Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people whose land we meet on today, the elders past, present and emerging. May we work together to promote harmony and learning, and let us safeguard this land together for generations to come. I would also like to acknowledge the Gayemagal, the Gamaragal and the Borogegal, the First People of Warringah.

It's an incredible honour to stand before the 46th Parliament as a representative of all of the people of Warringah—only the ninth person to do so, and the first woman. I acknowledge those who came before me: Sir Granville Ryrie, Sir Archdale Parkhill, Sir Percy Spender, Francis Bland, John Cockle, Edward St John, Michael MacKellar and Tony Abbott. All have placed their unique mark on Australia, and I thank them for their service.

No matter where I have travelled in the world, I've always been incredibly proud of being born in Warringah. Warringah stretches across the cosy inlets of Mosman Bay, from the Clifton Gardens to the breakers of Freshwater, Curl Curl and Manly Beach, bushland of Killarney Heights, the cliffs of North Head to the calm waters of Neutral Bay. It spans harbour apartments with city views, cosmopolitan centres and family havens, bustling shopping centres and industrial zones, to unique and serene areas, like the Manly Dam War Memorial Park, from the heights of Seaforth and Allambie to the valleys of Manly Vale and Brookvale—the home of the mighty Manly Sea Eagles. We are surrounded on all sides by harbour and coastal waters or beautiful sprawling bushland.

The natural beauty of Warringah is intertwined with its rich past and Indigenous history. Its first people were sturdy, pioneering and resourceful. Their way of life required resilience and endurance. They fished from bark canoes in Port Jackson, they gathered fruit on the ridgelines of Killarney Heights and they hunted in the woodlands of Forestville. Their success is evidenced by Warringah's over a thousand Indigenous sites, which include rock carvings, middens, ancient bush trails, campsites and meeting areas.

For over 20,000 years, the Guringai people were custodians of the country. Today, over 1,300 people with Indigenous lineage call Warringah their home. We celebrate their history and culture with the Gai-mariagal Festival, previously known as the Guringai Festival. The festival shines a light on the deep Indigenous knowledge of land—a knowledge that will be so important to a sustainable future in Australia. I hope that this parliament will go beyond the apology, accept the voice of our Indigenous people and find mutual respect, and accelerate the process of healing. There are so many gaps still to close.

Warringah's colonial history is replete with entrepreneurial endeavours that echo through to the present day. Its suburbs have variously been agricultural areas, whaling stations, tourist areas, mining sites, military bases and quite suburban spaces. Many of the suburbs still have founding-era buildings, pavilions, rotundas and depots; and intricate alcoves and sandstone facades. Our predecessors were pioneering and inventive. Many artisans, poets, architects and builders of the original Sydney came from Warringah, and we are grateful for their vision. Today, the electorate has become a hub of professionals in many industries, including hospitality, health services, finance and tourism, and is now blossoming as a hub of renewable energy and tech start-ups—the industries that will be the future of Australia's economy.

Sport has also played a big part in our history, in defining our character and cultural identity. The people of Warringah have always appreciated the outdoors, flocking to sports on the weekend, whether it's playing for the Mosman Whales, the Manly Warringah Sapphires or the Manly Marlins; taking the board for a surf; running around our many fantastic tracks; or showing up to patrol at one of the many surf lifesaving clubs in Warringah, and we have been doing so for over 100 years. Mosman Rugby Club was established in 1893 and is one of the oldest Rugby Union clubs in Australia; and, notably, Manly surf lifesaving club is one of the oldest surf lifesaving clubs in the country.

Sport has played a big part in my life. I started competing in pretty much every sport I could try my hand at from the age of four, from swimming, judo, windsurfing, ice skating and running to skiing. At 13, I watched the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, and I decided that I wanted to compete at a Winter Olympics for Australia. I gave up all other sports for skiing. I didn't worry about whether it was possible or too hard to make the Olympics. I first settled on the conviction that I wanted to strive towards that goal and, once committed to that goal, I set about making it happen. It was a long, hard and often lonely road, with many sacrifices, but ultimately so rewarding, as I took Australia to the peak of alpine skiing and added my small contribution to Australia's proud sporting history. I strongly believe that it is hard work, planning and resilience that brings about success, and urge all young Australians to dream big. I felt a huge sense of responsibility representing Australia at the Olympic Games, first as a 17-year-old schoolgirl and then, especially, when carrying the Australian flag into the closing ceremony in Nagano in 1988, after winning Australia's first individual medal at the Winter Olympics.

As I sat here on 2 July for the swearing-in of the 46th Parliament, I was struck by the absolute privilege and the responsibility that falls upon us in representing and serving the people of Australia to the best of our ability. While this may be a place of robust debate, it is time for a more respectful approach, and accountability. Trust in Australian politicians is at its lowest in a decade, and we can only reach our potential as a democracy if we believe in our institutions. As in sport, there can only be respect if you're playing by the rules. We impose legal standards on business to protect customers and consumers, but we fail to protect our voters with a legal minimum standard of truth in political advertising. This needs to change. We must also safeguard the freedom of the press and our national broadcaster. Without a free press, we cannot hope to preserve the civil liberties and freedoms past generations fought so hard to protect.

In researching and reading many of this parliament's members' first speeches I was struck by how many grand statements and ideals are first made but then seem to disappear in the polarisation of party partisanship. It's time for more than just words. Governments have a duty to serve and to lead. It's time for fact based policy and sensible politics. Representing the best interests of all of the people must come above party partisanship and personal interest.

I believe Australia has always punched above its weight and never shied away from a challenge or doing its share. We live in a time where we are facing possibly our biggest challenge to date—to properly appreciate, respect and nurture our environment and evolve to a zero carbon economy. Our schoolkids are leading the way in pointing out that there is no second planet, no planet B. The government's own report tells us our emissions are still rising, and even our schoolkids know that we're not heading in the right direction.

I've listened to many here talk of their love for their families and their children and of their hopes for the future of their communities. When we and our children are sick, we trust in the doctors and the science to heal them. Many scientists from independent and varied fields of study have come to the conclusion that we must reduce our carbon emissions to have a hope of averting the worst consequences of climate change. Australia, especially in regional areas, is vulnerable to those consequences and will experience higher than average warming, leading to more severe weather events, from droughts and floods to bushfires and hurricanes. This will devastate productivity and way of life, regionally and nationally. When the consequences are felt, especially in the regional areas, all of Australia—including us city dwellers—stands together to help impacted communities, for example with drought relief funding, But, accordingly, the duty to prevent the worst from occurring also falls on everyone and cannot be ignored and dismissed.

We need to ensure a prosperous, clean future for the next generations in all regions of Australia. There needs to be less short-termism and opportunistic policymaking and more long-term planning to futureproof our economy. History does not look kindly on leaders that fail to properly prepare a nation for the challenges ahead. Climate change impacts represent the greatest threat to our national security, our economy, our health and our environment. The cost of inaction is so great it is unthinkable that a coalition government driven with ideals of reducing national debt would consider burdening future generations with the greatest debt ever.

It is wrong to believe that concerns for our environment and climate are a Left issue. The world has a bipartisan history of acting on global environmental calamities. In the 1980s, a Conservative Thatcher government led the way in banning CFCs in the atmosphere. Thatcher's words to the UN General Assembly in 1989 are appropriate today:

We carry common burdens, face common problems and must respond with common action.

The United Kingdom is continuing to lead the way, recently passing a motion in the House of Commons which recognised the climate change emergency. We can and must respond with the same determination and urgency. Two-thirds of Australians see global warming as a significant and pressing problem. It is time to reflect on this with bipartisanship.

Australian diversity, inventiveness and can-do culture has served us well and will continue to do so. By recognising the industries of the future and investing in emerging clean technologies, we can provide jobs for regional Australia and ensure we are a 21st century clean-energy superpower. We have the most abundant natural resources in the world and the innovation and ingenuity to develop them. This parliament has the opportunity to provide the road map and transition plan to be ambitious and lead the way.

I urge this 46th Parliament to be remembered for developing a comprehensive plan to decarbonise every polluting sector by 2050 and then putting it into action. In this plan, we need to identify the sectors that will be hard to decarbonise—like aviation, shipping, agriculture, and manufacturing—and support the agencies, like the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, by broadening their mandate to invest in these areas. If we can take an incremental view, we can break down the challenges ahead, one step at a time.

I firmly believe that we are all, as individuals, accountable for our decisions and actions. It is time. Our time is precious and limited. Like many people in Warringah and all over Australia, I refuse to be part of the generation that had all of the facts but failed to take meaningful action. It's time to transition our economy and energy production. There's no need to be afraid of change. It is what we've always done: adapt and change.

Australia is built on amazingly brave and resourceful people. My own family history in Australia goes back on my father's side to the Second Fleet and on my mother's side to the early 1830s. These early settlers undertook long, arduous and often dangerous sea journeys, in cramped steerage accommodation on ships with varying degrees of seaworthiness, to a foreign country 13,000 kilometres away. They were leaving everything that was familiar and dear to them in the hope of a better life. Today's refugees are no different, yet we seem to have forgotten our own history and lost our compassion. My mother's family ultimately settled in Maitland and my father's family settled in Cessnock, via Western Australia and Queensland.

My family's relationship with Manly started in the 1920s, when my great-grand-aunts moved there. Seeing his sisters struggle to earn a livelihood, my great-grandfather prioritised his daughters' education, including that of my grandmother Phemie Faith Mallaby. It was important to have a formal university education. There has never been any question in my family that women are equal, capable and entitled to the same opportunities as men. I never discussed politics with my grandmother, yet she was the honorary treasurer of the Maitland branch of the Liberal Party until the day she died in 2007. I know she was incredibly proud when both my brother Zeke and I represented Australia at the Winter Olympics. I can only imagine how excited she would have been at my election to parliament, notwithstanding my being an Independent and defeating an ex-Liberal Prime Minister.

On my dad's side, my grandfather Jack Steggall was a Wallaby from 1931 to 1933, touring New Zealand and South Africa, before retiring to practise law. With my grandmother Ruby, eight years his senior and a formidable matron of a hospital, they settled in Cessnock, where Jack, also a lawyer, turned to playing and coaching rugby league. I'm incredibly grateful for having had many strong personalities in any family. My parents, John and Sue, have also achieved so much. My mother is an art historian and writer. My father has played rugby for the Norths and then Manly and practised law in Manly for over 30 years. The most important thing I learnt from them was to believe in myself and never be afraid to give something a go. You only regret when you don't try.

But the achievements of past generations will be for nothing if we do not evolve our economy for the future and embrace our diversity. Some are fixated on just preserving the status quo, when we are capable of so much more. As Australians, we need to value and respect all of our people, no matter their background, gender, sexual preferences or religious beliefs. No one group has the right to disrespect or discriminate against another. This must be respected at all costs as this parliament makes decisions for the good of all Australians, irrespective of their faiths and beliefs.

We live in a time of opportunity, with more technology than ever before, but we have serious health challenges and social inequalities. There's still a 14 per cent pay gap between men and women, and women are retiring with 40 per cent less superannuation. Child care needs to be more affordable to ensure equal participation in the workforce. Family and domestic violence is a major health crisis for women that impacts every area of Australian society, and it needs urgent attention. Nationally and in Warringah, mental health and rising suicide rates require a new approach.

We need to learn from local organisations. They are listening and working within our communities. We can offer more hope and care to our youth and older generations. As a mum of teenagers, I'm acutely aware of their concerns and worries. Our young people are our future, and I look forward to welcoming them to Parliament House and creating opportunities and a better Warringah for them.

I'm proud and humbled by the joy and excitement I have received from so many schoolkids in Warringah. A special shout-out to the El Shanditos and all the youths of Warringah. I encourage you to get involved with politics and the issues that matter to you. It is your future that is at stake.

To my fellow parliamentarians in this the 46th Parliament of Australia: I thank you for your warm welcome and I look forward to working with all of you, on both sides of the aisle, as collectively we strive to make our nation an even better place over the next three years. Let our legacy as the 46th Parliament be that we were brave and ambitious, that we set both our standards and our goals at the highest level. I embrace that challenge and I hope you do too.

Reflecting on my last 11 years at the New South Wales bar, I'm thankful to all my instructing solicitors, colleagues and mentors: Her Honour Dr Melissa Perry QC, Todd Alexis SC, Tim Hale SC, Kate Morgan SC, Justine Beaumont and Greg Johnston, to name but a few who have supported me and taught me so much.

Finally, my thoughts go to the most important people in my life and those without whom none of this is possible: my ultimate partner and support, my husband, Tim, and, better than any gold medal, my children Chloe, Rex, and Remy. I'm also so lucky to have bottomless support from my parents John and Sue, my brother and his family, Malcolm and Shelagh Irving and all my extended family.

I'm deeply grateful to Louise Hislop, Anthony Reed and the most amazing team, who worked tirelessly over the four-month campaign, and a special thank you to the more than 1,400 volunteers who helped make this possible.

If there's one thing this campaign will be remembered for, it is the unbelievable resourcefulness and energy of a team of very talented women led by Kirsty Gold, Anna Josephson, Dof Dickinson, Julie Giannesini and Tina Jackson. Thank you also to Rob Purves, Mark Kelly, Rob Grant, Angus Gemmel and Rickard Garnell for your hard work and support.

The other thing that stood out—and still does if I look around the gallery today—is the passion of the people of Warringah to bring about a new era: moderates with a heart. It is hard to describe the excitement, enthusiasm and energy in Warringah in the last five months. This began as a true grassroots movement driven by passionate locals who care about our future. Over the last three years many diverse groups—grassroots movements—mobilised to start the discussion and really focus on how they wanted to be represented, what contribution they wanted to make to this parliament and what kind of future they wanted for their children and future generations. Voices of Warringah, Think Twice Warringah, the North Shore Environmental Stewards and VTO are just a few. And this can happen all over Australia.

Warringah is a diverse place—one that, like Australia itself, has to accommodate the different needs, beliefs and aspirations of people. Our volunteers believe that striving for political change in Warringah could also offer Australia a more positive future and a defining purpose that goes well beyond traditional political differences. The volunteers, supporters and donors, many of them here today, have been amazing—people who have never campaigned before, some with low incomes and some with high incomes, some progressive and some conservative, and from many different walks of life but all united in their vision for a new era in Warringah.

Finally, I'm grateful to the people of Warringah for entrusting me with the responsibility of representing their views and concerns to this parliament. It's truly humbling. We all have a voice and the power to make a difference. My favourite book growing up was Bryce Courtenay's The Power of One, and throughout my skiing career and legal career I always remembered:

First with the head and then with the heart …

As Edward Everett wrote about the power of the individual:

I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something …

I believe that, if everyone takes that approach, we can do anything. Thank you.

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

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

Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We meet today on the lands of the Ngunawal people. My electorate of is on the lands of the Boonwurrung people of the Kulin nation. We recognise and support local Indigenous culture, history and people at the gathering place by the bay, Nairm Marr Djambana. I pay my respects to their elders, past and present, and to all traditional owners. I stand here today to pledge my support for the recognition of First Nations people in Australia's Constitution and the establishment of an Indigenous voice to parliament based on the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

It's been quite a journey to this place for a public-school girl from Wagga. I grew up during the Hawke and Keating years, benefitting from the long list of economic, social and environmental reforms their government introduced. Their government was a Labor government who, like all Labor governments before and since, took seriously their core business of enlarging opportunities for those without power or resources. But what really inspired teenage me was the way Hawke and Keating also enlarged our national imagination about who we could be and the place we could take in the world. They made me believe in our democratic system because they demonstrated how that system could deliver good government and how good government could deliver a better future. They, and the values my parents instilled in me, also made me Labor.

Recently I was asked to imagine what, at the end of my parliamentary career, I would like to be able to look back on and say I was proud to have been a part of—what I would like to have achieved. It's a very long list, those who know me won't be surprised to hear, only some of which, you'll also be glad to hear, I'm going to have time to touch on today. But it does span initiatives in my local community, structural reforms to national systems and institutions, and, of course, Australia's role as a leader in our region and in the world. But, above all else, I would like to be able to say that I left Australian politics—Australian democracy—in better shape than when I joined it, that I was part of a generation of Australian politicians who worked to recover the public's faith in our democratic system and who strove to reharness politics as that vehicle for enlarging opportunities and enlarging our national imagination, and that we did so by rejecting politics based on fear and division, by refusing to see societal problems as weapons with which to wedge our political opponents and by choosing robust debates about ideas and solutions over personal attacks and petty judgements. It's what my community wants me to do, and it's what Australians want all of us here to do. And, be in no doubt, it's what we have to do. At a time when less than half of all Australians are satisfied with the way democracy works and only one in five say they trust politicians, surely the alarm bells are ringing. There is too often a machismo about politics which mistakes aggressiveness for advocacy, which demands certainty and rejects reflection as weakness, and which is quick to judge and slow to forgive.

This parliament is the cauldron of Australia's national conversation, and politicians are not just participants in it; we are its custodians, and we must do better. Of course, not everyone in this place shares the same political philosophy and we don't always agree on the way forward. Politics is a place where ideas should be contested. They should be contested with a passion. They should be contested fiercely, robustly and forcefully, and there will be times when the behaviour, motivations and policies of our opponents should rightly be called out and criticised. But how we do that matters. When the participants in our body politic get so caught up in beating their opposition—in winning the daily argument at all costs—that they stop listening and striving to understand what others are saying, we are not just dumbed down; we are diminished. We are diminished in the eyes of the Australian people and we are diminished in our capacity to tackle the difficult challenges—challenges such as those posed to us by the Sustainable Development Goals, whose pin I'm wearing today, and the challenge of being the first generation to end poverty and the last generation to address climate change; challenges such as introducing a federal bill of rights so that complex, important national debates can occur within a comprehensive national human rights framework; and challenges that my community cares about, including preserving our environment, ensuring decent secure jobs for our children and protecting the egalitarian nature of our society. Meeting those challenges is going to take a willingness from all of us here to persist with complex debates over a sustained period—certainly longer than the 24-hour news cycle.

In the spirit of Louisa Dunkley, I am up for those debates. Although my electorate is named after her, Louisa Dunkley's story is not widely known to people, apart from those who know me or in some way came across my campaign. As the first woman to represent Dunkley, it's my responsibility and my pleasure to tell her story. It's also my hope that other people—girls and boys, women and men—will also find inspiration in Louisa and her achievements. Louisa Dunkley didn't come from particular wealth or privilege. After her father died someone had to provide for her family, so, in 1882, Louisa entered the Victorian Postmaster-General's Department as a junior assistant. Over the next decade she worked her way up to become a telegraphist at the Chief Telegraph Office. As her career progressed, so did her indignation at the unfair pay and conditions of her female colleagues.

Louisa Dunkley was a worker, she was a feminist and, in 1895, she became a trade unionist. The Victorian telegraph union of the mid-1890s wouldn't admit women as its members and it certainly wouldn't advocate for their workplace rights, so Louisa and her female colleagues took the cause into their own hands and the Victorian Women's Post and Telegraph Association was born. On behalf of that association, Louisa went before the Victorian colonial public service classification board and advocated for women to be paid the same as their male colleagues. Her advocacy was described at the time as brilliant, and she won pay increases for the women of that office. Meanwhile, the men, whose union had refused to make submissions for fear of putting the colonial government offside, received pay cuts. Of course, not everyone was so pleased with that outcome. In an attempt to isolate her from her female colleagues and supporters, the masters of the Post and Telegraph Office transferred Louisa to a more remote workplace, but they didn't really think that through. She worked at the Post and Telegraph Office where the means of communication were pretty readily available. So, undaunted by opposition from those who resisted change and those who protected power, Louisa continued her campaign, attracting like-minded men and women alike to her cause.

In 1900, she gained endorsement at the first national congress of telegraph and post office associations to argue for equal pay in the soon-to-be formed federal Public Service. She also played an important role in uniting those associations into what later became Australia's first national Public Service union. So there is some synchronicity that I stand here today, not just as the first woman to represent Dunkley in the federal parliament but also as a proud member of the Commonwealth Public Service union. Under Louisa's leadership, two more years of letter writing, lobbying, pamphleteering and demonstrating—activities that many here will be familiar with—led to the inclusion of an equal pay provision in the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1902, which was a remarkable achievement at any time but particularly at that time. After securing that historic achievement, Louisa wrote these words:

… though at first we only asked for equal pay as an act of justice to those women … who had … been doing the same work as men, we now advocate it as the only solution … as to how to keep up the value of the work and provide fair opportunities for employment of both men and women in the future …

In 2019, living in that future, we still have some way to go to achieve Louisa's aims. Across every occupation women are paid less than men, and the work which is predominantly done by women remains systemically undervalued. Just ask our early childhood educators and childcare workers what it's like to have to value yourself against a male comparator. And women continue to be under-represented in positions of leadership across all workplaces, including this one, so I'm proud to be part of a political party which has taken real action towards rectifying that. Reforms that encourage sharing of parental leave, make child care more affordable and accessible and better integrate family and work life would also go a long way to redressing the imbalance. So, too, would properly valuing unpaid work—caring for family members, doing the housework—and making it perhaps a little less gender oriented. Louisa Dunkley understood it was work of real value. After both of their parents died, her sister took on responsibility for running the household—real work which Louisa believed deserved real pay, so every week, she split her pay packet with her sister. Louisa Dunkley lived and fought for her values, for fairness, for equality and for the power of collective action. We could all do much worse than follow in her footsteps.

I come to this parliament after a professional career that has spanned the law, public service and politics. As a solicitor, barrister and senior public defender, I have represented the damaged and the difficult, victims and perpetrators, the blameless and the blameworthy. At every turn, I have seen the corrosive effect that intergenerational disadvantage can have on people, families and communities. I have also seen the way the operation of the legal system can cause further distress and damage to people when they're at their lowest. This is true no matter what socioeconomic background you come from, but it's particularly true for those who already face other challenges in their lives. Last year, the Peninsula Community Legal Centre in my electorate provided over 9,000 legal services to people in need—people in my community struggling with mental illness, addiction, homelessness and family violence and breakdown.

There are too many people where poor educational and economic opportunities first put them at risk of becoming entangled in the justice system, and then enormous, insurmountable barriers to getting out are put up. Too often, before the kids with the fewest opportunities leave the tail end of our school system, they have already entered the front end of the justice system. Anyone who has worked in the justice system, criminal or civil, will viscerally understand when I say that justice cannot be left to the justice system alone. To really find justice in our society, to break the cycle of disadvantage and dysfunction, we need to take a holistic and long-term approach. We need to start by making sure our public education system and the educators who work in it have the resources and support they need to give every child the best start in life, no matter how much money their parents have. We need services—legal, social, health, employment and education—that are, to use a policy-boffin phrase, bottom up and joined up. We need a political climate and politicians who are prepared to champion the services and the needs of the people they serve. It's that task that motivated me to move from the law into politics.

I want to now talk briefly about my community of Dunkley. We are wealthy and poor. We're old and we're young. We're migrant and we're First Peoples. We're employers and employees. But we have a lot more that binds us than separates us. From the Pines to Mount Eliza, we are ambitious for our children. We are proud of where we live. We would like life to be just that little bit easier for us and for our neighbours. And we really, really love our dogs! We have a lot to be proud of, from our growing industrial and health and education precinct, a strong cultural sector based around the Frankston Arts Centre and the McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery in Langwarrin to a growing number of music and arts festivals, restaurant, cafe's and craft breweries.

We boast the Dolphins in the VFL, the Waves in the VNL and the Blues in the VBL. We have athletes and clubs participating from grassroots to elite in every sporting code you can name. Sport is more than a game to us, and those who know me know it's more than a game to me. One, I like to win, but it's more than a game to me! When local clubs talk to me about why they need better facilities—a new clubhouse, lighting or change rooms for the women's team—they never talk about winning premierships. They talk about building pride and expanding opportunities. They talk about giving people a sense of belonging. They talk about supporting girls and women to be strong, brave athletes and to have the same opportunities and respect as the men. I love it, and it's why I'll always back them.

While Dunkley is socioeconomically diverse, it's perhaps not one of Melbourne's most multicultural areas. However, if you wander down to the magnificent Frankston Foreshore on a summer weekend, you'll find hundreds of people from dozens of cultures all with their picnics and barbecues. They have flocked to Frankston to share in a patch of our coastal paradise. It's a site of pure joy and it's a symbol of modern Australia.

We're also a community that cares deeply about the environment—our beaches, our bushlands, our green wedges. The first member for Dunkley, Bob Chynoweth, was a champion of the environment in the Hawke government. I intend to uphold Bob's legacy as we face up to the challenges of climate change and the loss of biodiversity. Chris Crewther represented Dunkley in the last term of this parliament and, before him, Bruce Billson was Dunkley's main cheerleader and advocate for 20 years. I want to acknowledge their contributions to our community today.

For all of our strengths, Dunkley does face local education, health and social challenges, but we're a community rich with talent and compassion and with people who are using those traits to drive initiatives for local and wider benefits. Hands On Learning, founded 20 years ago by Russ Kerr at Frankston High School and now in more than 100 schools across the state, has been recognised as one of the world's top 100 innovations in education. It should be in every school in the country with disadvantaged or disengaged kids. Backing in the vision of local researchers and medical professionals, Peninsula Health and Monash University obtained bipartisan support at the last election to establish, in Frankston, a national centre for research and clinical trials to support positive ageing and rehabilitation, mental illness and addiction. I'm so excited to be a part of seeing that vision come to fruition.

Cam and James at Frankston Foundry have cultivated an exciting innovation ecosystem, and they have an ambition to make Frankston the nation's leader in med tech innovation. I have no doubt that with the support of the community and their new federal member for Dunkley they will succeed. Project O and the Colour of Hope are programs working with schools, in Frankston North and Karingal, to give young women and men confidence and life skills through visual, digital and performing art.

The Women's Spirit Project has empowered women from across the electorate to change their lives through exercise and self-awareness. Mums supporting families in need do exactly that, distributing donations stored in a warehouse in Carrum Downs to kids and parents across the Peninsula. Guru Glenn—self-named—and That's The Thing About Fishing give disadvantaged and disabled kids the chance to experience fun and friendship. These initiatives and so many more reflect a community that is stepping up to take responsibility, and it's my absolute privilege to walk alongside them, to be their voice in this parliament and to fight to get them the support and the recognition they deserve.

In 2011 Rod Glover, my husband, and I were sold up, packed up and moving to San Francisco with big plans for work, life and adventure. Just days before we were to board the plane, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. On one view: confirmation that Murphy's law is real! But looking at it from another perspective, we were lucky. We had strong, loving families and friends. We had the resources that come with professional careers. We could afford and access the best quality health care. I am acutely aware that this is not everyone's story and that it should be. I pay tribute to the team of dedicated healthcare professionals who looked after me then and the ones who look after people every day, day in, day out, when they need it the most.

Let's be frank: cancer sucks. Don't kick me out for unparliamentary language! It changes the way your body feels and it changes the way you feel about your body. The treatments can make you sick. Sometimes you're scared. Sometimes you're angry. In my experience, you're often both at the same time. You worry about how your family and your friends are coping. You value their support but you resent the fact that you need it. And for too many people, on top of all of this, is the worry about how to pay the bills if you can't work, about who's going to look after the children while you're getting treatment, how you're going to get to and from your opponents—sorry, appointments; cancer is your opponent—and so it goes on.

For me, though, two good things came out of it all. The first was the decision to make Dunkley, where Rod grew up and his family lived, home. It was the best decision we ever made. The second was the reminder that life can be fragile and we'd better make the most of it. So when the opportunity arose I put myself forward as the ALP candidate for Dunkley for the 2016 election, notwithstanding it then had a margin of 5.6 per cent and had been held by the Liberal Party for 20 years.

As I now know, cancer is not just indiscriminate, it's sneaky. Two weeks ago, a week after being sworn in as the member for Dunkley, I received the unexpected news that my cancer had returned. You might say, Murphy's law strikes again. But my mother, Jan, who is a Murphy by marriage, not birth, and therefore able to adopt a less pessimistic personal motto, would say: everything happens for a reason. I am neither unique nor alone in the fight that I am about to take on. Cancer Australia estimates that in 2019 just over 19,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 145,000 Australians will be diagnosed with some form of cancer. I am neither unique nor alone, but I am someone who has a platform that can be used to benefit others. And as long as the people of Dunkley continue to vote for me to represent them in this place, I intend to use it.

I'm going to start by saying this today: ladies, check your breasts!

Men, stop ignoring what your body's telling you. Fellow members of this parliament, listen to the experts who warn that the promise of universal health care is under threat. Commit to the reform and funding that our health system needs and do whatever is required to ensure that Australia trains, retains and invests in the healthcare professionals and researchers who make our system great. We owe it to our community to do that.

Many are here today to share this day with me—family, friends from university, from squash, from the law. I don't know why everyone always laughs about squash. It is an amazing game. We boast the best female athlete in the world in Heather McKay, and there's a world champion sitting up there, Vicki Cardwell, watching us today. So stop laughing at my sport!

I'm just going to start that bit again. Many are here today to share this day with me—family, friends from university, from squash, from the law and from the ALP, and I know many other people would be here if they could. I can't name you all, but I know that you know who you are and I know that you know how much you mean to me and that my life would not have been, and will not continue to be, as rich and as fortunate if it wasn't for all of you. I am going to say, though, that Clementine, Joss and Pippa: it's so excellent you are here today.

I also want to single out my parents, Bob and Jan—they're here with my sisters Jodi and Penni and my awesome niece Ambryia representing Oliver, Ingrid, Bridget, Saana and Kyomi. Mum and Dad, public school teachers, educators and sporting tragics taught us to make the most of every opportunity in life and they taught us about the unparalleled importance of education. My parents are the two most humble, principled and selfless people I have ever met, and anything I have ever achieved is because of them. Jodi and Penni, I love you and I'm proud of you.

I am very fortunate to have shared the last 20 years of my life with my husband, Rod. Together we've travelled, made good friends—great friends—spent endless amounts of time talking and arguing about ideas and have watched every single political drama and BBC police procedural ever made. He won't let me tell the story about how we met. Rod is compassionate, he's brilliant, he's stubborn and he's silly. He's my most constructive critic, my most loyal supporter and my greatest friend. I wouldn't be standing here without him and I wouldn't want to.

I'm very grateful as well for the love and support of Rod's mum, Betty, Gary, Donna and Debbie and our whole extended family clan. I've also been very fortunate in my life to have bosses who are also mentors and friends. Duncan Kerr and Robert Stary, who are both here in the gallery today, and Brendan O'Connor, who is seated behind me.

I've also had the support of Labor colleagues that I value deeply and admire—my great and awesome friend Melissa Horne, who's now a cabinet minister in the Andrews government, Mark Dreyfus, Paul Edbrooke, Sonya Kilkenny, Julian Hill and so many other people that I would name if only time permitted. To everyone who worked on and supported the Dunkley campaign—particularly Sue Heath and Peachy—my local branch members, my volunteers, all of my union comrades, my friends, thank you so much.

Looking around this chamber, at the gallery, at the people I have the privilege to work with and beside, and knowing that there are people who are watching this at home, I am struck yet again by the awesome privilege and responsibility that has been bestowed upon me. I am humbled by the confidence that my community has shown in me. I will work for all of you each and every day, at home and in Canberra.

Finally, I want to end with a quote from Pippi Longstocking and thank my friend Lucy and her daughter Edie for recently reminding me of it. Pippi's friend Annika had just told her that she couldn't beat the strong man at the show because he's the strongest man in the world.

'Man, yes,' said Pippi, 'but I'm the strongest girl in the world, remember that.'

Thank you.

Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the honourable member for Cowper, may I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first address and that the usual courtesies should be extended to him.

Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the foreshore of Port Macquarie town green, adjacent to Lady Nelson Wharf, sits an oversized bronze statue of Australia's first Prime Minister, Sir Edmund Barton. The figure sits staring out over the Hasting River with a backdrop of the Banda Banda mountain range. Observers might be forgiven for thinking that the statue was contemplating what might have been but for the selfless actions of one man, Francis Clark.

Frank Clark, who had a surname synonymous with Kempsey, was a surveyor, draftsman and explorer of our great region. He was also the member for Hastings and Macleay between 29 May 1893 and 7 September 1898, when he chose to put his nation before himself. Very few know that, in the July of 1898, Edmund Barton was defeated in the election for the seat of King, putting the progress and formation of the Federation in danger. Recognising that Barton was essential to forward the cause, Clark, on 7 September 1898, resigned his safe seat as member of Hastings and Macleay and took up the campaign for Barton and the Federation. So, on 23 September 1898, Edmund Barton was declared the newly elected member for Hastings and Macleay, and the rest, as they say, is history. On Christmas Day 1900, Barton was appointed Australia's first Prime Minister and, on 1 January 1901, people celebrated the Federation of Australian states.

In a speech by Edmund Barton at a meeting at the Theatre Royal in Kempsey he said there was 'not in the whole of the records of this country a more chivalrous act of self-sacrifice than that which Mr Clark performed in the name of Australia'. He later described Mr Clark's actions as, 'noble self-sacrifice'. Following Federation, in March of that year Clark was elected as the first member for the new federal seat of Cowper, and today I recognise him, not only for being the first federal member of Cowper but more so for his selfless act for a nation. Today I am honoured to give my maiden speech as Cowper's 9th member, but its first Kempsey-born member—something I'm extremely proud of.

There is no doubt that the electorate of Cowper is the jewel in the crown of the Australian eastern border. Stretching from Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour, adjoined by the many magnificent beaches, where I had a misspent youth, the chain of all three picturesque valleys of the Macleay, Bellinger and Nambucca are all watched over by the beautiful Dorrigo plateau. These are the traditional lands of the Birpai, Djangadi and Gumbaynggirr people, whose connection goes back for tens of thousands of years. Today I pay my respects to all their people, past and present.

Three things have forged my character that I can stand here today confident that I am able to represent all of the constituents of Cowper. The first was my father, John Conaghan. My father was born in Balmain in the early years of the Great Depression and, like all other Australians during that time, struggled significantly. His father passed away when he was only 16 years old, leaving him and his three siblings to work together to provide for the family. He was fortunate that he was blessed with intelligence, which he embraced, putting himself through medical school while working to make ends meet. The harshness of his formative years never left him. He always remembered where he had come from. He was an old-school doctor with a bedside manner no longer seen, a gentle man with empathy, compassion and a social conscience. He worked six days a week and, on Sundays after mass, he would go to the hospital to do his rounds, quite often with five children in tow. The only time that was sacrosanct was when his beloved Tigers were being televised.

My father was deeply but privately religious. He despaired at times at man's inhumanity to man, particularly the aged, who he believed should be treated with dignity in their final years, not discarded as a burden on society. In this regard, he was right. Almost 30 years since his passing, the aged-care system is bowing under the weight of demand, and residents are all too often treated as a number on a ledger to be measured in profit and loss. The need for a royal commission only validates his decades-old fear. I am pleased, however, that this government has taken steps in recent times to address aged care with record funding. However, more needs to be done. With 27 per cent of residents over 65 in Port Macquarie alone, with similar figures throughout Cowper, we must prepare now for their future.

My father worked as a doctor for almost 30 years in Kempsey. He was a general practitioner, obstetrician, surgeon, gynaecologist and paediatrician, just to name a few. During my campaign, I was complimented in a most peculiar way when a constituent told me, 'I don't normally vote for your side. But considering your father delivered all of my six kids, I suppose I better.' Those types of comments were very familiar during the campaign: 'Your father delivered me,' 'He saved my life after I came off my bike,' or, 'He was good to us when mum died.' He left three messages: have integrity and always be humble, work hard to get ahead and remember that there are those less fortunate than you.

Humility and integrity are the cornerstones of leadership. For far too long in this country, politics has been infused with celebrity, self-interest and ego, achieving only division throughout parties, government and the nation. I do not discriminate with this comment, and it's one of the reasons I stand here today. Having said that, I believe that that time has now come to a deserved end and the interests of this nation are once again in the forefront of the minds of those who lead it.

The second principle—work hard to get ahead—is an age-old motto in Australia. It's the ethos of those who lived here for many generations and of the people who migrated here pre and post the great wars. People like my father-in-law, Joseph Kovach, who came here after World War II and was sent to a Cowra migrant camp. Not deterred, he did as so many others did and worked hard to build a life and make Australia and its diversity what it is today. I had my first job at 13, cleaning the grounds and facilities of Kempsey swimming pool. My second job was pushing trolleys at Woolies at the age of 15. Australia is still a land of great opportunity for those who want to get ahead, regardless of class, race or region. The advancement of technology, science and industry enables our talented younger generation to continue the way, domestically and internationally, through innovative ideas and the ability to think outside of the box. Those Australians who wish to work hard and get ahead must also know that they will be supported by a strong government to achieve their goals and initiatives, a strong government who enables first-class education, facilities and programs through funding and support. This, of course, can only be done with a strong economy and a fiscally responsible government.

My father's third message was to remind myself that there are those who are less fortunate than us. My father's social conscience, no doubt enhanced by his Hippocratic oath, was strong. As a doctor in regional Australia, he knew the disadvantages that country people faced. He was also acutely aware of the disparity in health for our Indigenous people, something that I am sad to admit remains. Never did he turn away a person at our front door, a parent with a sick child, a trauma victim or an elderly person. He was often paid in kind or in produce, which was the country way. I often recall my mother lamenting, 'John, we can't pay the bills in chokos.' My point is that we, as a government, have a responsibility to look after those less fortunate than us and to show compassion to those who genuinely need help. But when I speak to the constituents of Cowper, the vast majority do not want a handout; they want a hand up. I recognise that the best form of welfare is a job, and I acknowledge that over 1.3 million jobs have been created since the coalition has been in government.

However, this does not account for the 20.3 per cent youth unemployment in Coffs Harbour—the second highest in the country and almost double that of Port Macquarie, only 153 kilometres away. I have, since my election, formed a committee to develop a platform for a youth summit in months to come. However, I call on this government to increase the recent announcement of 10 youth employment hubs across the nation to include a further one in Coffs Harbour to address this ongoing issue immediately for the youth of Coffs Harbour and the benefit of the community.

The second influencing factor is my 12 years in the New South Wales Police Force. I unashamedly say they were the most difficult, confronting and emotionally exhausting years of my life. They were also the best. Nothing could prepare me for the experiences faced by police on a daily basis. The same could said about all emergency services personnel around Australia. Death was far too familiar. In my three years in Kempsey, I saw countless fatalities on the Pacific Highway and country roads, and tragic accidents on farms and private property. When I see projects such as the Coffs Harbour bypass, I see more than the convenience of missing 14 sets of lights; I see a safer journey for the millions of Australians and tourists who will drive it each year. I commend this government for its continued commitment to funding this vital piece of infrastructure. I also saw: the willingness of one human to murder or inflict pain upon another for no reason at all; the proliferation of child sexual assault and exploitation material; domestic violence and its ugliness; and, probably saddest of all, mental health and suicide, particularly youth suicide. In this regard, I'm again sad to say that, in my electorate, youth suicide far exceeds the national average, if any average were ever acceptable.

Following my time in Kempsey, I was transferred, as a detective, to serve as an undercover operative in the Drug Enforcement Agency—a unit of only six operatives at any one time throughout the state of New South Wales. Sporting a new persona, long hair, three earrings and a look that morphed between grunge surfy and eastern suburbs sect, depending on the job, I spent two years away from my family infiltrating criminal organisations. In conjunction with states, territories and Federal Police, I gathered information, purchased large quantities of illicit drugs and prepared briefs of evidence to secure the arrests and successful prosecution of criminals and organisations. In hindsight, the significance of the work was lost on me as a 25-year-old, as too was the intensity and the danger. The tenure of two years was fixed for this very reason. Many failed to reach tenure. Many left, having spent two years living in or on the periphery of the criminal underworld, to re-enter mainstream policing with a confused caution towards police in what could only be described as a pseudo-Stockholm syndrome. I certainly fell into this category. However, through the support of good mates, I found my centre and continued in an investigative capacity at the same time as studying law. I later transferred to the prosecuting branch, where I remained for four years before resigning to pursue a career in law.

I am not raising my policing career for dramatic effect. I do so for two reasons. Firstly, we cannot wane on our war on drugs, nor can we accede to a minority to consider legalisation through legislation. Our communities are awash with the catastrophic effects of this poison: families torn apart and displaced; unemployment; violence; robberies; and break-and-enters. The enormous and obvious consequence on the health and mental health systems is palpable, not to mention the effect on those who work within those systems. Our rural and regional communities should not be afraid to leave their homes or, worse, be afraid to remain in them in the knowledge that users don't think twice to break in. We must continue not only to protect our borders but to embark on a strategic national approach of education and prevention for our youngest generation.

Secondly, I spoke of the difficulties of the job. I'm lucky that I came out relatively unscarred. This is not the case for so many emergency personnel. Year after year, I have seen my former colleagues fall by the wayside with post-traumatic stress disorder, simply to be forgotten or discarded—made to fight the system to receive the care they require, not to move on but simply to survive. Many do not. As much as 20 per cent of emergency workers are impacted by PTSD. Between 2001 and today, 68 serving police officers across the country have died by suicide. This does not take into account those who have left the force; nor does it take into account any other emergency service organisation, past or present. These are the people who serve and protect us. We as a government must do much more to serve and protect them. This cannot be passed off as a state issue. We must work collaboratively as a government to do all we can for those who put themselves in harm's way for us. But, as I have said, those days were the greatest days of my working life. Only working under such conditions can great camaraderie come. I have forged lifelong friendships through my time in the police, two of whom—my closest mates, Craig Murray and Dave Newham—are in the House today.

The last of my experiences that hold me in good stead to stand in this House is my 18 years in law, not for the fact that I've practised law and have appeared as an advocate most days in court, although I recognise that this has and will continue to serve me well, but more so because I ran a practice, a small business, for over 16 years. I know what it is to employ people, to pay wages, to pay tax, and I understand how hard small business can be. Small and medium businesses are the backbone of regional and rural Australia. Around 4.8 million people currently work for small business. Without small business, there would be no regional Australia. Whether it is in trade, agriculture, retail or professional services, these are the people that provide the jobs—businesses like Faircloth Reynolds in Coffs Harbour; Expressway Spares in Port Macquarie; or the iconic Kempsey cafe, Lou's Cafe. These are the people and businesses that I will ensure I support because I understand how difficult it can be and how vital they are for the survival of our towns. I understand the significance of the small business tax rate being its lowest since the 1940s. I understand that it can mean putting on another employee or expanding, or perhaps rewarding yourself for the hard work and countless hours.

There are many I need to thank—firstly, my wife, Ilona, who I met under an assumed name—she was one of the good guys!—with my mullet, earrings and goatee. She has been able to overlook my deficiencies in looks and character, and has been by my side by over two decades. Opposites do attract. My wife has the personality and warmth that at times I may lack, often being referred to as 'Captain Grumpy' by my friends and colleagues. You have provided me with loving, quiet counsel when needed, whilst at the same time raising our two sons, rarely without a smile and never with a bad word about someone else. I cannot thank you enough. So, in front of this whole chamber, I say this to you: you can now have that new kitchen! And I love you.

To my boys, Hugh and Hamish, you're never too old to give your dad a hug. Be humble, work hard and you will get ahead. And remember, there are always those who are less fortunate than you. I love you and I'm proud of you both. I thank my mum and my siblings—Paul, Teresa, Margaret, Louise and Matthew; yes, we were a Catholic family—as well as my brother-in-law, Tony, for your support not just during the campaign but over the years, and Grant Brady SC for your wise counsel over the past 18 years.

Finally, I would not be here but for the enormous efforts of the National Party members and volunteers, my campaign team, booth captains, corflute kings and all those who stood on prepoll and election days—all too many to name; however, all deserving of recognition in their own right. I have a list of their names, 611 in total, and I seek leave to table the same in gratitude for their efforts.

Leave granted.

I thank my predecessor, Luke Hartsuyker, for his 18 years of diligent service to this country, and I wish him well for his future. Similarly, I thank the former member of Coffs Harbour Andrew Fraser for his faith in me and his efforts during my campaign. Thank you to the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, for your numerous visits throughout the electorate of Cowper. Your support and advice only strengthened my resolve to be here today. In that regard, I also recognise the vast assistance of Damian Callachor from your office, who took many late night and early morning calls. Similarly, I thank the Nationals Deputy Leader, Bridget McKenzie. You are not only fitter than me but you are also a better shot. I also thank Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his visit to Cowper. It showed my constituents that he is a Prime Minister for all Australian people.

Thank you to the member for Port Macquarie, Leslie Williams, and her chief of staff, Terry Sara; my campaign manager, Joshua Hodges; Noel Atkins, FEC; state and deputy directors, Ross Cadell and Tom Aubert; and also the recently retired Bede Burke and John 'Wacka' Williams for imparting straightforward, no-nonsense advice. I thank my co-campaign manager, long-time friend and now chief of staff, Matt Field. A difficult campaign was made somewhat easier knowing that you had my back all the way. Starting kindergarten together has its advantages. And, lastly, I thank all constituents of Cowper who have put their faith in me to represent their best interests. I will endeavour to repay your trust to the best of my ability.

Mr Speaker, some seek to define us by our maiden speech. I want to be defined no more by this than I am by one arrest, one prosecution or one case. I hope that I will be defined, in time, by the totality of what I have achieved for the people of Cowper, and I thank you for your indulgence.

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the new member for Cowper on his first speech. I move:

That this debate be now adjourned.

Question agreed to.