Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I was confronted with a blank screen when coming to write this speech, and, when blank screen brain freeze would happen to me when I was a journo, we were told by editors, 'Just start typing what's in your head.' So that's what I'm doing, and that's what you're hearing now. This is a stream of consciousness more than it is a speech, so my apologies for the incoherence.

Did you hear the member for Higgins's incredible speech last Monday? That demonstrated what a loss Michelle will be for this House, following the Electoral Commission's decision to abolish her seat. It was a speech full of intellect, insight and compassion. Don't expect much of that this time. I say to the commissioners: 'It's not too late. Reconsider. Abolish the seat of Melbourne instead—or, better yet, Deakin. Either would be a definite improvement.''

I'm giving my valedictory today not because my seat has been abolished but because our great party has chosen a candidate other than me to represent it at the next election. It's a decision I understand and a decision I support. As members and candidates, we all believe that we will definitely win our seats at every election we face. We need that self-belief to survive. But the brutal mathematical fact is that my margin sits on 0.9 per cent, or 1,344 votes. It's a margin significantly slimmer than me! My heart tells me that I've worked hard, that I'm well liked and that I can definitely retain this seat. But my professional, political brain tells me that the seat is on a knife edge, that Lyons is exactly the sort of seat the opposition leader is targeting and that, while I'm a hardworking member, I'm not a terrific campaigner. At elections, seats can and do change hands, despite the incumbents' self-belief and best efforts.

So, when the potential arose for another Labor candidate to emerge, my good friend Rebecca White, the former Leader of the Tasmanian Labor Party and a state member for Lyons—I won't go into the detail of Tasmania's Hare-Clark—the opportunity was too good to pass up. I've quipped with a few people over the recent weeks that, if I'd been on the preselection panel and had to choose between White and Mitchell, I'd have voted for White too—and I'm Mitchell! I am confident that Rebecca will be the new member for Lyons, and she will be a great addition to the caucus, to this parliament and to this nation.

When I cast my eye around this caucus, I see an incredible bunch of people from all walks of life. We have dairy farmers, miners, teachers, factory workers, academics, police officers, lawyers, engineers, doctors, nurses, journalists, social workers, allied health workers, soldiers and a sprinkling of trade union officials. A majority of those in our ranks are women, and we have MPs from all walks of life and multicultural, linguistic and faith backgrounds. I am proud—enormously proud—to be part of a federal Labor caucus that reflects the diversity of the Australian population better than any caucus—or, indeed, any government—has in our nation's history.

This group of people I've had the privilege to serve alongside is passionate and committed. In conversations and meetings, all the talk is about how we can do things to make life better for the people we represent. I've never had a Labor minister turn me away or be dismissive of my concerns, and I've been struck often by the compassion and the care shown by members of this group and, indeed, by members of this parliament towards each other when someone is having a tough time—especially when a loved one has died or a member has had a rough trot in the media. This is a group of people that care about each other, and that's reflective of how this group cares about its communities and the nation as a whole. Amongst this group is a new generation of Australian political leadership, and I leave this place knowing the country is in good hands, with people of this calibre to carry the torch. I will miss being part of this very fine group of Australians. I consider myself privileged to have been amongst you.

There are many things I wish I'd further progressed before leaving this place, but there are three in particular that I will mention. First is the need for government to take a much more active role in the preservation and propagation of quality journalism. Quality journalism is increasingly replaced by clickbait because that's what drives eyeballs to advertisers who have stuck with legacy media. I do take my hat off to the efforts of the communications minister, who's worked so hard in this space. Organs dedication to quality journalism struggle because they don't get the critical advertising mass they need to pay the bills. Increasingly, the only people accessing quality journalism are those who care enough to pay for it via subscriptions, and that makes it a niche and boutique proposition. The people who most need access to quality journalism simply aren't being exposed to enough of it. If we really believe that all Australians deserve access to quality journalism, which provides them with the information they need to make informed judgements, it's going to have to be publicly funded.

Before the Treasurer and the finance minister have conniptions, I think it can be done without adding too much to current expenditure. One model is to guarantee a minimum level of government advertising and sponsorship in established media, especially regional and independently owned newspapers, TV and radio, that can demonstrate genuine newsroom bona fides. It shouldn't end up costing the budget much more than is currently spent on a myriad of government information campaigns and job ads already in circulation. But it will mean a dedicated effort to redirect advertising resources towards the primary goals of supporting quality journalism and diverse media ownership, rather than simply dumping advertising dollars with the big corporates and platforms that do not offer journalism. It won't be easy. Guardrails will be required, and any regime will have to be adaptable to changing technologies and practices. But we simply cannot leave journalism to the crippling brutalities of market forces. As a nation, we acknowledge that justice and defence require substantial government expenditure; we don't expect them to survive in the market. We must acknowledge journalism's role as a cornerstone of our democracy, just as justice and defence are. It's too precious to allowed to crumble.

Another issue I would have liked to have pursued—and the Treasurer will get nervous here—is getting more dental and mental in Medicare. I acknowledge the incredible leadership of the health minister, who has done so much in three years to repair the damage done to Medicare over the previous nine. He really has done a magnificent job creating Medicare urgent care clinics and improving bulk-billing rates, but I would love to see more mental and dental in Medicare firmly on the Labor agenda.

The wonderful Carmen Lawrence got dental care into Medicare in the dying days of the Keating government, but it was promptly ripped out like a healthy tooth by John Howard, and there have being no serious attempts since to restore it. I have no illusions about the expense or the difficulty, but it's time to commit to starting a process. Too many people, our people—the old, the sick, the poor—are suffering from poor dental and mental health for us not to turn our attention to it. In the words of the great late JFK, we do these things 'not because they are easy but because they are hard'.

One last thing for the Treasurer to crack a smile about is I would love to see some far-reaching reform on the taxation of alcohol. As you know, I'm the co-convener on the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Spirits group, which I started not least because there are nearly as many distilleries in Tasmania as there are in Scotland. There are some deeply ingrained inconsistencies and injustices in the way alcohol taxes and excises are levied, and we do need some serious reform there to both create a level playing field in Australia amongst distillers, brewers and vintners and make Australian spirits more competitive in the global market. The budget might take a hit in the short term by getting few dollars per litre of spirits sold, but I do think it would make more over the long term by growing the pie overall. Distilleries, and for that matter breweries and wineries, are terrific employers and generators of economic activity across regional Australia, and we should not underestimate their significance.

The other issue that keeps me awake at night—other than all known life in the universe being reliant on a thin strip of atmospheric gas separating us from the infinite vacuum of space; believe me, it keeps me awake!—is the rise, and this is serious, of the extreme political Right across western democracies and the rapid mainstreaming of fascism. What was unthinkable 10 years ago is accepted now and will be firmly entrenched tomorrow unless we do more to prevent it taking root, particularly amongst disaffected young men. Fascism is corrosive to who we are and the values of our country—values that Australian men and women have died to defend. I know it's an issue being dealt with at the highest levels of our security apparatus, but we do need to sandbag our institutions, media, regulators, police, courts and infrastructure to ensure they are protected from this insidious, cancerous menace.

And, despite the concerns I've outlined above, I am genuinely optimistic. We do live in a wonderful country. It is not perfect, and it has dark elements to its history and its genesis, but that is true of all nations. No country has been forged without blood being shed or injustice being meted out. It is important, vital, that we acknowledge the truth of our history in all its facets, both the dark and the light. I reject the proposition that it is a black-armband-view of history to acknowledge the darkness, but I equally reject the proposition that we cannot or should not be proud of the nation that has been forged and which continues to be tempered; the values that this nation stands for, even if it does not always live up to them; and the bright promise that it holds. There is so much to be proud of, but there is an unceasing duty to keep striving towards the light, towards humanity's better nature and ideals, a duty that falls most heavily, if not exclusively, to those of you who remain within this chamber.

Colleagues, I never came to this place with that baton in my knapsack. The member for Grayndler had nothing to fear from me! I only had a passion to serve, to make a contribution and to be part of a team, and I'm proud of the part I've played. Our government's decision to change the stage 3 tax cuts from being weighted towards high-income earners to become tax cuts for every worker, with tax cuts for low-income workers and bigger tax cuts for average-wage earners is something I'm really proud of helping kick into gear, however marginal my role. That one decision, amongst many others, has made a material difference to the living standards of millions of Australians, and nine out of 10 Tasmanians have more money to spend as a result. I am proud of this government's achievements in so many areas in such a short time: cheaper medicines, fee-free TAFE, higher wages for aged-care and childcare workers, and so much more. We've achieved a lot in three years. Let's see what you lot can do in six or nine.

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