Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

G'day! I am Jodie Belyea, and if you haven't already heard, I am a mum from Frankston with a husband, a son, two dogs and a mortgage.

I am going to tell you what it means to be a mum from Frankston, and what a mum from Frankston, who's Frankston-tough can do, because there are a lot of women and men out there like me.

I acknowledge that we meet on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples. I pay my respects to their elders past and present.

I represent Dunkley, a community on Bunurong and Boonwurrung country, the land by the sea, the home of Nairm Marr Djambana, our local gathering place.

I am fortunate to have deep friendships with many First Nations people. Some are here today. I thank them for guiding me so generously to learn about this country's ancestors and culture. I will continue to do what I can to close the gap.

Just a few weeks ago, on International Women's Day, I was declared the federal MP for Dunkley. I'm conscious of the tragic circumstances that bring me here: the passing of my predecessor, Peta Murphy. I acknowledge the pain that many in this place and in our community feel for the loss of such a remarkable, strong warrior for justice as Peta was.

I acknowledge and honour Peta's parents, Bob and Jan, in the gallery today and thank them for being here. And to Rod, who is watching: for your guidance and support this past four months despite your grief, a heartfelt thank you.

To the people of Dunkley, I simply say thank you. Thank you for the immense privilege and honour of representing you in federal parliament. The gravity associated with representing Dunkley as a Labor MP in federal parliament hit me in my practice session for taking the oath just last week. As I stood in this chamber at the dispatch box, I burst into tears as the enormity of the responsibility hit me. It's a responsibility I will never take lightly. I will seek to honour my community's trust every day I am here.

Dunkley is an incredible community with a can-do spirit, from Seaford to Carrum Downs, Frankston to Langwarrin and Karingal to Mount Eliza. We're proud people. We care about each other. We do awesome things for each other every day.

We are demographically diverse, and I saw our mix of wealth and poverty and everything in between as I doorknocked in every suburb around the electorate. I saw that too many people in our community need a helping hand due to poverty and disadvantage. Yet, if one community gives me faith that these challenges can be met, it is Dunkley.

Dunkley is a hive of volunteer and community organisations that work with people from all walks of life, small and large businesses, and institutions. There are so, so many people who give up their evenings and weekends to run the widest range of organisations you can imagine: basketball, bowling, cricket, football, netball, scouts, soccer and tennis, not to mention art, dance, theatre schools and swimming groups. You name it; in Dunkley, we've got it. At a time when volunteering across Australia is at its lowest, in Dunkley it's as strong as ever. I intend to advance the work of these organisations.

For as long as I serve my community in this place, I will advocate for the responsible development of Frankston as the cultural, economic and civic hub for our area. We have great assets in a redeveloped Frankston Hospital, Chisholm TAFE and a campus of Australia's largest university, Monash. But we need to integrate these huge investments into a revitalised CBD precinct.

We also need to build more homes, including affordable and social housing—an issue I heard a lot about over my campaign from single mums and young couples struggling to afford rent. And we must build a climate-resilient infrastructure to protect our greatest natural assets—our 'bay' and green spaces. Now is the time to transform our energy system to pursue renewable energy. If we do nothing, it's our children and grandchildren who will pay.

I want to thank the inspiring locals, community leaders and organisations that I have already visited. I will champion your efforts and the efforts of those I haven't yet met to find solutions that improve the lives of people from Dunkley for ever, because that is the Dunkley way.

I grew up not far from Dunkley, in Mentone, with my mum, Anne; stepfather, Peter; and my brother and sister, Shane and Meg. I was close to my grandparents and my aunt Robyn. On family birthdays, we sang and danced to Neil Diamond, Fleetwood Mac and Billy Joel. In summer holidays, we camped on the Torquay foreshore. We are an average, middle-class family.

My grandfather Gough—Lieutenant Gough Garland—was head of the family. Gough was a tall man with a big booming voice and a sparkle of mischief in his eye. As a girl and a young woman, he was also my hero. Gough served in the 39th Battalion during World War II, serving 232 days on the Kokoda Track. After the war, he went on to make significant contributions through Legacy, looking after the welfare of war widows, and the 39th Battalion Association, helping to establish the renowned 1,000 Steps in Ferntree Gully, Victoria, in memory of the 625 soldiers killed in the Kokoda campaign.

I have been fortunate to walk three times in my grandfather's footsteps across the Kokoda Track, learning the history of the battles—what our forefathers and the Papua New Guinean people endured and achieved, in extreme circumstances, to protect our shores and keep Australia safe. My grandfather role-modelled to me and us, as a family, his experience of dealing with the trauma of war by helping others.

Sadly, trauma was something I came to know all too well. As a child, teenager and young woman, I experienced family and domestic violence and sexual abuse. To share this part of my story makes me feel incredibly vulnerable.

However, I'm not alone. The statistics suggest that one in five women—and one in 20 men—experience domestic, family and sexual violence. I know there are many people in this chamber and the gallery who have lived experience of trauma, whose values, beliefs and life's work have been shaped by what we have experienced.

To help me heal, mum got me into ballet, camping and bushwalking in the great Australian outdoors. Today, bushwalking and fitness are central to my routine, because trauma breaks you into a million pieces. It paralyses you and makes you wonder if you can go on. The experience of trauma puts you behind your peers in education, career and financial security. You have to work really hard to silence the inner voice that says, 'You are not enough,' to keep going and live your life. But trauma also gave me a gift—a steely determination to get over depression and self-doubt, and to work with other women, men and young people who have experienced the same pain as me.

Over the past 30 years, I have worked for numerous community organisations and state and local government, leading programs and services for young people, men and women. I have a master's in business leadership, and undergraduate qualifications in training, youth work and community development. I know how to lead organisations, create solutions to issues and get things done for and with business, community and government. And I will get things done for Dunkley.

When you walk the Kokoda Track, you connect with the values emblazoned on the four pillars at Isurava battlefield: mateship, courage, endurance and sacrifice. It ignites your inner fortitude. On that first trek, I thought a lot about my grandfather and how I could follow in his footsteps and those of his mates.

One afternoon, as I cooled my feet in a river, I was surrounded by butterflies of every colour. It was a magical moment. I felt pure delight at the colours of nature gathered around me.

Several years later, with Dave and Flynn, I visited the butterfly enclosure at the Natural History Museum in London. I took a photo of the most magnificent Ulysses butterfly. A year later I drew that butterfly on a canvas and I started mapping out a recovery program for women, informed by my work with women, men and young people. From that idea and sketch I founded the Women's Spirit Project, with women from Dunkley—a not-for-profit organisation that supports women to recover from trauma and abuse through fitness, health and wellbeing activities. Through that project and other programs I have walked thousands of kilometres with groups, traversing Tasmania's wilderness, the Larapinta Trail and the Bibbulmun Track, supporting thousands of young people, women and men on programs delivered out on country so they can heal and recover and discover their potential.

Through the Women's Spirit I made a dear friend Mel, who's watching my speech in Frankston today. She had fled domestic violence and was recovering from addiction. In her first year she wanted to quit the program countless times. As a single mum with two children, her life was complex. She was carrying a very heavy load. But she never gave up because we accepted her without judgement, giving her the tools and support to slowly recover and heal, and she did the rest. Mel has now completed a diploma in community services and works with the Women's Spirit Project. She is also the coordinator of the MEGT Australia foundation, helping women experiencing disadvantage return to study through fee-free TAFE. She is flying. Her journey and that of hundreds of other women I have worked with affirms the need for wellbeing programs that support healing and recovery a steps towards social and economic independence.

Through the Women's Spirit Project I also met Peta Murphy. We met at the most unlikely of places—but, then, probably not, due to all my walking—the Anaconda store in Frankston. A group of us from the project were being fitted out for boots to walk the 72 kilometres from Frankston to Cape Schanck. Peta was immediately engaged by the stories of the women putting one foot in front of the other, doing what they could to recover from trauma. Then, a little over a year ago, shortly after a chance meeting on the boardwalk by Frankston, Peta and I sat down for what proved to be an emotional conversation. We talked about Peta's aspirations in politics, her unfinished business and the fact that she did not know how long she had to live. It was during this conversation that Peta encouraged me to join the Labor Party and to consider politics as a different way to help my community. I may have been a bit late in life joining Labor; however, my career and pursuits in life show a Labor person through and through.

In 2021, thousands of women and men joined the March 4 Justice outside this house. Peta invited me to walk from parliament with the Labor Party, where we stood with the crowd, singing loud and proud, 'I am woman, woman, hear me roar!' It was a huge moment for me. The shame I had felt for decades because of trauma finally lifted, and I knew in that moment I was going to need to do more—to be brave and to tell my story in order to make a bigger difference. And so here I am.

People who know me know that I like a plan. Every New Year's Eve you'll find me pounding the beach in Frankston with an old friend Juanita, reflecting on the year just gone and setting goals for the year ahead. I need a KPI to work towards and a word for the year. My word for 2024 is 'powerful'. I will be a powerful local voice in Canberra for residents who are struggling to make ends meet, committed to being my community's voice in the government and advocating for solutions that build on the worthy measures already announced by the Albanese government, including Labour's cost-of-living tax cuts.

I have aspirations—goals—I would like to achieve at a national level. But I've got to win the next election! I stand here as part of the most diverse government in Australia's history, with women making up 53 per cent of its members. It's an incredible achievement that needs to be celebrated. But there's still much more to do to remove persistent barriers to women's social and economic independence and to advance women's economic participation in Australia.

Firstly, I wish to champion the development of policies and programs for women that strengthen their health and wellbeing—for women recovering from domestic and family violence and sexual abuse, mental health barriers, poverty and addiction. I wish to support initiatives that address menopause, because—pardon the pun—menopause is a hot topic for many middle-aged women. When women finally reach a time in their life when they can advance their career they are often besieged by hot flushes, insomnia, anxiety and a lot more. They can retreat from their careers and experience relationship breakdown, which hurts their financial security, independence and family and also impacts our economy. If we don't commit to delivering initiatives to support the health and wellbeing, the healing and the recovery of women impacted by trauma and poverty, gender equality could remain mere words on paper. In honour of Peta Murphy's passion for the unionist and feminist, I will reignite the Louisa Dunkley Network, enabling local women to come together to learn and lead.

Secondly, Australians lose $25 billion to gambling each year, the highest amount per capita in the world. Families in communities like Dunkley feel the brunt of gambling magnifying the cost-of-living pressures and exacerbating disadvantage. I will advocate for the recommendations of the You win some, you lose more report. Peta drove this report's commonsense recommendations with great empathy and care. She is no longer here to fight this good fight, so it falls on us to meet her political courage with a little bit of our own.

And to the young people of this country: I see you. I will do whatever is within my power to ensure that young people from all walks of life have the skills and confidence to live into their potential and navigate the complex issues they face now and into the future. My work over three decades has shown me that the greatest growth, learning and development I have seen in young people has been through programs delivered in the great Australian outdoors—on country, in communities. I believe we need to give young people hope—a sense of possibility—through the provision of leadership and personal development programs that teach them courage, resilience and self-determination out on our amazing country. I will invite my parliamentary colleagues to work with me to create this initiative for our young people.

Australians live in a mighty democracy. We are naive if we think our democratic institutions are immune from the tide of misinformation and populism that threatens to sink other democracies around the globe. We, the Australian people, need to get involved in politics to prevent populist politics that ignites fear and perpetuates lies from taking hold. In Dunkley a far-right group that I will not name campaigned hard against me. They had money, but we had something else. We had people power.

I want to thank the best group of campaign volunteers Dunkley has ever seen. You stood on stalls prepoll and spoke to thousands of people across the electorate. And to the leaders of my campaign team—to Jett, Georgie, and Lachie—you had my back every day. I am forever grateful.

For every year of my 56 years, so many people—bosses, colleagues, friends and family members—have guided, nudged, provoked, supported and cheered me on. Some of you are here today and some are watching elsewhere. Thank you for all you have done to enable me to stand here today.

To Paul Erickson, to Julian Hill and to Paul Edbrooke: thanks for believing in me.

I thank my state Labor colleagues for doorknocking and helping the team to connect with 15,000 residents.

To my colleagues from the Women's Spirit Project and MEGT Australia who've taken the baton from me at lightning speed, enabling me to embrace this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: I am incredibly grateful.

To the Prime Minister: thank you for backing me, campaigning with me, taking great selfies with Dunkley locals and, most importantly, working hard, with all of my new colleagues, to provide opportunities for women like me to be in federal parliament.

I first met my husband, Dave, when I was 25. I was a student at Chisholm TAFE, and he was my lecturer. However, 13 years later, we got together, we had Flynn and got married—we were all back to front.

Dave, you have been my greatest ally, cheerleader and confidant. You are an incredible man, who has made your own significant contributions to the youth and disability sector, empowering people that need support. Thank you for being you and for all you have done for me. Your loyalty and dedication to supporting me is very precious, and thank you for the best present life has ever given me: our gorgeous son, Flynn.

Flynn, like your dad's, your support of me has been unwavering. Despite the stress you felt, you rode the wave of the by-election campaign. You are amazing. You are a brilliant young man, funny, determined and warm. I am so proud of you and cannot wait to see what you do in life.

Very few Australians get the opportunity I have to stand in this house—the big house on the hill. The honour and gratitude I feel will stay with me for the rest of my life. These past four months, walking the streets and knocking on the doors of Dunkley, I have seen and learnt a great deal. I intend to keep listening to the people of Dunkley and to use all that I am learning for the betterment of Dunkley and Australia.

I believe in the Labor mission to fight for the average Aussie, for families like my own and women, men and young people, and standing up for justice, equality and fairness. I call on you to join me, a proud mum from Frankston—a mum who is more than Frankston tough—in making a difference for this great country, because, if I can, you can too.

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