John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a real honour to serve as the member for Bennelong. The last few months of 2017 were chaotic. I say thank you to everyone who supported me, backed our campaign and voted for me as Bennelong's representative. Again I apologise to everyone for the inconvenience caused by this by-election. In the coming weeks I will have a lot to say about the people who helped us win this by-election; however, I start today, this new year of our parliament, with strong advice from the good people of Bennelong. They are concerned about the nature of political debate in this country. To use an analogy from my previous career, the Nadal-Federer rivalry has taken tennis to new heights. When Federer won the 2017 championship over Nadal, in one of their greatest matches, he lamented that the game of tennis was cruel and demands a loser. They speak of each other with great respect, despite being great rivals, and they play for great prizes, and together they have constructed a great following. The nature of their competition is productive.

The major parties must take responsibility for our declining fortunes. We should replace destructive debate with constructive engagement. Ultimately, victory shouldn't go to the greatest slanderer; it should go to the team that presents the best vision for Australia—not a competition of insults but a competition of ideas.