Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for his words. Mr Speaker, we live in the greatest country in the world; there's no question about that. That's not just because the Socceroos are now through to the final 16, I might say! It was a great goal this morning. A lot of people will be going to work pretty tired today. The sporting achievements of the last year have been incredible for our country. We know it's summer when there's a cricket test in Perth. The second day will start a little bit later on today. The West Indies are obviously a good team, but I think the Australians have started very well, and that is always a good sign when we're coming into summer.

We live in the best country in the world because of the finest among us, and they of course include the Australian Defence Force members. The Prime Minister was good enough to acknowledge in particular those who are working overseas, some in extreme conditions, and will be over this Christmas, in absentia and isolated from families. I acknowledge the men and women of the Australian Defence Force for the work they've done domestically as well over the course of the last 12 months: the deployments to flood ravaged areas, providing evacuations out of northern New South Wales and many other locations, including, most recently, in Shepparton and broader rural Victoria and New South Wales. Their work never stops. They work with us in a way that we see and they work for us in many parts of the world in circumstances that will never be acknowledged. The work of the Australian Defence Force, ASIO, ASIS, the Australian Federal Police—all of the agencies in keeping us safe and our equity safe internationally over Christmas—is something we should never take for granted.

I want to say thank you very much to all of my colleagues. I have the most incredible team. I feel very fortunate to be in the position of Leader of the Liberal Party and to have a deputy like the member for Farrer, Sussan Ley, a person of great personal integrity and somebody who is widely respected on both sides of this chamber. I feel similarly about the Leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, who's a good friend, a fellow Queenslander and somebody I've been able to work with very closely. Coalition is integral to the success of our side of politics. John Howard instilled that in all of us at a very young age. I continue that fine tradition with a great deal of respect for the nuances and differences that we have from time to time, but it is a very strong partnership and long may that be the case.

I want to say thank you very much to our team here: the shadow cabinet, the shadow ministry, the Manager of Opposition Business. I have some agreement on different issues with the Prime Minister, but my view is that Leader of the House and Manager of Opposition Business are two of the most dreadful jobs in this place—and I say that from experience! Being Leader of the House, particularly when there are very finely balanced numbers in this House, is not always a pleasurable task.

It distracts from your day job—there's no question about that! I have incredible colleagues in this chamber and in the other. I acknowledge the work of Senator Birmingham and all of our Senate team. Our whips do an incredible job. I said at our coalition Christmas party last night that the nuance and the ability to work across the aisle and deal with different debates in a respectful way, and to manage all of that and make it look as though nothing is wrong and everything is going swimmingly, is a pretty big undertaking by the whips. Our Chief Opposition Whip, Bert van Manen, is away crook at the moment but will be back soon. Our team here and in the Senate do an incredible job.

Mr Speaker, I want to acknowledge the work you've given to the parliament since May and that of the Deputy Speaker, the member for Newcastle, and the Second Deputy Speaker, the member for Moore. I acknowledge also the Clerk and the Deputy Clerk, the clerk assistants, the Serjeant-at-Arms, the Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services and all of the public servants and contractors who ensure that this parliament is well oiled and runs well. As the Prime Minister pointed out at Tony Abbott's portrait unveiling yesterday, it's the most visited building in the country, and we should be incredibly proud of it. We should be more proud of it than we actually are.

This institution has survived many circumstances and many periods in our history when people would seek to undo our past or disregard the traditions that we have, but they're worth standing up for, worth fighting for. They're worth the sacrifice that colleagues on both sides of the parliament have made over the course of the last 12 months and the price that our families pay as well, when we're down here for 20 weeks of the year and on the road for most of the rest of the year. The sacrifice is worth it, because this country deserves a very bright future. As I say to kids when I go to schools in my electorate, 'There are good and bad people on both sides of politics, but the vast majority are good and have only the best interests of our country at heart.' If we're embarking on that destination, as parties we may on occasion take different paths to get there, but, ultimately, we have the same good intent for our country.

Prime Minister, I want to say to you, Jodie and Nathan that I hope you get some rest and a good break this year. It's been a long and arduous period since May. It always is for an incoming government when the international engagement commences, and a lot of that had built up because during COVID we weren't able to travel overseas for a period of time, and our officials and diplomats were restricted in their own movements. Australia being back on the international stage has been a good thing. As you know, the coalition supported much of the activity and much of the achievement because it's important for the world, both our friends and our foes, to understand that there is a united position and that we will always fight for the best interests of our country.

I also want to acknowledge those people who work behind the scenes here. The Prime Minister mentioned Maria and Anna. There's Lucia as well and the other cleaners who keep the building in impeccable condition. The maintenance people, the gardeners, the security staff—everybody has a great deal of pride in their work in this place, and I'm very pleased with the relationships we have with them. The respect that they show to us, and I think that we show to them, is something that makes this place tick.

I want to say thank you very much to my personal staff, both here in Canberra and at Strathpine in my electorate: Alex Dalgleish, Tom Fleming, Nicole Chant and the whole team. Many of my staff have been with me through various portfolios. They're obviously unemployable elsewhere, otherwise why would they want to stick around with me! I really am very fortunate that they've been so loyal over a long period of time. Through babies and different life events, they've been able to stick with what is a very difficult job. Thanks also to Jacqui Cooper and to all of the electorate staff. As the Prime Minister pointed out, electoral staff cop a lot. As the staff of not only the Leader of the Opposition but the Minister for Defence and Minister for Home Affairs before that, my electorate staff have copped protests, people climbing up on the roof and people barging into the front of the office. The disgraceful disrespect that's demonstrated towards people who are just trying to help those who are genuinely in need of help in our electorate is something that's completely unacceptable. Peaceful protest, objection, debate and freedom of speech are integral to our freedom, but some of the conduct, particularly towards women in those electoral offices, is not acceptable, and it should be condemned.

I too want to say thank you very much to the Australian Federal Police for the work they do, especially my close personal protection team. They also spend a lot of time away from their family, and, as the Prime Minister pointed out, every movement is scripted. If you want to go down to the servo on a Saturday morning and fill up the jerry can and come back, you need to give half an hour's notice for everything. I remember I once snuck off without telling the team, and I was dobbed in by the static team who were at home. They rang up the close personal protection team who then called me to see where I was going, like I'd absconded. I was literally just going down to the servo for 10 minutes. It's hard to describe the work that they do, but I thank them for the respect that they have for us and for our way of life, our privacy; it's an incredible intrusion. I'm blessed with three beautiful children and an amazingly supportive wife. They cop the death threats and all the rest of it as well, but they're stoic and put up with it because of the atmosphere that the AFP create both on the road and at home in protecting my family when I'm not there. So, thank you to them.

Rebecca turns 21 in March, and my sons are Harry and Tom. Harry has just finished year 12. He's been to schoolies on the Gold Coast, the most stressful part of my life over the course of the last couple of weeks. I had a message from Kirilly to say that he'd contracted a mild case of COVID and would have to come home early. I texted back, 'Gold.' He came back, he recovered and he wanted to return. We convinced him that wasn't a good idea, so two down, one to go next year for schoolies—we'll see how we go! But equally, we can't do it without our families. They're the most important thing in life, and my kids have obviously had their 100 hours getting their licences over the last couple of years. They've all done that with a police car in the rear-vision mirror. When you pull out from a stop sign or you're turning to go down the street, you've got to allow for two cars to turn, not just one. It's quite a skill, as the Prime Minister would appreciate. The kids have done it with great aplomb, without complaint, although they did complain about the police being at school with bum bags on. I said, 'Nobody will notice who they are.' They said, 'Dad, they're wearing bum bags at school and they're not that discreet!' They put up with a lot as well.

I want to close by acknowledging those who are much less fortunate than us and who will do it tough this Christmas. We were at a function yesterday, as the Prime Minister pointed out, recognising the work of the Salvos. I've had a great deal of pleasure and honour to be the Red Shield Appeal chairman in my local area for almost 20 years. The work they do, the lives they save and the people they influence—they're quite remarkable. The Salvos are one of many organisations that will be hard at work while we're having a knees-up enjoying ourselves with family and friends at Christmas lunch and over the break. For the work they provide to those who are less fortunate, I thank them. We were at another function yesterday with Redkite. The Minister for Health and Aged Care and I were there. Redkite supports kids who have cancer. These kids are sick and some of them will be attending hospitals over Christmas as well. Spare them a thought.

We do live in the best country in the world, and in part it's a great country because of the many people I've acknowledged today. I wish everybody a good break, a good rest. It has been a long year, and we deserve a break before we come back with great gusto in 2023.

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