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

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

Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great honour that I stand in this place as the seventh member for Tangney having sworn an oath to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. I will repay the faith of the people of Tangney by working hard, by being honest and up-front and by representing my community to the very best of my ability. Not everyone will always agree with the positions I take in this place, but they will always be considered based on my values and in our national interests.

The strange thing about maiden speeches is that they are more often read as you leave this place than when you enter. So, with this in mind, I will set out the basis of how I would like to be judged when I leave this place. I want people to be in no doubt about why I am here. I am here for the hardworking, aspirational Australians who want to apply their own effort and succeed. I am here to help build an Australia that empowers people—an Australia that rewards individual and community effort. I am here to create an Australia where young people, regardless of their financial and social situation, can work hard and reach their full potential—whatever that might be. Sadly, in many parts of our country, the most significant limitation on an individual's success is their ability to aspire and to believe that they can create their own future, and I am determined to change this.

I am the son of two very hardworking Australians, Trevor and Linda Morton. They applied their efforts to own and operate their businesses, and the businesses of others, to accept risk and to employ people. My family's history is in farming, in building, in transport and in care. My dad's family were primary producers in the Dooralong Valley, just outside Wyong, on the New South Wales Central Coast. They moved through the industries of the time: pulpwood, citrus and dairy. I pay tribute and thanks to my grandmother, Daphne, a strong woman who instilled in her children values of self-reliance and determination, but who, after many years with dementia, sadly passed away, just over a fortnight ago, aged 94.

My mum immigrated from England as a ten-pound Pom with her then husband and my two brothers. The billboards posted in England at the time said, 'The call of the stars to British men and women,' 'the southern cross,' 'the stars which shine over Australia,' and 'the land of opportunity'. Full of enthusiasm for her new life in Australia, Mum worked hard, raised her family and embraced our Australian values while still remaining true to her northern English heritage.

I grew up around Wyong, attending Wyong Public School and Wyong High School. I certainly was not the most academic kid, but, on my first day of high school, something was said to me that really stuck with me: 'It doesn't matter where you're from or how smart you are, at high school all that matters is how hard you try.' What an amazing revelation—that your success can be determined by yourself, by your energy and by your commitment.

I was actually one of those strange kids at high school. I always wanted to revolutionise things. I looked for problems and I campaigned for solutions. In my first weeks of high school I set my sights on reforming the student council as it had no representation in the year 7 classes. After a mini campaign, democracy was restored and I was one of those elected. But in 1997 I learnt about the responsibility that comes with being a representative. I was in year 11 and instead of a long bell ringing for lunchtime three short bells, instead, told us that there was an emergency assembly in the quadrangle.

As I walked down the stairs, a year 8 kid said to his mate: 'I wonder who's killed themselves now. I wonder how they did it.' As shocking as those words were, I understood because in the past weeks assemblies had been called for that very reason. On this occasion there was no reporting of another suicide. Instead it was an assembly to discuss rumours of a suicide pact by young people in our community. That afternoon the Wyong Youth Advisory Council met and, if there was ever a time that something should be said and something should be done, this was it.

From that meeting, and by speaking on behalf of the people I represented, we held a youth forum on suicide. The posters and flyers for the forum were blunt: 'We're killing ourselves. Why? Let's talk about it.' Over 200 young people attended that night—a remarkable number for a town like Wyong. They came out to have their say and to acknowledge that they were not alone. The forum broke the wall of silence on this issue and the report from that forum was used to argue the case for those regional young people.

Earlier this year I gave a copy of that report to my very good friend the member for Canning. His regional WA community is very similar to the Central Coast, in New South Wales, and is dealing with the same issues today. I was really pleased to help but sad there was still a need to do so these decades later. Suicide breaks all of our hearts and it should drive us as representatives in this place to do everything we can to help people who feel they are beyond help and to empower them.

Through the application of my effort, and with the support of my family and teachers, I was one of only a handful of students from my school, and the first ever in my family, to go to university. I studied here in Canberra at the Australian National University. One teacher in particular, Bruce Willott, would have been most surprised but was also most responsible. Rather than the usual uni job of pulling pints, I decided to get a job in the transport industry. I trained as a bus driver, not far from this place, in Queanbeyan and I passed my test with flying colours. I got my licence to drive a bus and I was ready to start my first run, but there was one more step, and that was to apply for my authority to carry passengers. To my shock and horror, but to the amusement of my family and particularly my dad, my application for my authority to carry passengers was knocked back—not because I did not pass the required course but because I was too young. I had applied my effort, I had invested in and increased my skills and I was licensed to drive a bus, but there was not much demand for bus drivers who could not carry passengers. So if there is ever any question of where my anger at needless complication and red tape comes from, please keep this example in mind.

I hate waste and mismanagement and I hate needless complexity and regulation because the more complex something is the more expensive it is to administer. Few policy areas are more complex than social welfare. There are currently some 20 different types of welfare payments and more than 50 supplements to those payments. The legislation dealing with our welfare system covers five different acts filling over 5,000 pages. I am a compassionate conservative and I am proud that Australia has a safety net to support those in need but, sadly, our welfare system fails many. In too many cases taxpayer funded programs trap people who are otherwise able and willing to work. In too many cases the safety net becomes a hammock. Dame Dorothy Tangney said in her maiden speech, 'Social security is the right of every Australian,' and I could not disagree more. Taxpayer funded social security is not a right; it is a privilege. It is a privilege that is afforded to those in genuine need by others who work hard and pay their taxes. It is a privilege we offer as a nation that we can very be proud of. But with the receipt of that privilege comes responsibility and obligation.

The concept of mutual obligation must underpin any taxpayer funded welfare system. It is a concept in which I firmly believe. Working-age welfare should not be compensation for the situation someone finds themselves in. Rather, it must be an investment in where they can go. The success of our welfare system should not be assessed on how much money we spend. Success should be measured by the reduction of welfare dependency in our community. I commend the work of the Minister for Social Services and the Minister for Human Services. By using data, we will determine the real effectiveness of our welfare system and assess whether it is actually making lives better or making lives worse.

I as a new MP have come to learn that so many of our problems can be solved by getting outside of our policy silos and that one problem plus another problem could well equal a solution. One example is the issue of young carers. I pay tribute to the care that these young people give to their family members and loved ones. However, recent data released by the ministers shows that young carers are expected to be on income support for 43 years over their future lifetimes, yet health care and social assistance will make the largest contribution to employment growth, with some 250,000 new jobs needing to be filled, by 2020. Sixteen per cent of young carers will be on welfare for life. While not all carers will want a career in caring, I hope that people who would otherwise be destined for lifelong welfare would find inspiration, meaning and fulfilment from a career in the caring jobs we need, born out of compassion for their loved ones.

I am not someone who believes that governments and parliaments have all the answers. The government's new Try, Test and Learn Fund accepts the answers are best sourced from the community. This fund will help identify solutions to move people from the dependency of welfare to meaningful and rewarding employment, tax paying and productive engagement in our community. I know the coalition is committed to achieving this, not to save money but to make lives better and communities stronger.

There is a war being waged in our communities right across Australia. Illegal drug use is stretching the fabric of our society, and I fear that, with newer, more harmful and immediately addictive drugs, that fabric is close to tearing. Ice is like no other drug we have known before. Proportionately, Australians use more methamphetamines than any other nation. There are over 200,000 dependent users in Australia, and each user's family, friends and colleagues are affected by this scourge. Just last week I met with a mother whose daughter is extremely lucky to be on the road to recovery. But her stories of immediate addiction, crime, dealing, vulnerability, rape and attempted suicide would shock anyone.

The final report from the National Ice Taskforce sets out 38 recommendations. While I am pleased that the government has responded immediately, with an investment of almost $300 million to improve treatment, after care, education and prevention, more still needs to be done. But this problem is complex and covers multiple departments and ministers.

Recommendation 32 concerning direct ministerial responsibility across portfolios is, for me, a most critical foundation stone and one on which the coalition has a proud track record. We should replicate the successful models used for border protection and implement a single ministerial authority, responsibility and accountability for tackling drugs in our community so that together we can start winning some battles in this war.

I have seen firsthand how drugs burn even the closest bonds, and I have seen the intersection of welfare and drugs in our community. During my high school years, my parents took full-time care of my nieces, who were then aged around five and six. My nieces were living in a drug fuelled, abusive environment with their mother. My parents, like so many other parents and grandparents, did absolutely the right thing. My nieces' mother and her friends would laugh at my parents as if they were mugs. Their attitude was, 'Why would you work for money when the government gives it out for free?' I cannot emphasise enough the impact these events have had on the development of who I am.

I want to be clear at this point: my nieces' mother and her friends are not representative of the vast majority of people on welfare. I am disgusted and dismayed by those who do not respond to our investment in them by investing in themselves and becoming part of our nation's success. My parents were no mugs. They were decent, hardworking Australians. They expected their taxes to be invested in making Australia even better, not simply redistributed to those who will not apply their own effort to improve their lives.

I am pleased that the federal government passed legislation last year to trial a cashless healthy welfare card. The card cannot be used to purchase drugs and alcohol. Trials in the East Kimberley and in Ceduna are proving successful. These communities realise that the lazy application of cash can reduce quality of life, not improve it. I see no reason why the card cannot be rolled out more extensively in our community to, again, make lives better. By listening to experts and to those who have firsthand experience and by using data, we can have pragmatic programs which help people wanting to improve their lot in life.

In his inaugural Sir Robert Menzies Lecture in Western Australia in 1970, Menzies talked about pragmatism, making the point that the term is often misunderstood or seen in a negative context, particularly by those who rely on the 'doctrinaire' approach of socialism. Pragmatism is not a weakness but a strength to adapt to what is needed and to use the resources available to us to make things better. This does not mean we abandon our ideals; rather, we plant the seeds for future success and achieve what can be attained now. Ultimately every political problem is also a human one with a pragmatic solution.

I learnt this early when at 20 I was preselected as the state Liberal candidate for Wyong. While I was not elected, I was still able to make a difference. I worked with a small organisation called the Wyong Child Abuse Prevention Service. Funding had dried up and the service was set to close. We ran a countdown-to-closure campaign that gave a voice to those people who were not being heard by government. The pressure applied by that campaign resulted in the then Premier visiting that organisation and committing funding to it. It was such a proud moment for me as a young candidate—applying advocacy skills and enthusiasm, and making a positive difference for my community.

My journey to this place has taken its path through the professional wing of the Liberal Party—a journey that may not have happened if it were not for the convincing nature of the then state director of the New South Wales Liberal Party, now my parliamentary colleague, the Treasurer of Australia. Like so many others, I moved across the Nullarbor for work. I became state director of the WA Liberal Party. I am proud of what the WA Liberals achieved during my seven-plus years in that role. Of particular pride is that I was able to draw on the teachings of my parents and apply them to the management of the Liberal Party, one of WA's largest membership organisations, as a business.

To the possible disappointment of the then federal director, Brian Loughnane, who on more than one occasion declared very loudly that I had 'gone native', my wife Asta and I decided some years ago to call WA home—permanently. Asta and I are in awe of WA's entrepreneurial spirit, courage, self-reliance and determination to succeed. My family and I have made our home in the area I now have the privilege to represent. Located just south of the Perth CBD, Tangney is vibrant and cosmopolitan. Tangney is graced by the beauty of the Swan and Canning rivers as its northern boundary and is also shaped by a thriving local community with a great number of organisations and service clubs dedicated to helping others. Tangney boasts a wide range of the industries and businesses that define Australia's entrepreneurial spirit—light industrial and trade supplies in Myaree, specialist medical and retail in Booragoon, an educational and medical heart with Murdoch University and Fiona Stanley Hospital, and some of WA's premier schools right across the electorate.

I have the privilege to stand before you because of the support of so many. There are some people from the very start of my journey from the Central Coast that I would like to recognise: Ron and Lorraine Stevens, Bev Hemers, Peter Richardson, Mike and Judy Gallacher, and George and Julie Caruana. Professionally, I have worked with some great Liberals from whom I have learnt a lot, and there are others who have worked with me in the battle for good government. Many of those people are here today, in the gallery, or watching online. Thank you. I thank the WA Liberal Party for the faith they placed in me as a young man in his 20s—particularly the organisational leaders I worked closely with, including Barry Court, Geoff Prosser, Norman Moore, Kim Keogh, Danielle Blain and Andrew Cox. It has been a great honour to work closely with Premier Colin Barnett, and I thank him especially for that endearing paternal approach he takes to our friendship.

Australia's success is built on individuals and enterprise, and prior to entering this place I worked as a senior manager for one of Western Australia's greatest companies, BGC. I know of the need to reinstate the ABCC and to pass the registered organisations legislation, not because I have read a report or because of blind ideology but because I have been there on building sites talking directly to the workers who just want to get on, do their job and be productive. I have met with subbies who have told me explicitly that they quote much higher prices on union jobs due to poor productivity. Productivity is not another name for profit; productivity is about getting more done. While there is a place for unions in our society, sadly their actions in many ways stifle productivity. They prevent more people being employed. They hinder infrastructure being built for our community. I value greatly the mentorship and friendship at BGC from Julian Ambrose and Kelvin Ryan.

I am honoured to be the candidate chosen by the people of Tangney to represent them. I want to thank the 500 or so volunteers that worked on my campaign. I want to recognise key members of my campaign executive: Richard Newton, Phil Turtle, Robert Reid, Anthony Spagnolo, Godfrey Lowe, Ben Kunze, Monika Dunnet, Allan Brown and Ross Hughes. I recognise in the gallery the former member for Tangney Peter Shack.

The WA federal parliamentary contingent is a formidable force, led by the foreign minister, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Employment. I have worked closely with each and every one of the WA Liberal members and senators. They are all passionate advocates for their communities and they have inspired me; their dedication is immeasurable and their friendship is heartfelt. Senator Cormann, Hayley Cormann, Isabelle and Charlotte: thank you for your friendship and your support for my family and me—particularly as we adjust to this new FIFO job! Thank you to my office team of Richard, Helen, Anna-me, Jordan and Tom. Good luck; you are going to need it.

I want to thank some personal friends: Leah Sales and my very special cousin Carissa Daniel; Jane and Kristian Galanti; Peter Murdoch and Carmel Tobin; Andrew and Jane Partington; and Tony George. To my brothers, Shaun and Lea; my sister, Shelley; and all of my nieces and nephews: I love you. As a 17-year-old moving away from home to study, my mates from Burgmann College, ANU are truly lifelong friends, and I acknowledge their contribution to who I am. To Michael, Anna, Lara, SLW, Swifty, Sally, Rowena, Stu and Randy G: thank you.

Since my mum passed away from cancer in December last year, I have thought so much about Mum and Dad and I have reflected on the greatest impact they have had on who I am. I know Dad wishes Mum could be here, sitting with him, looking down on me delivering this speech. But Mum is watching from a place much higher up than the public gallery, and every day she is keeping a watchful eye on us, encouraging us to work hard, stay strong and do what is right. I have one regret with my relationship with my mum, and I will work very hard not to make that same mistake again. Love of family and friends is a gift to all of us but so easily taken for granted. I know Mum was very proud of the responsibilities I took on at a young age, but I regret that more often than not I thought I was too busy to take that call or just listen. I think that can be a lesson for all of us.

By 6 pm on election night, my sore throat had developed into laryngitis, and I was unable to speak.

Putting aside the irony of being elected an MP and instantly at that point losing my ability to give my own victory speech, there was no-one I would have wanted more than you, Asta, to step in and speak on my behalf. Asta, I do not know how you do it. Even I would not put up with myself sometimes, but you do. Thank you so much. Thank you for keeping it real; thank you for mocking me—constantly; thank you for sharing the responsibility of our commitment to represent Tangney in our federal parliament.

To Harrison and Madeline, my two beautiful children, this is where I work. All of my workmates come here to try and make our country even better for you. We are going to disagree a bit across the chamber, but your future is worth fighting for.

I want not only to be a great representative for the families and businesses in Tangney and in Australia but also to make a significant contribution to our nation. So, if you are a hardworking, aspirational Australian, I am here for you. If you want to apply your maximum effort to make your life better, I am here for you. If you want to volunteer to make your community better, I am here for you. If you loathe waste and mismanagement and you want your taxes spent responsibly, I am here for you. If you share our common Australian values, whether your heritage is from over the seas or you are an Indigenous Australian, if you look forward not backwards and if you make a contribution to our nation's future, I am here for you. And, if you want the very best for Australia, I am here for you.

With all Australians striving to be the very best they can be, with all Australians applying their effort to improve their lot in life, with all Australians sharing our common values and working together, the future of our country should be very bright.

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

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

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commence today by acknowledging the first peoples of our nation, in particular the Ngunawal people, the custodians of the land on which we meet today, and the Jagera and Turrbal peoples, the traditional owners of the land in my electorate of Oxley. Today I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging, but I do so recognising that, as a nation, we can only truly measure real and respectful action that we collectively take to close the gap when it comes to Indigenous disadvantage—a special responsibility for those of us elected to this place.

Constitutional recognition of our first peoples—to quote my new friend the member for Barton, the first member of this place to be elected as an Indigenous woman—is 'a no-brainer'. Every First World nation with a colonial history has done it, bar Australia. This matter of national importance must be dealt with urgently and will be a priority for me.

It is a cold winter's night in 1944 on board HMAS Ararat, an Australian warship positioned in the newly captured Allied territory of Cape Gloucester, New Britain. Life on board Ararat is not easy. Sailors carry out their minesweeping and antisubmarine duties in cramped conditions and are exposed to high rates of pneumonia and tuberculosis. One young sailor on board Ararat works tirelessly performing his duties as a signalman on the upper deck. He knows that, if the ship is to come under fire, it will be he who is responsible for a signal to call for a rescue and will likely go down with the ship if the vessel is ultimately bombed. That young man was my father, Allan Baxter Dick, who served his country through the Second World War, enlisting at the age of only 20, serving in the Second Australian Imperial Force until Allied victory in the Pacific.

Fast forward 70 years to this time last week and, as part of the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program, I was privileged to be on a similar sized vessel, the HMAS Maryborough, in the Timor Sea. This not only reminded me of my father's brave and dedicated service to this nation but reminded me of the service of those women and men who protect our borders, freedom and democracy. Whilst my father served in the Navy, my mother, Joan, who is with us in the gallery today, trained as a nurse at the St Martin's repatriation hospital. Like my father, Mum has also dedicated her life to one of service, working as a midwife throughout her career, providing the same compassion and care for others as she did her family.

Once home from the war, Dad teamed up with his brother, Milton Dick Sr, to establish a number of successful butchers on Brisbane's southside, Dick Bros Meats. He was not afraid of hard work and did not mind drilling this work ethic into his children. He was always a fair man, which I was recently reminded of when I was stopped on polling day by an older gentleman. He told me that he could not really remember the last time he voted but that he would be voting for me this time around. He told me my father had given him his first job in his butcher shop when no-one else would, and he knew the character of the man, my father, Allan Dick.

My journey here today was ultimately borne out of the lived values instilled in me by my parents: public service, compassion, fairness, hard work. As an 18-year-old university student I joined a political party which also shared those values, and to this day I have been a proud member of the great Australian Labor Party.

For the last eight years I have had the privilege of serving on the Brisbane City Council, representing a large part of the Oxley electorate. I will always remain an enthusiastic hands-on local representative. There is no issue too big or small I will not do my best to help fix. That is the only way I know.

Named after the explorer, John Oxley, the electorate of Oxley takes in the south-west suburbs of Brisbane. It is home to young families, local businesses and industry but also dense bushland, stretching from the transport and logistics hub of Larapinta in the east to the history-rich Redbank in the west, from the leafy Centenary suburbs in the north and to the modern and exciting city of Greater Springfield in the south.

Oxley is located in one of the fastest-growing corridors in the country, and I could not think of a better piece of Australia to live and represent. One of the major issues regularly raised with me is the adequate provision of infrastructure for our growing area. The less time people spend in traffic jams means the more time they have with their families. That means more efficient business, stronger communities and a better quality of life.

I want to take this opportunity today to put the Turnbull government on notice on the issue of the notorious Ipswich Motorway bottleneck. It is an issue I campaigned vigorously on during the election period. This road must be fixed, and I will not stop until this bottleneck is fixed.

Oxley is a glorious melting pot of cultures, including a vibrant Vietnamese community among other families from across the seas who now call Australia home. Today I wear a tie in support of the colours of the flag of South Vietnam, and I publicly acknowledge those brave men and women fighting for a free and democratic Vietnam.

I pay tribute to the sacrifices made by the thousands of Vietnamese Australians who call Oxley home. They represent a true success story in overcoming adversity and completed a dangerous journey across the seas to give themselves and their families a chance for a better life in Australia. There are many that I am proud to call friends, including my Vietnamese sister Phuong Nguyen and the president of the Queensland chapter of the Vietnamese Community in Australia, Dr Cuong Bui.

I would like to acknowledge two long serving former members for Oxley. The first is the Hon. William George Hayden—a former leader of the Australian Labor Party, Treasurer, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australia's Governor-General. Bill Hayden also served this nation as the Minister for Social Security and was the architect and father of what we now call Medicare.

Bill, I appreciate your words of wisdom and support. Today I pledge to honour the Hayden legacy by continuing to support universal and affordable health care. I will not let any government dismantle this great Australian institution. Bill and Dallas Hayden are deeply revered not only in my electorate but right throughout Australia.

The second is the Hon. Bernie Ripoll, who is present in the gallery today. Bernie is the definition of an exemplary parliamentarian and community champion, serving in this House from 1998 until his retirement this year. Bernie's legacy of devotion to his constituents is legendary, and he has left his footprint by delivering practical and tangible outcomes for the people of Oxley and changing their lives for the better. He practised what he preached and delivered. I salute Bernie's outstanding contribution to the Oxley community and the labour movement, and I wish him and his family all the best for the future.

It is also not lost on me that I am delivering my first speech as a former member for Oxley takes her seat in the other place. While I may not be able to take back the hate-filled words uttered in her first speech of 1996, I can instead loudly and proudly extol here today the multicultural diversity enjoyed by this nation and my electorate of Oxley in particular.

Multiculturalism is not just a great social strength of our nation but increasingly a great economic strength. When I walk out of my home in Durack, my office in Forest Lake or do my groceries in the bustling Inala civic centre I meet people from all backgrounds. They proudly call Australia home and are entitled to feel welcome—not targeted or demonised.

The multiculturalism enjoyed by Australia remains, sadly, under immense threat—not by those on the far-right fringe of our political process but by the so-called mainstream Abbott-Turnbull government through their continued attempts to water down section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, effectively legalising bigoted hate speech.

Just as Labor helped lead the charge against these bigots in the previous parliament, fighting off attempts to amend 18C, we will continue to do so in this parliament—and the next and the next. We will do so because Labor is proudly the party of multiculturalism.

It was only yesterday that I was proud to stand side by side with my Labor colleagues to sign the revised Australian federal code of race and ethics. I will always call out racism and bigotry when I see it, and this member of Oxley will never judge anyone by their race or religion.

As our global and domestic economies continue to rapidly advance, we must make absolutely sure that the human consequences of this advancement are properly responded to. Yes, progress does bring with it new opportunities and the prospect of high living standards across the globe. But it also brings with it challenges—challenges which must not be responded to with fear and division but rather with hope and optimism for the future.

Here in Australia, and particularly in my home state of Queensland, the economic transition that is underway has naturally led many people to feel anxious about the future. They rightly question what will sustain their local economies into the future, their jobs, their household budgets. They look to the future and try to picture what may lie ahead for their children and grandchildren.

I believe the future for our nation and our economy is as bright as it has ever been. There is no excuse for our political process to prey on the instinctive anxieties held by many about the future. I say to those on the far-right wing and fringe of Australian politics: simply stating that a problem exists does not solve anything for our constituents. We must listen to the stories of everyday Australians, hear their hopes and struggles and be solution focused. Today I pledge to the people of Oxley to be part of that solution.

I believe this parliament has an obligation to help raise the tone of our debate and talk with the hope and optimism deserving of our great nation—not just in this place but in the public conversations we help to lead. The truth is: Australia has and always will be at its best when everyone is pulling in the same direction. It is up to us to make that happen.

I believe in an economy that works in the interests of everyday working people, not just the fortunate few. Right now, across the world, there is an undeniable appetite to chart a new economic course—a more inclusive, fairer and equal economy. We all know that those opposite who cling onto small government and trickle-down economics will soon find themselves on the wrong side of history, because the reality is, when wealth is in the hands of a greater number of people, the greater capacity there is to generate jobs and drive economic growth. It is a pretty simple equation. Today I commit myself to be a fierce and relentless advocate for policies that provide for the fair and just distribution of our nation's prosperity.

There is no better example of a people-powered economy than Labor's response to the global financial crisis. I pay tribute to the member for Lilley, Wayne Swan—a friend, a great economic thinker and a lion of the Labor Party—for successfully navigating Australia through that period and for taking decisive action when it was needed, a response which made sure Australia held onto our 25 years of uninterrupted economic growth. As the member for Lilley would agree, these 25 years of continued economic growth would not have been possible without the visionary economic reforms of the Labor Hawke and Keating governments, reforms which ultimately allowed my home state of Queensland to cement itself as a major engine room of our national economy.

One of these engine rooms of growth has been the mining and resources sector in my home state of Queensland. Resources alone account for over half of Australia's total exports of goods and services, making it the primary source of Australia's export revenue. Our two largest exports in 2015-16 were iron ore and coal, together accounting for 27 per cent of our total exports. Mining is our second-largest industry in terms of output, employing over 220,000 people across the nation, and, importantly, it is the largest private-sector employer of Indigenous Australians. For every worker employed, the mining sector generates approximately $682,000 for our economy. Our resources exports are forecast to increase to $232 billion by 2020-21. Australia holds the largest reserves of uranium in the world and significant quantities of other energy-producing resources. No other nation is better positioned than Australia to supply the world with its growing demand for resources. Whilst there are no doubt challenges facing the resources sector, we must continue to be steadfast in our support of the sector, as our neighbours China and India, in particular, grow to be 21st century superpowers and pull millions out of poverty. Australia has played a crucial role in this achievement by providing these countries with some of the highest-quality resources and minerals in the world as construction booms in our region. Queensland and Australia's mining and resources sector has a bright future, and I am determined and looking forward to supporting these industries as a federal member of parliament.

I look around the House this afternoon and I see many new members on this side of the House who share the same vision, and all have given exceptional first speeches. All of this would not have been possible if it were not for the leadership, commitment and policy initiatives shown by the Leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten. A little over a month before the election, we were fortunate enough to have Bill and his gracious wife, Chloe, visit Oxley for the opening of a solar energy wholesale distribution business, to build on Labor's renewable energy policies. It was there, once again, where I saw firsthand how much Bill understands the businesses and workers of Australia, as he spoke with forklift drivers and senior management on a sunny Queensland winter's morning. In the days following that visit, my campaign had an influx of volunteers showing their enthusiasm to get involved after hearing Bill speak in their local community. Whilst we fell short in this year's campaign, I have no doubt that in three years time, or potentially less, we will form a Shorten Labor government. Bill, you will make an outstanding Prime Minister. I thank Bill for his support and friendship over many years.

The one thing that binds us all in this House, on both sides of the parliament and the Independents, is the fact that none of us comes here without the support of others. I am no different. In my case I have had, for most parts, an amazing political journey, and my work will be to simply repay that support. Today I pay tribute to the leaders of our movement. It is because of their leadership and work I stand here today. In particular, I acknowledge the deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek. I first met Tanya 21 years ago. I was struck straightaway by her compassion, her kindness and her steely determination to get things done. I was in awe of her then, and it is now an enormous honour to work with her.

During and before the campaign I was very fortunate to have the support of Labor giants and people I am now proud to call friends: a great Labor talent Chris Bowen, Andrew Leigh, Jason Clare, Sharon Bird, Joel Fitzgibbon and my nearest Labor New South Wales colleague, the wonderful Justine Elliot. I thank Tony Burke for his strong support for almost two decades, and I especially acknowledge Jenny Macklin for her wise advice and her lifetime of service to our movement and always being the voice for those who need it most. I also thank my neighbouring MP Shayne Neumann, the member for Blair, for his generosity. Shayne is known in this place as one of the most honourable members, and I thank Shayne for the time he spent and the kindness he showed in helping to get me elected as the member for Oxley. I could not ask for a better neighbour. And it is such a great privilege to work along my great friend Jim Chalmers, Terri Butler and new Senators Chisholm and Watt. All are not just great colleagues—alongside Graham Perrett—but they are good friends and they are amazing talents who I know will continue to serve our party and, importantly, our great state of Queensland for many years to come.

But two members of this place are not just colleagues; they are two lifelong friends: the member for Kingston, Amanda Rishworth, and the member for Greenway, Michelle Rowland—always standing by my side, respected and loved by their communities and respected and loved by me. Michelle, thanks for being the best touchstone a friend could ever have. To my new touchstones—the amazing Madeleine, Tim, Matt, Josh and Anne from WA; the two Ems, Susan, Anne and my new best friend, the mighty Meryl from Paterson—I am lucky to serve alongside all of you in sector 12.

No member of this House can claim to do this job alone, and I am fortunate to have many friends and family who have travelled a great distance to be with us here today in the gallery. I thank my amazing sister, Susan, and her children, Conor and Clare. My sister is a gifted educator, someone who has taught in the public system for 30 years and hopefully will put me in the good books with the member for Lalor. She is a constant support to her younger brothers, as are my other—honorary—sisters, Louise and Tizzy.

To the other member of my family, who is not here, I will let him off the hook as he is currently sitting in another parliament, in my home state of Queensland. I am so proud of my brother, Cameron. My success is because of his love and support. He serves in the Queensland cabinet as Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services . He has also held the portfolios of Education and Industrial Relations and served as our state's Attorney-General. He serves with another friend, the Queensland Premier, the Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk . No-one has done more to support me. She is an outstanding Premier, a caring friend and someone who always has my back. Stacia, I know you will later listen to this with my mates, ministers Jackie Trad, Kate Jones, Grace Grace, Shannon Fentiman and Leeanne Enoch; Di Farmer; and one of my best mate s, Linus Power.

In the gallery sit a range of people who stood by me through the good, bad and ugly: Julian Noud , Jacki Power, Charis Mullen and, from overseas, Justine Bond. These are the people who have been there from the beginning. I value everything you have done for me. Chris and Julie Tyquin are those friends I count on, and of course they are here today. I thank my mates Paulo, Nino, Tony, Rols, Tom and Keeks for always keeping me on the straight and narrow—maybe more on the narrow.

I have been blessed to have had the guidance of many friends and mentors on my journey here, including the Hon. David Beddall. I am honored to now represent the same constituency that David served so well with distinction during his time as an MP from 1984 to 1998, and I hope I do his legacy proud. I was also fortunate enough to work for John Hogg, another great mentor and former President of the Senate. He taught me the importance of standing up for others and fighting for those who need it most.

Thanks for the guidance from Labor greats like John and Catherine Mickel, Henry and Lorell e Palaszczuk, Sharon Humphreys and the wonderful Hazel Hubbard . To my good friends and former Brisbane City Council colleagues, Shayne Sutton and Kim Flesser : I know you are here in spirit.

Bearing in mind the length of the 2016 election campaign, I say from the bottom of my heart a sincere thank you, especially to the army of volunteers who campaigned for me and Labor, week in and week out across the Oxley electorate, and the hardworking branch members. But many of the supporters simply were not ALP members; they were people from the community. My campaign was also powered by grassroots activists from the union movement. I recognize the TWU and the SDA and acknowledge Chris Gazenbeek and his wife, Lucy, who are with us today; the strong Plumbers Union with Gary O'Halloran at its leadership; and, heading all the way down, the mighty Australian Worke rs' Union, led by my friend Ben Swan, a strong leader who fights for working people and the progressive cause every single day.

Whilst time does not permit me to thank every individual volunteer or every member of the ALP in Queensland , I must pay particular thanks to my campaign director , Margie Nightingale ; my organisers , Adam and Josh ; and my best mate and one of Labor's best political minds , Jon Persley , for everyth ing he has done to get me here. I thank my campaign chairman, Les Bryant ; Toni and Brenda Gibbs ; C ouncillor Charles Strunk ; C ouncillor Paul Tully; the M ayor of Ipswich , Mayor Paul Pisasale ; and the amazing women who ha ve worked with me for the past eight years —M ichelle, Sandy, Cathy and Karen and my great new team of Brent, Michael and Dylan.

As I come to the concl usion of my first speech, I canno t help but think back to my father working as a signalman on board the Ararat . He approached his role with steadfast dedication and resolve to see the job through to the very end, and I pledge to do the same for the people of Oxley. I do not and will not take for granted the great privilege that has been bestowed on me by the people of Oxley , and they can be assured that I will be fighting for Oxley, day and night, to make our community and our nation a better place for all Australians. I thank the H ouse.

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

Before I call the honorable member for Werriwa, 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 Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I join with other members of this place to offer my sincere congratulations for your election to this important role.

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this parliament sits, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples. I pay my respects to their elders, past, present and future. I also acknowledge the traditional owners in my electorate of Werriwa, the Dharug, Gandangara and Tharawal peoples. Let me also acknowledge any other Indigenous people present in the house today. Labor, under the leadership of Whitlam, Keating and Rudd, has been a champion of reconciliation and recognition of our first people. I hope that in this 45th Parliament we can continue this work by finally recognizing our first people in the Constitution.

The seat of Werriwa is a Federation seat steeped in history. It takes its name from the local Aboriginal name for Lake George, which in the early 1900s was in the boundaries of the electorate. Werriwa was then a rural electorate, but with the growth of population it is now part of greater Sydney. It is an area that extends from Macquarie Fields in the south to Bonnyrigg in the north, Casula to the east and Badgerys Creek in the west.

It is soon to be the home of Sydney's second airport, a project often promised but previously not delivered. And this is why it is so crucial that its construction is done correctly, with the long-term interests of the people of Western Sydney at heart. The addition of the airport to my electorate has been made with the promise of employment and opportunity—something the people of Werriwa would welcome given that, according to the 2011 census, 68 per cent of the workforce travel outside the electorate every day for work. The average commute is approximately 1½ hours per day—valuable time which takes my constituents away from their families and communities. It has a crippling impact on their quality of life. It is hard to exercise, help the children with homework or coach a local rugby league team, as I did, when you are stuck on the M4 or the M5.

For the good of all Australians, particularly the residents of Werriwa and the adjoining electorates of Macarthur, Lindsay, McMahon, Chifley and Fowler, the airport must be properly planned and the EIS strictly followed, and my constituents should not be subjected to 24-hour aircraft noise. We must enhance the economic prospects of Western Sydney but also balance the environmental impacts. We need to protect the pristine areas of World Heritage in the Blue Mountains, in the electorate of my colleague the member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman. Labor is clear that the people of Western Sydney deserve an airport that is well planned, with the accompanying infrastructure ready before the first flight arrives. A properly planned airport, with a heavy-rail link and land dedicated to the industries of the 22nd century, will be an essential hub of employment and economic opportunity for the people of the south-west.

I have been reminded on more than one occasion that I have big shoes to fill. My predecessors have had a significant influence in Australian public life. For nearly a century, my seat has been held by Labor. The Prime Minister indicated late in the recent election campaign that he believed Werriwa would be won by the coalition. But the strength of the Labor campaign and our positive message meant that the seat was held by Labor with an increased majority. That is something which I am very proud of and humbled by.

The Hon. Laurie Ferguson, who retired from this place at the last election and is in the audience today, held the seat for six years after a career that encompassed two parliaments, three constituencies and 26 years of public service. Laurie was a tireless advocate for the people of Werriwa. He is an amazing person, a formidable intellect, and I am honoured by his support and mentorship over the past few years. Thank you, Laurie.

His predecessor, now the member for Fowler, Chris Hayes, is also an inspiring example of how to represent an electorate. I am grateful to consider Chris and his wife, Bernadette, friends. His advice and assistance, especially in the recent campaign, were amazing.

Werriwa has also been held by some very significant leaders in our party: Mark Latham, a Labor leader; John Kerin, a senior minister in the Hawke and Keating governments; and, of course, the Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam. Whitlam held the seat for 26 years and served the people of Werriwa and this nation for decades more. I moved to Werriwa in 1962, aged one. Gough Whitlam loomed large on the Australian political scene for all of my childhood with his distinguished contributions to Australian political life. One of my childhood memories is of my father wearing a party hat and cheering on the night of 2 December 1972, saying, 'We won, we finally won!' Finally, it truly was time.

The achievements of the Whitlam government are too substantial to list again here. However, it is right to acknowledge today that the achievements of the Whitlam government in relation to education, health and women's rights enhanced the opportunities of residents of Werriwa and all Australians. Whitlam championed women in the ALP. He thought women should be making ALP policy, not just making the tea. The Labor Party has ensured Whitlam's legacy through actively supporting women to be candidates in winnable seats. As a result, there are now more women members of our caucus than ever before. I could not imagine standing in this place as the first female member for Werriwa without the achievements of the Whitlam, Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments.

I was inspired to join the ALP in 1996 as a response to the reactionary policies of the Howard government—in particular, the Howard government's attacks on workers' rights, his malicious war on multiculturalism and his appalling attacks on Indigenous peoples. As Keating famously said:

… in truth, we cannot confidently say that we have succeeded as we would like to have succeeded if we have not managed to extend opportunity and care, dignity and hope to the indigenous people of Australia—the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.

I wanted to be part of the Australian Labor Party—the progressive party in Australian politics; the party that works to advance the opportunities of all Australians. My family have always been Labor supporters and union members, and they see these as core institutions that support a progressive Australia. I joined the union on the first day I started work and have been a unionist ever since. My mother worked for the Building Workers Industrial Union of Australia because, at a time when this was not required by legislation, the union paid men and women equal wages. The BWIU also allowed women to continue working once they married, meaning Mum continued to work for the union up to my birth some 10 years later.

My family have always taken an active interest in politics, but I wanted to move from the family tradition of yelling at politicians on the TV, pioneered by my feisty, Manchester born grandmother, who would engage in fierce mock debate whenever Malcolm Fraser came on the television. No doubt she had previously argued with prime ministers McMahon, Gorton and Menzies. I am too young to remember that, however!

While yelling at the TV can be satisfying, especially as you are always right in your own lounge room, I wanted to be part of the Labor tradition of making positive change through engagement in the political process. My family has always had a high regard for what a Labor government can do. While the achievements of the Whitlam government changed the nation, the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments did much to improve opportunity for all Australians. When I was a child, my father would frequently remind our family of the achievements of Curtin and Chifley, when they created the social safety net in the shadow of World War II. The achievements of these previous Labor governments remind us of what is possible in politics, and I need to contribute to that proud tradition.

I began my political career by serving as a councillor on Liverpool City Council from 2008 to 2016. I firmly believe that all politics are local and what affects individuals will affect everyone. One of my favourite achievements from my time as a councilor was working with council staff to ensure that employees at Hoxton Industries, an organisation that provides jobs for people with a disability in my electorate, had easier access to their premises. Early one morning, on the way to drop my grandchild at day care, I drove past one of the employees in a wheelchair struggling in the rain to gain access to their workplace due to a missing section of footpath. I contacted the CEO and we worked to complete that footpath. The organisation spoke to me once the work was complete and indicated the huge difference it had made to the workers. This is a modest achievement. It is not the creation of Medicare, nor the extension of universal education, but it is, to my mind, consistent with the best Labor traditions of extending a helping hand to those who need it most.

Following in the tradition of the previous members for Werriwa, I plan to contribute by continuing to focus on the services—often simple services—that people need to improve their lives. My predecessor Gough Whitlam recognised the importance of education and health care. Unlike many of his critics, Gough lived in suburban Australia. He appreciated the impact basic infrastructure like sewage and sealed roads had on people's lives. Like Gough, I will fight to ensure the residents of Werriwa have good-quality public education to enhance their life opportunities and access to appropriate infrastructure, from footpaths to first-rate broadband.

The residents of Werriwa need good-quality health care, which means adequate funding of Medicare and the public hospital system. Much has been made by those opposite of the so-called 'Mediscare' campaign and the claims of untruths and misinformation from the ALP. The people of Werriwa knew, however, by deed and example, that our Medicare campaign was indeed correct. You cannot back universal health care with a plan to privatise Medicare. Labor, the architects of Medicare, will always support universal health care.

I believe that everyone in a modern society deserves access to health care without worrying about how they will pay for it. Under the Liberals, pathology will cost more on 1 January next year. And the three tries at the introduction of a co-payment by stealth had GPs in my electorate raising concerns with me and, no doubt, their patients. A caring society makes sure that all its citizens are able to access health care that improves their lives. Universal health care is a right for all—not goods to be sold to the highest bidder, like the cancer register.

Medicare means so much to families in Werriwa. Before Medicare, I can remember discussions between my parents about how they would choose who they could afford to take to the doctor. I remember their relief when first Medibank and then Medicare made such choices unnecessary. My father had a good, stable job. We were by no means the poorest family in our neighbourhood. Now, I can only imagine what choices had to be made in other households.

Without Medicare our family would have been bankrupted by the frequent hospitalisations and medical tests required before and after my mother's diagnosis with multiple sclerosis. My twin sons, who last month graduated from Western Sydney University, were born prematurely, at 29 weeks. Their early weeks were spent in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Westmead Hospital. Our family is forever indebted to the hardworking staff at that hospital—the orderlies, administrative staff, nurses and doctors who worked so hard caring for their patients and my sons. Without the expert care available in the public hospital system my sons would not have survived. And without Medicare our family would have had significant bills to pay at a time we could least afford them.

Westmead Hospital is a legacy of the Whitlam Labor government. Whitlam understood that hospitals should be built where people are, rather than where the doctors live. Gough's vision and Neville Wran's determination saw the hospital built. This is the sort of infrastructure that makes a society humane. It should not be outsourced or privatised but supported by all governments. With the burgeoning population growth in my region, hospitals are still under stress, and it is time for upgrades at Campbelltown and Nepean hospitals—a need Mike Baird has overlooked and those opposite continue to ignore.

Protecting Medicare and maintaining health funding is personal for me. I know from conversations with my constituents that many share such stories of how good-quality public health care enabled their families to provide support to love ones facing major health challenges. As the member for Werriwa, I will work with colleagues to ensure that Medicare survives and thrives and ensure that access to high-quality health care is dependent on a patient's need and not the size of their bank balance.

The quickest way to improve lives in our community and reduce reliance on welfare is needs-based funding of education. Like many of my constituents, including my children, I attended Lurnea high. State schools like Lurnea provide opportunity for all through the hard work of teachers and support staff and with the encouragement of local families.

Families in Werriwa have a higher incidence of developmental issues such as autism than the population as a whole. Funding depending on need to support such families through early childhood and school education is vital. The government must support our hardworking teachers and support staff. They make a huge difference to the lives of families in Werriwa. Their contributions will be enhanced through a properly funded needs-based education system.

But education does not stop when school ends. Adequate support for tertiary education is vital. The New South Wales government is currently undermining the TAFE system which has provided generations of Werriwa residents with the qualifications necessary to develop a rewarding and stable career. The federal Liberal government was prevented by colleagues in the Senate from similarly undermining the university sector, but nonetheless made substantial cuts to schemes designed to support disadvantaged people's access to higher education. My generation was the first in my family to attend university. Both my parents should have—they were brilliant, and would have offered so much—but the costs were prohibitive. As the member for Werriwa and as a member of the Labor team, I will work to ensure that access to education at all levels promotes opportunity for all Australians.

While sewers were essential in Gough's time, and footpaths are vital for many today, we must ensure that we equip our cities andsuburbs with the infrastructure of the next century. The lack of high-speed broadband remains a significant problem for the residents of Werriwa. During the election campaign, and as the member for Werriwa, I have been repeatedly approached with concerns about the availability, speed and reliability of internet services in my electorate. In some areas of my electorate, constituents are moving into new housing estates with no hope of any—or at least not fast and reliable—internet access for years. One constituent emailed me in September to tell me that Telstra had suggested that if she wanted an internet connection she should move! She lives just 10 kilometres from the Liverpool CBD—a regional city—and five kilometres from the nearest Telstra exchange.

The lack of reliable internet, let alone the NBN, reduces my constituents' life opportunities. They cannot work or run a business from home. They cannot work on or submit assignments for school, TAFE or university. They cannot maintain their ties with family members through services such as Skype and Facebook. The recent announcements by NBN Co that it will not use the HFC network means that a large part of my electorate is again wondering if they will ever have the benefit of the NBN. Constituents cannot sustain connecting to the internet using portable internet devices which are not fit for purpose and are extremely expensive. As high quality internet facilities are key to the contemporary drivers of economic development, such as education and innovation, the poor access to facilities in Werriwa systematically disadvantages my constituents' access to the growing digital economy. As the member for Werriwa, I will be guided by the principals of access, equity and social justice. I want to ensure that the people of my electorate are able to have somewhere to live that they can afford, properly funded Medicare and education and high speed broadband connections.

With the indulgence of the House, Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to take some time to thank just a few of the people who have helped me to stand in this place today. My election success was definitely a team effort. I would like to thank all the branch members of Werriwa who phoned, letterboxed, worked on pre-poll and polling booths and did the many other tasks that make an election campaign possible—people like Sam Kayal, Slobodan Lazovic, Nathan Hagarty, Dom Mosca, Frank and Rhonda Sulman, Keith Kerrigan, Pat Glossop, Chris Noble, Tim Kaliyanda, Grace Fava, and the list goes on and on. For the Werriwa campaign team of Charishma Kaliyanda, Raf Catanzariti and Emily Baldwin, 'thank you' seems so little when you gave up so much of your time to encourage, doorknock, phone and organise for me. You did so much to help me; thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

To Laurie Ferguson and the member for Macquarie Fields, Anoulack Chanthivong, thank you for your support and early morning train station camaraderie. I also thank the member for Macarthur, Dr Mike Freelander, for his friendship and support. I also thank the staff of Anoulack's office—Natasha, Rowena and especially Aaron Rule for his encouragement over my time in the Labor Party. I thank my staff Linda, Vicki, Steve, Alex and Katerina and the recently retired Maurice Campbell for all they have done for the electorate of Werriwa.

I also acknowledge my fellow Liverpool City Council colleagues Wendy Waller, Ali Karnib and Geoff Shelton and congratulate them on their success in the recent elections. I know that, now the numbers have changed, Liverpool will now include the community's and not just developers' interests into the future. I congratulate and thank the Campbelltown councillors for their support, especially Mayor George Brticevic, Meg Oates, Darcy Lound, Wal Glynn and Rudi Kolkman.

I acknowledge the support of several unions and their leadership—Andrew and Kathleen Williamson from the AIMPE, Rita Mallia and Brad and Brian Parker from the CFMEU, Graeme Kelly and Steve Donnelly from the USU and Gerard Hayes from the HSU. There are the staff of the New South Wales ALP head office, especially Kaila Murnain. Kaila, I cannot express in words how much your encouragement and support means to me—thank you. I also acknowledge the support of Rose Jackson, Pat Garcia, Jessica Malnersic, and the rest of the team at New South Wales head office for their assistance during the campaign.

I pay tribute to the national secretariat and the shadow cabinet, especially the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, the deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek, and Penny Wong for delivering leadership and a positive campaign with over 250 polices that resonated so well with the voters of Werriwa and Australia. I especially thank and acknowledge the Hon. Chris Bowen and the Hon. Jason Clare for their assistance with my campaign fundraising efforts, and the Hon. Sharon Bird for coming to Werriwa and meeting with TAFE teachers and constituents. I am very proud to be part of this Labor caucus and I thank each of you for your support, encouragement and assistance.

To Loretta Fletcher, Alfat Karnib and Paul Lynch, my work colleagues for the last nine years, it has simply been a pleasure to work with you. It is without a doubt the best place I have ever worked, it was your support and assistance that made it so. To Paul Lynch, New South Wales shadow Attorney-General and member for Liverpool, thank you for everything you have done to support and mentor me over my 20 years in the party. Your patience, belief and inspiration are one of the reasons that I am able to stand as the representative for Werriwa. Thank you for your confidence in me. And to Deb Ferguson, thank you for the cups of tea, biscuits and letterboxing and all that pre-poll. You helped me keep my sanity and I value our friendship. I also appreciate the very helpful advice and assistance offered by Adam Tyndall in the preparation of this speech.

My life is enriched by many friends and I thank you for your support and practical help over the years, some are in the audience today—Michelle Cross, Kim and Alan Bradley, Kirstyn and Amanda, Kim, John and Richelle Ellery and Alison Megarrity.

Lastly, and probably not before time, to my family: I thank my grandparents John and Winfred Mee and Henry and Ivy Davison for choosing Australia as their home. My parents William and Margaret Mee—I hope I make you proud; you ensured that your daughters knew they could do anything. To my sister Kathy and her beautiful daughters Lizzy and Evie, and Adrian, thank you—I couldn't have done it without you, and certainly not this speech! For the longest time, Kathy, it was just you and me against the world. I am so proud of what you have achieved, Dr Mee; I love you so much.

To my husband Larry for your love and support over the past 33 years; thank you for making our home a place where I could pursue my ambitions and dreams. I could not have done it without you. My children Michael, Matthew, Meaghan, Andrew and Christopher and their partners, Chantell, Kate and Shivawn. Matthew, Andrew and Christopher I am so proud of you; you are wonderful young men, and graduates pursuing your career goals. I revel in your achievements. I love you to the Moon and back. And finally to Meaghan and Horatio; my wonderful grandchildren. It is for your generation I want to make a difference and create an Australia and a world of which you will be proud.