Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am privileged and humbled to stand here today as the new member for Dunkley. My role is to serve the people of Dunkley, and I thank them for placing their trust in me. I have a great example of service to live up to. A giant in personality, positivity, passion and persistence, I acknowledge and thank the honourable Bruce Billson, who achieved great things for Dunkley, small business and veterans' affairs. I will work hard carrying on this tradition with my dedication to being capable, compassionate and committed.

You have heard this many times before: Dunkley is the Riviera of Melbourne. From a breathtaking coastline to forest reserves, from wetlands to winding creeks, from cosmopolitan cafes to sculptures and wineries, and from fantastic schools to innovative businesses: Dunkley has the best of the city, the country and the coast. Like many locals, my wife, Grace, my daughter, Yasmin, and I have made it our home. We have a wonderful future ahead of us. We have the highest economic growth of any Victorian electorate. We are the gateway to the Mornington Peninsula. We are a transport, health and education hub. We will continue going forward by investing in the local economy, community and environment.

Dunkley is also incredibly diverse for only 140 square kilometres. Great disparities and differences exist in the environment, demographics and socioeconomics, bringing both challenges and opportunities. I am up for that challenge because my family's story is also that of Dunkley's people. It is a story of the city and the country, one of struggle and disadvantage but also one of hard work creating opportunity for future generations. Ours is a story that shaped my Liberal beliefs, which I will outline today.

I am a Liberal because I believe in equality of opportunity and reward for effort. All people deserve a fair go to achieve their best irrespective of background. I say this as my own family comes from humble beginnings. My dad, Barry, was born in Mildura to Les and Dawn. Grandma Dawn was a country girl from a farm in Carwarp while Grandpa Les was from the city. Tragically, Dawn died at 23 when Dad was just three. He was sent to live with relatives in Croydon. His baby sister Glenda, having a brain injury, was sent to Kew Cottages and Saint Nicholas, dying at 14. Grandpa remarried and Dad moved home at seven, settling in Bayswater. Dad went to Bayswater High and at 16 started in the Army at Balcombe, following on from Grandpa, who served at HMAS Cerberus, both on the Mornington Peninsula.

My mum, Debbie, was born in Jeparit, birthplace of the Liberal Party founder, Sir Robert Menzies, to Bob and Pat. Grandpa Bob was from the country while Nanna Pat was from the city. Mum lived at the farm in Ellam. Following their divorce, at four Mum moved with Nanna and her siblings to the city. When Nanna later remarried, Mum moved to Bayswater. Like Dad, Mum also went to Bayswater High, through which they met.

Mum and Dad bought their first home in Kilsyth. They worked hard. Mum was a legal secretary and a ballet teacher. Dad first worked as a mechanic in Ringwood, then a courier, a workshop foreman and a vacuum cleaner salesman. Then I was born at Mitcham hospital, soon joined by my sister Sara. Dad then worked in real estate as a mechanic, a cleaner and in insurance and investment while also completing his HSC. We moved to Horsham when I was four, when Dad started his career as a financial planner, where my siblings Katrina and Lee were born. Dad eventually set up his own business and, while the early years were tough, he worked hard to achieve success to give us a chance.

Like my family, Dunkley locals are hardworking and aspirational, wanting the best for themselves and their families. That is why I believe in equality of opportunity. Education is one path to opportunity. On the upside, deferred tertiary fees mean a person can enter a course irrespective of cost. However, a child's circumstances still largely govern their chance of school or tertiary success. Statistically, in Dunkley there are great extremes, with disadvantaged areas having the lowest levels of childhood literacy and numeracy and advantaged areas the opposite. For families struggling to survive, books are often unaffordable. When these children start primary school, they are already behind, particularly with cognitive development peaking between zero to five. Return on investment in preschool education is greater than all other stages, with estimates of 162 per cent Australian GDP growth just by bringing lower performing primary schools up to average. In Dunkley, 123Read2Me is tackling this issue by delivering free books to those who need them. They are joined by other local organisations such as That's The Thing About Fishing, Rotary, Lions and Legacy in creating opportunities. Disadvantage also continues in schools, with state-level zoning distorting house prices, government school choice due to housing affordability, reducing school competition and lowering social mobility.

I am also a Liberal because I believe we should govern for the outer suburbs and the country, not just the inner city. These communities often face problems with transport infrastructure, health, education and other services. Lack of transport investment has resulted in smaller towns declining and industries shifting to urban centres. I experienced this growing up in Horsham and Murtoa such as when the local passenger train service was closed. Outer metro and regional health outcomes are also often lower, for example, due to limited specialist health services. Furthermore, with less local tertiary options, many young people do not have the same opportunities to study as their inner-city counterparts due to distance from home, housing costs or inadequate transport.

As a country lad myself, I strive to create opportunities, working as a paperboy from 11, cleaning the swimming pool, working at a servo and the local supermarket. I studied hard to get into university and moved three hours away to attend Melbourne university, studying a double degree in science and commerce. I then transferred to Canberra, doing an honours law degree and two masters degrees in international law and diplomacy at Canberra uni and the ANU, working back on local farms on breaks to help pay for living costs. Many from the country never have this chance.

Bringing infrastructure and services to the country and outer suburbs can reverse this trend. That is why I am proud to have helped secure $4 million for the Dunkley rail plan. This plans the electrification and duplication of the Frankston-Baxter rail line to enable metro rail services to stations at Frankston Hospital; Monash University, Peninsula campus; Langwarrin and Baxter. It also plans a third track between Frankston and Melbourne for express rail. This investment will attract industry, create jobs, connect communities and increase local education and health access. It will mean people are more likely to live, study, work and build relationships in Dunkley. Six million dollars secured for full public access to MRI at Frankston Hospital will also improve Dunkley's health hub status.

Locally, we should also develop the Port of Hastings, build a major airport, consider interhub rail connections between Frankston, Cranbourne and Dandenong, investigate bayside ferry services to the CBD and build a convention centre. More broadly, we must invest in freight and passenger rail to all key outer metro and regional centres, whether it be Baxter or Mildura, easing pressure on inner suburbs by creating a polycentric Melbourne and a state of cities.

I am a Liberal because I believe in parliamentary democracy, the best system developed for a free people. Paraphrasing Sir Winston Churchill: democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest. Strong democracy must be nurtured and enhanced, as Australia did with reforms such as secret ballots at elections. I support further democratic reforms such as: introducing full optional preferential voting for the House; eliminating above-the-line voting in the Senate, combined with full optional preferential voting; introducing a 'none of the above' voting option; changing the Constitution to allow for maximum four-year terms; considering electronic voting at elections and in parliament; and considering a secret ballot in parliament.

Democracy also requires an informed, educated and engaged constituency, checks and balances, and trust. On this point I will start off with a dose of reality: Australians are fed up with politics and politicians. Public faith is diminished by cross-chamber squabbling; petty arguments; opposing for the sake of opposing; winning at all costs; disconnection from the grass roots; the perceived influence of lobbyists, unions and big business interests; and political rhetoric instead of plain-speaking truth. People are tired of instability. This last decade has not helped. Australians want solutions, decisions and results under stable government. They want representatives who are principled and visionary but pragmatic to achieve outcomes. They want those whose primary interest is making their community and Australia the best it can be. This is the basis on which I will conduct myself.

As the youngest member of the House—although Wyatt Roy still calls me 'grandpa'—I will seek to encourage young people to get involved in politics and in their communities. My own interest in politics was sparked at school through the YMCA's youth parliament at Camp Manyung in Dunkley. What excited me was the youthful exuberance and passion and the idea that young people could make a difference. Activating young people is why I have supported sporting investment in Dunkley, such as Mornington Little Aths and Frankston Dolphins Junior Football Club.

My own passion has led me to the country, the city, interstate and overseas. I have worked in Canberra as a magistrate's associate, a private practice lawyer, a project manager and in legal work at the Department of Agriculture. In Canberra I met Grace. We married at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, where this parliament commenced. I then worked as an international lawyer through the UN at the Kosovo Property Agency, resolving property claims for people who lost possession of their properties due to the war. In this rare opportunity, working in a post-conflict country, it was inspiring to see the youthful optimism, new ideas and a democracy that clearly was not taken for granted.

I am a Liberal because I believe in small government. Government's minimal role is to govern interactions between people, minimising harm that would otherwise arise. Like referees at a footy match, governments should allow open play within a fair, rules-based structure. Government goes too far when creating overcomplicated rules that hinder play or when trying to be a player itself—for example, providing public services that could be profitably, efficiently and fairly provided by the private sector. We must, therefore, ensure that regulations are smart and efficient.

Small businesses are particularly disadvantaged by over-regulation, with bigger businesses usually having more resources to cope. This reduces competition by impeding small business and start-ups, resulting in market domination. Small businesses, including the 16,000 in Dunkley, must be consulted when updating regulations, tax, IR and competition law. For taxation, complexity could be reduced by hastening simplification of the tax acts, implementing a proportional income tax and encouraging states to abolish inefficient stamp duty and payroll tax. Even better, by encouraging a future digital-only currency market, we can consider lower, more efficient forms of taxation, such as a point of payment low-rate, broad-based transaction tax to replace less efficient taxation methods.

I am a Liberal because I support freedom and liberty, including freedom of thought, religion, worship, speech and association. This is the essence of liberalism. John Stuart Mill said:

… the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.

The argument is often over what constitutes harm as against offence. Causing offence should not fall within the bounds of legal action. Accordingly, I believe that current anti-discrimination laws in Australia limit freedom of speech. I believe that we are gradually becoming an illiberal society, with people increasingly afraid to express their views or to critique other faiths for fear of public ostracism, being silenced through ad hominem attacks or being caught by such laws. This needs to stop. This is detrimental to democracy, preventing contrary views being aired and challenged publicly. Sending such views underground only strengthens them. As Evelyn Beatrice Hall said when noting Voltaire's beliefs:

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

That said, we should not shrink from denouncing in unambiguous terms statements driven by cruelty or prejudice. The greater the diversity of people, views and ideas, the better the solutions and decisions. As Sir Robert Menzies said:

Stagnant waters are level, and in them the scum rises. Active waters are never level: they toss and tumble and … purify themselves in a few hundred yards.

Our veterans fought for this freedom of speech. Without our Korean War veterans, my wife, Grace, and daughter, Yasmin, would not be here. Grace was from South Korea, migrating to Australia with her family at three. Her dad's family only just made it across from the North Korean side, and they have not seen their relatives in North Korea since. The communists killed her mum's grandparents by throwing them alive into a well. The freedom of speech and many other liberties we take for granted are not guaranteed in our Constitution; only freedom of religion and freedom of political communication are protected, so basic freedoms can be whittled away by a simple parliamentary majority, as we have seen with anti-discrimination legislation. I do believe, therefore, that there is some merit in considering charter protection of our freedoms and liberties.

I am a Liberal because I believe in Australia being a secular liberal democracy, not imposing or restricting the practice of religion. The word 'secular' is occasionally construed to mean atheism. This is incorrect. Section 116 of our Constitution, which is mostly based on the US First Amendment, states:

The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion … or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion …

A true secular state should not impose any religion or world view, such as Christianity, Islam or atheism. Nor should a state restrict the practice of any religion or world view. It should allow freedom of religion, including freedom to express one's views, critique and criticise.

The contemporary debate on either retaining or expanding the government definition of marriage illustrates this dichotomy. In my view, both are big-government perspectives and neither are truly secular, given both impose a government-sanctioned definition of marriage. Ideally, governments should get out of the business of defining marriage. Government's only role should be to legislate as contractual relationships, leaving the definition of sanctioning of marriage to marriage-solemnising bodies and individuals. This is a small-government approach under Liberal principles, creating equality under the law while also better ensuring freedom of religion. It allows people to freely express their own views on marriage and to solemnise marriage in line with these views.

Liberal Enlightenment principles must be advocated consistently at home and with other states in not imposing or restricting religion. As Maximilian II said:

God alone rules the consciences of men: man only rules man.

For example, we should oppose laws forcing women to wear the veil and, equally, oppose women being restricted by law from wearing the burqini, as long as it is their own choice. Such laws are contrary to true secular liberal democracy.

I am a Liberal because I support economic growth and the creation of wealth. Wealth and prosperity come by producing more of something others want. Optimising the three Ps—population, participation and productivity—is key to encouraging economic growth. We must ensure an optimal working-age population to support the young, the elderly, the disabled and others who cannot support themselves. But the ratio of the working-age population compared with the young and the elderly continues to fall. After 2050, five per cent, or nearly two million Australians, will be 85 and over. The proportion of those aged 65 and over will also double. With a fertility rate sitting at about 1.9 below the replacement rate of 2.1, maintaining an optimal working-age population requires either a higher birth rate and/or immigration. This optimal population structure, combined with productivity improvements and increased workforce participation will help guarantee Australia's continued prosperity.

Lastly, I am a Liberal because I believe Australia should play a constructive role in the pursuit and maintenance of international peace. We are part of an interconnected and complex world, where Australia's actions impact locally and overseas. Internationally, we must encourage free trade and, over time, greater freedom of movement, thus creating wealth and reducing global poverty. With a growing middle class in Asia looking for high-quality goods and services, Australia stands to benefit—particularly in growth areas like tourism, international education, gas, wealth management and agribusiness. Through my experiences as CEO of Mildura Development Corporation, responsible for economic development of 48,000 square kilometres with three billion gross regional products, and running my own small business, I am a firm believer that our quality, clean, green agricultural exports will both feed Australia's prosperity and the world's population.

We must also assist migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to integrate into Australia. As a new Australian, having emigrated from South Korea, Grace and her family settled in Blacktown. Her parents worked hard to provide for the family, with Grace and her sister, Cathy, having now both achieved success. Integration, though, is a two-way street. It is important that people can retain elements of their own cultures while we also develop a shared Australian culture by being mutually open, interacting, adapting and taking each other's best ideas.

We must also avoid ethnocentrism, cultural relativism and extreme political correctness. For example, some people will say that Islamist terrorism has nothing to do with Islam. I understand the sincerity of such beliefs held by the majority of law-binding Muslims, for whom Islamist terrorist attacks are un-Islamic and therefore committed by people they do not see as real Muslims. But this argument is problematic. The fact is that Islamist terrorists see themselves as Muslim, relying on their own extreme interpretations of Islam to justify their actions—much as the Crusaders justified their actions on extreme interpretations of Christianity. These terrorists see those Muslims who do not share their convictions as not real Muslims and as targets to be killed. Their own incorrect understanding of Islam must therefore be tackled within the prism of Islam—particularly through early intervention.

Australia must also do its part to assist the 65 million refugees, displaced people and asylum seekers—more now than after World War II—for instance, by resettlement and conflict prevention. Public trust in Australia's immigration, asylum seeker and refugee programs is critical to resettlement. Strong borders and a well-regulated system are critical. The coalition's work through successive immigration ministers has resulted in stopping the drownings at sea in our region, limiting the people-smuggling trade, ensuring that those coming by irregular means do not supplant those coming through regular means and reducing numbers in offshore detention.

Adding to this, I believe there are diplomatic means to strengthen our borders even further, and enable border patrol cost savings. If Malaysia and Indonesia sign the Refugee Convention and implement effective protection, a natural further border could be created around Australia. By utilising safe third-country provisions, asylum seekers travelling from those countries to Australia could be sent or flown back, even if they reach our shores, as they would already enjoy effective protection. In exchange, Australia could take a negotiated additional number of asylum seekers each year from those all ready on Malaysia's and Indonesia's territories. This helps Indonesia and Malaysia by reducing asylum seeker numbers on their soil, as well as reducing asylum seeker numbers travelling to those countries in the first place.

To assist prevention, state and nonstate actors must engage in conflicts only in accordance with international humanitarian law. For, as justice breeds justice, injustice breeds injustice. This means continually using techniques and weaponry that largely ensure that only combatants are targeted, avoiding inadvertently killing civilians. If civilians are killed and there is no avenue to achieve justice, this only helps feed the ranks of our enemy.

Federalism between and within states can also help avoid conflict, whether one looks to Australia, the US, Germany or elsewhere. But union should come voluntarily, under self-determination, being ideally democratic, promoting subsidiarity and enabling uniformity but not centrality. These are some of the key principles why I am a Liberal, which will guide my decisions for Dunkley and Australia.

I would like to end by thanking all those who helped in my campaign. To Barrie Macmillan: thank you for believing in me from the beginning. To the local, federal and state MPs who helped—in particular, Neale Burgess, Greg Hunt and David Morris—thank you. To the Honourable Michael Ronaldson, my former boss, thank you for your mentorship and support. To the ministers and parliamentarians from across Australia who helped—in particular, Sussan Ley, John Dawkins and so many others who supported me in preselection and during the campaign—thank you. To the Prime Minister and leadership team: I look forward to working with you.

To the campaign team led by Darrel Taylor, the 'A' team led by Robin Amos, Dunkley FEC members led by Robert Hicks, the Young Liberals led by Jess Wilson and all volunteers: we could not have done it without you. Of these volunteers, there are too many to single out, but I would particularly like to thank those people who were out with me nearly every day, through cold and rain, in good times and hard times, including those who are here today. You know who you are.

Thank you to all the office staff. I look forward to working with you for Dunkley. To state president Michael Kroger, director Simon Frost, '104' staff such as Rowan, Laura and Jackson, and all admin committee members who helped, including Peter McWilliam, Marcus Bastiaan, Caroline Elliott, Greg Hannan, Amanda Millar, Paul Mitchell and many others: thank you.

Thank you to all my Mallee team, including Adrian and Veronica Kidd, Bill Dolence, Kevin Coogan, Gino Salvo, John Freimanis, Aunty Marlene and, of note, Fred Garratt, who passed away just after winning Dunkley. This victory is yours. And I am honoured to share this day with you, Greta.

I acknowledge my grandparents Bob, Verna and June and my grandparents who are no longer with us. Nanna Pat, you passed away last year but election day fell on your birthday. Your spirit lives on. Nanna was proud of being the daughter of a Sherrin—the inventors of the football and co-founders of Collingwood. Our daughter carries 'Patricia' as her middle name, and I will make sure that she too barracks for the Pies!

Thank you to all my extended family, friends and teachers who helped on election day and supported me from Melbourne, Mildura, Horsham and elsewhere. In particular, to Christian Mitchell in Frankston: you helped me beyond measure. To Geoff, Coll, John, Kaye, Kim, Leonie, Ali, Ben, James, Rob Smith, Professor William Maley and many other: thank you.

To Grace’s family, Justin and Sarah, Cathy and Jai, and Grace’s grandparents and relatives in Korea: Song won hae ju sho so, kam sa ham ni da. To my parents, Barry and Debbie, my siblings Sara, Katrina and Lee and their partners, who have been supportive ever since I was born: thank you.

To my wonderful wife, Grace, and my daughter, Yasmin: you are my rock and sacrificed so much to achieve this dream. Thank you.

Finally, thank you to God for your continuous guidance over my life.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the honourable member for Lindsay, I remind honourable members that this is her first speech. I therefore ask that the usual courtesies be extended to her.

Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker, and can I congratulate you on your re-election to the role of Speaker. I suspect that there may be times when my passionate advocacy for the people of Western Sydney is too loud or too frequent and earns me a bench seat outside this chamber—but hopefully not too often. In the end, I appreciate that we are both here to make sure that this place, where important decisions are made, operates fairly for all those inside and outside its walls.

I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respect to those people. I would also like to acknowledge the people of the lands of Lindsay that I proudly represent. To these the traditional custodians of the land, and ancestors past, present and future, I pay my deep respects to you and your culture, the oldest continuing culture on earth. During my time in this place I will work hard to close the gaps of inequity that sadly still exists today, and I will work hard for the proper recognition of our nation's first people as a sign of my commitment and the deep respect I hold for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the first Australians.

I am Lindsay version 5.0—the fifth member for Lindsay in the 45th Parliament, voted in from position No. 5 on the ballot paper. Some might say No. 5 is alive! In winning Lindsay, something they said could not be done, we achieved the impossible. Lindsay is no longer a bellwether seat, and I am proud to be the first Labor woman to represent Lindsay. I acknowledge Lindsay version 1.0, the Honourable Ross Free, who is here today; and also version 3.0, the Honourable David Bradbury, who is in part responsible for my being here today. I would like to thank the voters of Lindsay who have placed their faith in me to represent them, to speak for them and to ensure that the needs of our community are a first-order priority, not an optional extra.

Before I move on, the fact that I have been in the Labor Party a short time needs some reflection. I would like to thank the people who in my brief period have shown me a huge amount of support and guidance and made me see things in myself that I did not even know existed. I thank Kaila Murnain—our New South Wales general secretary, ceiling smasher, Fortress New South Wales boss lady and election slayer!—who has had my back since I walked through the door and has supported me even as an unknown quantity. I would also like to acknowledge Pat Garcia and Jay Suuval, from New South Wales Labor, who join us here today. I thank Alex Classons and Russ Collison, two of the starting five who knew I had something to contribute and backed me from the beginning. And to the leader in the upper house in New South Wales, the Honourable Adam Searle: I do not know how, when or why our friendship began, I just know it has been there from the very beginning. I thank you for your trusted and measured advice. To former New South Wales Premier, the Hon. Nathan Rees, who gives advice freely, refrains from judgement, and lets me make my own mistakes occasionally: your firm advice has not let me down. To my former boss turned colleague, my electoral neighbour, mentor and friend, Ed Husic: keep the meter running, add it to my tally, and one day I will figure out how to repay the debt of gratitude I have for the time, the wisdom, and the answering of 47 million questions—even if I may have asked them before—and for only ever saying, 'I told you so' once, and being right. Next time you tell me not to play basketball during a campaign, I will probably listen—probably.

To the wonderful members of the great Australian Labor Party, the Lindsay FEC, the Young Labor crew, the volunteers who want Labor governments, and to friends who for months campaigned alongside me in this two-year battle, some of whom join me here today: thank you seems an inadequate statement for what your support means to me. I will stand up for our shared values in this place and, in doing so, honour your time and commitment to our common goals. To our campaign family, which spans two elections—both of which were run out of my home, and forced you all to become de facto family members in a most unconventional family—thank you for working in sometimes less-than-ideal conditions, and for showing up and making sure I did the same, even when exhaustion and breaking my body made your jobs harder. Liam Rankine and Peter Grey, the Western Sydney campaign team bosses, I thank you.

I would just like to acknowledge all of the people in the gallery today, all of my friends, for their epic journey on the bus from Sydney to be here in support of me today. My sincere thanks to the Penrith Valley Community Unions, Unions NSW, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, Communications, Electrical Plumbing Union, Transport Workers Union, Health Services Union, United Services Union, and the Australian Workers' Union. Mary Court, Mary Yaager, Mark Morey, Alex Claassens, Jim Metcher, Tony Sheldon, Gerard Hayes, Graeme Kelly, Russ Collison: without your support I would not be here. The decent working conditions of every single Australian are owed to the mighty trade union movement, and without your continued advocacy for workers and their families, our country would go backwards. Never stop fighting for fairness. I know, in this place and beyond, I will not.

Thank you also to EMILY's List for supporting me, and for the work you do in ensuring that women get elected to our parliaments. Our parliaments should reflect the people they represent, and you cannot do that without women. I have to admit though, and probably not unlike yourselves, I look forward to the day when EMILY's List is not needed, a time when women are treated equally and allowed to make their own health choices, when quotas are not necessary, and when women receive equal pay for equal work.

To my favourite New South Wales state members, particularly those I came to know during the 2015 state campaign: I may now be in a different parliament but rest assured, I will help wrestle Western Sydney back into the Labor fold, and I will do this because we know only Labor understands Western Sydney.

To our leader Bill Shorten—epic timing!—thank you for your leadership which was outstanding in arguing our case for a fairer Australia and putting people first, and for joining me more than once on the campaign trail. To my federal colleagues, Tanya Plibersek and the Chrises Bowen and Hayes, Tony Burke, Catherine King, Jason Clare, Sharon Bird, Justine Elliot, Ed Husic, Deb O'Neil and Sam Dastyari: thank you for your support throughout the campaign and for continuing that support following my arrival in this place.

To my long-suffering and neglected friends: I know I almost never answer my phone, and responding to a text message or email or even listening to a voicemail is absolutely out of the question. I do not know how you put up with me but I am forever grateful for our friendships. Thanks for letting me miss out on some of the special occasions, and not making me feel guilty for my absence by welcoming me back seamlessly when I am around. And to Leonie: none of this would have happened without your loyalty, support and the dedication you have to me, and for my children, and I thank you for being who you are.

Getting here was an absolute team effort and I thank everybody involved. I look forward to continuing this journey with you all. Lindsay is now my patch of the world that I have called home my whole life, and a place I now proudly represent. When I look around that place, I see things that make the community I love so great: our university, our thriving city centre, the small businesses, our growing arts scene, an active sporting community, and the living elements—our river, the lakes, the Cumberland plains, and the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains as our backyard. I see our people, and I count the people of Lindsay as our No. 1 asset. We do not ask for much, we are fair-minded, we are loyal, we help each other out, and we work hard. We are, however, disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to most things, compared to our inner city and northern suburbs neighbours—public transport, roads infrastructure, and a lack of local jobs. And our health is affected, with some of the highest rates of heart and lung disease, and we currently—sadly—claim the title of having the most under-pressure hospital in the state of New South Wales.

A hospital that already cares for 350,000 people will need to serve even more, as our Western Sydney home grows to become Sydney's third city. Like many parents in Lindsay, I have frequently relied on the exceptional care provided by the under-resourced and overworked staff at Nepean Hospital, without whom my youngest child would have died at just 10 days old. Had it not been for our world-class universal healthcare system, I would have been faced with crippling debt, or the death of a baby—which is why I will always defend Medicare. The inequity for the people in my community is without doubt growing. With Medicare under threat, huge cuts to health care, plans to deregulate university fees, stagnant wages, housing markets exploding, the casualisation of the workforce, and the cost of living increasing, the divide is getting wider. These, though, are not endemic problems faced by my community alone. They are challenges repeated in communities right across Australia, and they demand and deserve immediate action. These are questions of intergenerational equality, and I look forward to being part of this debate—a debate that is so important my community.

Since my election to this place, I have seen the people of Lindsay stand up and fight for what they believe is fair and just for us. Liberal governments have consistently shown they simply do not understand us, do not serve us, and do not represent us. The people of Lindsay know they need someone in their corner, one of their own, someone like them, to advocate for their needs and those of their family, and the people they care about. That is how I ended up here. So often I hear people refer to politicians as out of touch and not being from the real world—when I look to the class of 2016 and all of the diversity my newly elected peers bring, particularly those on this side of the House, I see a paediatrician, a pharmacist, an early education teacher, journalists, lawyers, counter-terrorism experts, mothers, fathers, women, Indigenous women. I believe that if you want to know how to solve some of the complex issues facing our country, you need to ask those who have been affected by the inequity and the injustice, or those whose luck of the draw has simply just been less lucky. You need to ask the people who have not just lived through adversity but who have helped others to overcome it. I am a mum—I am a single mum—raising three very different but amazing children, one of whom has special needs, one of whom has her own additional health needs, and one who is just a typical teenager. I will leave it to you all to decide which of these three presents the greater challenges!

Life for me has not been without adversity. I have spent 29 out of my 36 years, both as a child and as an adult, living in domestic violence. If you want to know how to address the biggest challenge facing women and our children today, you need to ask the people who have been affected. Even better than that, you need to elect them to decision-making tables where rhetoric will not be accepted and only action will be good enough. In this place I will use my life's experience to contribute all that I can to tackling the scourge of domestic and family violence. I will stand up for the parents leaving violence who are confronted with a family law system that does not always work for them.

The situation at the moment is truly a national emergency, and one that cries out for more focus and more attention from our leaders. Domestic and family violence is one of the contributors to children living in out-of-home care. Children in foster care are typically disadvantaged compared to their peers. Despite best efforts, children often bounce from home to home, with little to no regard for stability and the wellbeing of the child. We must do better. I will be looking for opportunities to work with the states to reform our out-of-home care system and ensure that society's most vulnerable children are no further disadvantaged by the system.

Another of the challenges facing many families in Lindsay is accessing the services they need when caring for someone with special needs. Raising a child with special needs and navigating what is a minefield was probably my lever for really getting started in politics. There is no more isolating feeling in the world than being a special needs parent. When all the other families can access and engage in the community at their own free will, ours needs special planning, special stories and sometimes a reconnaissance mission. to explore the suitability. After all the box ticking had been done and the mission looked like it might be a success, you would forge ahead. And when I say 'mission', I actually mean getting from one end of the local supermarket to the other without my son experiencing a total meltdown and the unaware shoppers you come across offering a wooden spoon to spank your naughty son with.

When the campaign for the National Disability Insurance Scheme began I immediately knew, from my experience with my son, that I needed to support this to ensure that kids like mine, mums like me and families like ours were able to access something that can and will change their lives forever. I thank those people on my side: Bill Shorten, Julia Gillard and all of those people who worked tirelessly to ensure that this was a national priority. The NDIS is a great starting point. It will help serve the day-to-day needs of people living with a disability. Now is the time to start the next conversation about raising participation rates in open employment and the significant contribution people with a disability can, do and will make to the workforce.

And whilst we work towards the rollout of the NDIS we must be thinking about the physical accessibility of public places. Before arriving here I worked for the disability access committee serving Penrith City Council. Our committee advocated for improved accessibility within the local community. However, there is still a long way to go. I want to see major changes around physical access, particularly two basic and frequently overlooked areas: changing places and play spaces. It is necessary to legislate for public bathrooms to be accessible for those who need it. Changing tables which cater to the needs of older children and adults are a basic necessity requiring immediate action. For those who rely on changing facilities like these, the choice currently is between a public toilet floor and leaving the venue altogether and heading home. Neither of these is acceptable and undermines the quality of life for those with a disability and their carers.

In another area of my advocacy work it has been my great privilege to work alongside the Touched by Olivia Foundation, who are the world leaders in inclusive playground design, ensuring that children with special needs can enjoy the same facilities as their peers. However, until such time that there is legislative leadership in this space, inclusive play areas will remain the exception and not the norm. Inclusion in society makes all of us stronger.

We are all shaped by our families and by our experiences—for better or for worse in a lot of cases. It is the lottery of life. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and there is no making sense of any of it. This was my experience in 2007 when my amazing, smart and beautiful cousin Chloe died unexpectedly at age 18 from a catastrophic brain aneurysm. Chloe impacted my life in many ways, none more significant than her choice to be an organ donor. On her passing, our family honoured her wishes, and through her gift of life she saved seven others.

Our rates of organ and tissue donation here in Australia are unacceptably low. Tara Bennett, a local Glenmore Park schoolgirl in my electorate, came to meet me last week. She lost her three-year-old brother, who was waiting for an organ transplant. Our organ donor opt-in system, which can be overridden by families, is not working. We have an opportunity and an obligation to create legislation which will increase our rates of organ donation, and we need to continue this conversation about how we achieve this.

There are many issues that I am passionate about, but time prevents me from covering all of them in detail today. I will be an advocate for policies that ensure we defend fair working conditions and end all forms of discrimination. So with all of my lived experience, both as a mother and an advocate for the issues I have outlined today, I promise to work hard as the member for Lindsay.

I cannot let today pass though without acknowledging the most important people of my life: my mum, my dad, my sister, Amy—the people who will always love me the most; thank you for your support—and my freakishly amazing children, who are, beyond a shadow of doubt, the most exceptional part of my life. Being your mamma is the greatest privilege I will ever know. The triumphs, the tests, the tantrums—all of it: I would not trade a single moment. Mitch, through you I have learnt patience I did not even realise was possible. Zhalia, you remind me too much of myself most days. Your strong will, belief in fairness, your empathy and your outstanding ability to argue your point will stand you in good stead for the future, little girl. And when you tell me you are proud of me, you bring tears to my eyes. And to my little Evie: you reinforced the lesson I learnt from Chloe about not taking any of it for granted. When the doctor told me you were touch and go there for a while, I was reminded that we are all on loan from some other place and in a second it could all be gone. And with that I vowed that each second would be valued and I would let you know each day through my actions how much you are all loved and cared for. Thank you for supporting me to come into this place and your daily reminders to keep it real.

I thought I would share a quote by Daniel Goldston that hangs in our home and one I often tell my children. I think it is quite relevant to all young people in my electorate of Lindsay:

If you're going to be passionate about something, be passionate about learning. If you're going to fight something, fight for those in need. If you're going to question something, question authority. If you're going to lose something, lose your inhibitions. If you're going to gain something, gain respect and confidence. And if you're going to hate something, hate the false idea that you are not capable of your dreams.

For those of you who might struggle to see the amazing opportunities ahead of you and for those of you who, for one reason or another, feel like things are stacked against you, I stand here as proof that you are not voiceless, that we can as a community come together and demonstrate and agitate for the things we think are important and the things we want to see changed. That is why I am here.

As my good friend Adam still reminds me, governments more or less tax the same amount and spend the same amount. It is who they choose to tax and what spending they choose to prioritise that reveals their true nature. Government is about making choices, and I am proud to be on the side that chooses to make fairness, equality and opportunity for all a priority.

On 19 June we launched the federal campaign in my home town. I stood proudly under a banner that read 'We will put people first.' From now until my time in this place, that is exactly what I will do.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the honourable member for Cowan, I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first speech. I ask the House to extend to her the usual courtesies.

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker Coulton. May I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your election. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and the traditional owners of Cowan, the Nungar people, and pay my respects to their elders past and present. I would also like to take a moment in recognition of the significance of delivering my first speech on this most holy day for Muslims, Eid al-Adha, and to wish all Muslims a peaceful and blessed Eid.

I am incredibly humbled to be here today as the person chosen to represent more than 96,000 electors of Cowan and their children, who may not be able to vote but whose welfare is ultimately the reason I am here. I use the word 'represent' in its full sense. My electorate was named after a woman, and not just a woman but a groundbreaking one: the first woman to be a member of this parliament, Edith, later Dame Edith, Cowan. Today I stand here not just as the first graduate from the university named in her honour to be elected to the federal parliament but as the first of Egyptian-Arabic heritage, along with my colleague the member for Wills, Mr Peter Khalil, and the first Muslim woman. I mention the latter points not to claim any special accolades but because they mark a significant moment in the history of this nation, especially right now and especially given the circumstances of my election.

I was born in a part of the world where the passing of time is marked by war and where the birth of a girl child is greeted not with ululations or congratulations but by the clicking of tongues. But it is not the circumstances of my birth that define me. I was not born in this country, but I am surely born of her. I never knew my maternal grandfather—he died long before I was born—but by all accounts Mahmoud Osman was a simple man without much of an education. He sold textiles in a small space on the high road in a small village around 200 kilometres south of Cairo, and although he lived in a time and a place where women did not get an education, my grandfather was determined that his daughters would all finish high school and attend university. Although the men who frequented his little shop told him that he was doing the wrong thing and that he was better off finding them suitable husbands, he would not be moved. So committed was my grandfather to ensuring that all his daughters were university educated that by the time my mother finished school he had already enrolled her in nursing school at Cairo, unknown to her and despite her protestations. On her first day at nursing school, he drove her the 200 or so kilometres and stood at the front gates of the country's largest hospital, demanding to see the room that his daughter would be sleeping in for the next three years. Legend has it that my grandfather was the first and perhaps the only male to ever be allowed into the nurses quarters of that hospital.

So it was through a father's love for his daughters and his sheer determination to see his daughters educated that my mother became a qualified nurse. She retired in Australia having worked at some of the country's major hospitals as a matron and a director of nursing.

My parents arrived from Egypt at the Bonegilla migrant camp in Albury Wodonga in 1969, later settling in the outer suburbs of Sydney. Despite having qualified as a textiles engineer, my father, like many migrants, ended up taking a job for which he was overqualified, though no less grateful. He became a bus driver, and together my parents built a life for themselves and their three children. I started my schooling at a Catholic school and I ended it at an Anglican school, having attended several public schools in between. Those years shaped my view of Australia and my place within it. Coming from a practising Muslim household, I would read from the Bible and sing hymns at morning chapel service while fasting for the holy month of Ramadan and celebrating the holy days of Eid. When I asked my mother what I should do during chapel service when we read the Lord's Prayer, she responded that I should also bow my head in prayer and remember that we all worship the same God. Most importantly, I learnt that the values that make us Australians are measured not by the colour of our skin or by our religion or where we were born but by our dedication to the fundamental principles of equality and fairness.

At an age younger than most I found myself a single mother, after a marriage breakdown, and as a result I brought up my two young sons on a single parent pension of just $200 a week. I responded by becoming a mature-age student, and it was through education that I was able to become who I am and have a career as an international academic, culminating in being asked to speak at the White House, at President Obama's countering violent extremism summit, and, more recently, receiving the prestigious Australian Security Medal. I know through my own life that, no matter what problems beset them or what circles they fall into, every young person has it within them to rise above their youthful mistakes and find a valued place in Australian society.

Over the last decade or so I have devoted much of my working and personal life to understanding how and why people, especially young people, become attracted to and engage in violent and dangerous ideologies. I have worked with governments, academics, and civil society in countries including Indonesia, India, Singapore, Kenya, Jordan, Nigeria, Israel, the Maldives, the United States, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Afghanistan and, of course, here in Australia.

I have worked with former violent extremists, I have become an advocate and a patron for victims of terrorism, I have advised the families who have lost sons and daughters to violence and hatred, and I have mentored young people who have sadly fallen prey to such dangerous ideologies. I have seen the worst of humanity, and I have often despaired, but I have also seen its best through the eyes of people like Phil Britten, Louisa Hope, Jarrod Morton-Hoffman, Gill Hicks and Michael Gallagher—all of whom have survived terrorist attacks; and through the work of organisations like Together for Humanity; the Bali Peace Park Association; and Youth Futures WA, which provides essential services to young homeless people in Cowan; and, of course, the inspiring young people who have worked with my own organisation, People against Violent Extremism—or PaVE.

PaVE has worked with all governments in Australia to be the first organisation in the region to develop a social media campaign against violent extremism and to deliver the MyHack program, which harnesses the skills, talents and knowledge of young people to address violent extremism within their own communities. Last year we received funding from the Australian government and the US Department of State to run Australia's first 'hackathon' on countering violent extremism during the Australian CVE summit. I am proud that my expertise and work has put me at the centre of our nation's efforts to keep Australians safe from the scourge of violent extremism.

Personally, I have mentored young people who have, sadly, fallen vulnerable to radicalisation, and I have helped families divert them from a destructive path. The ripple effect that reaching out and changing just one life can have on entire communities cannot be underestimated. I was most moved by the words of one young man who, in a quiet moment of contemplation, whispered to me, 'If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead or in jail.' I am pleased to say that that young man is now successfully enrolled in a university degree, is a leader in his community and is looking forward to a bright future.

The fight against terrorism is a fight for reason, and we cannot afford to let it be hijacked by populism or by party politics. This is not the sort of issue where pointing out the gaps in our policy response should attract accusations of being soft on terrorism or insinuations of appeasement or, even worse, supporting terrorism. We have to get this right, because the currency here is people's lives. That is why I will continue to argue for a reasoned, balanced and, above all, smart response to the threat of terrorism.

Our response to terrorism needs to be intelligent and proportionate, and that means putting resources into the sorts of programs that tackle the problem at its source and which develop a strong civil society capable of responding with the necessary agility to the changing nature of the threat. Governments and institutions need to recognise their limitations and use the tools of influence that are most effective in building up the immunity of young Australians against the infection of radicalism with all its hatreds and all its dangers.

As those who followed my campaign will know, the nature of my work resulted in ugly tactics being employed against me. We could dwell on what happened during the campaign, perhaps unproductively, but given the gravity of the charges and the fact that nothing less than protecting Australians against terrorism was involved, passing over it completely would be wrong. We have to face up to this sort of thing and pledge never to repeat it, because we cannot afford to let partisan politics loosen the unity of purpose that is needed to combat dangerous terrorist movements. So let me make this one observation: in a tight election contest the appeal to the worst angels of our nature did not work. Those smears never had a chance, because they could only have been made by people who fundamentally do not understand the essential decency of those who live in outer suburban electorates, like Cowan; they could only have been made by people who only ever see the working-class outer suburbs—places like Girrawheen, Wanneroo, and Lockridge—through their statistics, their focus groups and the windows of a passing bus. They never get to know the outer suburbs through the eyes and the lives of real people. All that filters up to them are a series of abstract impressions, usually abstract grievances, niggles, resentments, regrets, effusions of bad temper—an incoherent disaffection with the world—all inaccurately reported and all taken out of context with no complexity, no nuance, no humanity, no reality and, most importantly, no hope of producing the answers that people are seeking. What they do not see is the way that people actually live—as people connected to each other by the bonds of community, trust and mutual respect. They do not see people as neighbours in the same streets or blocks of flats, friends with the same interests, shoppers at the same shopping centres, parents of children who attend the same schools and volunteers whose children play soccer, cricket and netball altogether. They do not see the things, the invisible, intangible and unmeasurable things, that make outer suburban communities survive and thrive.

It is no secret that I find the politics of division, this attempt to break down those bonds and set people against each other to win votes, to be desperate, dangerous and undemocratic, especially at times like this, when unwise words can be bullets. According to such people, the electorate that I represent should be a stronghold for the kind of politician represented by the likes of the One Nation Party. Instead, it voted for me. Instead of division, it voted for a different sort of nation—a tolerant nation; a unified nation; a peaceful nation; a nation happy with the reality of what it now is, a multicultural country whose people are better than the peddlers of division would have us believe.

This is a critical time in Australia's political history, a time when our parliament is beset by an unprecedented polarisation of ideas and ideologies, a time when our only chance to move forward as a nation is to come together, regardless of where we sit on the political spectrum, in mutual respect and with a common goal of serving our nation. It is a time when we should not allow important discussions about our future to degenerate into a competitive agenda of rights, for all rights are worth pursuing and worth pursuing with vigour. I do not accept, for example, that the right to freedom of speech is any less or any more important than the right to safety and security for all our citizens. Too often those who espouse their right to freedom of speech argue that it is undermined, weakened, by those who would call out bigotry or racism or who draw attention to the ability for hate speech to mobilise violence. So let me be clear: I will defend freedom of speech to the last, but I will not stand by and allow the proponents of hatred and fear, no matter where they come from, to claim some form of moral superiority as they browbeat fellow Australians into accepting second-class citizenship.

We may live in an era of unease and of extremes. I do not know how we found ourselves in a time when asking for a little more compassion, a little more reason, a little more empathy for those less fortunate attracts accusations and hate mail, sadly, sanctioned by some of the very people who sit in this chamber. But I believe that with goodwill from all sides the centre can hold. Cowan has proven it. But holding the centre together requires more than just political will. It needs strong moral leadership. That is what all of us here in the parliament have a duty to provide, and that is what I intend to try to provide.

The electorate of Cowan, like all of the outer suburban electorates of Australia's major cities, represents the best of our country. And if the outer suburbs represent our new demographic heartland, it is a warm and trusting heart indeed. But those places need our support. They need the sorts of policies that Labor took to the election: a secure Medicare; a Gonski needs-based funding model for our schools; more apprenticeships for our young people; affordable higher education; and the winding back of negative gearing, to allow young families to buy a home and gain a stake in our society.

But we need more. We need to understand that our economic growth has to be spread broadly. This is the big lesson of the world today: when the wealth we generate is shared unequally, the good it does is undermined. We cannot afford to have a middle that is rising while the periphery is declining—inner suburbs booming while outer suburbs stagnate and economic inequalities tearing at the fabric of trust between institutions and the people they are supposed to serve. This is the next great challenge for our country. We cannot progress as a nation until we deal with the fundamental and irrefutable reality that growing up in the outer suburbs means you start life on an uneven playing field. Someone in Girrawheen is five times more likely to be unemployed than the average Western Australian. A child living in Wanneroo is 30 per cent less likely to finish year 12 than a child living in Perth. A family in Lockridge will have less than half the household income of one in Cottesloe. And in the last five years the number of young homeless people in Cowan has risen by a staggering 22 per cent.

The reality of this inequality is represented in the stories of the people of Cowan. People like Maureen, who, at 75, had to take out a credit card to pay for her medical bills, because she just could not afford them any other way. Or Sean, who worked for 30 years in the construction industry before losing his job. Now in his 50s, he cannot find another job but he cannot afford not to either. Or Robert, an enterprising young man who is keen to develop a start-up business but cannot, because his internet speeds are just too slow. And Anh, a young Vietnamese Australian who dreams of one day forging a career as a rap artist—and he is not half bad! These are not just statistics. They are a reality. And this is not just a matter of justice; it is a matter of extreme national importance. The affluent inner suburbs of our nation cannot provide all the intelligence, knowledge, skills and energy our country needs to become all it can be. That is why I am calling for, and dedicating my parliamentary career to, the creation of a national strategy to deliver the benefits of growth to the outer suburbs of every city in Australia, from Lakemba, where I grew up, to Cowan, which I represent, and to every outer suburb in between. That means a plan to provide better services, better schools, better infrastructure and, perhaps most importantly of all, decent jobs for the people on our city peripheries. We need to promote the people on the edge. We need to talk about how we plan to distribute our wealth just as much as we talk about how we plan to grow our wealth. The era of putting the economy first and our society a distant second is over. We have to have an eye to growth and fairness, economy and society, and that is what I, as the member for Cowan, will endeavour to do—for my electors, for my sons and for the sons and daughters of Australia.

But I would not be standing here today if it were not for the faith, dedication and absolute belief in me shown by so many people both inside and outside of the Labor Party. The circumstances of my preselection were serendipitous. I was in the middle of the busiest time of my career, sharing the stage with former world leaders at the Club de Madrid's Madrid+10 policy dialogue in Spain—

Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As you do!

Opposition members: As you do!

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

as you do—and then joining a panel of international experts at the United Nations in Vienna on the judicial responses to terrorism. Walking out of the United Nations building that day, I said to my husband, 'All this work, all this talk and I know I will go home to Australia and it won't make any difference because there is no political will.' It was just a few days later that I received a call, out of the blue, urging me to run for the seat of Cowan. Unbeknownst to me, the architect of all this was a young man who had heard me speak, for about 10 minutes, at a Young Labor event. That young man, Robbie Williamson, became my campaign manager and is now my most trusted adviser. Thank you, Robbie, for your vision, your dedication and for believing in me.

Thank you also to the incredible men and women who worked on my campaign—Bec, Matt, Travis, Hussein, Lorna, Amy, Justin and Margaret Quirk MLA—and the hundreds of volunteers who gave up their precious time, too many to mention here but particularly Ruth, Lara, Bobbie, Justin and the irrepressible Clim.

Many thanks also to my Labor colleagues: to Bill Shorten and Tanya Plibersek—thank you for your leadership and your absolute commitment to putting people first; to Mark Dreyfus and Ed Husic—thank you for your advice and guidance and always being there on the other end of the phone, even if my question was a stupid one; and to those at WA Labor, Patrick Gorman, Lenda Oshalem and the team.

To my extended family: my love and thanks, be you an Aly, an Allen, a Rida, an Osman, a Serougi, a Dupagne or a Bacon—and yes, the irony of a Muslim woman with a family named Bacon is not lost on me.

I would not be here today without the love and support of the three men I admire most. To my husband, David Allen: Dave, you are my rock and it is only with you by my side that I have been able to soar. Till the end! To my sons, Adam and Karim: it seems like only yesterday that I held your tiny hands in mine and shed tears about all the things that I was unable to give you. And now you take my hand in yours and I am in awe of the fine young men that you have become, despite your mum.

And my parents. To my mother, Hamida: thank you for telling me every day that I am strong like you and for showing me how to be strong. To my father, Mahmoud, who sadly passed away last year: you are loved and remembered, Dad.

Finally, to the people of Cowan, to whom I pledge to always be a strong and fair voice: this is not a journey I can walk on my own. Throughout the election campaign, I told you that the only promise I could make you was that I would always listen, always represent you and always open my door to you with integrity, honesty and sincerity. I know I have a lot to prove to you and I hope that you will hold me accountable. I look forward to working with you, and for you, in service and with honour.

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker Goodenough, and I congratulate you on your election to that position. I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunnawal people, and the traditional owners of my electorate, the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation, and I pay respect to elders past and present. I have the honour of being sent here to represent the mighty federal electorate of Fremantle, the place where the Swan River, or Derbarl Yerrigan, meets the Indian Ocean, in the land of the Whadjuk Noongar, the place known for thousands of years as Walyalup.

I am proud to say that I have been shaped by Fremantle, by its landscape and its culture; by its function as a place of industry and trade and the arts; a port city; a place of arrival, whose multicultural diversity and cohesion has been hard won and is precious; a place that looks out into the world and welcomes people, whether they come for a short or a long time, with open arms; a place defined by the heat and by the sea.

Representing Fremantle is a great responsibility. There is no role or task that I can imagine being more meaningful to me in this life, and I am going to pour myself into this work—at home, in my electorate, and here in this place. I relish the fact that this work spans the full range: from helping a person who has come to you when every other door is closed to working in this place to shape national laws and policy, and I think one should inform the other. If you are from WA, it is work that literally spans the continent, and I look forward to all of it. I hope I can undertake the task with energy, humility, dedication and good humour. My constituents in Freo and my children will let me know if I do not.

While I am brand new to this role, it seems to me that our work in parliament, at best, is about making difficult judgements. They are difficult because the problems they address are often wicked and the remedies they apply are scarce and imperfect. They are difficult because very few judgements will be free of impact. Very few decisions in the public and national interest will leave everyone the same or better off. And, if that is the threshold test for reform, or even for budget repair, then we are not going to get much done.

As a person of Labor values, I believe our work is fundamentally about the custody and stewardship of the things we share: public health and education, public transport, fair and safe working conditions, and our environment. And it is about forging change so that we share and participate more equally and responsibly in Australia now, more equally and responsibly between this and future generations, and with our fellow women and men across the planet.

The Australian economy has just marked a quarter century without recession, and that is remarkable. But the real story of those years is not the quarter-by-quarter growth numbers, and we are not here simply to be brokers or bookkeepers in some marketplace, or to administer a system whose form is taken to be unchangeable and whose inequities and imbalances, even through a period of growth, have to be accepted as somehow reflecting the natural order. We are here to look hard at inequality and social exclusion, to look hard at injustice and environmental damage and to do something about it, with our touchstone being the circumstances of people who are trapped by severe disadvantage, as we seek to help those who stand furthest from the light.

I am the 11th representative of Fremantle, a federation seat, and I follow in the footsteps of some relatively well-known former members. Since the Second World War, they include John Curtin, Kim Beazley Senior, John Dawkins, Carmen Lawrence and Melissa Parke. That is a tough line-up to follow. I had the privilege of working with both Carmen and Melissa, and I am grateful to have benefited from their guidance and friendship. I recognise and pay tribute to the standard they set as Labor representatives who held fast to the pursuit of social inclusion, social justice and humanitarian principle.

When Carmen Lawrence gave her first speech in this place in 1994 she remarked on the centenary of universal suffrage. My daughters are here today and I am glad they are able to see a parliament, especially on this side, that is replete with women who are ready to make a contribution and take their place here on merit, because women have been ready to make their contribution on that basis for a long time, and that process is not finished. Let's remember there are 72 seats in this place that have not yet been represented by a woman.

It was a privilege to work with Melissa, who is here today, especially as part of a Labor government that brought in the first set of major 21st century national reforms, including: a national apology to the Stolen Generation and to the Forgotten Australians; the National Disability Insurance Scheme; the National Broadband Network; an unprecedented network of national marine protected areas; and the enabling conditions that have stimulated a burgeoning renewable energy industry. Together, these acts of creation, and many others, represented a much needed step-change in our social democracy. Each of those reforms is carrying us towards a fairer, more sustainable and more creative Australia, and in time each shift will settle deeply within our social fabric so that it will be hard to imagine that it was ever different. That is what Labor does.

Last week I spoke with a young dad in Spearwood who said how much the NDIS meant in terms of supporting his son, who has autism. I also attended an open day at Tuart Place, a centre for people who were in out-of-home care as children, and presented them with an Australian flag that hung in this place on 16 November 2009, the day the Prime Minister said:

Today, and from this day forward, it is my hope that you will be called the ‘Remembered Australians’.

During the first week in parliament I was briefed on the rollout of the NBN over the next 12 months to 29,000 households in the heart of my electorate, covering areas like Coolbellup, Kardinya, Hilton, Samson and Hamilton Hill—suburbs where in some cases people still have no access to line broadband.

Good government, responsive and reforming government, is not just important, it is necessary, but there is more to be done. There is a danger, I think, when you come to participate in the work of parliament, not that you will be deluded into thinking that we happen to exist at an especially crucial moment in history but that we might be deluded instead into thinking that all the big changes have been won; that what is left is only marginal, asymptotic progress along the curve. On any reasonable assessment, that is not the case. There is in fact a great deal more to do.

The Fremantle electorate is bound up in a number of those challenges: in the need for action on climate change and renewable energy; in the need to hasten the too-slow progress to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians; in relation to the future of work in this country, its forms, quantity and conditions; in regional leadership and our engagement with the wider world; and in the need for smart and forward-looking urban design and planning, and the delivery of matching transport and communication infrastructure.

Granted, city planning sounds boring and technocratic, but unless we get it right we will consign families in outer metro areas to lives limited by unaffordable housing, dislocated from jobs and services and characterised by congestion in suburbs where people struggle to feel connected to their neighbours because there is no reason to walk or ride through the streets, no local shops or community centres and poor public transport. The local governments in my electorate—Cockburn, Fremantle, East Fremantle and Melville—are seized by this challenge but they are frustrated at not being met halfway by state and federal governments. There is no better example right now of that frustration than the Perth Freight Link. My community is fighting to be on the right side of a decision that divides between two very different futures.

Despite the absence of planning and cost-benefit analysis, despite the absence of environmental approval in accordance with the EPA's own policies, the state and federal coalition governments still intend to press ahead with the most expensive road in WA's history—a privately operated toll road that cuts the Beeliar Wetlands in half, locks us out of rail freight and public transport, locks us into greater road congestion and, essentially, serves to stitch up our public port for private sale. People have been fighting to save those wetlands for 30 years—people like Patrick Hume, Joe Branco and Kate Kelly. Now there are thousands who are fighting for a sensible freight and transport plan, an outer harbour with matching road and rail links that keeps our port in public hands and functions as a much needed major economic catalyst in an area of stubborn unemployment, and, above all else, saves the Beeliar Wetlands.

In Fremantle the future of work is coming into sharp focus at a point when the number of full-time jobs in Western Australia has fallen for 18 consecutive months, a bleak run that we have not seen since the last recession in the early 1990s. On the campaign trail it was notable just how many people talked to me about jobs lost, contracts coming to an end and not being renewed, and when there was work on offer the fact that it was in similar roles for a lot less money. Employment in resources, manufacturing, construction, maritime work and related trades is under pressure and jobs across the public service are being cut or squeezed, weakening our social safety net and weakening our capacity in areas like science and research, and tax collection.

One of the most distinctive things about Fremantle is its loud and proud arts and culture workforce—the ordinary, everyday presence and production of musicians, architects, artists, writers, dancers, street performers and even circus performers. Arts practitioners and businesses are the very definition of the creative economy, and you would be hard-pressed to find leaner and meaner enterprises or people and organisations that do more with less, so it is incredibly disappointing that in my electorate of Fremantle arts funding and support bodies have been subject to so much chaos in the last couple of years.

For all of those reasons, we need to think hard about and plan carefully for the future of work in this country. The technological innovation and disruption that some are calling the second machine age will no doubt offer improvements in productivity yet are not, by any stretch, guaranteed to deliver a smooth transition from older to newer forms of work. We simply cannot afford to be complacent or sanguine about the relationship between growth and jobs or innovation and jobs, let alone the relationship between economic growth and rising inequality.

The question of work is particularly acute in the context of closing the gap. This is one area where progress is not merely off track; it is going backwards. As a councillor and deputy mayor in the City of Fremantle, I was very fortunate to work with a united council that made efforts to advance practical and symbolic reconciliation. We established the long-awaited Walyalup Aboriginal Cultural Centre, we began to address the paucity of Noongar names and signage in our public realm and we introduced a successful four per cent Indigenous employment target. I am very conscious that these achievements are tiny in the scheme of things and that meaningful change needs larger scale program and policy input in areas like social housing, needs based education, employment support and justice reinvestment.

Fremantle is a dynamic and multicultural place, notwithstanding the fact that we have our fair share of dark history. It is outward looking and open, with strong links into our region and great potential for those links to become stronger still, especially throughout the Indian Ocean rim.

I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to see a bit of the world, first as a kid of wandering parents, then under my own steam, including through my work as a writer and photojournalist—some of the places were a bit more humid than this. I was in the Solomon Islands for the 10th anniversary of RAMSI in 2013 with foreign minister Bob Carr and with Melissa Parke, in her role as Minister for International Development. I do not think there were any organic steel-cut oats on that occasion, but we did visit an eye clinic where the Fred Hollows Foundation, with the support of Australian aid, was doing brilliant work not just giving back sight but also liberating children from the burden of caring for blind parents or relatives and making it possible for them to attend school.

I was in Kabul in 2014 as an independent election observer for the audit and recount of the Afghan presidential election, and I shared that work with my friend the new member for Solomon. It was a reminder of how contingent and fragile democracy can be, and a very limited but intense experience of how much damage the Afghan state and its people have endured.

Earlier this year I was in Nagasaki as part of the Mayors for Peace initiative, which saw the installation of the first Australian sculpture in the Nagasaki Peace Park. That sculpture was created by people from Yalata and Oak Valley in South Australia, communities that were forced from their land as a result of the Maralinga bomb tests and, in that sense, the bestowal of the sculpture formed a link between atomic survivor communities. The Hibakusha people we met in Nagasaki and Hiroshima joined with the South Australian mob in expressing a clear message: never again.

In this world, and in our region, Australia has a role to play in terms of development assistance, in fostering international cooperation and fair trade, and in supporting peace and disarmament. We do live in a time when the greatest challenges, whether they are climate change or resource management or conflict, can only be overcome by nations working together. At the moment, however, there is not a lot to be optimistic about on that front. It feels like the prevailing force in the world is centrifugal, spinning out towards fragmentation and self-interest rather than towards unity of purpose.

Throughout our history Australia has played a role in leading international cooperation. It is critical we put our shoulder to that wheel again, but that cannot happen if we continue to ransack Australia's overseas development assistance budget, which in addition to reducing poverty and saving lives—if you were not convinced that reducing poverty and saving lives was not good enough—dollar for dollar is one of the best investments we can make in regional security and economic development. And that cannot happen if we continue to approach our responsibility to asylum seekers by cleaving to the divisive extremes of fear and demonisation or righteousness. The operation of the centres at Nauru and Manus Island has been unacceptable, and indefinite detention is wrong. We know that creating a properly constituted regional settlement framework is possible. It is not easy, but it is possible, and we can begin that work by engaging with the UNHCR and our regional neighbours, by increasing our humanitarian intake and by finding resettlement places for people currently held in detention as a matter of urgency. It cannot be said better than my colleague and most often neighbour here, the member for Wills, earlier today, and I thank him for putting it so well.

Those are some of the areas in which I hope to make a contribution in this place, recognising that in many cases I will join others in a collective effort supporting progress in the wider cause rather than looking for a place on the grandstand. And speaking of grandstand: I am grateful to have some people here with me today that form part of my extended tribe: my mum, Poonam, and my sister, Gy; my aunt and uncle, Elizabeth and Mark Aarons; long-time family friend and wise woman, Joan Sheridan; one of my oldest and best mates, John Hill; and, above all, my wife Georgia and my children, Oscar, Priya, and Abby. I know that my dad, GR; my brother Mo; and other family and friends will be watching and listening elsewhere.

None of us is a Lone Ranger, and to be honest that is a mercy. Even at this early stage I know it would be impossible for anyone to put their heart and soul—and sweat, as it turns out!—into their representative work without the love and support and honesty and good-natured ribbing that only family and friends can provide.

My dad has a pretty fierce sense of right and wrong. He and I are maybe too similar in that way, but I love him. For years he gave his time to the good governance of not-for-profit cultural organisations, driven by his love of music and the arts, and I'm glad I got a bit of that too.

My mum, who is here today, is the most optimistic and accepting and resourceful adventurer that I have ever known. When I was growing up I did not always appreciate some of the feats of loving parenthood that she managed to pull off in extraordinary circumstances, and sometimes I was guilty of being self-conscious about the way we lived: the fact that we moved a lot, we pulled together interesting meals, we lived in strange countries—and even that she cut our hair. As I have got older, with a much better appreciation of that strength of self and that unconditional love, I have really come to marvel at my mum's energy, positivity, and generosity of spirit. I wish I had more of it. And thanks for the haircut!

My brother and sister and I have shared a lot. My brother is not here today, but my sister is. As kids we lived with Mum in a bamboo hut in India; we were the Australian oddities at school in Long Island, New York; and we came to mostly amicable bedroom-sharing arrangements in probably fifteen different rental houses on the limestone ridges and in the valleys of Fremantle. I am grateful we all live there close by still.

And last but most of all, the beating heart of my world is my own family: my wife, Georgia, and our children, Oscar, Priya, and Abby. I love you.

On the theme of acknowledgments and with fewer tears I want to thank those who travelled the road of the Fremantle campaign with me. Campaigns are not just a means to an end; campaigns have value in themselves. They are the way we come together and pursue something bigger than our individual interests. I want to thank the WA Labor Party and the labour movement in the west for their huge practical and moral support. I pay tribute to the organisational and morale-lifting work of the WA Labor team, led by Patrick Gorman and Lenda Oshalem, often mentioned in dispatches today, and carried forward by hundreds of valiant people within Labor's Community Action Network.

I thank local state members Fran Logan, Peter Tinley and especially my fellow member for Fremantle, the state member for Fremantle, Simone McGurk. For my own sake, I have to particularly acknowledge the fantastic support of the rank and file Fremantle electorate branch members and my campaign team, especially David Settelmaier, Matt Bowden, LeeAnne Willows, Kath Longley, Nick Chinna, and the four Peters: Peter White, Peter Feasey, Peter Woodward, and Peter Tagliaferri, who is also here today.

And I do want to mention the two small left unions that roared: Sue Bowers and the Community & Public Sector Union—Sue is here today—and John Welch of the Western Australian Prison Officers Union. Thank you both for standing up when it appeared there was not much hope or much point.

To bring my slightly damp first speech in this incredible place to an end—that will not make sense to people reading this in the future!—I am happy to say that I am a romantic when it comes to representative democracy. I think it is one of the best things. I do not agree with Winston Churchill; I think it is one of the best things. It deserves to be valued. It deserves to be performed with maximum effort, and cultivated with great care, with its essence and structure respected and its live parts allowed to flourish and be renewed. As a new member in this place I intend to listen and learn, to not hold back for fear of making the odd mistake or the odd joke, to participate and work hard in good spirit and good faith, to make a difference and always to apply myself in dedicated service to the people of Fremantle.

Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the honourable member for Groom, I remind the House that it is the honourable member's first speech. I ask that the House extend to him the usual courtesies.

John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and can I congratulate you on your role in this the 45th Parliament.

Today I rise as a very humbled and proud member of the Australian parliament. I am especially humbled to be the new member for Groom. At the outset I thank sincerely the people of Groom, who have done me the great honour of representing them here in this the federal parliament. Our electorate is 5½ thousand square kilometres on the Eastern Darling Downs in southern Queensland. It is based on the city of Toowoomba, the second largest inland city in Australia—second only to this our national capital, Canberra. Groom is made up of other towns and villages, such as Cambooya, Pittsworth, Brookstead, Mount Tyson, Bowenville, Jondaryan, Oakey, Quinalow, Goombungee and Highfields, just to mention a few.

Our economy is based on agribusiness, health services, education, resources, construction and, above all else, small business. Research, development and innovation are features of our region, with industry, the University of Southern Queensland and the department of agriculture all greatly assisted by a significant CSIRO presence. Our cluster of world-class boarding schools serving southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, which, together with the South-West Queensland TAFE, the university and excellent private and state schools, means that we have magnificent education facilities and teachers, including my wife, Anita, on the Darling Downs. I, along with many others, am a fortunate beneficiary of a Darling Downs education, starting school at Jondaryan State School and finishing at my beloved Downlands College before commencing my first degree at our own university.

We are among the most productive agricultural regions in the nation, featuring grain, cotton, horticulture, intensive livestock and food-processing facilities. We sit at the northern headwaters of the Murray-Darling system. Toowoomba is the home of the Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland and the National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture. We remain the agricultural innovation centre for Australia. Our region houses the Oakey Army Aviation Centre and the Borneo Barracks Army base at Cabarlah, and like the rest of the nation we regularly commemorate our region's proud but sobering history of military bravery.

I am very proud of the fact that Groom enjoys an economic growth rate and employment levels that are the envy of much of the rest of our nation. Surveys confirm that we are among the most philanthropic regions in the country. Our sporting heritage is strong from original rugby league international Duncan Thompson to members of our Australian women's rugby sevens side, who won gold in Rio just last month. Our cultural icons extend from Steele Rudd to Geoffrey Rush and from the Jondaryan Woolshed to the Empire Theatre, DownsSteam, Cobb & Co Museum and our annual Carnival of Flowers, which will start this coming weekend.

We have much to offer the nation's economy, with the $1.6 billion second range crossing now finally under construction; a $500 million Grand Central retail development; a $50 million inner-city bypass; $100 million of Warrego Highway upgrades, and with more to come; inland rail developments; and our burgeoning new international airport—the first greenfield public airport built in Australia in 50 years, which took just 18 months to be operational and was totally privately funded and developed by the Wagner family.

From the arrival of Allan Cunningham in the early 1800s and the large pastoral runs established by the Leslie brothers and other pioneers to selectors, farmers, graziers, small business people and cultures from across the world that followed them and from Defiance Milling, established by the forebears of the member for Fairfax, KR Darling Downs Smallgoods and Southern Cross Windmills to Weis Frozen Foods, Wagners, FK Gardner & Sons, Russell Mineral Equipment, the whole resource sector, Easternwell and Heritage Bank, Toowoomba and the Darling Downs have always been about opportunity and enterprise.

Above all, we recognise the history and position of the traditional owners in our part of the world, including the Jarowair and Giabal peoples and Indigenous warriors at the time of the arrival of Europeans, such as Multuggerah of the Jagera people, who led his people in the Battle of One Tree Hill near Toowoomba exactly 143 years ago today.

Like any other region, though, we have our challenges. Support for some of our troubled youth, mental health sufferers, others in need and the scourge of drugs are coordinated by the likes of Toowoomba Clubhouse, Sunrise Way and traditional agencies such as Endeavour and Lifeline, among many others. But there is always more to do, and I am committed to supporting this vital work in our community. For example, we have those who are pleading for access to medicinal cannabis and we are working through NDIS implementation preparations. Many in our community continue to recover from both flood and drought. The continued economic pressures on small business, the lifeblood of our economy and our community, are ever present.

The Oakey community is working through the challenge of unintentional water contamination from firefighting foams previously used at the Army aviation base, and I am working with them to obtain answers and clarity for their futures with the defence minister's office just as soon as possible. I say to the consultants, the scientists and the bureaucrats who research on this and other impacts in our region: time is of the essence. And please understand: my constituents are not simply 'receptors', as they are referred to in various reports. They are people whose concerns we must respect.

Now, our future is exciting. The government is considering the feasibility study into a recycled water project from Brisbane to the Darling Downs for sustainable irrigation purposes. FK Gardner & Sons have plans for a data hub facility that is attracting worldwide attention. Despite downturns, the resource sector still plays an important part in our local economy. Fantastic export opportunities are being facilitated by the national and international road, rail and air logistics hub that our region is becoming, and we have much more to do to bring this fully to fruition. We must complete the task of world-class telecommunications infrastructure in our regional area, and I am focused on pushing ahead to complete and then sustain that system as a priority. Ultimately, I am committed to seeing the benefits of this exciting future filter down through our whole community and our whole economy—entrepreneurs, small business, families and job seekers right across the region.

It is often said that we are shaped and influenced by community leaders around us, and I would like to mention just a few from Groom. My predecessor, the Hon. Ian Macfarlane, in his maiden speech to this House 18 years ago, spoke of government needing to engender industry growth and community spirit and to be a public participant in a constructive way, and of the community's need to recognise their government not necessarily as the fixer of all things but as an entity to facilitate, to assist and to lead.

On his election as our mayor in 2012, His Worship, Paul Antonio, here in the chamber today, declared that the Toowoomba region was open for business, and I know he revels in the fact that we are a family-friendly city and a refugee welcome zone. But as he says, the freedom that we have as a nation was not gained for free and that all of us, whether we have been here for generations or are just newly arrived, need to recognise that sacrifice by our forebears and our diggers.

Our community is well served by many faith and business leaders: my own Bishop Robert McGuckin and other faith leaders in our Christian tradition; Prof Shajahan Khan and others from our Islamic community; the multifaith activities of the Venerables and Mr Haneef at the Pure Land Learning College; Chancellor John Dornbusch and Vice Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas from USQ; Chairman Shane Charles from the Toowoomba and Surat Basin Economic Development organisation, here in the gallery today, and the chambers of commerce across our region; our emergency services leaders; and my great friend and Indigenous elder Uncle Darby McCarthy. It is Uncle Darby who is often quoted in our community, when we meet to discuss incarceration levels and other Indigenous challenges, as having confidence in full reconciliation. To quote him, 'We must continue to work to achieve it in the knowledge that if we can't, our black babies and our white babies will'.

The current electorate of Groom was created following a redistribution in the 1980s at the time my father, the Hon Tom McVeigh, was the federal member. Whilst I commence my federal role here almost 30 years after Dad retired, I did observe firsthand his approach to public life: a passionate connection with the electorate, a reliance on common sense as the ultimate guide, a keenness to engage in robust debate in the true coalition tradition but, above all else, an overwhelming respect for all engaged in the argument.

Dad is one of the fittest people of his age that I know, but at present he is recovering, and recovering well, from a recent illness. Last week, unfortunately, he was advised by his doctors not to travel for many weeks. He told me today on the phone that he is heartbroken that he cannot be here today, and so am I. I will ask other members here in the House to say g'day to him when he visits the House later in the year. But please be warned: he is of the very firm view that there is no Parliament House anywhere near as good as the old one down the road here in which he served!

I should also put on the record that I appreciated Dad's assistance in the campaign, but I remain concerned that he spent more time working on the campaign of his own local member, Trevor Evans, the very distinguished new member for Brisbane!

I come to this House as an LNP member from Queensland, a party that combines the heritage of the great Liberal and National parties in our state, and I am so proud to sit in the Liberal Party room in this coalition government as a regional member. In my limited political experience to date in the Toowoomba Regional Council, the Queensland state parliament, as a state cabinet minister and now in the federal parliament I have learned just a few things: it is not about we as individuals in these chambers, it is about our constituents and electorates. All of us come and go, but the people and regions we serve are the constant. Together we debate, form, implement and critique policy as a government and as a parliament, but the most meaningful, rewarding and effective work we do is back in our electorates—one-on-one with our individual constituents in ways that will inevitably remain private forever to them and us.

A thick skin and pragmatism are prerequisites, a view to the long-term future, regardless of daily debates and contemporary scrutiny, is necessary and we should recognise that the role of the media is essential in the imperfect world of communication. Above all else, a respect for the office, despite our political differences to those who may hold that office—be it leadership or individual representatives—is essential for our democratic system to work.

In terms of my own studies and 20-year career in agribusiness prior to politics—from tractor driving and abattoir floor work to postgraduate study and international trade missions—I learnt clearly that as Australians we must focus on the entire value chain in which our producers, processors, logisticians and marketers exist. Ultimately each member of the chain needs to share in the benefits of commerce if we are to successfully compete with the world and develop our own communities. This is a strong view and a message that I bring to this parliament, and I believe it applies to our entire economy.

Before I close., I would like to express my sincere appreciation and admiration for my campaign manager, Cynthia Hardy, and her husband, Ben, who are here in the chamber this afternoon. Other supporters with them in the gallery today include John and Roseanne Munns—and a little birdie has told me they happen to be celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary! I thank our party president, Gary Spence, and regional vice-president, Cameron O'Neill—both boys from Toowoomba, like me—and many other campaign workers and supporters, including Peter Wilson, Jim Curtis, John Eacersal, Deidre Counsell and a lady I have known since I was a child, Mrs Joan Andersen, or, as I know her, Aunty Joan. I also acknowledge Senator Barry O'Sullivan, who resides in our city of Toowoomba, and my former state colleagues whose electorates overlap with Groom: Trevor Watts, Deb Frecklington, Pat Weir and, especially, David Janetzki, who has replaced me in Toowoomba South and will do a sterling job.

I am fortunate to have many lifelong friends who have supported me in my political pursuits, including Paul Dashwood and Jon Martlew, here today in the gallery. And I acknowledge my new electorate office team of Megan Brown, Chris Leslight and Rae Copeland. Thank you so much for your understanding and patience as we all settle into our new roles.

Few of us can achieve anything without mates and mentors in our lives, and I take this opportunity to mention some from my life to whom I am so grateful: Ted and Maureen Timperley, youth group leaders from Highfields; the late Dr Peter White, from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries; Peter Kenny, one of my teachers at St Joseph's; Phil Jauncey, from Toowoomba; Professor Ray Collins, from the University of Queensland; Greg Windsor, from Fibreking, a private manufacturing business that I have been involved with for over 20 years; my mayor and great mate Paul Antonio; and my wife's late uncle Bishop Michael Putney, from Townsville, one of the most ecumenical and compassionate people this country will ever know.

As a fourth generation Darling Downs resident, I often reflect on the pioneering efforts of my great grandparents Patrick and Hester McVeigh and how their descendants have spread across the nation—aided, no doubt, by the fact they had 13 children to start with! My maternal grandparents, James and Margaret Meara, were leading citizens of Clifton, on the Southern Darling Downs, with James being its longest serving shire chairman. My parents, Mary McVeigh, who is here today, and Tom McVeigh, together with my parents-in-law—Cel, who is also here today, and the late Kevin Phillips—have provided Anita and I with a wonderful example of community service, a genuine concern for others, strong family values and the importance of family farming and small business enterprise in regional Australia.

And I am greatly supported by my siblings, Margaret, Tom, Michael and Peter, whose families and successful careers in the arts, education, law, engineering and finance inspire me no end.

As I have said, I am humbled and proud to have been selected as the new member for Groom in this place. But my most important role in life is as a father and husband. Our children, Meghan, Kevin, Bridget, Annabelle, Marita and Tessa, as well as Bridget's partner, Alec Noble, are all here today. I say to them—through you, Mr Speaker—that mum and I are so privileged to be surrounded by such creativity, gentleness, leadership, determination, resilience and love. It is the future of you and your generation that first drew me into public life, and it has motivated me ever since—from those original kindy committees right through to this place. The law, commerce, education, arts and health sciences futures that you have embarked upon, with our support and immense pride, I trust will sustain us into our old age—or at least I hope they do!

Above all else, I come into this house with the support and patience of someone who has already been a conscript to public life, as we so often say—rather than as a volunteer, as we all are that sit in this chamber—my wife, Anita. Our love sustains me through all of this. She is my best friend and my rock.

In conclusion, I applaud those who work their guts out, as business founders, owners or employees, who succeed in their businesses and their jobs such that they can then contribute in turn to their communities. I often regret that such Australians and their families can be seen by some as privileged, and their success as being unfair, when that is exactly the enterprise, self-reliance and community support that we need to encourage in our country—in line with the Liberal ideals of enterprise and social justice. It is, as our Prime Minister and Treasurer have stated, the moral challenge of our time to bring the national budget back into order for the sake of future generations—and that is as true in Groom as it is anywhere in our nation. The ongoing challenge of limited resources and competing interests, I believe, is best addressed by small government that backs rather than regulates individual enterprise and freedom. We must appreciate the very broad range of concerns and aspirations across the generations and world views that make up our nation—especially those who feel disenfranchised—but at the same time we must guard against extremism in any guise. Ongoing reform and change is difficult for any community, but it is up to us as representatives here, and our state and local colleagues right across the nation, to listen to our communities, to represent our communities, and to lead the change necessary for our nation's future. On behalf of the people of Groom, whom I represent here in the federal parliament, I dedicate myself to that task.

Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the honourable member for Herbert, I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first speech, and I ask the House to extend to her the usual courtesies.

Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker, I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land upon which we meet here today in Canberra, the Ngunnawal people; the traditional owners of the land in Townsville, the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people, and the Bwgcolman people, the contemporary Aboriginal name for Palm Islanders, which means 'many tribes'. I acknowledge their elders past, present and future, and I am proud and privileged to say that I share this great land with the oldest living culture on earth.

It is with great humility, pride and privilege that I stand in this place today as the Labor member for Herbert. I know better than most that democracy is at its best when it is clearly evident that every vote counts. It is with huge enthusiasm that I say the seat of Herbert has been delivered back to Labor after 20 long years. I pay my respects to the last long-serving Labor member for Herbert, the Hon. Eamon Lindsay, who successfully held the seat of Herbert between 1983 and 1996 during the Hawke and Keating years. I also pay my respects to my predecessor Mr Ewen Jones, who was the member between 2010 and 2016. The seat of Herbert is a Federation seat that has been held by 11 members since 1901, all of which have been male—until now. For the first time in history, after 115 years, the seat of Herbert is held by a female member, and that has been no mean feat, even in 2016.

I come from a working-class family. My father, Les, is a first-generation Australian on the paternal side of his family. His father came to this country by boat from England as a 10-pound Pom. My mother, Marie, is also a first-generation Australian on the paternal side of her family. Her father was born in Mount Lebanon in Lebanon. His family story is one of difficulty and tragedy, as the life of an immigrant in Australia both before and after World War I was not easy, especially for people for whom English was a second language. My parents grew up in the Depression years, where success was based on hard manual work. My parents were not afforded the opportunity for a secondary education, let alone a university education. My parents entered their married life with the intention of giving their children a better life than they had experienced and, for my mother especially, that resulted in a steadfast commitment to ensuring that her children had every possible opportunity to access the best education.

I am the eldest of five children, all born within seven years. We were not a wealthy family, but the values of honesty, trust, respect, compassion and the right for all people to be treated with dignity and respect were both practised and expected. My youngest sister, Janice, is here today in the gallery. My extended family is large and ranges from nearly-newborn to age 86. I am married and have three children and three—soon to be four—beautiful grandchildren, who are the delight of my husband's and my life. My husband, Dennis, is here today in the gallery as well. My son, Liam, and his fiancée, Eszter, grandson Riley and almost-born granddaughter Lilly; my daughter Jane and her husband, Stian, granddaughter Matilda and grandson Jack; and my daughter Louise and her fiancée, Katrina, who I hope in the very near future will be able to marry—without the potentially destructive and divisive plebiscite—and be able to have children of their own.

I left school in year 11 at the age of 16, to take up a hairdressing apprenticeship, and in my second year my mother and I purchased the business and I became self-employed at the age of 18. Under the stewardship and guidance of my mother I learned to be an effective and efficient small-business owner of a number of successful hairdressing businesses. My husband and I eventually bought my mother out, and we continued to grow and diversify our businesses and to employ and train successful apprentices and other staff. I have a very deep understanding of the issues that small businesses are facing throughout the electorate of Herbert, and I am committed to working closely with the Townsville Chamber of Commerce and Townsville Enterprise to grow and diversify Townsville's economic sector. This experience led me to a vocational education and training teaching career with TAFE Queensland, where I commenced my university education as a mature-aged student. Since then, I have achieved a number of tertiary qualifications. During my time at TAFE, I was involved in the development of a range of competency-based curriculum projects across a diverse range of industries. I have also owned and operated my own Registered Training Organisation. As the member for Herbert, I am committed to ensuring the growth of our great public TAFE system, in support of the vocational education and training sector.

In 2002 I moved into the mental health community sector, firstly as the CEO of a mental health specialist Disability Employment Service that operated in Townsville and Charters Towers. I then became the CEO of a medium-sized community-managed mental health organisation that operates across north and west Queensland, from Palm Island to Mount Isa, with a head office in Townsville. This change in career enabled me to become active in advocating at the peak body level for the most vulnerable people. I held the position of President of the Queensland Alliance for Mental Health and was a state council member for a number of years. I also held a position on the national peak body Community Mental Health Australia. I am absolutely committed to working with the community sector in order to ensure that the needs of vulnerable citizens across all ages and cultures are met.

So what brought me to the world of politics? I guess it started with my youngest sister, Janice, who was very politically active in her early 20s in university and then as the Queensland State Secretary of the Australian Services Union. Janice was also a member of the federal executive of the Labor Party. Both of my grandfathers were shop stewards in their workplaces and staunch union and Labor people. The Hon. Mike Reynolds, who is married to Janice, also played a significant role. Mike is here in the gallery today. The call to action came, however, with John Howard's Welfare to Work program in 2006. That got my blood boiling to the point of immediate active engagement with the Labor Party, and shifted me from a passive fellow traveller to an active party member. The unfairness and punitive nature of this policy was outrageous, coupled with the fact that in my work I was expected to implement this unworkable policy, which had a drastic impact on our society's most vulnerable citizens.

Labor values of a fair go for everyone are consistent with my personal values and beliefs. I am driven by honesty, integrity and purposeful and meaningful work that is grounded in human rights and social justice, and that is why I became a member of the Australian Labor Party. I believe that it is impossible to talk about economy without reference to people and the role they play in community, because people collectively form a society. Therefore, ensuring that all people at every level within our communities experience a fair go will create a flourishing society which will in turn create the space for a strong and thriving economy. Surely that is the role of government.

I sincerely thank the women and men of Herbert for putting their faith and trust in me, and I give my word and absolute commitment that I will be their strong and constant voice in this parliament, because North Queensland deserves a fair share of the distribution of Australia's wealth. This is especially the case when North Queensland more than pulls its weight in terms of Australia's productivity, industry and people.

Herbert includes Magnetic Island and Palm Island. Palm Island is recognised as one of the largest Aboriginal communities in Australia, with a large number of economic and social issues. However, it is also a place of magnificence and beauty. It is a place of resilience, hope and capacity, and it deserves the opportunity to be a thriving community. Both in my professional work and as a candidate, I have developed a very strong and close working relationship with Mayor Alf Lacey and council members, and I am determined to work in a collaborative and cooperative partnership to address the social and economic inequalities.

Townsville is also a very proud multicultural city. It is also a resettlement city. Herbert covers an area of approximately 946 square kilometres and it is on the doorstep of two World Heritage Listed areas: the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest. Herbert stretches west from the city of Townsville, predominantly north of the Ross River, and includes the Defence establishment of Lavarack Barracks, which is the largest Army base in Australia, and the RAAF base in Garbutt, which has played a strategic and key role in times of warfare and in peace. Australian Defence Forces are deployed and continue to be deployed from these Townsville Defence establishments to go to serious conflicts in areas such as Timor, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. I am committed to supporting our Defence personnel in their campaign for better wages and working conditions. I am also committed to supporting our ex-service personnel—veterans both male and female—and their families in their fight to secure appropriate services in our community.

The electorate of Herbert has historically been one of the most diversified regional economies in Australia, with copper and zinc refineries and, until more recently, a nickel refinery. Townsville is noted for its port facilities, including a bulk sugar terminal, which is the largest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere; a prawn and fishing industry; the export of beef; and a thriving tourism industry, including a modern cruise ship terminal. Townsville is also home to James Cook University and now Central Queensland University, and research institutions, including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the CSIRO.

However, people in our community are doing it tough right now. Our unemployment is approaching 15 per cent, one of the highest rates in the country; youth unemployment is nearly 20 per cent; small business is struggling; and business confidence is low. When my predecessor, Ewen Jones, was first elected to the seat of Herbert, unemployment was only 5.4 per cent, despite the largest global economic contraction in 75 years. Now, after six years of the LNP 'stewardship' and three years of an LNP national government, it is approaching 15 per cent. During this time, Townsville suffered a double whammy, with three years of an LNP Campbell Newman state government, with thousands of public sector jobs decimated from our economy.

Unlike our conservative opponents, Labor believes in a proactive role for government in the management of our economy. We do not accept the passive wishful thinking of the LNP's trickle-down economics. Townsvillians are capable and resilient people. We have been in tough times before and I know that with strong and collaborative leadership between the three levels of government and our community we can move forward into a much brighter and more prosperous future.

I give the people of Townsville my word that I will fight tooth and nail to ensure we get the projects that were promised by the Turnbull government to our community during the election campaign, which include: the construction of the Townsville stadium linked to the new cities deal; the Townsville Eastern Access Rail Corridor; a water feasibility study to secure a reliable water supply for our residents and for the future residential, commercial and industrial growth of Townsville; the Singapore deal and the realisation of economic and social benefits to our city; and the $5 million for an upgrade to Illich Park in Aitkenvale.

I am determined that all of these projects and commitments made by the Turnbull government include local jobs and opportunities for local contractors and local small businesses, which will grow our economy and local business confidence. All of these projects must be expeditiously delivered to Townsville, to urgently improve the city's unemployment rate and economic base.

Labor already brings proactive policies in regard to the global climate change crisis. Unlike the Turnbull government, we do not bury our head in the sand and allow the climate change sceptics to have their way. As the member for Herbert I will work rigorously to make Townsville the renewable energy capital of Australia. I will work collaboratively with James Cook University, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO and other research institutions to ensure that we are a globally significant knowledge hub for sustainable tropical ecosystem management, conservation and development. I will fight hard to ensure that workers' transferable skills are identified in order for them to successfully transition to the new industries and jobs.

As the member for Herbert, I recognise the growing importance of the tropics globally. The James Cook University State of the tropics report indicates that the tropics currently are home to 40 per cent of the world's population, and this is projected to be more than 50 per cent with two-thirds of the global population of children under 15 by 2050. This creates excellent opportunities for Townsville as a globally significant knowledge hub for sustainable tropical development. It is my firm belief that the government's Northern Australia development program needs to be as focused on social and educational infrastructure as it is on physical infrastructure, and in particular on the need for meaningful engagement with Northern Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

I will always stand up for Labor's values, principles and policies that put people first. I will fight for Townsville's Community Legal Service; affordable and accessible aged care supports; recognition of quality early childhood education; access to needs based funding for schools, as envisaged in the Gonski Report; access to universities for all students; the full rollout of Labor's NDIS and the absolute protection of Medicare.

I did not get elected to this position on my own or by sheer luck. The journey for me started in November 2012, when I was endorsed to run in the 2013 campaign. That was a tough time for Labor, but I was fortunate to have some loyal Labor people such as the Hon. Mike Reynolds as campaign director and, in particular, Billy Colless, Alec McConnell and my daughter Jane as my key campaign workers.

The 2016 campaign was a very different machine with a very different election campaign strategy, including over 100 positive Labor policies, with each and every one resonating in our community. I would like to thank Bill Shorten, Leader of the Opposition, who kicked off the campaign in Townsville, clearly demonstrating his commitment to regional centres. He returned several times during the course of the campaign, which reinforced this commitment.

I would also like to thank Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese, Catherine King, Kate Ellis, Steven Conroy, Claire Moore, Kim Carr, Doug Cameron, Brendan O'Connor, Stephen Jones, Andrew Leigh, Andrew Giles, Gai Brodtmann, Sharon Claydon, Chris Ketter and Murray Watt, who made the time to visit and support me and my community during the campaign.

To Bill Marklew, CPSU state secretary, and Nadine Flood, CPSU national secretary, who believed in me and supported our campaign: thank you. To the ASU, ETU, United Voice and the RTBU, who also provided valuable support: thank you. I also thank the people and my colleagues of the Queensland Labor Party.

Strong campaigns are built on strong foundations—that is, like-minded people who have a shared vision of Labor values and a deep commitment and belief that they can win. I was privileged and honoured to have a campaign team that met these qualities. My sincere thanks go to Stephanie Naunton, my extraordinarily committed campaign director, who is also here today; Jackson Hitchcock, a dedicated field organiser; my wonderful daughter Jane, my campaign treasurer; and many, many other amazing committee members and volunteers who worked tirelessly above and beyond the call of duty and all expectations.

To the special people, and there were many of them, who scrutineered over the 29-day recount, which was led by my campaign director Stephanie Naunton: thank you for your dedication and support in what was an intense and stressful time. To my family, my husband Dennis, who is also here today: thank you for your support and understanding. You have always been there for me and you have supported every career decision that I have made. You have also supported me through 37 years of marriage. Thank you to all of my large extended family, and in particular my parents, who constantly told us as we grew up: 'You can be whatever you want to be, as long as you are committed and work hard.' My parents taught my four siblings and me that we would not be defined by our social standing or how much money we had but by how we lived our lives, how hard we worked and how well we respected the rights of others, especially those less fortunate than our selves.

In closing, I would like to say that as the member for Herbert I will be committed, determined and professional and I will make every minute count, as my community expects and deserves no less.

Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the honourable member for Herbert and I wish her every success in this parliament.

Debate adjourned.