Keith Wolahan (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am physically here in the House of Representatives, but my heart is at home in my electorate. In particular, it is in a room where people are sitting down and about to become Australian citizens. I want to speak to them. What I want to say to them is: you are sitting in a seat that I, too, once sat in. In fact, many people who sit in this House on both sides have. That is the great thing about our country.

You will hear about all of the rights and obligations that come with being a citizen. More than anything, it's about opportunity, and the opportunities are limitless. I know you know that. You know that because, by sitting there, you're in a place that has been very hard to get to. We think being elected here is hard, but becoming an Australian citizen is hard. You've had many rejections, you've had many forms returned, and you've had disappointments and delays, but here you are. I remember that moment, and there are two moments you'll all remember—the first is when the plane banks over Melbourne and you looked down and imagined all the possibilities of the future that you will have. When we came as migrants from Ireland, many years ago, we went through Customs, and my dad turned to us and said, 'We've made it!' Several years later, when we sat where you are now and became Australian citizens, he said, 'We've really made it!' It was because that thing which you're going to get tonight—that citizenship—is a unique gift that you have fought hard for. You becoming a citizen makes you equal to the people in this place, from the Prime Minister down the corridor to everyone else in this country. That is a beautiful, wonderful thing and I want to thank you for it.

I also want to thank you for choosing Australia. You've come from all corners of the earth, but you picked this place. And you didn't just pick it because it's a piece of the earth—because it has a certain geography to it, although it is beautiful. You came here because you know that it stands for something. And it's about more than just standing for something, it's a place where people fight for what it means. Indeed, if you go down the road from this building, there are 103,000 names on the wall of people who fought and died for what this country means. Many of those names weren't born in Australia, just like you.

Can I plead with you that after tonight, when you think of all the opportunities that lie before you, you think about being a volunteer? I know that there are so many ways to give back to this country, and that you're doing it now by becoming a citizen. For many of you it's about being a parent and teaching your children to be curious and kind. But in the room next to you are representatives from many organisations, including Rotary, the RSLs, historical societies, Neighbourhood Watch, the SES and the CFA—we have four of those in our area. One thing we know about volunteerism is that of course, it's about giving to others and serving others. But when you speak to volunteers, you know that they feel they get so much more in return—so much more. Because, when it's all said and done, we don't take assets with us. We don't leave much more behind than our family and the memories they have of us—and what we gave to make this country a little bit better than we found it. I know that you who are sitting there are the exact sort of people who can do that. You are resilient, you are determined and you are so welcome to our country. Congratulations!

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