Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have had the privilege of taking part in the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program, visiting Middle East operations, including in Iraq. It was a profound experience. Like many MPs with a Defence Force facility in their electorate—in my case, Glenbrook air headquarters and RAAF Base Richmond—I have got to appreciate the work that is done by serving personnel locally. I also gained deeper insight into the strategic role of my local facilities a couple of years ago after spending a week at sister base Amberley.

But the immersion into the Middle East operations earlier this month, at a time when the situation is developing apace, was incredibly valuable. There were many highlights. There is something quite surreal about flying in a KC-30 and watching planes refuelling just off your wing, in midair. The calmness with which the pilots and operator go through their processes, which involve a very small spout connecting with a very small hose in midair, is quite a sight to see. I want to especially mention Squadron Leader Chris for giving up his time to host us. The E-7 Squadron leader also gave us access to the Wedgetail, and we were duly impressed by its capabilities as a very powerful eye in the sky.

It was a personal delight for me to catch up with a young man from my electorate, Jordan, who is one of many from the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury who are working in the Middle East. In fact, wherever I turned, whether it was inspecting the firefighting facilities or walking to breakfast in the mess, connections with Richmond RAAF Base and Glenbrook were strong. My favourite sight one morning was seeing someone heading towards me in a T-shirt that said, 'New York, Paris, London, south Windsor'. I pulled him aside and said, 'You have to be from Hawkesbury,' which of course he was. A Richmond Hercules flew us to and from Iraq, its crew kindly giving us the chance to view the incoming approach and landing from the cockpit.

On the ground in Camp Taji in Iraq, we saw firsthand the efforts of Australian Defence Force personnel to help build capacity in the Iraqi military, to help stabilise that country. Since 2015, the Australian Army has maintained a training team at the base, designated Task Group Taji. The New Zealand Defence Force also contributes personnel and both were kind enough to include us in their activities. It is a veritable United Nations within Taji, with representatives from all over the world—and a big shout out to the Fijians. We visited the training school where the coalition is doing much less teaching and much more mentoring of Iraqi trainers these days, who are now delivering most of the program. The message we got from the Iraqis is that assistance from Australia has been greatly appreciated and the school remains ambitious to keep building on its facilities and expand the training experiences it offers students. I was also grateful to have conversations with Iraqi translators, who are working for the Australian and New Zealand forces, and they shared some of the challenges of their lives and their hopes, as Iraq rebuilds after many difficult years, and of course there is a very long way to go.

Throughout it all, the professionalism of our troops to maintain their readiness and continue training was evident everywhere we went. I want to thank the quick reaction force platoon commander, who included us in exercises with the Australian and New Zealand soldiers. The bruises may be fading but my memories of those activities won't. Thanks also to the training team unit major, who, like so many others I can't begin to name, shared his experiences as he showed us the base, including a virtual men's shed, where Australian blokes and women can potter in their downtime.

At Australia's Middle East base, where we were put through our paces to prepare for the trip to Iraq, the RSO training, I'm pleased that not only have they managed to teach me how to pack a wound and tie a tourniquet but it turns out I'm not as bad a shot as I thought I might be. All this occurred under the leadership of Headquarters Joint Task Force 633 commander Rear Admiral Hill and the Chief Warrant Officer Matt Hurley, who allowed us into the workings of this home away from home for so many Australian Defence Force personnel. Our visit liaison officer Sonia Leon Sepulveda and Flying Officer Olivia Quattroto made sure we knew where to eat, that we were where we needed to be when we needed to be there, and they went out of their way to help us get our heads around a very different routine and way of life. Major James McGarrigle and Major M, our military advisors and security escorts—the most awesome pair—helped us unravel not only what Australia's defence personnel are doing but also what some of the really big challenging issues are on the ground in the Middle East and what the implications are for Australia.

My overriding take away aside from those fading bruises is the huge personal sacrifices that individuals make when they deploy. It's not just the long hours focused on their job and the 24/7 work environment, even when they're off duty; it is the enormous amount of time they are spending away from family and friends. They're in a really stimulating work environment and I think one of the biggest challenges is for the family and friends who are back in Australia—the challenge that it all presents for maintaining relationships and really the huge thing we ask of people who stay back home. I also appreciated the sense of family that being in the Defence Force confers, especially when you are deployed away from home. They are a bunch who look out for each other. They have a strong sense of purpose and readily welcome people into their ranks, even politicians. I was very proud to be one of their number for a short while.

The ADF visit also highlights for me the debt we owe people when they leave the force. I think there is much we can do in this parliament to ensure that once people have completed their service they are treated in an appropriate way as they move into the civilian world.

The parliamentary program is a really important program for members of parliament to have access to. I thank the ADF for the effort they put into it to deepen our knowledge. I would certainly encourage all members to take part, whether they have a Defence Force facility in their community or not—perhaps more so if they don't, because this parliament makes decisions that impact on the lives of these personnel. In every budget, in every decision we make about foreign policy there are implications for our defence forces. So I really urge people to take the opportunity to go inside and understand just a little bit of what it's like, what some of the challenges are and what some of the opportunities are for people who serve. Once again, thank you to the ADF for the enormous effort you make to ensure that we have a safe and fascinating time as we get to know your world.

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's really good to be able to rise today to speak on the address-in-reply. It was very humbling to have been returned as the member for Petrie for the third time. I appreciate the people putting their faith in me at the 2019 election as their choice as the best candidate to represent the Moreton Bay and Brisbane regions within the Petrie electorate.

The region isn't just my home and the place in which my wife and I have decided to bring up our children; it's much more than that. It's the memories I have of growing up on the outskirts of the fast paced city of Brisbane. I grew up in Toolang Street and Talgai Street, Bracken Ridge. I have fond memories, including with my mate Ivan Astori, of playing street cricket together out the front of our house; racing go karts, as we called them, down Benaroon Street in Bracken Ridge—it was nicknamed 'the killer hill' because, as a child, it was so steep—and exploring the creek down near the Bracken Ridge Tavern, which now has a housing estate, Springer Hill. We used to run around there exploring the creek. I got a bad cut on my foot from running around there as a 12-year-old, and you can still see the scar. I learnt judo at the Bracken Ridge Scout Hall. I remember walking through McPherson Park with Ivan when I was seven, and we went past the scout hall. We started judo together, and I went on to do judo for 25 years. Judo taught me a lot of great things and I met a lot of great mates there growing up in Bracken Ridge and learning judo. I spent weekends by the water, cherishing special moments with my father when we'd go out fishing and crabbing in the bay off Clontarf and Scarborough in dad's tinny, and we'd go camping up Saltwater Creek and mud-crabbing before it became a green zone. There was an old horse farm up there on Mango Hill. Dad and I would go camping up there for the whole weekend. I'd come back covered in mosquito and sand fly bites. They are great memories of growing up in the electorate that I represent. Now I'm making new memories with my own children down on the water, enjoying water sports and so forth.

We have great community spirit in the Petrie electorate. It's in suburbs in the Brisbane city council area like Fitzgibbon, Bald Hills, Aspley and Bridgeman Downs and in the more northerly parts of my electorate, up in Deception Bay and Burpengary East; North Lakes, of course, a very fast growing suburb; Mango Hill and Griffin; and, of course, all of the Redcliffe peninsula. That's to name just a few suburbs in Petrie. It's a very diverse electorate. I enjoy getting out and meeting the people.

It's in part thanks to the community spirit that I'm standing here again following the 2019 election. I pride myself on being a hardworking member and representative of the people. I like to represent them here, to bring their feedback and what they're telling me to this place. In order for me to achieve that goal, I have to acknowledge the work of my very dedicated team and passionate army of volunteers who make up Team Petrie, Help Luke Howarth or Help Our Liberal-National Party Team. They're the ones who stood beside me whilst I was campaigning, at prepoll volunteering hours, doorknocking, helping out in the office, making calls—everything that's involved with campaigning.

There are a few people I will name. I want to acknowledge my parents, Ron and Denise Howarth. I spoke about them in my first speech in this place. I'm very fortunate; they're wonderful parents. They helped me and my younger sister, Gemeah, a lot. My dad pretty well put up every sign site I had in the Petrie electorate. I think it took him weeks to do it along with Barry Keam, a Bracken Ridge local—who is actually in the parliament today. It's a shame he couldn't be up here to hear this speech, but he is in my office at the moment, I think. I want to thank Dad for everything that he's done for me and for the great financial education that many people in my electorate don't get from their fathers. My father taught me a great work ethic. Dad went to school till he was 10; he left school after year 5 and then started work, as you did back then. He went from job to job; ran his own businesses and was a good father to me; he taught me a lot. My mum was brilliant as well. She helped me a lot and really cared for me. I want to thank them.

There are so many people to thank. Of course there are my wife, Louise, and my three sons, who are always keen to help. I don't take their help for granted. I always say to them: 'I'm going to do the best I can. I'll take one term at a time.' They always encourage me and get out and help me. They're a brilliant family. Thanks to my sons and wife.

I want to thank Troy and Cathy from North Lakes; and Kerri-Anne Dooley in Redcliffe, who did a great job for me as well; Alyanne and David; Josh Robsen; Alan Brady; Jake Scott; Scott Lammi; Geoff Godfrey; Bill; Ron Bright; Rhona Scott; Alex Croft; Daniel Edmonds; Louise Nelson; Tracy Davis; Rae Frawley; and Kay Thomas as well as Kara Thomas, who did a fantastic job helping me all the time.

Thank you to my FDC team: Chris, Jasmine, Robert and Rodney. As you would know, Mr Deputy Speaker McVeigh, you need a great FDC. Thank you to my coordinators for different areas: Rae and Jeff, Ryan and Louise, Troy and Kathy, and Brendon and Doug.

I also want to thank my electorate office team, for which I am very fortunate: Sue Quinn, widely known as one of the hardest-working staff in this House; Sherilee McDougall; Zuzanna Kamusinski; Susanne Cloake; and Lisa Attwood. All of these people did a great job for me, and I want to thank them very much. It's impossible to name everyone—there are so many people who helped me—but I just wanted to acknowledge a few people that I thought of.

I want to thank everyone who donated to my campaign—who want to help. And you know why they donate? For no other reason than that they appreciate the values that we bring as a member but also as a party: lower taxes, smaller government, reward for effort, looking after the environment, respecting the family—those sort of things.

What was clear is the number of people who simply didn't want a Shorten Labor government at this last election. They really didn't want a higher-taxing agenda. People came out to me from all over the place—people who had never voted for the coalition before—and they said, 'I've always voted Labor, Luke, but I'm voting for you this time.' It was quite unique. I want to thank those people for putting their trust in me and I will continue to do my best. I never take people's trust for granted; I always work hard and take every election one by one. Thank you again to those people.

What I really enjoy about being an MP is getting out and meeting people. I love the campaigning. You meet so many different people when you are out doorknocking, talking to people on the phone or meeting people at coffee shops or the many mobile offices that I do. The new member for Lilley dropped into one of my mobile offices at Bald Hills, and it was good to meet her for the first time there. In saying that, I try to work with fellow federal MPs, state MPs or councillors regardless of their party to deliver more for the people of my electorate, because that's why we are here: to work for the people. And so I'll continue to do that as well.

As much as I would love to be in every single suburb speaking to every single constituent every day of the week, that's not always possible, so, when the people of Petrie elected me for a third time, I've always made the commitment to myself that I'd put them first. As a newly appointed Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services, I'm taking that role really seriously and trying to work in a bipartisan way to help people right around the country, but I can assure the people of Petrie that I'll be spending plenty of time in the electorate and also putting their needs as No. 1.

We have a fantastic electorate. When I was first elected, I thought: what's important to the people of Petrie? New jobseekers, I thought, needed skills to help them land work, so I started the Job Seeker Boot Camp. As a former small business owner—I had a small team of about 15 or 20 people—I got to know what employers look for when hiring, so I was able to start the Job Seeker Boot Camp that I run at least three times a year. I invite all the unemployed along, and I get employers with more than five people to say, 'Look, this is what we actually look for when hiring.' There are common themes there. It's often about attitude and making sure that you've got a great attitude. It's making sure, as well, that you are drug and alcohol free, which is really important. It's making sure that you care about the work that you're doing.

This Job Seeker Boot Camp has been extremely successful because there are people there who have applied for literally hundreds of jobs and never got a response from businesses, so it encourages them and gives them a bit of an understanding of what employers want. Did you know that most jobs are found in Australia through networking and word of mouth? I can bet that any MP in this place, if they're looking for an electoral officer, will often say to their team, 'Do you know anyone who would be good for this role?' It's the same in the workplace in the private sector. They go to other team members and say, 'Do you know anyone for this role?' So I speak to the jobseekers at the Job Seeker Boot Camp about networking and perhaps getting out and meeting new people.

Infrastructure and facilities are so incredibly important, not just for a healthy lifestyle, like sporting facilities, but so people can be productive when they're moving around the electorate. Encouraging children, when I am out as a federal MP, is important when I'm in schools, or even at kindergartens or high schools or unis, and encouraging youth who will leaving school that they can be their best. It's also important to encourage adults, despite their circumstances about where they are in life now, to move to the next point and not be dependent on government, not be dependent on government crumbs whether it's Newstart or whatever it is for the rest of their life, and to get out of the financial situation that they're in now. I think we need to do a better job with financial education. In many cases, if you're in the private sector, often the private sector will do checks and things, but in social housing state governments often put you in there for life. There are no checks. There are no inspections. There is no encouragement. They are just left there to fend for themselves.

Speaking as a federal MP about the Constitution and about civic education is important. The engagement of people is so important, getting people to engage with the work that we're trying to do as a government, or the work that councillors or state MPs are trying to do, so they understand how to participate and how to get more done locally.

I love meeting volunteers, whether it's volunteers who help in the environment or at arts or music festivals. In former parliaments here, I was the House chair of the Standing Committee on Communications and Arts. We did some great inquiries into the film and TV industry as well as the music industry. Events like Rocking 4 The Homeless in my electorate where people want to help people who are homeless, organisations like Lions who run the Recycle for Sight in my electorate and help internationally, and Rotary who are very involved with international exchange students, come to mind. It's the women's Zonta groups who, in particular, have run great campaigns about violence and that domestic violence is never acceptable. My father, Ron, always taught me, and I've taught my three sons: you don't hit women. It's that simple. You treat people well. It's a biblical principle as well, the old golden rule: treat other people as you want to be treated. I want to thank Zonta for the work that they do in their campaigns.

It's the Quota women, as well, who have been reading in schools. So many children don't have parents who read to them every night. Kids love it when the Quota women come in and just read a book to them—or their federal member comes in and reads to them!

There are plenty of Men's Sheds, whether at Bridgeman Downs, Clontarf, Redcliffe or Burpengary East, that do a great job. It's where men can connect with each other, just be mates and teach and mentor one another. There are churches. I have to say that churches do a great job in our community. They've had a bad reputation, some of them, in the past with royal commissions and so forth, but I look at the Catholic parish in Bracken Ridge and the work they do with refugees, and the Aspley parish and the work that Aspley Care does in helping people in financial need. Baptist churches do homeless and community support and youth work, and they help people grow in their spiritual faith and become better citizens. The Uniting Church at Redcliffe and the Citipointe Church at Clontarf—what amazing leadership they have! I've been there recently and I just see the joy that people have in going there. I want to thank that leadership for the work they do. Downpour Church is at North Lakes, and I met with the pastor out there. He's a good bloke—down-to-earth. They're helping youth in North Lakes. There is the Anglican Church in Redcliffe and also the Church of Christ in Zillmere. That is just out of my electorate, but I went down there. They do some good work as well. I want to thank them all for the work that they do.

There are other faiths, like the Bald Hills mosque in my electorate. I went there after the Christchurch attack. I met people on the way out and just shook hands with them and said g'day. I've been there a few times now, and they're good people. They're raising their families and running small businesses. Some are health professionals; one of the doctors who attends that mosque lives in Mango Hill along with his wife and daughters. He's a fantastic man. They became citizens the other night—all five of them, the whole family. I had the pleasure of being at their citizenship ceremony.

The Sikh faith community meets at Taigum, on the border with Bracken Ridge. I've been to their centre. There are plenty of ethnic groups in the electorate. We're all Australians, as we know, and these people have embraced Australian values; I've seen it at the citizenship ceremonies. Pilipinos and Indians have a big presence in my electorate, and there are also the Brisbane Chinese Association and the Brisbane Malayalee Association. And there are so many South Africans in North Lakes—great people!

I love the Pacific Islanders. When I was 21 I had the chance to spend three weeks in Samoa. When I went there, it was a real culture shock: everyone just slept in the same room, we were killing pigs and there were chickens on the bus. It was fantastic—really good. But now I've developed a taste for taro, and so I love to go to the Deception Bay Island Tastee shop and just have an island feed.

Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, in particular, have a large number of people in Deception Bay. I want to thank them for the work that they do and the contribution that they make to Australia. And I want to thank my good friend Ramone Close. I've got to know him and he's a great man; I met him through Peninsula Power. He and his partner, Jemar, are expecting their first child.

It's a real privilege to be the federal member; I never take it for granted. It was humbling to be re-elected for a third time. I could probably speak for a couple of hours about the material I've got here, but I don't have time and only have a couple of minutes to go. So I will wrap up by saying that my commitment to the electorate is that I will continue to work hard and do my best.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Proceedings suspended from 11 : 43 to 11 : 54

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate all of those who have taken up chairing roles in this new parliament. I offer my congratulations to the Speaker, the deputy speakers and the Speaker's panel. At the recent election, I was very privileged to be re-elected as the member for Kingston for my fifth term in this parliament. During the campaign, we had a significant opportunity to have conversations with local constituents about issues that affect them. Not only was this at election time; I've prided myself on being the member for Kingston that people see all year round, every year, not just at election time. I am very pleased to say the results in the seat of Kingston reinforce my work as a local member, but importantly the issues I am passionate about also resonate with my local constituents.

It would be dishonest of me to say that I wasn't disappointed by the election result. Labor had a broad agenda, touching on many, many important issues to my electorate. Without the election of a Labor government, there are many policies that will not be able to be implemented that would have supported my electorate, whether that be funding for schools, making sure that every school no matter what the postcode gets the resources it needs to ensure that every child gets the best opportunities to succeed. Local hospitals, particularly public hospitals, will not get the funding they so desperately need. In South Australia, we've seen what that lack of funding is doing and we are seeing the most extraordinary ramping scenarios, where ambulances have patients in the back just sitting at emergency departments because there is no space for them. In the area of early education, it is incredibly disappointing that we will not see a scenario under this government of two years of funded preschool, a really important policy that Labor took to the election.

The election result was disappointing, but the now Labor opposition must think carefully about what our policies are. All of our policies are up for review, but there were some important principles and values that were fought at the election that resonated very clearly in my electorate. These involved funding for schools and hospitals, and an agenda to bring down energy prices and to address the cost of living. Before the election, Kingston had a redistribution, so over the last year and a half it was wonderful to get to know better the residents of Flagstaff Hill, Aberfoyle Park, Chandlers Hill and Darlington. Along with the existing suburbs of the seat of Kingston, it was a great pleasure to talk about the issues that affected them.

Speaking with these families, whether in the new suburbs or the existing suburbs of Kingston, I pledged that I will continue to do what I have always done in this place—work hard for them, make sure they have a voice in Canberra, make sure that their issues are put on the table not only with the federal government but also with all levels of government. I will work hard to ensure the government doesn't forget to deliver, deliver on decent government services for them, whether that be health, education or importantly essential services that we rely on, often delivered by Centrelink—whether that is family payments, the pension or the NDIS. We need a government that delivers support for those that need it when they need it, not delayed 12 months. I'll continue to fight for them in this place to make sure that they get the services that they deserve and need.

Also in this place, I will make sure I am fighting for the infrastructure and investment needed in our community. Unfortunately, this government has not invested infrastructure money in the seat of Kingston, despite me highlighting many, many projects that could benefit from that investment. So I'll continue to lobby for investment in infrastructure in our electorate.

Of course, my priority has always been fighting for jobs and decent wages for my community and right around the country. We need to have a government that is firmly focused on jobs. Unfortunately I don't believe this government are. They are saying there is no issue when it comes to underemployment, casualisation and instability of work hours. Well, if you listen to my electorate and many, many workers in my electorate, this is an issue and it does need to be addressed. So I will continue to fight for all of these issues and continue to listen and consult with my electorate. And I will raise new issues in this place as they emerge, raise them with the government and continually make sure that your voice is heard.

Despite the coalition being re-elected at this election, I think their attitude towards the southern suburbs of Adelaide was on display when many, many polling booths in my electorate did not have a Liberal representative on them. This is a seat, the seat of Kingston, that had been held by Liberal members in the past and was considered a marginal seat, yet at this election the Liberal Party did not show up in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. I want to put on record the fact that I was disappointed about the disdain that the Liberal Party showed for the seat of Kingston and the southern suburbs of Adelaide.

I'd also like to point out that during the election period the Liberals committed zero dollars in local election commitments to the southern suburbs of Adelaide. Compare that to Labor, who funded many projects. I fought for these commitments for the electorate after extensive consultation. These projects included the expansion of services at the Noarlunga Hospital, our local hospital, which deserves investment. They included the completion of the coastal trail at Witton Bluff and Hallett Cove. This would connect the southern coastline with a walking and cycling trail, a project that would attract significant tourism and jobs. They included construction of female changing facilities at the Happy Valley Football Club. This is a local club that does great things at supporting women in sport, and currently there are five women's and girls' teams who don't have the facilities to support their growth.

The projects included the construction of a nature place space at the Seaford Rise disability unit. This would provide physical, cognitive, social and emotional benefits for students with an intellectual disability. And of course Labor committed to a sensory learning area at the Hackham West R-7 School. Finally, we committed additional education equipment for the Lonsdale Heights Playgroup, a volunteer-run playgroup that is attended by some vulnerable children and families that rely on second-hand toys at the moment. So the investment there would have gone a long way.

In total, Labor made $8 million worth of local commitments in addition, of course, to the national commitments that would have benefited my community. But from the Liberals, not one single cent. I urge the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party in the next budget—in fact, they could do it before; they could do in it MYEFO—to match these commitments. I've undertaken significant consultation with the community. The Liberal Party shouldn't just govern for those that voted for them. They should think about those that didn't vote for them as well, because that's what a responsible government that actually governs for the many not the few does, and match these $8 million worth of commitments. I will be watching in the MYEFO, in the budget, to see if this will happen. But of course we have a government that is more interested in playing politics than governing, so I'm not holding my breath. I will continue to fight, to lobby and to encourage the government in a forceful way to invest in my community in Kingston.

As I said, our campaign in the seat of Kingston was very much a grassroots campaign. We had over 300 people help my campaign in some way. As I said, the Liberal Party couldn't even find people to come and stand at polling booths. There are many, many people in our community who I would like to thank. I would like to thank particularly my campaign team, who worked so very hard over a long period. In particular I mention Emmanuel Cusack, the campaign manager; Jennifer Allison, the deputy campaign manager; Jason Byrne; Gemma Paech; Nathan Fiedler; Charlie Wenk; Arabella Wauchope; and the Douglas-Byrne family—Kylie, Alistair, Laura, Lachie and Cameron. They say that if you stick together as a family you go a long way. I tell you what, this family went above and beyond helping us in our campaign, and I'd like to sincerely thank them.

We had many, many volunteers, as I said. Over 300 people helped out during my campaign in some way. I can't name everyone, but I'd like to thank Alex Dalton, Alison Taylor, Angela Zefi, Bob Ansell, Camilla Howard-Luck, Christina Barrington-Kerr, Grace Nankivell, Jim Phillips, John Gauci, Jonette Thorsteinsen, Katherine Baldock, Lucy Fordham, Mark McEwen, Matt Priest, Naomi Piper, Phil and Jo Giles, Sam Chapman, Shirley Smith and Vic Phillis. They were some of the people who put an enormous amount of time and energy into coming up to help us. Without them the campaign would not have got to so many doors, talked to so many people and had such a grassroots effect.

As you know, Madam Deputy Speaker Bird, I have been so lucky over my almost 12 years in parliament to have some of the best staff ever supporting me in the job I do. Election night, I have to say, was an emotional night, because we did receive strong support in the seat of Kingston but didn't get there in forming government. But what I said on election night still stands today. My staff—my former staff and my current staff—turn up to work every day not just to support the Labor Party and not just to support me in the job I do but because they care deeply about our community. Every day in our electorate office they help people who need help the most. They often help people at a time when they're frustrated and have given up on government. They often help people in very dire situations where those individuals, community members, don't have anywhere else to turn. So I would like to sincerely thank the staff, who not only worked on my election campaign but come in every day to help those in our community who need that support. I'd like to thank Ethne Lange, Jemma Slevec, Michael Picton, Michelle Wilby and Sarah Huy, who worked in my electorate office and in my office in Adelaide. I also recognise the immense support I got from Kate Hanns and Owen Torpy, who have supported me in my shadow ministerial role.

My staff, who put in an enormous amount of effort and care, are themselves supported by their partners. I'd like to give a collective shout-out to their partners, who often get roped in against their will to help out on my campaign, because the staff are so dedicated encourage them to do just that.

I also recognise I've had new staff come on board since the election, and their commitment to and care for our community have impressed me amazingly. I think the previous speaker said that a role in the electorate office is a pretty unique one, and I'd like to recognise all those who work in electorate offices and the work they do. There isn't a really clear job description for electorate office staff. They have to be across everything and be jacks-of-all-trades, and I'd like to recognise that.

The Labor Party is a collective movement and a collective party, so there are many people I would like to thank and recognise. I do want to give a shout-out to Reggie Martin, the South Australian state secretary, and the team at party office. They did an amazing job during the election and continually gave me a lot of support. I would also like to recognise Noah Carroll, the national secretary of the ALP, and the whole team at the national secretariat, who worked really hard on this campaign. I'd like to thank them. I'd like to thank some of my union colleagues. The Labor Party has never shied way from being a party that sticks up for working people, and the union movement is absolutely part of that. I would like to thank in particular Josh Peak and Sonia Romeo at the South Australian branch of the SDA; John Camillo and the whole team at the AMWU South Australian branch; Nick Townsend and his team at the CWU; Ian Smith at the TWU; along with the whole South Australian and national union movement. They've particularly supported me and helped me in my campaign.

I'd like to also recognise and congratulate my South Australian colleagues on their re-election: Alex Gallacher in the Senate, Mark Butler, Nick Champion, Steve Georganas and Tony Zappia; and also acknowledge Marielle Smith, a newly elected senator for South Australia, who joins the team in the Senate with Alex Gallacher, Penny Wong and Don Farrell. I'd also like to acknowledge the enormous work of the Labor caucus at the last election and in particular recognise our former Leader of the Opposition, the member for Maribyrnong, Bill Shorten, and his office for the support that they gave me during the election. And I recognise the work that our former Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Tanya Plibersek, the member for Sydney, did as well. I'd also like to congratulate the member for Grayndler on his election as the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Corio on his election as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. They make a formidable team along with our frontbench and our backbench. I know that Labor will be a strong opposition, and we will be working every day towards Labor being in government in 2022. For people in my electorate and right across the country, I truly believe that their interests are best served by a Labor government. I look forward to being part of the team that will hold this government to account, highlight their failings for working people around this country and make sure that we have a strong policy offering for the election in 2022.

Finally I'd like to thank my family: my husband, Tim, my son Percy—they got dragged along to many things as well—and, of course, my new son, Oscar. During the election period I was travelling around heavily pregnant with Oscar, so he got dragged everywhere but did a good job of not complaining too much when I hadn't eaten or drunk enough water because I was quite busy on the campaign trail. So, while he might not have consciously been aware, he was very tolerant at the time. I thank my family, my mum and dad and my parents-in-law, Les and Judy Rishworth and Wendy and David Walker, for providing a huge amount of support for me and Tim so that I can do this job. I do this job because I believe so much in making a difference. I believe that my community deserves the best from government.

In closing, I would like to thank the people of Kingston for electing me for a fifth term in parliament. I feel honoured and humbled by the trust that you continue to place in me, and I can honestly say that every waking moment, when I'm not thinking about feeding my infant son, is thinking about you and thinking about how I can make our community and our country a better place. My last message to you is that I will not let you down in my fifth term. I will continue to fight for you and continue to give you a voice. I'm so privileged and proud that you have put me back in this place.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Assistant Minister for Children and Families) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Almost six years ago, in December 2013, I had the immense honour of standing up to deliver my maiden speech to federal parliament as the newly elected member for Capricornia. It was a profound moment in my life and also signified a major change for the communities in my electorate. Our region was for many years a Labor Party stronghold, with no conservative representative holding the seat for more than a single term since the late 1950s. It is an amazing privilege to be able to return to the parliament and rise in the new 46th Parliament of Australia, having once again been elected, for a third term, as the region's federal representative.

As I reflect on the recent election campaign, and the hard work and determination by all those committed volunteers, friends, family and staff who supported me, I am eternally grateful. I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to my family, Jessica, Tim and Kirstin; my parents, Bill and Gloria Martin; our incredible LNP supporters and volunteers; and all our dedicated booth workers, including my campaign manager, Matthew Solley; treasurer, John Rodgers; and secretary, Julie Murphy. Of course, I also thank my dedicated staff: Douglas Rodgers, Louise Busby, Rebeckah Auld, Alana Cook, Christina McNeill, Jack McDougall, Dana Andersen, Kylie Jackson, Nicole Neale, Christopher Lawson, Victoria Mencshelyi, Anna Howard, Doug Wyllie and Lucy Busby. My wonderful staff work tirelessly year after year. Their commitment to our constituents is very caring and very professional. I also give a huge thankyou to all of those who financially contributed to my campaign and helped out in any way that they could.

I thank my federal parliamentary colleagues and federal cabinet ministers—Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, Member for Maranoa David Littleproud, Member for Dawson George Christensen and Senator Bridget McKenzie—for their unwavering support, and I give a special thankyou to Senator Matthew Canavan and his team for their unwavering friendship and support. I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to the 'quiet Australians' who voted for me: the small-business owners, the mums and dads, the coalminers, the retirees—people who were genuinely worried about a future under Labor.

It was such an honour to serve as the Assistant Minister for Children and Families in the 45th Parliament of Australia, so I'm thrilled to be continuing in that role during this term of government.

Since becoming Capricornia's federal MP, I have worked tirelessly to secure major investment in real job-creating infrastructure. We have committed federal funding for the Rockhampton Ring Road, Walkerston Bypass, Mackay Ring Road, numerous community projects and, of course, Rookwood Weir, a project that took years of campaigning to make it a reality. Water is a priority in Central Queensland. Projects like Rookwood Weir, near Rockhampton, must go ahead to create long-term jobs. It is estimated that Rookwood Weir will deliver between 200 and 400 jobs through the two years of construction, while delivering an agricultural boom worth $1 billion per annum and over 2,000 permanent jobs once construction is completed.

I have been buoyed by the willingness of this coalition government to front up with the money that projects like this will require. Through the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund, millions have been committed to ensuring our dry continent can continue to be not only habitable but productive. While the Rookwood Weir project was one of the first to receive capital funding from the fund, dozens of other projects around the country received funding for the completion of feasibility studies. Many of these projects—like the Urannah Dam, set high in the hills west of Mackay, in the upper reaches of the Burdekin catchment—have since completed their feasibility studies and are now attracting capital investment.

I was proud during the recent election to join the Deputy Prime Minister and my colleague the member for Dawson in announcing $10 million for the final business case and crucial early works. With the election out of the way, I am confident we will soon see action on this major industry-enabling infrastructure, as long as the state Labor government can understand the message sent on 18 May and stop dragging their feet on these water projects. Rookwood Weir and Urannah Dam are must-do projects for Central Queensland, and I believe the state government must do everything it can to see them underway as soon as possible. A considerable amount of time and effort was put into developing the case for projects like these, both locally and in Canberra, and I have to thank our local media, especially the editor of The Morning Bulletin, Frazer Pearce, for getting behind us in our bid to make Rookwood Weir a reality. Each of us in this place owes some debt to our local media, and their devotion to what our local communities need is one of the things that keeps each of us accountable to the people we represent.

At times, what our region has needed most has not been projects of concrete and steel but essential services to ensure regional families are fairly treated within our court system. I strongly lobbied the previous Attorney-General George Brandis to have a Federal Circuit Court judge permanently located at what is the hub of the Central Queensland region, Rockhampton. This new court circuit services our whole region by providing a physical presence on a rotational basis in Rockhampton, Emerald, Mackay and Gladstone, making the Federal Court far more accessible for those who need it.

Another service that is needed more every year is improved rehabilitation services for those struggling with addiction. Substance addiction is a terrible scourge, and many in this place will have seen what a devastating impact it can have on families and whole communities. Central Queensland, like anywhere, has its struggle with substances, both legal and contraband. I am committed to delivering services that make a real difference for our community, which is why I was so proud to deliver a two-year program to be based in Rockhampton. This two-year scheme, delivered by Healthy Options Australia, is a non-residential 12-week program focused on breaking the insidious cycle of drug addiction. Rehabilitation services are crucial to ensuring that people battling substance abuse have the support that they need to get their lives back on track, and I am proud to be part of a government which is taking real action on this issue.

It is through my delivery—real delivery—every day that we have to 'reawaken' the Capricornia region. I have secured funding for transformative local infrastructure that is either completed, underway or in the pipeline. Funding for projects in the western regions includes $5 million going to Signature Onfarm beef for a processing facility and creating more jobs, with $25 million in additional NAIF funding; $325,000 to the Collinsville QCWA for a new community hall; $230,000 to the Clermont kindergarten for a physical and environmental upgrade; and $105,000 to Queensland healthcare services to increase services in Clermont. On the Capricorn Coast, there is $10 million for the Livingstone Shire Council for the Yeppoon foreshore precinct and CBD revitalisation; $20 million for Keppel Bay Sailing Club for a 1,000 seat convention centre; $64 million for upgrades on the Rocky-Yeppoon Road; and $165 million towards the Shoalwater Bay military training facility. In Rockhampton, there is $25 million for the Rockhampton levee bank; $5 million for the Rockhampton Airport upgrade; $7 million for the Rockhampton Hospital car park; and $10 million for the Rockhampton Art Gallery. To the north, in Sarina and South Mackay, there is almost $10 million to Central Queensland University for a world-class sporting precinct in Ooralea; $250,000 to Linked Group Services for an off-grid showcase; and funding for a satellite headspace in Sarina. In Walkerston and the Pioneer Valley, there is $80 million for the Walkerston bypass; $653,708 for West Tigers leagues club for an undercover bowls green; $300,000 for Palmyra Dragway for track upgrades and repairs after Cyclone Debbie; and $50,000 for the Finch Hatton emergency airstrip.

As mentioned earlier, in August last year, I was appointed as the Assistant Minister for Children and Families, and I am so pleased that I am remaining in this portfolio. This government is firmly committed to ensuring that every Australian family and every Australian child are given the support that they need to be safe and to prosper. Of course, some major challenges exist in this portfolio, but I am excited to be given an opportunity to enhance and build on the significant achievements that this government has delivered in this space. In January this year, I launched the Fourth Action Plan of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children. The national framework provides a long-term national approach to improving the way that we, as a nation, care for Australia's children and keep them safe. The Fourth Action Plan has a strong focus on improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are at risk of entering, or are in contact with, child protection services. With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children currently 10 times more likely to be in out-of-home care compared with non-Indigenous children, this focus is very important.

Also outlined in the fourth action plan is improved data development and better information sharing between the Commonwealth, the states and territories. This includes measuring permanency outcomes for children in out-of-home care and new national indicators to monitor compliance with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle. Funding has been committed for the start-up costs for a national child protection information system, and seven of 10 sites have been announced for the $35 million Stronger Places, Stronger People initiative. This program takes an innovative and place based approach with communities, one that harnesses local knowledge and which has the aim of smashing the cycle of childhood poverty.

Stronger Places, Stronger People is something that I'm particularly excited about, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this innovation can deliver. Currently, there are more than 45,800 Australian children in out-of-home care. This is simply not good enough. Every Australian child deserves a loving, permanent and stable home, and in my role I'll do everything I can to make a positive difference in this space.

This is a government that is taking action against the horror of domestic and family violence. In April we announced a $328 million package to reduce violence against women and children, and to keep them safe. This is the fourth action plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, and this $328 million figure is the largest-ever Commonwealth investment on this issue. To stop violence against women we need to counter the culture of disrespect towards women, and that's why, as part of this package, we're investing so heavily in prevention, with more than $68 million to stop violence before it even begins. Clearly, this issue remains a huge challenge but it's great to see that eliminating violence against women and children is one of this government's top priorities.

Deputy Speaker Bird, you may recall I mentioned earlier that Capricornia has traditionally been a Labor-held electorate. That appears to have changed. From being held on a 12.5 per cent margin by the ALP at the 2007 election, the seat is now held on an 11.5 per cent margin, this time by the LNP. The same has been replicated across a number of other regional Queensland electorates. Those who call this region home surveyed their options and came to the conclusion that Labor simply didn't represent them anymore.

I will always stand up for our region and for the jobs that our families rely on. I always have and always will stand up for our mining sector, and I won't apologise to the vegan-soy-latte-sipping activists who reside in capital cities and who are disconnected from the people in regional Queensland and the challenges they face. Our capital cities simply won't exist without the tremendous wealth and resources that regions like Central Queensland create, and the time has come for our region to stand up to the self-absorbed patronising that we see from the south.

Speaking of patronising from the south, it would be very remiss of me not to add a huge and well-deserved thank you to the sterling contribution of former Tasmanian senator Bob Brown, whose efforts in lecturing throughout the coalfields of the Bowen and Galilee basins did not go unnoticed. Much more than that, the former senator's arrogance helped galvanise our region. Central Queenslanders were already growing tired of the hopelessly inept Labor state government's approach towards our primary industries, deliberately slowing down approvals for mining projects—including for Adani's Carmichael mine—and the development-blocking vegetation management legislation. This had many in Central Queensland feeling uncertain about their futures.

Enter Bob Brown and his merry contingent of misinformed climate crusaders. What we saw was a great surge of support on the ground from the industries that feed us, clothe us, power our homes and pay our bills. Scenes in Clermont, ground zero for the Galilee Basin argument, were more like an inner-city day of action than a weekend in a true-blue country town. I believe that there would have been more Central Queenslanders who, in their own minds, may not necessarily fully support expanding coal mining into the Galilee Basin; however, they stood up and said no to the policy puritans from the south. This event sparked a surge against political correctness and against the demeaning virtue signalling of so many who live their comfortable lives which are so removed from our primary industries.

Central Queenslanders know which side their bread is buttered on, and they know what it is that makes our nation one of the wealthiest on the planet. It is our natural resources and agriculture sector, and everyday, hardworking people who put their shoulders to the wheel to produce them. This election result belongs to them because they are the ones brave enough and tough enough to do what it takes to build this nation to fulfil its potential. The forgotten people, the battlers, the quiet Australians: I salute you and I will continue to work hard every day for you.

Capricornia has a great future, and I am proud to be part of a government which continues to deliver for our region. Thank you, Capricornia.

Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to sincerely thank the wonderful people of Kingsford Smith for bestowing upon me the great honour and privilege of continuing to represent our wonderful community here in the Commonwealth parliament for the next three years.

When people talk about the community of Kingsford Smith they often mention the natural beauty of our area: the magnificent coastline from Clovelly all the way down to La Perouse and the historic Botany Bay, or Kamay, as it's known in the Bidjigal language, to the south of the electorate. There are the majestic Malabar Headland and the beautiful walking track around that wonderful natural beauty and our sensational parks, like Sir Joseph Banks Park in Botany or Fred Hollows Reserve in Randwick, that provide much-needed green space for the residents of our community.

While all of these natural wonders are certainly a great feature of our area, I often say to people that the best thing about the community of Kingsford Smith is the people, that we look after each other and we care for each other. That was again on display last weekend as our community came together, unfortunately, to recognise those from our community who lost their lives in the Bali bombings 17 years ago. The community of Kingsford Smith was hurt probably more than any other, with 20 people from our community passing away in that terrible tragedy. I attended two services on the weekend where the community came together to let the families and friends of those who perished in that unfortunate tragedy know that they will never be forgotten and that we are here for each other and we care for each other. It's a great symbol of the community that exists in Kingsford Smith, which I am so proud to represent.

Kingsford Smith is a multicultural community. Our population is enriched by migrants from all over the world who have come to our area to make it their home. They make a wonderful contribution to our area. We are very, very proud of our Indigenous heritage, with the Bidjigal people at La Perouse, who've inhabited the shore and waters around Kamay and the coastline of our area for tens of thousands of years. I thank the Aboriginal community for the great contribution that they make to nurturing our natural environment and to the culture and the people of Kingsford Smith. That's reflected in wonderful Indigenous events in our community, events like the Blak markets that occur regularly at Bare Island; IndigiGrow, a program at La Perouse Public School which teaches young people about the benefits of bush tucker and Indigenous horticulture; the Koojay Corroboree that happens every year at Coogee Beach; and, of course, the wonderful work of the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council. I'm very proud to represent that Indigenous heritage here in the Commonwealth parliament.

Our people are passionate about protecting our natural environment and particularly about ocean conservation. We live on the water, and so much of our recreation is enjoyed around our magnificent beaches and coastline. There is historic Botany Bay and the enormous natural heritage and conservation value of Botany Bay and the wonderful green spaces that we have in our area at places like the environment park at Randwick. This of course is reflected in events like the Eco Living Expo, which is put on by Randwick council every year and gets bigger and bigger. Members of our community come together to learn to how to care for our natural environment and how to change their lifestyle to ensure not only that we reduce our carbon footprint but also that we live more sustainably in our local community.

The community of Kingsford Smith believe in the science of climate change and are frustrated by the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government's approach to climate change and their lack of strong action on climate change. It was something that came up regularly during the election campaign. I met with local representatives of climate action groups in my electorate office on several occasions to let them know about Labor's commitment to taking stronger action on climate change, that we believe in the science. Labor understand that if this generation of decision-makers don't take strong action on climate change then it will be our kids who will suffer in the future and will have the pay for the cost of our inaction. There was a lot of support for Labor's stronger approach to climate change at the last election—our programs to boost renewable energy, reduce carbon emissions and, importantly, restore the marine reserves that were cut by the Turnbull government. On behalf of the people of Kingsford Smith, I will be an advocate for stronger action on climate change in this Commonwealth parliament and in our wider community.

Cost-of-living increases have been a huge burden for many living in the community of Kingsford Smith. We all know that Australia has one of the highest levels of household debt of any nation in the OECD. Living expenses in Kingsford Smith tend to be higher than in other areas because of the high cost of housing. Kingsford Smith's proximity to the city, to the magnificent coastline but also to important economic infrastructure like the airport and the port mean that it is a popular area to live. The population has been growing, but the cost of housing has been increasing rapidly. This is putting a lot of pressure on families, on small businesses and on pensioners in our community who are struggling to make ends meet.

When you add the costs of child care, insurance, education and transport, it makes for a dim picture for many living in our community. This is a community like the rest of Australia that has been weighed down by sluggish wage growth. Their incomes haven't been keeping pace with the cost of living and they are feeling the pressure. Our community is buoyed by a strong services sector, particularly in the restaurant, catering and hospitality sector, which employs so many people. But the people working in that sector have been weighed down again by cuts to their minimum penalty rates. This government stood by and did nothing, whilst the people of Kingsford Smith working in the services sector had their incomes cut. In fact, this government actively opposed Labor's attempts in this parliament to restore the cuts to penalty rates that were undertaken by the Fair Work Commission some years ago. The Liberal Party supported cuts to penalty rates, whereas my Labor colleagues and I have been trying to overturn those disastrous cuts to the incomes of people in our community that have made life harder and reduced their living standards.

Like any other Australian community, the people of Kingsford Smith believe in access to health care and they support and are strong believers in the viability of Medicare. In years gone by, Labor received a lot of support when the Liberal Party proposed to make cuts to Medicare through co-payments and the like. The Prince of Wales Hospital, the principal hospital in my community, has suffered from cuts over the course of this Liberal government. We are now undertaking another battle because the New South Wales Liberal government is proposing to close the paediatric cardiac service at the Sydney Children's Hospital. It is a vital service for people in our community and wider Sydney. The New South Wales Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian, at the last New South Wales election back in March, promised in writing to our community that there would be no cuts to the paediatric cardiac service at the Sydney Children's Hospital.

Since the election, after they lost the seat of Coogee to the Labor Party, what we have seen is the New South Wales Liberal government actually proceed with this cut to the paediatric cardiac service at the Sydney Children's Hospital. I've had several meetings and I've attended rallies with surgeons, with nurses, with other allied health staff and, importantly, with the parents of children whose lives have been saved at the Sydney Children's Hospital by the very service that this Liberal government proposes to cut. It is a disgrace. I and many members of my community are fighting this cut to health services in our area. We have a growing population in Kingsford Smith. We need better health services, not cuts to health services, which is exactly what we're getting from the combination of a Liberal federal and state government.

Education is vitally important to the future of our children. I visit a lot of schools in my community, and when I was a senator I visited them across New South Wales. Something that really alarms me is the disparity in resources that you see when you visit different schools. When you visit some public schools you see that those schools are struggling in terms of resources. Then you go to some of the private schools throughout New South Wales and the wider country and you see they have some of the most magnificent playing fields, swimming pools, artistic performance centres and the like. It is not fair that some schools do not have the same resources or access to those resources as others.

Labor's policy at the last election proposed to ensure that there was a fairer allocation of funding for schools in this country based, importantly, on the needs of the student. Labor's proposal was for additional funding for all schools, but importantly for those schools that needed it the most. We were proposing millions of dollars of additional funding for Kingsford Smith schools to ensure that we could employ more teachers and to ensure that students had access to better resources and more support, particularly if those students had a disability, were Indigenous or were falling behind in their literacy and numeracy and needed support to get their level back up.

Also, we all know that TAFE has been decimated by the combination of a Liberal federal and state government. We've seen that in cuts to programs at the Randwick TAFE. You, yourself, Acting Deputy Speaker Bird, have come to our community and visited Randwick TAFE in the past and have seen what a devastating impact the cuts have had on our community. Of course, Labor, at the last election, was proposing to support TAFE and ensure that it provided access to people at affordable prices to get a vocational education, because we know that the cuts to TAFE funding undertaken by this Liberal government have ensured that state governments have put the cost of TAFE up and that some of the course fees have increased by factors of 100 per cent and over. That just means that there are 150,000 fewer apprentices in Australia since this government was elected, and that says everything about this government's commitment to vocational training.

The combination of a Liberal state and federal government has been a disaster for our community in a number of areas. I've mentioned the cuts to health that have already been undertaken at the Sydney Children's Hospital and the Prince of Wales Hospital. We've also had to deal with this light rail debacle, which has gone on in our community for a number of years now. It's a program that is now a billion dollars over budget and years late and from the first day of operation will be at capacity, it will be full, with no room for growth at all, not to mention the effects that it has had on households throughout the community and, importantly, small businesses. Many of those small businesses along Anzac Parade simply couldn't cope because of the disruption to their businesses and have closed down. We've seen marriage break-ups and we've seen mental health issues, all because of this Liberal government's inability to manage a routine infrastructure project.

Now they want to heap on our community a cruise ship terminal at Yarra Bay. This is opposed by the local Aboriginal community. It will ensure that their traditional fishing areas that they use for food are disrupted and affected. It will be a disaster for the natural environment, particularly if they have to dredge Botany Bay on the northern side for the third time in recent history. It will have an effect on Bare Island and the weedy sea dragon and the pygmy pipehorse—protected species that exist in those areas. The seagrass in Botany Bay has just started to come back after dredging having been done in the past. That will again be affected. It will be an environmental disaster for Botany Bay. It will affect recreational fishers, and there are many people in our community that fish off the breakwall at Yarra Bay and Molineaux Point. This project will have a direct effect on the ability of people to undertake recreational fishing in our community. It would be a disaster for the dive industry, which is an important employer of people in our area. It will have a disastrous effect on the community through increasing traffic on local roads and the noise associated with it—and we get enough noise from the port and from other heavy industry that exists in the area, including the airport. It's something that is vehemently opposed by our community and it's something that I will fight my hardest against in this place.

I want to finish by congratulating the new Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, on his position and his election as the Leader of the Labor Party. I thank him for bestowing upon me the great honour of being an assistant shadow minister in the area of financial services and the republic. I also congratulate and thank Bill Shorten on the wonderful job that he did as the Leader of the Labor Party over the course of the last six years. It was a pleasure to have been a member of his shadow ministry for a number of those years.

On the first day of the 46th Parliament in July, when we all came back to parliament, the first thing that we did was take an oath. The first words that we utter in this place are an oath. We swear allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors. We do that because we are required to do that under the Australian Constitution. I would much prefer to swear an oath of allegiance to the people of Australia, who elected us—specifically the people of Kingsford Smith. I would much prefer to swear allegiance to the people of Australia and to swear to serve them diligently and faithfully in this place. Instead, we swear allegiance to a foreigner in another country. It is outdated. It perfectly highlights the archaic nature of our Constitution not only in this area but also in the area of Indigenous recognition in our Constitution.

We all know that, for a number of years, the Uluru statement has united the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in Australia. It represents their wish about how they can work with Australian governments to improve the living standards of Indigenous people in this country. We should get on with the task of reforming our Constitution to recognise the contribution of Indigenous Australians and to enshrine the principles of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in our Constitution. I commit, on behalf of our community, to work with the government to achieve that. But we also should be looking longer term, and that includes looking at finally having an Australian as our head of state. I recognise Mr Falinski and I thank him for his contribution to this important debate. We've known each other for many, many years and, since our days in Young Labor and Young Liberals, we've worked together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that one day we have an Australian as our head of state. I am very, very proud to have been given this honour by Anthony Albanese, the Leader of the Labor Party, to work with the Australian people and people like Mr Falinski to ensure that we make this a reality in our lifetime.

I want to thank all of the wonderful volunteers that contributed to our campaign in Kingsford Smith. I say to you: I simply would not be here without your support, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. All of the hours that you spent in helping with letterboxing, with doorknocking, with prepoll and with other aspects of the campaign, including election day, made it possible for me to have the strong result that we had in Kingsford Smith, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I thank my staff, my very dedicated and talented staff, for their hard work—Leigh Heaney, Ben Leeson, Lachlan McGrath, Clare Cullen, Alexi Cassis, Lorena White and Dylan Parker—and for their dedication and service not only to me but to our wider community and the Labor Party.

In conclusion, I again thank the wonderful people of Kingsford Smith. I'm very, very proud to be your local member and I look forward to working with you to make our community a better place to live in over the course of the next three years and beyond.

Debate adjourned.

Proceedings suspended fr om 12:50 to 16:00