Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

It's now been several months since the good people of Berowra put their trust in me again to be their representative in this place. I want to thank them for doing me this enormous honour of being their representative. I always try to do my best to represent the interests of our community and advocate for the beautiful and unique place in which we live.

These three years are going to be very significant years for Australians, as they will be for the people of Berowra. We're still emerging from COVID, from some events that we don't fully understand and from a way of life we never want to have to return to. How we emerge, and the sorts of decisions that we make, are going to shape our future. In my electorate, there are some particularly pressing challenges that the government must not forget, simply because the headlines have moved on to new topics. There are significant parts of the community, particularly those communities along the Hawkesbury River, that are still rebuilding from disaster. Three floods in two years takes a toll on any community, and the Hawkesbury River communities in my electorate have faced a lot. The Hawkesbury River communities are filled with family homes, turf farms, orchards, and waterski and caravan parks. There are also those integral hubs that exist in small communities, like Wisemans Ferry with its bowling club, its Men's Shed and its RFS, all of which have been repeatedly devastated by those flooding events.

Many of the people who live on the river speak of their lineage with pride. There are many Australians living on the river who can actually trace their lineage back to the early days of European settlement along the Hawkesbury. By early July last year, when residents, businesses and community organisations had really only just got back on their feet from February's floods, the Hawkesbury flooded again. This time it flooded with levels rising to the sort of thing we hadn't seen for over 30 years.

I want to acknowledge the amazing rescue and recovery efforts, and our first responders in this regard are really truly amazing, given how often our community leans on them. The SES in the Hills shire are led by Andrew Turner, and, in the Hornsby shire, they're led by James Logan. From the RFS, I particularly want to pay tribute to the work of Glen McCartney, the district manager of the Hills District RFS. Stan Montgomery, Ian Francis, John Turnbull, Gary Chatman and Rod Derriman all lead the various brigades in and around the Hawkesbury area of my electorate. Michael Lathlean from the Hills Shire Council deserves a special mention as well, for the coordination efforts that he provides in these times of disaster, as does Superintendent Darrin Batchelor from the Hills Police Area Command.

I was pleased to be able to take the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Sussan Ley, on a fireboat crew with people from the Wisemans Ferry RFS to survey the devastation shortly after the July floods, and to better appreciate the needs of our community. I showed her firsthand both the force of the river and the damage that the flood left in its wake. We spoke to residents who'd been cut-off during the floods and were only just beginning the arduous clean-up.

Sadly, the floods in my community were not without fatalities. There was a day when I was visiting the Sackville North brigade, to go and survey the damage, and, unfortunately, we weren't able to go out and survey it, because they got an emergency call that there'd been a helicopter crash in South Maroota. We lost Carl Hearps, a much-loved member of our community, during a routine flight checking flood development. I offered my condolences to his wife, Anne, his family and everyone who worked with him. He was an amazing person, and it's a reminder of the way in which people engaged in emergency services put themselves in harm's way, whether they're volunteers or paid employees, or whether they're providing auxiliary assistance, as Carl was doing. They put themselves in uncomfortable situations so the rest of our community can get on with their lives.

I want to talk about some of the people who were affected by these flooding events in our community, because some of the people are really quite unique and demonstrate a real spirit that I think is what the Berowra electorate is all about. I met Terry, a diesel mechanic, who had a caravan in one of the caravan parks at Riviera. When I saw the devastation of his caravan, the way it had been absolutely splattered with mud, he was trying to wash everything out with his family. At first instance, you would look at the caravan and think, 'This is a big mess.' But what you realise over time is that this caravan wasn't just a building to Terry; it was a slice of paradise for him. It was a place his family comes every year to enjoy and where they went to waterski. In that sense, it wasn't just a caravan that he had there and that he'd built and added onto over time; it was a place of family memories. To see those places destroyed, to see them so badly affected, was very moving for me, as it was for anybody who encountered people who had lost so much in those disasters.

I admire the resilience of business owners in the area, given that, for many of them, this was the third time they were cleaning up. I'm talking about people like Chris, the manager of Cliftonville Lodge Resort; Tony, who owned and operated Riviera for many years; and the amazing—I call her marvellous—Margaret Pratt and Barry Roberts, from the Wisemans Ferry Bowling Club, which has been such a hub and has not been spared its own issues as a result of the flooding. Despite this, they shared their gratitude for the emergency services personnel, cleaned up as best they could and then moved on quickly to help others.

I heard stories of heroism, strength and community solidarity during the flood. At its peak, more than 700 personnel from the various agencies in the Hawkesbury communities were carrying out rescue-and-recovery missions every day as needed. I think of the wonderful Adrian Acheson, the presidents of the Wisemans Ferry Men's Shed, whose shed was completely totalled by the force of the river on two of the three occasions. He was given a pail of paint and, rather than using it to clean up the shed, he donated it to members of the community who'd lost everything and were trying to clean up their houses. Members of the Men's Shed also ensured that locals were supported to rebuild, and that's of the sort of communities that those river communities are. For some, seven months on, the floods are just a memory. But for many people in my electorate the floods have left a permanent mark. We must not forget what these communities have been through or the extra support they continue to need in order to mitigate the damage of future weather events.

Another challenge in my electorate which I have spoken about many times in this place and which became particularly difficult in recent years is the need for much better telecommunications infrastructure in the Berowra electorate. In good times, telecommunications connect us with our work, our studies, our family and our friends. In bad times, telecommunications are a matter of life and death. We especially depend on good telecommunications connections when they're related to health or during emergencies and disasters. Any failure of connection increases the level of distress exponentially and increases the possibility of fatality.

In Berowra, Australia's telco companies have a history of grossly failing our community. Members of my community too often find their phones completely ineffective in the many dead spots across the Berowra electorate but particularly in the Hawkesbury River area. Some of the low-lying communities I visited experience poor connection on good days and had no connection at all during last year's floods. It was many days before telco companies restored their connections. In the meantime, houses were submerged, cars were swept away and people needed rescuing.

In emergencies, as an everyday life, Australians deserve proper connection that the telcos promise and that residents pay for. Last year, under the coalition government's Peri-Urban Mobile Program—a program that I advocated for to try to help communities like mine deal with the appalling state of telecommunications—I secured federal funding for improved telecommunications, with three new towers serving the areas of Annangrove, Hornsby Heights, Mount Colah and Galston. This is an important step forward, but it has to be only the beginning. The investment is a step in the right direction, though.

Last year I wrote to and met with the incoming Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, bringing to her attention the poor state of communications in our electorate so that we might ensure that our community acquires the level of telco coverage that we need. I was also pleased to host the then shadow minister for communications, Sarah Henderson, to the electorate. She had a chance to meet with a number of residents whose lives are impacted daily by inadequate telecommunications.

We met with Blake Buchanan from Kenthurst, who's unable to get NBN cable or fixed wireless and struggles with kids at home, especially during lockdown and home-schooling. We met Peter Paton from Annangrove. The internet issues that he had affected the whole street, and several neighbours came to Mr Paton's house to meet with us. We met with Don and Joy Montgomery of Annangrove, an elderly couple who have unreliable phone connections and have in the past experienced difficulty trying to get an ambulance when Don was needing help in an emergency. We met with Emad Hanna of Kenthurst. Dr Hanna struggled with telehealth during the lockdown due to poor internet. At home they've got a Telstra antenna on their roof and still they're unable to get a signal in certain parts of their house. I've asked Minister Rowland to visit the electorate so that she, too, can experience firsthand the challenges faced by so many Australians in Berowra.

I want to talk about some of the issues I was fighting for during the election campaign. During the campaign I fought for our communities to receive funding for projects they needed in order to gain upgrades—projects that would have been funded had we been returned to government, like the upgrade to Campbell Park at West Pennant Hills and Hunt Reserve in Mount Colah and the completion of the San Giorgio Association community facilities at Kenthurst. But the Labor government is not proceeding with any of these projects. Despite this, I will keep fighting for the delivery of these and other community projects, because the Berowra community deserves no less. I will also keep fighting in our community for better traffic conditions, for more housing affordability for young families whose families have lived in the community for generations and who want to live close to their parents and their grandparents, and for policies to address cost of living, because they are the things that people in my community are talking to me about.

I want to take a moment to thank those people who played a role in Berowra in the last election campaign. As a member of parliament, you can't do this alone; you are only here because of the wonderful support—in my case from the Berowra FEC and the Berowra Liberal Party. I particularly want to thank Peter Reed, my campaign manager; Warren Waddell, who was the assistant campaign manager; Warwick Puldon, who ran the volunteer effort; and the various people who ran different parts of the campaign: Graham Bateman, Daryl Beech, Sallianne McClelland, Phil Hare, Berenice Walker, Sreeni Pillamarri, David Williams and Helen McNamee. Their work was absolutely fantastic.

I am supported in Berowra by a terrific federal conference and, over the course of the last term, by Maria Kovacic. I am delighted that Maria has gone on to bigger and better things and is now the state president of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party, bringing the same sense that she brought to the role in Berowra and the same strong leadership in preparing our state division for, hopefully, a successful result in the coming state election. I want to thank our new president, Michael McAuley; Tom Green, my secretary; Peter Reed, the treasurer; and Helen McNamee and Warren Waddell, our vice presidents.

I also want to acknowledge the people who have worked with me and who have helped me to serve our community over the course of the last term. My office has been led by Annette McHugh and Sarah Greenbaum. Other people who made a huge effort in my office over that period include: Tonia Watson, Jack Abadi, Karolina Pultsiniski, Annie Phillips, Tracey Barracliffe, Mike Morrow, Carmen Martuuk, Charlene Comparit, Kimberley Lai, Jasper McCrindle and the amazing volunteers, Penny Becchio, Daryl Beech and the man I call our 'Young Liberal', Ed Glasby, who in a month turns 90—showing that you're never too old to get involved. They really are a magnificent team.

Unfortunately, in the period since the election I've lost some people that are very dear to me and without whose support I wouldn't be here. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on them and their contributions to the community. On 23 May last year we lost Valerie Smith. To anyone who knew her, Valerie was the epitome of stoicism. After having had three children, Valerie lost her husband. Val was determined to provide her young children with the best life she could. Caroline Miller, her best mate, said that Val's guiding philosophy was 'don't be a victim, be a solution'. And so she was.

As a single parent who worked hard to put her kids through school and university, her caring instincts didn't wane when her children left the nest. She was an active member of the Annangrove Progress Association and a major figure in the Sydney Society for Scottish History. In many respects, she was a mother figure to much of the Annangrove community. She had a property on Annangrove Road with orange trees and vegetables and a horse paddock. When she got too old to work on the farm, she turned to a new project. She would buy hundreds of mason jars. Members of the community would donate fruit and veggies, and Val would process them into marmalade, jam and relish that she'd then donate to the local school, the Kenthurst Rotary Club, the Annangrove Progress Association, Dural Probus and, indeed, anyone in the community that Val knew was struggling. Her Scottish roots made her whisky marmalade a particular community favourite.

I want to acknowledge that Val was a pillar of the community of Scottish Australians and was very proud of that, and we often talked about Scottish history. In fact, today I am wearing a tie that she bought for me and wanted me to wear in this place, which is the official Australian tartan. I'm wearing it in memory of Valerie. She was a stalwart of the Kenthurst Annangrove branch of the Liberal Party. She was never short of good advice and wise counsel, and to her family and friends may her memory be a blessing.

In 2022 we also lost Jack Oliver. After working as a mechanical engineer in England in his early years, Jack and his wife, Irene, moved to Australia to start their life together. They worked hard and bought a small house and a little land in Maroota where they settled into the community. When they outgrew the Maroota property, they moved to Annangrove, where they became long-standing members of the Annangrove Progress Association. Jack could fix practically anything. He was the go-to Mr Fixit of the community, with a smile and a good chat at every time. He was a great volunteer in our community, too. Whether it was setting up for community events, Easter celebrations, ANZAC Day or Christmas, no job was ever too demanding. Like Valerie, Jack was also a stalwart of the Kenthurst Annangrove branch of the Liberal Party, and my condolences go particularly to his lovely wife, Irene.

Two very special people were lost within a few weeks of each other, and that had a particular impact on my life and the lives of the broader community. I speak of Patricia and David Barnett. On 13 May we lost Patty. She was a wonderful stalwart of our community, a remarkable mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Born on 13 March 1938 in Warrawee, she attended school at Kincoppal, Elizabeth Bay, and studied at the University of Sydney for her BA in English literature, including a scholarship in her final year.

In 1958 Patty married David, and it was a marriage that lasted more than 63 years. They had five children, who described her both as their mother and their friend. She joined the P&Cs of her children's schools and was engaged in the community. Despite raising five children, Patty never stopped learning. She was a great linguist, master in four languages, and taught English as a second language at Sydney Technical College for 35 years.

Later in life she achieved a masters degree in education at the University of New England while working full time. She was elected for two consecutive terms as an alderman, as it then was, on the Ku-ring-gai Council. An instinctive citizen of the world, she collected friends and fostered a sense of community around her. After retirement she continued to contribute, with voluntary service at Launceston Waterbird Haven, 2MBS FM, Lifeline and the Rostrum club. Patty had an amazingly commanding speaking voice. It was one of those voices you would kill to have. She put it to great effect for all her years on radio.

She was a founding and long-serving secretary of the Fox Valley branch of the Liberal Party. Patty was always hugely welcoming of me and encouraging of my activities, both in the party, in this place and in the broader community. It was Patty and David who got Joanna and me involved in Lifeline. Patty used to run the book fairs, particularly the children's book fairs, and that began a very significant association in my life with Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury.

When Patty passed away, she was surrounded by her family and the many friends she'd acquired over her 85 years. Sadly, only a few months later, Patty's husband, David, also passed away, on 3 August last year. To those who knew David, he was a man of integrity, intelligence and resilience. He had a remarkable career as an architect. Buildings like the National Library in Canberra, the New South Wales state parliamentary offices, Westmead Hospital additions and the now demolished Sydney Football Stadium are part of the work that he did. Yet nothing was more important to him than his family.

In 1981, he too was elected as an alderman on the Ku-ring-gai Council. He brought a spirit of generosity in his building knowledge to the service of his community for the next 17 years. He served as deputy mayor in 1995 and 1996. He, like Patty, was a founding member of the Fox Valley branch of the Liberal Party and also an office bearer. He was a long-serving member of the Liberal Party—except for three weeks, when he resigned, having lost a state preselection. Our party is better for David's contributions over the years. Like Patty, he was deeply involved in the wider community, the Royal Commonwealth Society, Killara tennis, Ku-ring-gai Male Choir, Rostrum and the Launceston Waterbird Haven. Patty and David are survived by their five children, 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. May both of their memories be a blessing.

The Reverend Canon David Claydon passed away on 28 July 2022. His life story was extraordinary. David never knew his parents. They were killed in Jerusalem while he was a newborn. There was a social worker, Lora Claydon, who stumbled across him at the Bethlehem baby orphanage. It is really quite a remarkable Christian story, in that sense. He had neither a name nor a birth date, yet she knew in an instant that she must provide him with a family. She adopted David as his aunt and he took her last name.

When he was about four he contracted measles, deteriorating to a critical condition and while hospitalised in Jerusalem. There, he met a pastor who shared with him the story of God 's love for all creatures great and small. At this epiphany, David devoted his life to the church.

Lora, a missionary, moved around a lot and David had a wide experience of life. He married his wife, Robyn, in 1961 and they put down roots in my community and served the Anglican Church in Australia for 60 years. David was the minister at the St Matthew's Anglican Church at West Pennant Hills, before he became the federal director of the Christian Missionary Society.

He's been a friend to my family for three generations. He had a genuine kindness, humanity and humility and would often come to see me about persecuted Christians from the Middle East. I took him to see the member for Banks, then migration minister, I acknowledge in the chamber today. To his wife, Robyn, and his family, may David's memory be a blessing.

I mention these particular people because they are special to me. But they are remarkable examples of the wonderful people that we have in the Berowra electorate. They are the sorts of people I am delighted to represent and serve in this parliament, and I thank them for their trust.

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