opposite, measured only in financial wealth and its competitive accrual. I speak of the prosperity enjoyed by citizens who are both mentally and physically healthy, where we and our loved ones can access world-class health care as a matter of right. I speak of the prosperity of opportunity, provided and inspired by access to education, training, fulfilling employment and vocational pride; the prosperity generated by quality of life. I speak of the civic structures and infrastructure that facilitate our social and economic contributions, our moral and monetary reward, and the expedient return to the embrace of our families. I speak of the prosperity secured by valuing our environment and our planet, by making decisions based on sustainability and triple-bottom-line outcomes, for meaningful action on climate change that creates jobs and fuels our economy with cheap, clean renewable energy.

I joined the Labor Party because I believe that the role of government is to maximise prosperity, to grow the collective pie and to ensure it is apportioned according to our community's collective interests. This stands in stark contrast to the ideologies of the other parties, to the Left and to the Right, where too often the maximising of prosperity for the many is usurped by the constituency, cravenly clambering to secure the largest portion at the expense of the greater good.

The United Nations publishes the Human Development Index which measures and ranks all countries by whether people had the freedom and opportunity to live a life they value. In 2013, the year Labor lost office after fending off the global financial crisis, Australia was ranked second in the world on that index, behind only Norway. In 2019—the latest available report—Norway was still on top, but the years of coalition government had seen Australia drop to eighth place—a squandering of our prosperity. We now draw a line under this lost decade.

I'm proud to be a member of a government that will capitalise on the natural strengths of our country, address our shortcomings with constructive honesty and always be guided by our values. We will invest in a prosperous future, in health and education, for our children and theirs. We will face the historical injustices perpetrated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We will unlock Australia's true economic potential by investing in Australian industries, fuelling them with sovereign and renewable energy supplies and creating secure, well-paid jobs. In doing so, we will take real and sustainable action on climate change, in a way that empowers and rewards those who are most exposed and least privileged. We must rebalance the relationship between workers and employers, reform our broken bargaining system to ensure labour is properly priced and real wage rises are realised by working people. We are pursuing the most ambitious of programs and we have the energy, the passion and the capability to deliver real and lasting prosperity for our country and our communities. And then, in the dusk of day, when we have fought and delivered for the communities of Hawke, Australia and our region, I'll go home where I belong, with my family.

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