Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is that time of the year, as we close the parliamentary proceedings for this year and before returning next year, when it is customary for us to express our thanks to all of those who've supported us in our work over the course of this year. It has been an extraordinary year. I hope we never see another one like it. It has been an extraordinary year, but, when Australians are challenged in great ways, Australians always rise to the challenge.

We said at the start of this pandemic that we've always considered ourselves to be a strong people and we were about to find out how strong were. And, indeed, Australians have proven to be incredibly strong, resilient, caring and compassionate as they've sought to navigate their own way through, with great support from government, to ensure that they can be where they are today—in a situation where, all around the world, Australia's record of coming through this pandemic has been incredibly strong. There is no country anywhere in the world that can claim a perfect record in dealing with a one-in-100-year pandemic. But, when it comes to Australia's performance and, more significantly, the performance of Australians, it has been extraordinary. We have one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. There are 30,000 Australians here in this country at the moment who wouldn't otherwise be here were it not for the fact that our response has ensured that more Australians have been able to survive this terrible pandemic—which, in so many other countries, has not been the case.

As we move into next year, we're in a position where the economy is strengthening once again, as the lockdowns are in the rear vision mirror, and the economic impacts of those are in the rear vision mirror, and we look through that front windscreen together as a country, and we move into 2022 with confidence. We're a confident people. We're an optimistic people. We always look to see the opportunity and we always back ourselves in as a confident nation, confident in our abilities and each other to achieve what we know we can achieve.

It has been a year not only tested by the pandemic but where the situation globally has been extraordinarily challenging and will continue to be so. It is a time, as I've reflected and as other ministers have highlighted—in particular, the Minister for Defence—that we have not seen in the Indo-Pacific since the 1930s. That has required significant responses from the government, and I want to thank the allies and partners who we work with in the Indo-Pacific, our great comprehensive strategic partners in ASEAN. They are our great friends, our neighbours, with whom we share this region. It was an honour this year that Australia was able to achieve the first ever comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN. It speaks to Australia's place in the Indo-Pacific region as a trusted partner, as a trusted neighbour. Even now, throughout the Pacific, we think of our Pacific family, and we think of all those in the Solomon Islands especially. We think of those AFP, ADF and DFAT officers who are up there right now, seeking to secure the peace, stability and calm of one of our Pacific family of nations, as our responsibility is to them in our own region. I want to thank all of those and their families who are on service right now in the Solomon Islands for what they're doing for our Pacific family and indeed expressing the values of our nation, our care and concern for our Pacific family.

The conclusion of AUKUS has been a milestone event in Australia's national security. We enjoy an extraordinary relationship with the United States. We enjoy an extraordinary relationship with the United Kingdom. We continue to work together with them and all of our like-minded partners, because we cannot assume in this world that an international order that favours freedom will always endure. That is why we together, here in Australia, Australians all, one and free, are standing up for the important issues of liberal democracy in our part of the world. If we don't, who will? We have, and we will continue to do that.

I speak of our partners and allies in the United States and the United Kingdom. We worked so closely with them, as the Minister for Defence mentioned, in what was the largest single air evacuation by Australia in Afghanistan, with 4,100 people lifted out of that awful situation. So many of them—those who have not gone to other countries—are here in Australia and becoming Australians. I am truly grateful for the extraordinary work and support that was done in those days of extreme pressure in the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Defence Force. I was so privileged, when I went through AMAB on the way back from overseas just a few months ago, to go there and say thank you to all those who were serving during that time. To see the pictures that were drawn by the young children who had been evacuated to freedom was truly moving. They were indeed truly grateful to Australia, and now those children are here in Australia, going to Australian schools and growing up Australian. That says a lot about us.

After 20 years in Afghanistan, there are disappointments. But, at the same time, what our forces did in Afghanistan—and in particular the 41 Australians who were lost there. We think of them and their families at this time, and the service of them and all of those who went with them. This year, they won't be there. For many, the memories of their time in Afghanistan will stay with them forever. For many veterans, it will haunt them. For all those veterans who are thinking of that time, and indeed those who continue to serve, it is our duty in this place to reach out to them and to continue to support them in every way we possibly can and thank them for their service.

It's been a year where we have dealt with many other challenges, such as the challenges of how we address the future energy economy, how we deal with the online world and how we make that safer for Australians, and how we strengthen the opportunities in regional Australia. I think it has been a strong year for regional Australia, and I'm sure the Deputy Prime Minister would agree. But it's a constant reminder: where once drought and bushfires have impacted regional Australia, even as we stand here today, there are floods and the ruination of crops which were the next payment for those coming out of those earlier challenges. Hope is disappointed once again. But regional Australians are resilient people, and rural Australians are resilient people. They are the heart of Australia, and I want to thank all of them for their endurance, their resilience and their care and compassion for one another.

Disaster resilience, response and recovery capabilities have been at the heart of the response to the aged-care royal commission and addressing the very serious needs there, continuing the record financial support for those in this country who, through no fault of their own, have grown up with disabilities that in decades past meant that they could not even hope to have the same opportunities as other Australians. The National Disability Insurance Scheme seeks to put that right and to give them as much opportunity as we possibly can to enable them.

For supporting the mental health of Australians, again I thank the minister for health. I also thank Pat McGorry, who has been a constant source of advice and counsel to me and the minister for health and many here. I want to thank my colleagues for their encouragement and support on those issues.

Addressing the safety of women here in this building has been an important issue, and I want to thank all of our staff who work here with us. It is our commitment to ensure we will work together to secure a safer workplace for them.

I look to the Minister for Indigenous Australians and I'm reminded of the great, true heart of this country. I want to thank those Indigenous leaders and elders and Indigenous Australians around the country who keep their culture alive—the oldest living culture in the world. It is something this country can be truly proud of and truly grateful for. May we continue to seek to understand their insights as we seek to take this country forward.

They are extraordinary times. They are not times for confusion. They are a time for clarity, which we are seeking to provide. Decent, hardworking Australians, generous and fair, love their country. They wish to simply move forward, and we want to move forward with them into 2022.

I was very proud of the members of this House particularly in the most recent debate, which the minister for health has spoken of, on Maeve's Law. It is always—and I'm sure the Leader of the Opposition agrees—when we come together on matters like this that the parliament is at its best. I appreciate the work that has been done to bring that to a conclusion.

A sense of gratitude should pervade this place at this time of year. I want to thank the premiers and chief ministers with whom I have worked over the course of this pandemic this year. We will meet again at the end of next week and then continue the important work of the National Federation Reform Council.

I want to thank all the members of our Defence Force not just serving in the Solomons but elsewhere around the world and those otherwise who are in those places.

I want to thank all of those members who are retiring from this place at the next election and who have indicated that to this House. We have just heard from the minister for health, but there are many others. They will have their opportunities, as some have. I'll also extend personally my best wishes to the member for Fowler, with whom I've shared a good friendship over many, many years. But there are many others. I won't list them all. We know who they are and we thank them for their great service to this House.

I want to thank the Chief Government Whip, the member for Forde, who does a terrific job. As we reflected in our party room recently, for those members who joined the House in 2019, this has not been a usual term. This has been an extraordinary term in terms of what members have had to endure—long separations from family and long times in isolation because of the various rules that have been put in place. There haven't been the same opportunities to have that camaraderie and that direct support for each other which is very customary in this House and that those of us who entered this House in earlier times benefited from. I do feel for the class of 2019, on all sides of the House, who have had to seek to navigate their service in this place in a different way to those who came before them. That has been very difficult for them. I think they have felt, at times, quite vulnerable. I want to thank the whips, certainly our whips, with Nic and Rowan as well, and the opposition whips, for the pastoral care and support that they have provided to the members here in this place. The job of the whip is not just to get us all in here to vote; the job of the whips is also to provide care, counsel and pastoral support to members. They do a terrific job. I can think of none better than the member for Forde, who has one of the kindest hearts in this place.

I also thank the Clerk of the House, the deputy clerks and assistants. Claressa, thank you very much for the responsibilities that you have taken on. To the Serjeant-at-Arms, thank you for your work over the course of this year. It has been an interesting year for the parliament. To all of those who serve our parliament here—the attendants and so many others—thank you for the way you have worked both with the new Speaker and the former Speaker, the member for Casey. My thanks go to the PM&C legislative team, the House and Senate parliamentary liaison officers and the First Parliamentary Counsel.

Then there are all of those staff who are retiring this year. Deputy Clerk Catherine Cornish is retiring this year after 27 years of service. Department of Parliamentary Services staff member David Watt retired after 28 years at the Parliamentary Library. Carla Turcic retired after 25 years at parliamentary broadcasting. Michael Shield retired after 26 years also at parliamentary broadcasting. They will both be leaving quite a vacant space there to be filled by newcomers. And there are other retirees: Philip McAppion; Eric Horwood in Visitor Services; and Barry Smith, who was 14 years in Hansard. He'd have quite a book if he chose to write one.

Can I extend to the Leader of the Opposition and his family, to the Manager of Opposition Business, to all the opposition members and to all their staff all the very best for the Christmas and holiday season. I hope they have a very safe and refreshing season. It will be a very busy year next year, as we all know.

To my team: to the Deputy Prime Minister and his predecessor I say, 'Thank you very much,' for your friendship and your support. It's the great strength of the coalition of the Liberals and the Nationals. That's a coalition we want. The other coalition that could occur on the other side—Labor and the Greens—is not such a great coalition, but the coalition here is a great coalition and has been in place for many, many years.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thought that'd get a reaction. I'll return to the true tone of this.

Thank you to the Deputy Prime Minister. To the Treasurer I say, 'Thank you very much.' He is a dear friend. We shared a house for a few weeks, and I didn't see a tape measure going anywhere near the curtains during that time at the Lodge, not once.

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Not that you saw!

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Not that I saw. That's true, Member for Ballarat. I thank the Treasurer. He's a dear friend, as are my colleagues I serve with. You rely heavily on the deputy leader of your party, and this deputy leader has been such a great and loyal deputy leader. I know he has worked closely with all of our colleagues in the Liberal parliamentary party and sought to support them and ensure that their interests and issues have been raised and well understood within our leadership. He is a dear friend, and I wish him a happy Hanukkah. I know he celebrates Christmas as well. He gets the best of both worlds there, or at least the kids do, anyway. I wish him all the best.

To the Deputy Leader of the National Party and to the Leader of House, two great Queenslanders: I wish them well over the break and thank them for stepping up into their roles, particularly the Leader of the House and the service that he is providing us here. I also thank the Leader of the House for the outstanding work that he's done since he became Minister for Defence. He is a very long serving Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. That is a series of lessons that we share, but as Minister for Defence he has been a tower of strength.

To the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Birmingham, and the deputy leader, Senator Cash: thank you for your support in the other place. Can I also add a very personal thanks to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Women and co-chair of the cabinet task force on women, my dear friend Marise Payne, for the tremendous work and support that she's provided to me and also to Jenny as a close friend. Thank you very much.

To all the coalition members and their staff: rest up, because next year we go forward together as always, making that boat go faster, as we've always said. I wish them and their families well and thank their families for all their many sacrifices over the course of this year. Those sacrifices: we will show next year as a team how we come together to ensure that Australia continues to have the strong government and the good government that Australians deserve and need.

I thank my chief of staff, Dr John Kunkel, and all of those who work in my great team for their hard work and effort. I know they're looking forward to a break. I thank particularly, back there in the shire, Julie and all the team in my electorate office—thank you.

There are many thankyous. Thank you to the attendants and to the Federal Police who look after us, particularly my own detail and those who provide support to, sadly, too many of the members of this place. We saw in the United Kingdom this year the death, the murder, of a member of parliament. I know that reminded us all that in our service of our nation there are some risks that we perhaps underestimate. In that case we were reminded of those who keep us members of parliament safe in this building and when we're out and about doing our duty. Thank you to the catering teams, the Library, Hansard and the support staff. Of course, the cleaners assist us, particularly Anna, Maria and Zia: thank you very much. They've been there a very long time. I'll continue to seek to be as tidy as I can.

This has been a challenging and difficult year for our country. Mr Speaker, I wish you all the best, as I do to all of the Speaker's panel for the work they have done here in this place. To the crossbenchers and their families I similarly extend my best wishes.

The House is rising, but elsewhere in our country Australians are facing down those floods, and our gratitude continues to be with those who are serving them. We might have been separated by borders for the last few years, but those border closures are certainly lifting. As our vaccination rates are at world-high levels, we look forward to those being lifted and we look forward to Australia continuing to open safely so we remain safely open. Our hope and our prayer is for a quiet summer where there are neither fires nor floods, but, if there are, Australians know that those who work across our government will be there to support them in their time of need. May it be a time of great peace, renewal and refreshment, and may 2022 be a better year than that which preceded it. 2021 is in the rear-vision mirror; 2022 is the way forward. God bless and merry Christmas to all.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition on indulgence.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's been a bit of a tradition to stand up and observe that it's been a tough year for Australians, and, unfortunately, that tradition continues, because it has been a tough year. We've gone from drought to bushfire to pandemic and lockdown and now to flood. Australians still living in caravans after losing their homes in the fires are now having to deal with the rains of La Nina. Farmers got through the drought, and then we had the mouse plague. They saw things coming good, and now their bumper crops are getting smashed by rain. They're doing it tough.

The thing that we've seen, though, during the pandemic in particular is the resilience of Australians and their preparedness to make sacrifices for each other, for their families and for their neighbours. I particularly want to thank those essential workers who have kept the country going during such a difficult time. We should value our nurses, our doctors and our police, but I also hope we never, ever take our cleaners and the people who do so much work to keep the whole economy and the whole society running for granted.

I want to thank the community organisations like Addie Road in my electorate, the Reverend Bill Crews and his organisation, and other charities, who have done it particularly tough and have helped so many people. I look forward to spending Christmas Day once again with Bill Crews and 2,000 of our closest friends. It is indeed a wonderful occasion where people who are afflicted with homelessness, addiction or tragedy, or in some cases are just lonely, have somewhere to go on Christmas Day. It is the true Christian spirit that Bill Crews and Exodus represent, and this year they celebrate 50 years of providing service for some of the most vulnerable people in the inner west of Sydney—but, wherever they come from, no-one's ever turned away from Exodus there at Ashfield.

I want to thank the Prime Minister for his words, and I wish him and his family and all the families of the members and senators all the very best for Christmas. To you, Mr Speaker: it is a bit of a tough job from time to time, isn't it? Our job isn't necessarily to make it easier for you, but it is a tough job and I wish you well. I reiterate my thanks to the former Speaker, who did such an extraordinary job; to everyone on the Speaker's panel; and to our whip team, led by the member for Fowler, about whom we said good things before—that's enough, Chris; that's enough, mate—and Anna and Deb in the whip's office and, of course, the members for Lalor and Werriwa, who assist in that job.

To my mate the deputy leader: one couldn't have hoped for a more loyal deputy leader. He is a good friend, someone who I've developed a very close relationship with and someone who, I think, will make an outstanding Deputy Prime Minister at some time next year. To the Manager of Opposition Business, who I've known for a lot longer, the member for Watson. He's the longest ever serving Member for Opposition Business. He is a good person. He will make an outstanding Leader of the House. He does understand the standing orders. I will forgo my customary sledging of his band and his musical capacity on the basis of the Christmas spirit!

To his deputy, the member for Hindmarsh, and to my economic team, led by Jim Chalmers and Katy Gallagher. They have done outstanding work. In the Senate we've got these three amazing women: Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher. They are quite extraordinary in the work that they do. To my shadow minister assisting me in the Senate, Don Farrell: I've come to rely upon him very much for advice and wise counsel, always. To all of our team: it's been a tough period to be in opposition. We had to come into the parliament and we supported every single piece of legislation that was put up during the pandemic, even though we regarded some of it as being flawed. We said we wouldn't allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good because the national interest required that, and we did it. Without exception we did it, something that those opposite don't always acknowledge, but they are the facts of what happened.

I think that our responsibility means we're competitive at the next election. We're competitive. Nothing more than that. It's a tough time to be Leader of the Opposition, to be in opposition, during a pandemic. Most oppositions around the country—I note Western Australia as an example—have not been competitive at all in the lead-up to an election. But we're in a position whereby we will continue to hold the government to account and we'll put forward our constructive alternative offer to the people of Australia at some time next year, be it in March or in May.

To all of parliamentary staff: the clerks; the Hansard staff; the Parliamentary Library; the Department of the House of Representatives; the attendants; the hardworking folks at Aussies and the staff cafeteria; everyone working at the coffee cart, who really keep us going; to the cleaners, who do such an amazing job—to everyone here. Particularly I want to thank Joy, the cleaner who keeps my office presentable. Thank you very much. To the COMCAR drivers and staff, especially my Sydney drivers, Greg and Suzanne, who look after me so well. To all the Parliament House security and the AFP. We appreciate all that you do. To our ADF personnel serving overseas, as we noted during question time. It is a particularly important time for us to thank them. To the press gallery; we don't always agree, but it is an important role that you play in a democracy, and I certainly acknowledge that. To the state premiers and chief ministers for their leadership during the pandemic. I've made it a principle not to criticise any of the state premiers. I think they've had a really tough job, along with the chief ministers. To all the parents who've had a tough job too, dealing with remote work and remote schooling often at the same table.

I want to thank my personal staff, led by Tim Gartrell, my chief of staff. Tim Gartrell was the campaign director in 2007. There's an omen there. I think that he brings that experience and his experience as the campaign director for the marriage equality postal vote that was held. He's a class act. He's a good friend. He was my first campaign director way back in 1996 for Grayndler. We go back a very long way. When I became leader of the Labor Party I approached him and cheekily said it was a condition of my continuing with that pursuit that he had to come, because that was the deal that we had come to some time ago before when he talked me into running once before.

To Sandra Crowe, my EA, I thank you for making me go to the right place at the right time. We really rely upon our personal staff for all my team, including Liz, who leads the media team, and Jeff, who plays such a key role in policy development. I thank all of them very much.

I thank my electorate. Without them, I wouldn't be here—simple as that. I love my electorate, the inner west. It's diverse, it's multicultural, it's a fascinating electorate, it's a difficult electorate and it's a very political electorate, and I'm very proud to have lived there my whole life.

My son Nathan turns 21 next week, and I've been in politics his entire life. When I talked to Greg Hunt about his family we discussed how it is difficult. But I look forward to being home. I thank whoever did the parliamentary schedule for the fact that 8 December isn't a sitting day, and I look forward to that. I look forward to 11 December, which is the party. I hope that it goes well for him, and I'm very pleased that he's able to have one. I am very proud, every single day, of the young man that he has become. He's quite outstanding, but he has had a difficult time as well. He's studying business at university and hasn't been onto his campus since 2019. For a lot of young people, the period of their lives in which they should have been having the most fun of their lives simply hasn't happened. It's been a difficult period.

To Jodie Haydon, my partner: we've spent considerable time apart this year, but I thank you for your friendship and your support. I do want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas. May it be a time of reunions, of love, of happiness and of relaxation, and may 2022 bring us whatever we want in life. I guess people know what my wish is for!

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to endorse the comments made before and thank all the people that the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister thanked. That leaves me with, basically, the cat, the dog and the rat in the roof to thank because everyone else seems to have been thanked.

Starting off on a more serious note, I'd like to thank my family—obviously Vikki, who has been great support to me, and Sebastian and Thomas, who have made this their home, so much so that at one stage Tom, after having a shower in the Deputy Speaker's office, decided—we were standing there and we heard the door shut, and Luke managed to stop him just before he ran naked into this chamber, which would've been a remarkable addition to the parliament that day.

To my colleagues: I'd like to thank the leadership team of DLP, Bridget, Drummy and Perrin, for all their hard work through the process. I'd like to thank the deputy leader in the Senate, and Matt, Sam and Susan over there. To all the team here—Michael, I know it's been a tough year—I really thank you for the professional, diligent and decent way that you have acted. I'd like to thank Mark, Pat, Ken, George and Lou. To Dr Dave, Andrew, Keith, Hoges and Michelle: it's been a great year to prepare for the next year, which will be an incredible year, and we are going to make sure that we give the best representation of ourselves. Hopefully, we will all stay here—if that is the will of the people—and maybe we will bring a few others down here to Canberra with us.

To the ever-patient staff: you've been such a professional team down here and in Tamworth—an incredibly professional team. You carry me so well, and you make me look vastly better than I actually am. I thank you for that. I won't go through all their names because, as they know, I'm notorious for not remembering them. To the support structure in this parliament, to all the people you don't think about—imagine all the calls the ladies down on the switch get on the phones and the absolutely crazy or angry people ringing them up, and they have to try to deal with it. If ever you get a chance, you should go down to say g'day to them.

Obviously, to the people of New England and to the great part of New England that wanted to be its own state—

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And should have. Look there's still hope. They should have. You've been so patient, allowing me to go away and do other jobs. I love the people of New England. I love the people of the state of Queensland who gave me my initial job, but to come home to New England, with the support I get on the street and on every corner of it, as we try to do our very best job for them—I really appreciate that. I can't wait to get back after this and go back and do the best service I can in the spare time we have. I've already mentioned the staff there.

I won't go through all the opposition, but I will acknowledge the member for Fowler, Chris Hayes, who actually has been a good mate over a long period of time. I wasn't there for your farewell; I had another job to do. I was watching you on the screen. He is the one person that you can have absolute confidence in. You can go to him and say what you need, and it goes no further than Chris. So I thank you, Chris. Especially in tougher times that I've had in the past, you were a mate.

To the media: I just have to mention you. You can make of it what you like. Thank you so much for your representation of our nation. The fourth estate is a vital part of our democracy, and if we don't have that we don't have a democracy. That's why I'm so fervent about trying to chip Facebook and the others to try and get some of the advertising revenue back in your direction, because you are the people who actually do the job.

There is a certain group. There are a lot of people over Christmas who don't get time off. They work. They're the doctors, and they work. They're the nurses, and they work. They're the ambulance drivers and the policemen, and they work. They don't get time off for Christmas. They love their families just as much as we love ours, but they are dedicated to the task at hand. So I thank you for that and for the sacrifice that you're about to make.

Christmas is such a great time for so many but the worst time for a few. For a few it's the loneliest time of the year. It's a time where they realise that they are divorced, that they are widowed, that they are homeless or that they're away from anybody. If you get any opportunity to reach out to those people—and I've worked for a long time for St Vincent de Paul—then you will get more out of that than you would know. You will get more out of that small act of compassion than you would know. So I thank all those people who assist in that.

Finally—or second finally—the Australian people. You have to think of some group that involves everybody else, so I won't thank the people of the world, but I'll thank the Australian people for their tolerance of us. We are servants of them. This is their house; we merely work here. So, to the Australian people who are about to go into the process of dealing with an election—we hope that we will be in this adversarial chamber, which it is supposed to be—I thank them for the role that they play, all of them, in making our nation a better place.

I conclude by saying we have a welcome to country in our area. It starts with 'Yaama', but I always remember the end, and it is [Gamilaraay language not transcribed], which means, 'Walk with God.' So I say in conclusion, in Gamilaraay, [Gamilaraay language not transcribed].

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was going to make a speech on behalf of all those in parliament, but, if you work in the building, thank you very much for your service to the Commonwealth. Also, to the members of parliament and senators: thank you very much and merry Christmas.