Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Well, what a year 2022 has been! Of course, 21 May was the key date in my life this year and a key date in changing the government of this country. When that occurs, you change the direction of the country. But it has also been a very difficult year in so many ways. We have continued to see the impact of climate change, with more frequent and more intense events. The town of Forbes in the member for Riverina's electorate has now suffered five floods in the last 12 months or so. It is just extraordinary. As Prime Minister, I have visited Rochester and Bendigo in Victoria, I have visited Parkes, Forbes, Lismore and other places in New South Wales and I have visited northern Tasmania, all looking at the impact of these devastating floods. I have been speaking with Premier Malinauskas in South Australia this week because the floodwaters are headed across the border into the Riverland, and this remains a very difficult time.

I do hope, as we head into the Christmas break, that we see an alleviation of these conditions. But, once again, it has been a reminder that, at the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character. Whether it be our emergency services personnel—SES, police, people who work for federal and state departments, the people in government services providing that on-ground support for people or the members of the Australian Defence Force who have been deployed very quickly into the areas in which they have been needed—or whether it just be members of the community who will drive hundreds of kilometres upon hearing that their fellow Australians are facing hard times to help clear up debris and build sandbags for people to build those temporary levees, we see extraordinary heroism from Australians during difficult times.

At a time when many families are able to sit around at Christmas and speak about what a great year they've had and enjoy each other's company, it is important to remember that, for many Australians who have lost loved ones or who are alone and doing it tough, it can be a difficult time at Christmas. I spend every Christmas morning with Reverend Bill Crews in Ashfield at the Exodus Foundation, where he feeds literally thousands of people. It's a reminder as well of how tough so many people are doing it in the community. Last year, of course, there were COVID restrictions, so people, by and large, were getting takeaway meals. What was extraordinary was that the queues for Christmas lunch began at 6 am in order to get a proper feed on Christmas Day and in order for children to get the gifts that are handed out at that wonderful loaves-and-fishes restaurant—it's actually the church—on Liverpool Road in Ashfield. This year I look forward to going for the first time as Prime Minister and sharing my morning with those wonderful people and with the quite remarkable Reverend Bill Crews. I pay tribute to all of those at this time of the year who help out the disadvantaged and the vulnerable.

Yesterday, the Leader of the Opposition and I, and the Leader of the Greens and others, attended the Kmart-Salvos wishing tree that's out in the foyer. There are so many charities and people who do great work at this time. I acknowledge as well that so many members of this parliament will be opening their doors, their arms and their hearts at this time to help people in their constituencies.

I want to wish all members of the parliament well during this season. I wish the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Nationals, the crossbenchers and my own colleagues all the best for the break. I said in the caucus on Tuesday—I encouraged people—that there will be no better time to have some time off than the summer break in the year of an election. So I hope people do take a bit of time to have a rest. An election period is one in which, as well as us, our families and those close to us feel a lot of pressure, and spending time with loved ones is always worthwhile.

I thank the people who are closest to me. My partner, Jodie Haydon, is someone who didn't have a political life and suddenly she was in camera shots with Brigitte Macron and engaging in a range of activities which, a few years ago, a coastie—as she proudly calls herself—from the Central Coast of New South Wales would not have anticipated. But she has, I think, represented Australia at appropriate times with dignity and honour, and I pay tribute to her and I thank her for sharing this journey with me.

I thank my best mate, who happens to be my son, Nathan. He is a great young man. He will turn 22 next week. It goes quick. So I say to those in this chamber with little ones: cherish every moment because, before you look, they will be six foot four and informing you about the latest musical trends! It's been terrific as well to have him by my side, each and every day. Whether physically or not, he is by my side, and we talk every single day on the phone. He was a little bit jealous yesterday that Amy from Amyl and the Sniffers was in my office, and he will get a surprise next week when he sees the recording that she made for his birthday, next Thursday. It's okay, he's 22; he's not watching parliament—nor are any of his friends. There's a lot more to do in the Inner West of Sydney than watch parliament, I assure you. To them both, I thank them.

To my colleagues: the Deputy Prime Minister—who is working, as he should be! At the risk of making an inappropriate disclosure, he's where I will be soon, in a room where you can't hear the parliament, doing his job as defence minister of this country. I cannot think of a more loyal, reliable deputy to have. That brings stability to our show that is so important, and I thank him for his support and for the work that he's doing.

To the Leader of the House—it's a good job being the Leader of the House. It actually is the only job in this building that I've asked for and thought about what I would want to do, when I was here. The parliament matters. This is not a debating society. It's how we make laws. It's how a democracy functions. The Leader of the House does a terrific job.

To the extraordinary frontbench team that I have, led by the economic team with the Treasurer and the finance minister, both Jim and Katy have done an extraordinary job, in difficult times, to craft the budget very quickly. We're already crafting a second budget, so there'll be two budgets within the first 12 months of the government that I lead. That presents significant challenges, but they have done an extraordinary job.

It's no great secret that the person who introduced me, on that night of 21 May, is someone who I've been very close to for a long, long period of time. When we were in a Young Labor together, you would have got pretty good odds on Penny Wong being the Leader of the Government in the Senate and me being the leader of the government in the House of Representatives, given where we came from within the Labor Party. Penny Wong remains such an incredible friend, confidant and extraordinary foreign minister. I assure the House that in meetings I have with leaders at G20, APEC and summits I've held recently, at the PIF, Penny Wong is so warmly regarded and respected. That's a good thing for Australia—a very good thing for Australia—that that's the case.

To the rest of the team in the Senate, led by Penny and her deputy, Don Farrell, they do an extraordinary job as well and I thank all of them. I thank the parliamentary staff as well, the clerks and all the people who keep things going, the people who clean our office, the Parliamentary Library, the people who work in the cafeteria, and the cleaners of my office—not the least, Maria and Anna—who see to it that my office is a lovely place to be every morning.

I acknowledge as well some special people—my security. I won't name them, for obvious reasons. It is the most challenging change in my life, which is full of positives. They have a difficult job having someone like me who likes spontaneity and says, 'In half an hour we're going to do this.' For Midnight Oil's final gig at the Hordern Pavilion, security said, 'We've got seats for you, but we know you're not going to stay in the seats, so we've organised special things to try to keep you secure.' They do an amazing job. They do advance work, including overseas, which presents significant challenges. I know that they provide protection for the Leader of the Opposition and a range of people as well. They are diligent and discrete and they keep us safe, which is part of their job. I thank them very much for that.

I thank Glyn Davis, the head of my Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; all departmental heads; and, indeed, every single public servant in this great country. There has been a change of more than half of the heads of the Public Service. People were ready to move on. The people who have come into those organisations have undertaken their role diligently. Being a public servant is an honourable profession. I pay tribute to every one of them. They have all of my respect.

We had drinks last night with the DPM, the Leader of the Opposition and others for the RAAF staff who look after us as well. It's great getting to know them personally. I think it was difficult for all of us last night to recognise them out of their uniforms. That was a way of thanking them.

I thank the ADF personnel who are serving us overseas. It is a great honour as Prime Minister to go to our bases overseas, spend time with them and just say thank you. These people put their own lives at risk in order to keep all of us safe and to represent Australia. I thank all of our serving defence personnel and I thank as well our veterans who have served this country. It's a very important role that they play.

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the job that you are doing on behalf of the parliament to make sure that high standards are implemented. The way that you carry yourself in this place brings dignity and respect to this chamber. I wish you well, as I do all of the parliament here.

I turn to some of my personal staff. I thank my Chief of Staff, Tim Gartrell. Tim Gartrell worked for me with my campaign director in 1996 for the electorate of Grayndler, so you can say we've been together for a while. He worked in my electorate office when I was first elected. He went on to be the National Secretary of the Labor Party in 2007 and worked on the successful campaign that made Kevin Rudd the Prime Minister. He then went on to work in the private sector. He came back to be the campaign director for the successful 'yes' campaign for marriage equality that helped to change this nation for the better. Tim is a great friend. When I became Leader of the Labor Party, had that great honour, I contacted him and said, 'Right, you're coming back.' He made that commitment, and back indeed he has come. He plays such an important role in the office and leads an extraordinary team.

I thank, in particular, Marika and Bell, in my office, who look after my diary and all the day-to-day things that they have to do. They do an extraordinary job. As does Liz Fitch, who leads my media team.

It is a fact that my office has more women in senior leadership roles than we've seen previously. That's a good thing, and that's something that we've changed, not just in the caucus, with 54 out of 103 members of the Labor caucus being women, but in the delegation to APEC, the G20 and ASEAN Summit—my chief foreign affairs adviser, my chief media adviser, my chief national security adviser, the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the local ambassador in Indonesia as well as the ambassador in Thailand. At one stage it struck me that I was the only man in a briefing of nine senior people representing Australia's international interests. That is a big change on where we've been in the past. They are all, of course, absolutely there on merit. They are good, experienced people.

The nature of being Prime Minister means I'm not around the electorate as much as I used to be. I thank Tim Murray and my electorate office team for holding the fort during the weekly demonstrations that are held outside of my office. I say to the people who are engaged in that: all you are doing is stopping vulnerable people from getting social security support, getting immigration support and getting Medicare support. I'm not there most Thursdays when there's one or most Tuesdays when there's another. But that is something my office team have to deal with, and they perform remarkably well.

I know issues about numbers of staffing have been raised with me once or twice this year. I assure you, working in the electorate office of the Prime Minister, you'll know what busy means! They get calls from all over the country for legitimate issues, but sometimes they can be just robocampaigns into electorate offices, which don't really shift opinion. So they have to deal with those issues.

To all members here, I conclude by wishing everyone a very joyous Christmas. May it be a time for those people of faith where they reflect on their faith and on the birth of Jesus Christ and what it means in their life. For other Australians who it means a chance to catch up with family, I hope it's as good and peaceful as it can be.

I look forward to coming back next year. It's been quite a year of significant achievement for the government. Whether people agree with our agenda or not, you cannot argue against the fact that we have been very serious about implementing the commitments we made to the electorate in our first six months—going through the list, as I have to ensure that the commitments we made are fulfilled—and it's objective that I have. There's more to do next year, and I look forward to returning here next year with a renewed sense of vigour and excitement. To those people on this side of the chamber, I say this: don't take it for granted. We won't. We will ensure as a government that there is no hubris, no taking it for granted and that we work methodically.

I say to the opposition, and to the crossbench as well, that I remain someone whose door is open. I attended the actual Prime Minister's office in 2019 on the day that parliament began. That was the last time I was in that office until I went in as Prime Minister. The Leader of the Opposition has been in their many, many times, as have crossbenchers and other members of parliament, and as has the leader of the National Party. My door is open. I see and take my responsibility to lead the country, and to engage with each and every member, in a serious way. It doesn't mean I'm not a Labor Prime Minister who was born Labor and will die Labor; that is who I am. It doesn't mean that I think we have all of the answers, because none of us do; we're much better off when we're working in a collaborative way. So we will stick to our values, but we're certainly up for collaboration and working in a better way so that politics functions better, because that is what the Australian people expect of us. Merry Christmas!

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