Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I first stood in this chamber on Wednesday, 13 February 2002 to deliver my first speech. I was the 40th Member of Parliament under age 30 since Federation. Now, some 17 years, one month and 22 days later, it's my privilege to rise for the final time in this chamber.

I posed the question in my first speech: what is our purpose? It was my intention to outline a road map for my period in this place, a charter to which both I and others could hold me to account, to anchor my decisions and actions in this building to the service of my electors in the pursuit of good government. I spoke of Edmund Burke's observation:

Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.

And, although I said at the time I was not a starry-eyed idealist, I think it's fair to say I have always struggled more with the pragmatic side of politics, preferring instead to stay the course on the idealistic. For me, I always preferred the warmth of the roaring philosophical fire to the early-morning flicker of the pragmatic.

Much has changed in the 17½ years I have been entrusted with the privilege of serving in this place. The Gold Coast's population has nearly doubled in the past two decades. We have seen the rise and rise of China. Innovation, smartphones, the digital economy, social media and automation have all advanced with extraordinary pace. There was no Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram, no Snapchat in 2001, but many other things have not changed.

In 2001, I joined the Howard government in the task of paying down Labor's debt binge through prudent economic management. For nearly six years, I was a member of a coalition government that weathered Labor's attacks as they labelled us callous, inequitable, unfair and hard-hearted because we refused to leave the tax-and-spend taps open. I then watched Labor inflict economic damage for six years as they spent and spent and spent, all justified by necessity in their mind because of the GFC. Of course, there was little intellectual honesty, that our major trading partners were driving their economies and powering our economy. And, of course, there was the wastefulness of Labor's spending, from pink batts to cash for clunkers to cash handouts, and school halls for every school, even if they didn't want them. It is little wonder we witnessed our nation's finances deteriorate through tens of billions of dollars of deficit while, at the same time, Labor held that they were delivering year after year of surpluses.

Then, thanks to Tony Abbott and the united team, the coalition was re-elected and the economic and fiscal discipline began again. It culminated earlier this week when the coalition, led by the Treasurer—my friend of two decades, the member for Kooyong—delivered the first budget surplus since the last one delivered by the coalition in 2007. And again Labor snipes that we are callous, inequitable, unfair and hard-hearted. I've seen all of this before. I am confident that if Labor is elected we will sadly find our country mired again in deficit, with Labor finding excuse after excuse to justify it. Australia simply cannot afford Labor's big-taxing, big-spending agenda. Labor talks about equity constantly but they deliver shocking generational inequity as they lumber Australia's next generation with the responsibility of paying for Labor's sweeping gesture policies.

Campaigning back in 2001 was very different. I think it's fair to say that my first campaign was a little bumpy. The outgoing member for Moncrieff was suing me for $200,000 for defamation and left me with the princely sum of around $1,300 in the campaign account. And in a city where the main industry and employer is the tourism industry, Ansett Airlines collapsed the day after the September 11 terrorist attack. But we prevailed, through a dedicated team of volunteers and a small band of donors, wonderful party loyalists and supporters like Graham Ward, Jack and Fay Doherty, Winifred, Leer and Marion, many of them now deceased. They were there at the beginning and the I don't forget their contributions and support.

Those who have followed my political career—which I guess is mainly confined to my family members—would have seen some early evidence of my special gift of successfully always picking the person who had come second in any political contest. As a new MP, at 27, my choice to strongly back Peter Costello over John Howard in some of the leadership tensions made sense. After all, John Howard had been Prime Minister for six years—it was only a matter of time! With that strong start, the world was my oyster. With only a couple of exceptions, it was a record of success that for most of the past 17 or 18 years I was always able to pick and back the person who had come second—the stuff of legend. As my good mates, the members for Stirling and Dickson, the former members for Mayo, Jamie Briggs, and North Sydney, Joe Hockey, would all shift uncomfortably and find fascinating patterns on their shoes to look at whenever they found themselves backing the same aspirant as me in a contest. It was like a reverse Sleeping Beauty fairytale. My kiss would put a person to political sleep for 100 years.

Notwithstanding this talent, I can reflect on the past 17½ years and feel a real sense of pride in what I feel I've been able to achieve and to be a part of. In the early 2000s, I was pleased to run with the rebadged 'ginger group', together with Senator Fifield and the former member for Indi, Sophie Mirabella, to agitate for substantial personal income tax relief and the passage of voluntary student unionism. One of my proudest was the campaign I ran, at some personal political cost, against the government's plan for the access card—little more than a national ID card with more costs to personal liberties and the individual-state relationship than any purported benefits. I've been pleased to drive some of the very first calls for the revocation of dual citizenship of terrorists and their supporters, as well as the cashless welfare card in the early 2000s.

Over the past six years, as a frontbencher I've had the extraordinary privilege of helping to shape our nation's engagement with the world. I particularly want to thank former Prime Ministers Abbott and Turnbull, as well as Prime Minister Morrison, for their faith and trust in me to steward the various portfolios that I've held. As Joe Hockey's parliamentary secretary in the Treasury portfolio, we worked so well together and executed a flawless G20 finance ministers' stream. I quickly learnt of the relationship between a junior minister and a senior minister when it came to work dispersal and announcements, and I'm able to say I was able to carry that early lesson and put it into good effect in my most recent role in the Defence portfolio!

As alternative governor to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, it was heartening to see the world work together to focus on development issues, especially the provision of infrastructure across our region, to help improve the lives of millions of people. I was pleased that we strongly backed the initiative to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the AIIB—again, not without some robust internal discussion. As parliamentary secretary to both Julie, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Andrew, the Minister for Trade and Investment, I was exposed to the critical interplay between our development and engagement initiatives and our trade and investment relationships. This, too, held me in good stead for subsequent roles.

As Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the first for our nation, I was able to steward our relationship with our near South Pacific neighbours. I remember running my eye over the rather lengthy list of recommended inoculations and the subsequent injections I had before commencing sojourns in the Pacific. That said, on each trip, accompanied as I was by the members for Forrest and Ryan and my Labor shadow, the important work Australia performs together with New Zealand in the Pacific region was evident. I firmly believed Australia's national interest was best served by presenting a strong show of bipartisanship in the region. For that reason, I always insisted on having the shadow minister present for most of the engagements.

The highlight of my period in this place though was the extraordinary honour afforded to me to serve as Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. I pay particular tribute to my predecessor in that regard, the former member for Goldstein Andrew Robb, who was a strong advocate for me to replace him in the role. We still catch up semi-regularly, and it's fair to say we share a similar view of how Australia should engage with the world.

Following in Andrew's footsteps was no easy feat. He had finalised critical trade deals with China, Japan and Korea, and the economic impact of those deals will be felt for decades. But I was determined to control the narrative, so I highlighted that Andrew had picked the low-hanging fruit and left the hard ones for me! I launched myself into the role, drawing on my experience as Minister for International Development and the Pacific. I was pleased to successfully conclude negotiations on the Pacific area close economic relations, or PACER Plus agreement. This was followed shortly thereafter by launching and concluding a comprehensive FTA with Peru. Without divulging any cabinet secrets, as I tabled those agreements before cabinet, it caused my good friend the then Attorney-General former Senator Brandis to note, 'Ciobo's more of a small-country specialist.'

In the years that followed in the role, I was pleased to pursue a number of other critical agreements. The work that was done over a number of years—and carried, I think it's very fair to say, by the relationship between the former Prime Minister Turnbull and myself, together with President Widodo and my counterpart Minister Lukita—saw, most recently in August-September last year, the successful conclusion of negotiations around the IA-CEPA, or the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

I pursued this agreement with the most vigour of all, because I know that this agreement, the FTA with Indonesia, will be an absolute game changer for this nation. It will ensure that one of our closest neighbours, one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and a country with which Australia will have a very strong and important strategic future, will be brought to bear as a consequence of putting in place this high-quality agreement. I implore Labor to put aside any concerns that they have, in particular around ISDS clauses in that agreement, to recognise that to focus on that, which more than anything else protects Australian businesses, would be to lose sight of the much bigger picture about the value of this agreement in our bilateral agreement.

Likewise, I was very focused on making sure that we concluded a deal with Hong Kong. Goods into Hong Kong were tariff-free, but we were able to lock that at zero going forward. But the key with the Hong Kong deal was to focus on the access that we could have around services. In that respect, opening up that market and all that flows from that, particularly with respect to mainland China, was also critical. I was so pleased to see Senator Birmingham conclude and sign that deal only a matter of a week or two ago in Sydney.

I pushed throughout Latin America, recognising the real potential of Latin America with respect to Australia diversifying its economic interests. We know our major trading partners lie in this region, but that just reinforces why we need to ensure the continued diversification of our export markets, and in that respect Latin America is critical.

Commencing a free trade agreement with the Pacific Alliance—the countries of Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Peru—was absolutely critical. That agreement too, I'm pleased to say, is very, very near conclusion and very possibly will be concluded before the end of this year. I was pleased with my counterpart Liam Fox to commence and put in place the very first working group for a comprehensive FTA post-Brexit with the UK. This, of course, would represent a return in many respects to not only a critical market for Australia but also a market of tremendous potential, especially for our high-quality agricultural products and, in particular, wine. The UK—once they find their pathway forward from Brexit—will represent a crucial market for Australia. I was pleased that I was able to position Australia to be at the very front of the queue when it comes to concluding that FTA, likewise putting in place the necessary requirements around the scoping document and feasibility study to commence negotiations for an FTA with the European Union. This will take some time. Any negotiation with the European Union takes time, as the Brits will attest. But, that notwithstanding, the opportunity with what is our single biggest export market, aside from China, will be a very important agreement and one that will hold, again, this nation's diversified export potential at its very core for decades to come.

Another critical aspect that I was very pleased to be able to conclude successfully was the CPTPP, or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. This agreement came off the back of the then defunct TPP, delivered by my predecessor, Andrew Robb, but thwarted by the decision that President Trump made with respect to the United States. To have been able to pull it together—notwithstanding the odd curveball from the Canadians—meant that we were able to cement in place one of the most comprehensive, far-reaching and ambitious trade agreements, through the CPTPP, that Australia will ever face. I spent years working on pulling that back together. Again, I want to acknowledge the incredible work that was done by all leaders which we, as trade ministers, had the good fortune to lock into place.

On the tourism front, I was pleased to see incredible inbound numbers and spend by tourists. I was pleased to launch, for the very first time, a nation brand working group, headed by Andrew Forrest, to drive a brand for this country that we know can make sure that Australia represents itself under one banner globally. The conclusion of that nation brand will help to ensure that our country is recognised not only for its high quality agricultural exports but also for its services exports and the attractiveness of the tourism industry. I note as well that we were able to do so recognising that we wanted to grow not just numbers but spend, and spend into this country has been growing at more than nine per cent per annum for the past several years.

We took some risks. Of course, the launch of the 'son of Dundee' campaign in the US around Super Bowl was a big political risk. I think it's fair to say that a number of tourism ministers before me had less success when it came to new tourism marketing campaigns for this country, and I learned some lessons from their experiences. But I'm pleased to say that we have seen, now, the fruit from that investment, with growth from the United States in particular being incredibly strong. It's a crucial industry, in particular, for my city of the Gold Coast.

I want to thank the party supporters who put me in this place. I've made the comment at numerous party events that, but for the support of the party membership, their faith in me and their privilege of pre-selecting me, I wouldn't have been able to stand in this chamber for the past 17½ years.

I want to, in particular, thank Lynda Woods, my FDC chairman. Lynda has been an absolute staple for me and for the party in Moncrieff for well over a decade, and I want to thank her in particular for the support that she has provided me—likewise, Viv and Di Grayson, and the now deceased Mike Milosevic and his wife, Donna. I want to thank all of those who worked on pre-polls, standing there for weeks on end providing support, and of course those who were there from the very beginning, Lee Benjamin and Arthur Chrenkoff, who played such a critical role from their time in the Young Liberals supporting me in my very first preselection.

I want to acknowledge the Young Liberals as well. I've always believed they are such a critical foundation stone for our party's future. The Gold Coast Young Liberals have been a part of my life since I was 18 years old and will continue to be. I thank each and every one of them for the incredible effort they went to and the support they provided me.

On my staff: we all know in this place we couldn't do anything without our staff. They have been terrific. My longest-serving staff member, Alistair Mitchell, tells me that over the past 17½ years I've had 86 staff who have moved through the various offices that I've occupied. But I particularly want to thank Kathy, Kylie, Karen, Bec, James, Kristian, Ben, Jackson, and ministerial staff Brendan Berne, Gisele, Doug, Drew and Britney. All of them have played a critical role in me achieving what it was that I was able to achieve.

I want to thank Karly for her support and work, and I wish her the very best of luck. Karly will be running on Saturday for preselection for my seat, and I think she would make a terrific member in this place—but ultimately it's a decision, of course, for the Moncrieff preselectors.

Alistair Mitchell, who's in the advisers box, has been with me for 13½ years. Alistair has always been someone of impeccable and prudent political advice. He's shaved off some of my excesses—not nearly enough, I think he would say. But he is someone who has been absolutely fundamental to all that I've achieved in this place, and I thank Alistair sincerely and from the bottom of my heart for the incredible working relationship that we've had over 13 years. I think it's fair to say that my strengths are your weaknesses and your weaknesses are my strengths, and I think that's a terrific political result.

I thank early supporters Stuart Bruce, Darryl Gregor and Tony and Thea Cochrane. They were there from the outset and they've supported me every step of the journey.

In this place, I've always focused on relationships. Relationships, I believe, are what make this building. They're what get political deals done. They're what get policy outcomes. In particular, the former member for North Sydney Joe Hockey, the Attorney-General Christian Porter, the member for Aston, the member for Wannon, Senator Fifield, Senators Brandis and Mason, the member for Leichhardt and, of course, previous Senator Santoro—all of these people—have been such wonderful friends and mates, and it's been a privilege to work alongside them.

I want to thank the member for Curtin, Julie Bishop, with whom I had a terrific working relationship in the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio. I also want to thank the member for Flinders, Greg Hunt. I said the other day that the member for Flinders had delivered me my happiest day in this place, and I think he recognises the importance of it. In the gallery today I have a number of family members and colleagues. But, in particular, I've got my son Asher, who's sitting up there. Asher is a heart kid, as many of you know. His experience was a tough one for Astra and me—not so tough for him. But I am so profoundly proud of the support that Greg has given me when it comes to Heartkids, and I was so touched that the member for Kooyong was able to refer to the first initiative that we've made around Heartkids as part of a research mission. This is not about Asher; this is about the families that will follow in our footsteps. We—and Asher, in particular, with his experience—have been so incredibly blessed, but there are so many parents for whom heart kids become heart angels. For those parents, the $26 million that the government is investing into HeartKids—into congenital heart defects in children—is just so critical. That would not have happened without the support of the member for Flinders, and I am exceptionally grateful to him for that.

I acknowledge my mum and dad. Mum and Dad aren't here today, but they have backed me and supported me every step of the journey in this place. They are wonderful parents. My father came to this country from Italy as a refugee. I think it's fair to say—as I said to Minister Canavan, one Italian to another—I'm not an Italian citizen. We ran through that comprehensively, and I'm pleased to say that there were no problems there. But, notwithstanding that, my parents instilled in me from a very early age the importance of a sound foundation in family and a work ethos, and I'm so incredibly grateful to them.

I will conclude on this: my decision to not recontest the forthcoming federal election is based on many things, and I've thought about it for some time. But, in particular, it's also to show my sons, Asher and Tennyson, that, in life, you need to get out of your comfort zone. Getting out of your comfort zone and doing something different is just so important after you feel you've made a contribution. I've never wanted to be a time server in this place and I leave knowing that I've been able to achieve an extraordinary amount in this role.

Relations are critical and, in that sense, I particularly want to acknowledge, in the member for Sterling and the member for Dickson, some of the best friendships that I've made here. Those two have been a fundamental part of the last 17½ years—or, in the member for Sterling's case, the last 15 years—together. They are political brothers of mine and it will be a very different place without us all being able to come together. I thank them for that.

Finally, there is my wife, Astra. Astra has been rock-solid with me on every step of this journey. I don't say 'behind me'. I don't say she 'supported me'. We've stood beside each other. We were starry-eyed idealists, I think, when I first started in this role. Now we're more prudent and, I guess, a little weathered and we're both realistic. But, through it all, we know that the bond of love and friendship that we have together has meant that this has been an extraordinary journey. I can truly say that none of it would have been possible without the love and support of my wife, Astra. So to her, Asher and Tennyson: thank you so much for the privilege of serving in this place. And to all of my colleagues here: it has been an honour and a joy. I cannot thank the chamber enough.