Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I begin by acknowledging the Ngunnawal people. I thank them for their strong and continuing stewardship. The first word I heard in this place was Aunty Matilda House-Williams saying 'Welcome'. Matilda meant it, and I've always felt welcome on Ngunnawal traditional lands over the last 18 years. The second word I heard here was 'sorry'. Kevin Rudd's small word echoed big all around the nation and all around the world. It was long overdue and vital for us to recognise the manifest wrongs committed against our First Nations peoples. That word 'sorry' improved our international standing. So I heard 'welcome' and 'sorry' on my first day—and my best day—in parliament. I'm forever thankful that Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard and Jenny Macklin made that apology to the stolen generations happen.

Since that first day, Uncle Pat Dodson spoke of the oldest art on earth being Aboriginal works in Western Australia; Aunty Linda Burney talks of the oldest constructions in the world being Koori fish traps at Brewarrina; and my almost-cousin-in-law Marion Scrymgour has also helped guide me through our nation's duality. I once taught English for 11 years, but now I know that the oldest words on earth are Aboriginal words.

The old and the new, the black and the white, the then and the now and the everywhen. Pat, Linda, Marion and so many other First Nations colleagues and friends like Peter Brown and Wayne Long in St George—if you're listening—have helped me better understand our past. What Australian wouldn't be proud of such a rich history? Our 'then' improves the 'now' and uplifts all our tomorrows. Today, Prime Minister Albanese delivered the seventeenth Closing the Gap speech. As he said, there is much work to be done, but I know that our nation's future will always be brighter when truly reconciled with our past.

Yates says, 'Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart', but I know that our First Nations peoples are hopeful despite all. Most know how to hope without bitterness. When I was first a candidate, I remember a myopic prime minister who refused to say sorry. John Howard even accused those who spoke the truth of having a 'Black Armband view of history'. At least armbands let people see the future; a white blindfold shows them nothing. And where there is no vision, the people perish. What is right will always outlast the denial of our history. Fighting flags and other divisive culture wars are not the answer. This place doesn't need any more flag inspectors. There is serious work to be done in our nation, as the Prime Minister and the opposition leader detailed today. There is work to be done in our schools, in our workplaces, in our prisons and, most of all, in our hearts.

So, in this, my final speech, I propose a word to sit alongside those first, big words like 'welcome' and 'sorry'. The word that I humbly offer is 'soon'. 'Soon' doesn't mean I seek another referendum or a vote on an advisory body. 'Soon' is simply to reassure all First Nations mob that the Labor Party won't ever forget you. I say 'soon' because we believe in a nation with justice and dignity at its core and 'soon' because Labor has a positive vision for our nation.

I say 'soon' in the context of 100,000 years of history and the everywhen, that Indigenous concept of time where the past, present and future are all interconnected. Sometimes those opposite try to distract you from their perfidy; they weaponise our very democracy and the idea of a First Nations advisory body or makarrata or treaty. But hope and love will trump fear and division—soon. Right now, I'm proud to stand in front of that Murri flag. I don't want to obliterate 60,000 years of history; I want to celebrate it. I do so because I'm a patriotic Australian who knows our nation's history. No leader can prepare for the future if they're busy running from the past. One of those flags up there comes from Queensland, from the Torres Strait; that's a long way from here. Some people don't realise how big Queensland is or how far away the Torres Strait is. Queensland is larger than about 183 countries—and we're also weirder than 183 other countries, with respect!

The first black feet ever to set foot on this continent did so in Queensland, about 5,000 generations ago—the first white foot too, a Dutch sailor, Willem Janszoon, in 1606, up near Weipa in Far North Queensland. And Queensland is where Lieutenant James Cook first raised his flag to claim present-day Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania for the British crown. We were nearly 60 years ahead of Fremantle and Hindmarsh claiming Western Australia and South Australia, respectively. My point is that Queensland is different. We know how to lead the way, like we did with Eddie Mabo and native title. Adversity helps us bend towards a greater truth. And despite the recent referendum result, I know that our Constitution—this little document—will eventually include our First Nations people. Our country needs the truth writ large rather than lies writ small.

The Constitution, remember, was an act of the British parliament, passed by white British men with beards in Westminster. One day, soon, our Constitution will be amended by the modern men and women of Australia. I remind those opposite that every election day our nation divides. But it is not a tear. Tears are sometimes shed, but it is not a tear. Australian democracy is a zip, and at 6 pm, upon the counting of ballot boxes, the nation clicks right back together, irrespective of the results. Waging a fear campaign against this healthy democratic division is a failure to fundamentally understand Australians. We are much smarter politically than that. We're not scared of ballots or uncomfortable truths. In the Voice referendum, the coalition campaigned on 'vote no and get nothing', and that's exactly what they delivered. Of course, I respect the democratic decision of the public, because I'm passionate about democracy, and I believe in democracy. But I also believe in justice.

'Soon' in the context of 5,000 generations does not mean tomorrow, but soon is better than never. Soon we will have a reconciled nation; that change is going to come. I know this because 6,286,889 people voted yes on 14 October 2023. In Moreton, in my multicultural community, 49.32 per cent voted yes. In the 16 months since, there have been more 'yes' voters born and arriving, while 'no' voters are slowly but surely fading away. A change is going to come, not now but soon.

While we're talking about changing this document, a constitutional change, the Republican part of me requires some little placation. I will do that rather than talk about negative gearing or franking credits. I was at a citizenship ceremony in Brisbane in late November, standing next to a life-sized portrait of King Charles III. I love citizenship ceremonies. They're the best part of my job as an MP. Normally, I do them with Lewis Lee, who's sitting up in the gallery there. But, standing there, as someone who had Queen Elizabeth on the English throne for 57 years, I realised that there's only space for one monarch in Queensland, and my one true king will always be Wally Lewis. A change is going to come. When Arthur Phillip arrived in Sydney Harbour with 11 ships filled with convicts, it was only five years after the American War of Independence and just 18 months before the French revolution kicked off—that Sydney Cove experiment sandwiched between crucial revolution, with fervour for change, and dangerous ideas like freedom and equality bookending our convict chains.

Eventually, the United States would help deliver our 'Washminster' system of government, where we have senators not lords—except you, Murray, obviously! As 'Graham Perret', I think our nation also has a debt to the French and their notion of liberty, egality and fraternity. There are so many reasons to be a republic, including the one million Australians with Chinese links or the million Indian Australians, like my wife's family; the Afghan cameleers and Italians—even the Italians' Prime Minister—the Germans and Vietnamese; the Koreans, Somalis and Sudanese; and all those other connections that make our nation the tastiest salad on earth. Tony Burke told me 20 years ago that, unlike melting pots, salads protect the individual flavours of all ingredients. And salads are healthier too apparently. My Italian, Irish and French tangled roots don't define the tree; Australian soil lets each tree grow their own way. So I refuse to believe that no Australian is good enough to be our head of state. It won't ever be easy to change this document. I know that. But the harder fought the better won.

I know it has been a while, but after three words, 'welcome', 'sorry' and 'soon', I now turn to some thanks. I start with my wife, Lea, the woman who talked me into joining the Labor Party because she was sick of me whinging about John Howard. Thanks for putting up with me, Lea, through thick and thin—not as thin as you would like, but still. At the Class of '07 baby-MP talk, we were told that 85 per cent of federal marriages fail due to long periods away from home, too many drinks and night-time shenanigans. Sadly, I've missed all of that, although, once, late at night in Manuka, Darren Chester did offer me a lift home. We'll never know how things might've worked out, Darren!

Seriously, Lea, I'm the luckiest bloke in the world to avoid that 85 per cent. It helps that I started with a wife who's smart, tough and funny, and a delicious dollop of beautiful as well. Thanks for raising our wonderful boys, Stanley, who's at work, and Leo, while kicking off your own amazing legal career. At best, I was a part-time assistant. I remember once when the COMCAR pulled up into our driveway in Morooka after a fun week in Canberra—with Darren!—and you were pushing a kid's mattress out the upstairs window. Gracefully, you yelled out: 'Graham, hose the vomit off this mattress, and put it out in the sunshine, and get up here and help with your bloody kids.' Speaker, I'm just checking—Lea doesn't have a right of reply or anything, does she? Anyway, like every MP with young kids, I nearly got back in that COMCAR. But I didn't, because you're my big, big love and you taught me that even the running kind can learn how to stay. Lea, thanks also for reminding me constantly that I was a part of the Labor government that abolished the $5,000 baby bonus while you were pregnant with Leo! I look forward to us both being under the same roof rather than working 1,000 miles from home and 2,000 miles from each other.

Stanley was here for my first speech. He was up in that top gallery, a babe in his mother's arms. He's now at work and uni, and his younger brother, Leo, is here today—both growing into fine young men who are caring and kind. Most men either try to live up to their father's expectations or attempt to make up for their failures. I'm certainly in the latter camp, but I do sometimes wonder what camp my boys will be in. I've heard many politicians say in their valedictory speeches that they're leaving to spend more time with their families. Well, I've checked with the Prime Minister—and Leo, that's not compulsory!

I love you both very much, Stanley and Leo, and I look forward to watching where you put your oversized feet out in the world. Whatever paths you choose, remember the golden rules of our household: (1) be kind, (2) work hard and (3) vote Labor all your life. Also hello to my sisters, Kerry and Megan; you're both still nurrigar. Hi to my friends, Annie, Phyllida and Chris, who are listening in the United States. Go Eagles.

The majority of Queensland MPs in the 42nd Parliament were Labor—15 out of 29. Sadly, we let the nation down recently at the last election. There are four party leaders from Queensland, and I acknowledge two of them sitting here. Sadly, none of those four Queensland party leaders have a positive plan for our nation. It does look tough for Queensland Labor right now, but that is when my state's true character shines through.

In the late 1800s, when employers were crushing worker dissent, the shearers at Barcaldine formed a political party. Soon after, in 1899, Queensland delivered the first Labor government anywhere in the world. When Joh and his gerrymander were outlawing street protests and dissent in the seventies, the Saints responded by delivering punk to the world. Eddie Mabo's truth showed terra nullius to be a lie and then Paul Keating delivered native title to our nation. Some people think that north of the Tweed is a conservative state, but we actually have a radical heart. I know Queenslanders will come through at the next election, starting with Julie-Ann Campbell in Moreton and a few others around.

I'll be working hard to make sure that happens, as will the wonderful Labor volunteers in Moreton—

An honourable member: Did you say Gorton?

Moreton, not Gorton. No. There are way too many people to mention, but I thank them for turning out at pre-poll and on election day, for doorknocking, for phone calls, for doing visibility and for chatting to friends and neighbours about the mighty Labor Party's positive plan for this nation.

Thank you to all my campaign directors, Jo Justo, Karen Struthers, the fearless Ros McLennan, the always astute Terry Wood, Julie-Ann Campbell, and, finally, the woman who is the heart and soul of the progressive Labor party on the south side of Brisbane, my good friend Sasha Marin, who is sitting in the advisers' block. In my opinion, Sasha's the best thing to ever come out of Lightning Ridge, and that includes opals.

When I was first elected, there was no NBN or NDIS, schools weren't fairly funded and the perils of climate change were largely being ignored. I'm proud that Labor provided Australians with high-speed internet access, Labor created the world-first disability insurance scheme, we are implementing the Gonski education reforms, we introduced Commonwealth paid parental leave and Labor enshrined net zero emissions by 2050—and I could go on.

All those reforms are due to Moreton volunteers like Alannah, Sasha and others like them, led by Ros, Sasha and Terry. Thank you all. In every one of my campaigns, I've received great assistance from the trade union movement. From the CFMEU, the UWU, the meaties, the QTU, the QIEU—my union—but especially Rohan, Anne Marie, Angus and the others at the amazing AMWU. Thank you, comrades, one and all. The unity of labour is the hope of the world. It was true in Barcaldine back in 1891, and it's still true today, while political parties trot out leaders who masquerade as hard men and friends of the poor.

There's a great line in one of my favourite movies, Matewan.

… there ain't but two sides in this world—them that work and them that don't.

And I'm proud to be on the side of the workers. I believe the Labor party is the political wing of the union movement. If we ever lose this core purpose, we will be set adrift. I've seen up close what happens to a party when it is led by a soulless shapeshifter with no moral core. That way destruction lies. Labor must keep union values in our heart and our industrial comrades right alongside. This combination can achieve a fairer Australian society.

The modern union movement looks like modern Australia: people like Sally McManus, Michele O'Neil, Wendy Streets—who I think is in the gallery—and Ged Kearney, to name just a few. They're the modern unionists. And I give a special shout-out to the class of 2000 organising work graduates—there's one and there's another—Mary Doyle and Senator Lisa Darmanin. Three from the one class in federal parliament must surely be a record.

In my first speech I talked about bringing a bit more poetry into parliament. This isn't something I've always managed in every one of my TLAB speeches, but there is a verse from that tragic Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon that I've loved ever since high school:

Life is merely froth and bubble,

Two things stand in stone,

KINDNESS in another's trouble,

COURAGE in your own …

I haven't always been as kind as I could nor as courageous as I needed to be, but I've done my best. So, to all of my staff past and present, who have put up with my lack of kindness and/or courage, I say, 'Thank you,' especially to Sasha Marin, my chief of staff; Lee Lunney; Michelle Howe, who's also sitting over in the advisers box; Isaac Cavanagh, also over in the box—don't you have work to do, you three?—and Peter Shaw, who has been with me for 18 years and, in that time, has never once laughed at my jokes!

To Kane, Kylie, Kate, Norma, Matt, Michelle, Sarah, Ben, Jen, Sandy and Angus, and so many other wonderful people: thanks for looking out for the light on the hill in Moreton. I know that Jules Campbell will tend the same flame with a little bit of help from you, not because we ask you to but because you believe you must, because you all believe in providing kindness during another's trouble. So thank you all.

I thank all the MPs and senators who've helped out in Moreton over the years, especially Tanya Plibersek, Mark Dreyfus, Brendan O'Connor, Penny Wong and Murray Watt, for their friendship, guidance and good humour. To my good friend and neighbour Jim Chalmers: I still vividly recall all the doors we've knocked on together and the good times we've had at the Sunnybank tavern after eating way too much at the Landmark. Thank you, Jim.

Thanks to you too, Mr Speaker, for the many events we've shared, and also to Senator Anthony Chisholm—who I'm not sure is here—who when he was state secretary was prepared to take on organised motorcycle gangs and their supporters in Moreton. You ask him about it. That was during that most difficult of elections in 2013 when Labor lost 17 seats but in Moreton we actually received a swing to me. Thanks, Chis.

To all the voters in Moreton who were prepared to support Labor throughout the last seven elections, I say thank you. All MPs think their electorates are special, but multicultural Moreton really is. The word 'privilege' is thrown around a lot, but I do feel privileged to have represented all my different communities. I'm proud of how we work together, how we've taken the time to listen to each other's points of view and how we've learnt from each other—how we share cultural and religious celebrations and stay connected despite our differences. This occurs because of the generosity of people like Lewis Lee OAM, who's up in the gallery next to Jocelyn. I'm well paid to do my job, but Lewis is a volunteer, as his lovely wife, Jocelyn, can attest. Lewis leads by example. He has managed 61 citizenship ceremonies and fosters important community connections by promoting and attending cross-cultural events. Our country needs more people like Lewis. They are the glue that holds us together.

And to those who could never bring themselves to vote for me: I can't tell you how much I appreciated working for you, despite having parliamentary privilege!

There are so many great friends and good comrades in the Moreton community and the Labor caucus. There are too many good people to mention, so it would be easier if I only mention the bad ones! You're first, Rob Mitchell—no, just kidding! Where's Josh Wilson, who flogged me at tennis again this morning? It's especially lucky that my good friend Nick Champion has left the parliament, but I take this opportunity to mention that, despite a once furious media report to the contrary, I always beat Nick Champion when we played squash. On several occasions, the gymnasium staff asked us to stop swearing loudly, and I assert that all the foul language was exclusively Nick Champion's!

In another class of '07 valedictory speech, Bill Shorten tabled a list of all of his 192 staff to avoid reading them all into Hansard. So, in a similar spirit, I table the names of all the people I've injured on the football, rugby, touch football, basketball and netball courts by playing too enthusiastically—your name's on there, Ed; don't worry! So I'll table that. But, to be fair, 28 of the names on this list are Keith Wolahan's!

I do particularly thank Andy Turnbull for making so much sporting diplomacy and cross-party friendship possible in this place. Sport is a great way to make unusual friendships and international connections that are useful for this nation. Those contacts all help lubricate the gears of our wonderful democracy. Early morning sport also gets you into bed early, because nothing good happens in Canberra after midnight, and I say that with all respect to Darren Chester!

Thanks to all the co-chairs of the parliamentary friendship groups I've been involved with over the last 18 years. I have enjoyed working with Rowan Ramsey, Ken Wyatt and Judi Moylan to fight diabetes. Similarly, I have enjoyed championing the Red Cross, Amnesty, anti death penalty, support for Palestine, education and arts groups—especially arts groups—and several countries.

The diplomats and lobbyists who work in Canberra to ensure that politicians are better informed do a good job. Declared, registered lobbyists can make for better policy decisions. As long as there is no secrecy, I believe that they are an important part of this fragile, beautiful thing called democracy.

I especially want to mention the Parliamentary Friends of LGBTQIA+ Australians group that I helped form with Warren Entsch and Senator Sarah Hanson-Young a long time ago. I know it's in good hands. But, with my good friend and comrade Louise Pratt and Warren leaving soon, I am concerned that the 48th Parliament might not be ready for the US-style attacks directed at the trans community. In Queensland, in fact, some might say those attacks are already here. Bullies and fascists always seek small groups to target. They are not alone in seeking out the trans community in this way, trying to turn real people into an 'other'. Remember that Jesus Christ is no weathervane. He loves all people always, not some people sometimes. He loves they and them and even you. If some politicians have become obsessed with how kids go to the loo, maybe it is time to leave the cult and go see a therapist. Dehumanising due to differences is a pathway to hell. It hollows out communities wherever it occurs, everywhere from Yeppen to Yeppoon.

Sometimes bathrooms, pronouns and flags are merely political dead cats to distract from 34 criminal indictments or a nuclear policy with all the structural integrity of wet cardboard. Nevertheless, such attacks can be dangerous for people. An ABS study found that nearly thirty per cent of trans Australians have experienced suicidal thoughts. Suicidal ideation due to gender dysphoria is real. The coalition held a royal commission into the Home Insulation Program following the deaths of four young workers. So I am placing you all on notice right now: if you let politicians determine private health matters, kids will die. The young trans community needs kindness, courage and champions working for them right here under the big flag, because this building belongs to all Australians. Good people don't ever let bullies win elections by targeting the vulnerable. I know that the Parliamentary Friends of LGBTQIA+ Australians will never let caring become a crime.

It has also been an honour to work with all—actually, not all, but nearly all—of the chairs and deputy chairs of the parliamentary committees I've been on. I did name that person, but my office said to take it out! Good committees where there is respect and professionalism are an essential part of this parliament, essential for policy and friendships and the strange links that glue this building together, glue that is needed in the hard times of politics. I spent way too much time with Keith Pitt in this the 47th parliament, also the late Kevin Andrews dealing with family law reform in the 46th Parliament and Karen Andrews in the 45th Parliament. But all effective committees bond over doing the right thing for this nation. My Liberal, National, Greens and Independent colleagues have all been passionate about their communities and their policies, and I have always respected their contributions, despite the fact they were usually wrong—no, just kidding! Nevertheless, thank you for your contributions, for your professionalism and for your friendship.

Committees don't function without their secretariats, so thank you to all those helpful people who are behind the scenes. They make it all work. There are a lot of them in this building. I think my friends Anna and Siobhan are in the building somewhere at the moment. Yes, there they are. And I thank all the librarians, Hansard and all the rest who make this place very easy for politicians to work in.

I give a special thanks to the Leader of the House in his capacity as leader of the band. Thanks for inviting me into Left Right Out. I have had an absolute blast. Finally, we did our own original song last Tuesday. I will leave it to the Leader of the House to reveal when it's coming out. Playing with the Wiggles in the Great Hall was a highlight and playing for the Pharmacy Guild in the same venue—and that gig cost Mark Butler only $26.5 billion over five years. Gigs with some of my rock heroes like Mark Callaghan and Buzz Bidstrup were amazing, but truly not as much fun as jamming here on a Tuesday night. Thank you for the music and friendship, and I look forward to buying that single.

I also thank John, Brendan, Sharon and Brenden from my old band Once I Killed a Gopher with a Stick—yes, that's their name—for doing fundraising gigs every three years for me since 2004.

To the men and women of the press gallery, who I've always seen as an essential part of a healthy democracy, I don't think any other parliament in the world has put the press inside the building, complicit in this precious grand project called democracy. Obviously, that means you must do so much more than provide space in a Harvey Norman catalogue. Unfortunately for me, you've always accurately reported what I said, which has been the source of half my troubles.

As the media business model changes, I wish you all the best in your devotion to truth. And now that the news and social media are polarised by design, some monsters are skilfully and ruthlessly exploiting fear and ignorance. The consent of the governed is harder to corral, and more and more journalists are being killed in the line of duty or arrested or sued for just doing their job. Nevertheless, the job of a good journalist, like a good politician, is to seek the truth and make it known.

And so, in this cold, hard, complicated post-truth world I hope the honour in journalism continues to provide you all with purpose rather than inconvenience—and clicks and paid subscribers too, because good journalism costs money. Unfortunately, so does bad journalism, but that's a whole other problem for Rupert and Lachlan. May you never be deserted by the muse and anonymous sources. And if you ever run out of former politicians prepared to comment on the politics of the day, don't ever phone me.

Prime Minister, I want to thank you for many things. They say in life that you should never meet your heroes, but, Prime Minister, thanks for introducing me to your friend Billy Bragg, who is even better in person. And thanks for the Kessels Road and Mains Road and the Coopers Plains overpass—just half-a-billion dollars or so. Thank you for being a good friend to Moreton and a good friend to me.

Thank you especially to foreign minister Penny Wong for facilitating the release, with you, Prime Minister, of Scott Rush and the remainder of the Bali Nine. I thought I'd be leaving this place with that as unfinished business. Instead, Scott had his first Christmas in 20 years with his parents, Lee and Chris, in Graceville.

I've enjoyed the work of the Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics Games committee with Minister Wells. There have been some challenges with both the professional parties of protest in my state campaigning against the games, but we will get there. I look forward to Queensland and Australia putting on the best games ever in 2032.

And mainly, Prime Minister, thank you for being a steadfast leader, the sort who makes a promise and keeps it. I've loved seeing family law and education policies that I was involved with developing in opposition now Australian law and practice.

As the parties of protest become louder, while the walking jeremiad and his echo acolytes become more shrill, I take great comfort from seeing a Prime Minister focused on delivery. And while the coalescence of whingers on the fringes gets louder, I know you will steer our nation on a sensible, egalitarian path towards sustainable prosperity. There's a quote I love in your mentor Tom Uren's autobiography Straight Left:

We consider it a moral obligation of the fit to look after the sick, of the young to look after the old, and of the rich to look after the poor.

This is a good platform for any re-election campaign, and I know the wind is swinging in behind Labor as the fourth quarter gets willing, so good luck.

In conclusion, I note that when I made my first speech in 2008 my long-separated mother and father were in the gallery sitting together. They're both gone now. You're young and then you're not. Mum's been gone for over a decade, but I still associate her with Canberra, probably because I always found the time to call her when I was away from my own family. Peggy Perrett always gave me good advice, especially after she passed away. She was a strong guide, and I hope I always made you proud, Mum.

I see my brother Simon and his partner, Michael—with a beard to rival Dan's!—up in the gallery. They were here in 2008. I'm glad that there are some things in this world that have not changed.

This can be a hard place to maintain your pride. I've seen politics land blows on all sorts of people. It's a tough place for those who come here seeking some work of dignity and noble purpose. As a species, we do have that capacity for infinite kindness and infinite cruelty, but the everyday people of Moreton lean heavily towards kindness. And the poorer they are, the more kind and generous they seem to be.

We must, through times of disagreement, remain focused on bringing people together. As I said in my first speech:

I wish to remind all Australians that the price of harmony is hard work. Each and every one of us must be eternally vigilant when it comes to community relations. We must knock on all our neighbours' doors and offer a helping hand. We must build understanding, trust and friendship, irrespective of race, religion, age or political beliefs.

So if you are a representative of the Australian people and you exploit conflicts overseas to stoke fear and tension and divide people, then hopefully you will have no place here. Labor will continue to fight against racial and religious vilification and those who use division for political gain.

They say the only thing you can count on in politics is your fingers. I had just turned 42 when the 42nd parliament started, and I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then, but now here in the 47th parliament, as a 47-year-old, I've come to the end of the best job in the world.

There are always more dogs than bones in the world of politics and I was never great at snarling, howling or learning to work with wolves, but I've enjoyed it. There comes a time for a bit of contemplation, as the early promise of life melts into later regrets. I'm so thankful to the mighty Labor Party for gifting me some sense of completion, almost satisfaction—not quite, obviously, because the work of equity and freedom is never done. But thank you all for letting me help our wonderful cause.

Some say politics is a grubby crawl towards noble things that you never see, but I've seen plenty of good in this place. I'm looking at it now. We only get one wild and precious life so we must find some usefulness, and the big purpose of every life is little kindnesses. I hope to distribute some more kindnesses in a different place. It really has been an excellent adventure and I love youse all. So after 'welcome', 'sorry', 'soon' and 'thanks', I'd like to make my final words in here a bit of poetry from the always pithy Dorothy Parker:

My land is bare of chattering folk;

The clouds are low along the ridges,

And sweet's the air with curly smoke

From all my burning bridges.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—In his first speech in this place the member for Moreton promised to bring some poetry and literature back to the chamber, and in his final speech he's done both; Graham has certainly held to that commitment. I'm sure all members would agree that, whatever the issue is before the House, it's always worth listening to the member for Moreton's contributions to debate both for their substance and the way they are presented with humour, insight and, importantly, heart.

Graham has been an extraordinary colleague for a long period of time. He has friendships, quite clearly, across the chamber. Some, as we've learned today with Darren Chester, are closer than we know about; I'll leave that to those two to deal with!

Whenever you visit Graham's electorate of Moreton, two things come across. One is his pride in his community and everything he's worked to deliver over 18 years as an MP. I reckon my visits to Moreton are probably up to around 30 or 40 at least! Everything from multicultural events to Mains and Kessels—which is the most expensive overpass anywhere in Australia, it's got to be said; more than $300 million on an intersection! Graham was absolutely determined to do that, and it has unclogged that part of Brisbane. It was a real investment. We went through the processes and found that, bizarrely, it did stack up in terms of productivity and the difference it would make. That was just one of the many projects Graham advocated, from level crossings to a range of infrastructure projects to community infrastructure projects as well, in the electorate.

The other thing that you notice about Graham—I'm not sure of the name of the shopping centre in Sunnybank—

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sunnybank Plaza!

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sunnybank Plaza. We did a walk through that shopping centre. I'm someone who does that. Some people would advise against doing this sort of activity but I do it because it's the only way that you actually get engagement with people that is not pre-planned. Going through that shopping centre with Graham on at least two occasions, there were two things I noticed. One was the people he knew, which was a lot of them; that showed a member in touch. The second was the genuine warmth, engagement, interaction and respect that he had with the people he didn't know. Whether they were raising issues that were easy to solve or whether they were raising problems to be dealt with, Graham dealt with them in exactly the same way—respectfully and with courtesy, and aiming to do, if he could, what he could for them. Where he couldn't because of differences where he thought the issue they were raising was not one that he supported, he'd tell them up front. We did multiple multicultural round tables in that very diverse electorate as well. I'd get regular reports from my first cousin Helen, who lived in Sunnybank, about Graham's effort as a member.

The thing about Moreton was that Graham won the seat off the Liberal Party and held it. It has been a marginal seat for all that time, and he has extended the margin out over a period of years. When we launched Julie-Ann Campbell's campaign for Moreton the Perrett army was there, transferred over to work for Jules. No doubt she will follow him as the member for Moreton and will do a fantastic job.

There was some misinformation out there from the media as well about Graham's preselection. I want to put this on the record. I went to Graham and said, 'Mate, if you want to run again, you're absolutely in.' He was like: 'I'm done. I've made my contribution. It's time.' He came to that decision himself, and I respected that, even though I was disappointed. But he also did something that not everyone in this place does: he lined up a fantastic successor in that electorate who can carry on his legacy.

To Lea, thank you for what you've given up as well. Thank you for lending us your hubby for such a long period of time. And to Stanley and Leo—I think a definition of good parenting is defined by the fact that Stanley is a South Sydney fanatic. That shows good parenting, particularly given Graham's St George—

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He knows a Dragons supporter!

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That deserves compassion because it's been a hard time and it's going to get worse as it goes on! To the family—I've been to Graham's home on a number of occasions, and watching the boys grow up has been a great privilege as well.

We will miss your company here, but we will treasure your friendship forever. I've never seen anyone more excited than when he got to meet Billy Bragg, in his dressing room, and insisted on a thousand photos with Billy Bragg. I look forward to ongoing friendship and engagement with you, mate, and look forward to catching up for a beer after the election.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just want to congratulate the member for Moreton for his lovely speech. We'll have a lot to say to each other afterwards.

It's been almost 23 years to the day since I rose in this very chamber to make my very first parliamentary speech. In fact, I was sitting on the other side; I was trying to locate where exactly, but I don't remember. In that speech, I recall that I spoke largely about the nature of the community I would represent and serve in this place. In that first speech, I said:

Multiculturalism is one of the modern foundations of our nation. It is one of our proudest achievements. Nowhere is this more evident than in the electorate of Calwell where two-thirds of residents are either first or second generation Australians.

In the last 23 years, there have been many challenges to multiculturalism. It is a fact that external events, international developments, have had a profound impact on Australia's social fabric, testing the resolve of our multiculturalism from both a national security and a social cohesion perspective. And, of course, I'll say a bit more about that after.

But, first, it wasn't always my plan to be a member of parliament, and I certainly never really intended to stay this long, but I'm proud to be the first Greek-born woman to enter Australia's federal parliament. I'm also proud of all that we—my staff, my community, my constituency and my colleagues from all sides in this place—have achieved together.

I had always been interested in politics, but I never aspired to be a politician. I officially joined the Labor Party in 1982, but my very first foray into active politics dates back to 1975, when I was a very enthusiastic year 11 student of politics at Princes Hill high school. With the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, 1975 was a very intense time for Australian politics. In fact, the entire seventies were a time of change and reform. The establishment of multiculturalism as a social policy was by far one of the greatest reforms in modern Australian history. My interest in politics and the drama of 1975 led me to the Victorian Trades Hall Council, and I ended up working with the Migrant Workers Committee that had been established to re-elect the Labor government. The people I met there, people such as George Zangalis, Christos Tsirkas—my friend and mentor—Theo Sidiropoulos, Giovanni Sgro and others, were incredible role models who taught me a great deal about the passion of politics, its capacity for empowerment and change, and the art of campaigning. I also remember meeting prominent feminist Germaine Greer when she came to speak at Trades Hall. I was 16 and absolutely in awe of her.

I went on to study arts and then a diploma of education at the University of Melbourne before I went on to teach at Thornbury High School. I spend two years coordinating the Greek Festival, which was the predecessor of today's Antipodes festival, Melbourne's largest street party, and I'm sure some of you will be attending that in a few weeks time. When I decided to leave teaching in 1987, I applied for two jobs. One was as an electorate officer in the office of the former member for Calwell Andrew Theophanous, and the other was with the Red Cross blood bank. I was offered both jobs, but Andrew offered me the job first, and I accepted. I often wonder what might have happened or what could have been if the Red Cross had got in first.

Labor adopted affirmative action quotas in 1994, and when the opportunity to stand for preselection in a federal seat came up, I was encouraged to throw my hat in the ring, despite some reluctance on my part. At that stage, I had two young children, Stavros and Stella, and the thought of coming to Canberra weighed heavily on me. My husband and family and, indeed, my comrades in the Labor Party, especially my good friend the former senator Kim Carr, urged and encouraged me to run. So despite my reservations, I stepped up.

The 2001 election campaign proved to be a very difficult one. It was the election of the Tampa and the SIEV X, and it was two months after the horror of September 11 and the beginning of the war on terror. I was standing for a seat that had one of Australia's largest concentrations of residents who observe the Muslim faith—in excess of 15 per cent. It was home also to one of the largest concentrations of Turkish-born and Turkish-identifying Australians, who started arriving here in large numbers after the White Australia policy was officially axed in 1967. Today, the number of constituents of the Muslim faith in Calwell stands in excess of 25 per cent. It was also home to many migrants of Lebanese heritage. They were part of a broader community of postwar migrants from Greece, Italy, Scotland, Ireland, Croatia, Serbia and Malta as well as the more recently arrived refugee communities from Iraq and later Syria. Now, there is a growing number of residents from India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal.

The electorate of Calwell is also the home of the original inhabitants of the Wurundjeri and Marinbulluk clans of the Woiwurrung tribe. The matter of ultimate recognition and reconciliation with our Indigenous Australians is still outstanding. Whatever form reconciliation takes the future, it will be the role of this place to decide in consultation and partnership with the Indigenous and broader community to decide what that looks like.

As a migrant myself, I share a common story with my local communities, and this experience has been critical to my ability to represent them in this place. I would often be asked both here and abroad how it is that a person of Greek heritage could be supported by migrants of Turkish heritage. The answer has always been simple—that, as an Australian, I live in a multicultural country where waves of generations of migrants have settled with a common purpose. It is our shared migrant experiences that bind us as Australians and outweigh the polarised divisions emanating from the original homelands.

A successful multicultural society is one that is underpinned by the principles of access and equity for all of its citizens, enabling a shared destiny and a common identity—one capable of accommodating cultural diversity and differing historical, geographical and ideological backgrounds. After all, as I said the chair's foreword in the report of the inquiry we conducted in 2013 called Inquiry into Migration and Multiculturalism inAustralia:

Multiculturism provides the framework through which to plan for successful settlement that promotes integration and leads to fuller participation in the wider community and society. It also recognises that freedom to maintain one's cultural and linguistic inheritance is an important factor in developing a confident sense of self and a sense of belonging.

Historically, post Second World War migration to Australia had a nationbuilding purpose. I want to pay tribute to Arthur Calwell, Australia's first immigration minister, and credit him and the Labor government of the time for seizing the opportunity to lay the foundations for modern Australia. In fact, Calwell—and even though the term was not used at that time—can be considered the father of multicultural Australia.

In 2001, 9/11 and the Tampa incident tested our nation on how we managed our borders and our sovereignty. They also tested multiculturalism in Australia. On 12 September 2001, the day after 9/11, my constituents of Turkish, Lebanese and Arabic heritage suddenly found themselves defined only by their faith as Muslims, and, to many, they were suddenly seen as a threat. In fact, I remember visiting a constituent in Broadmeadows at their home, and, just as I was leaving, with some hesitation they asked me if they should be concerned about their next-door neighbours, whom they had known for 20 years and had always thought of as wonderful people. Their neighbours were Muslim, of Turkish heritage. I reassured them that they would have more chance of being hit by a car walking to Broadmeadows shopping centre than of their neighbours causing them any harm.

This was to be the beginning of dramatic changes in mainstream perceptions of and views about multicultural Australia. At the heart of these changing attitudes was fear and loathing amongst some elements of the Australian community towards fellow Australians of Muslim faith. This affected in particular Muslim women and young people, who had to endure racist taunts, innuendos, attacks and endless allegations and suspicions about their loyalties to Australia and doubts about whether their Muslim faith and their values would allow them to integrate and adapt successfully into the broader community. It was feared by some that Islam was not a religion of peace and that we were facing, in this country, the imposition of Sharia law.

My local council, under the leadership of the late Gary Jungwirth, who was mayor at the time, had already put in place, before 11 September 2001, the Hume City Council's interfaith network. Gary's commitment to social justice and belief in multicultural Australia led him to form a social justice charter, in addition to the interfaith network. He was a visionary councillor and served the Hume City Council with distinction. The interfaith network represented a diversity of religious faiths, with Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs participating, and of course I was honoured to be its inaugural chair. We were able to hit the ground running, and our local faith leaders led the way in building bridges and fostering understanding between our local faith communities by encouraging tolerance, urging restraint and calling for dialogue.

In the wake of the highly charged atmosphere of Tampa and September 11, we all understood what lay ahead for our local community of Muslim faith. You see, from this time forward, some in the political class, the media and the national security agencies began to define identity and refer to migrants and refugees in terms of their faith rather than their ethnic or linguistic heritage, and Islam itself was under relentless scrutiny; so were those who identified with Islam. Suddenly, multiculturalism became a matter of national security. We began to police the integration process, because it wasn't about nation-building now; it was about terrorism, hotlines and being on alert for foreign interference and homegrown terrorism.

Now, I don't want to downgrade the concerns or the threats, but I've always rejected the takeover of multiculturalism policy by the security agencies. Sure, they have a job to do: protecting Australians from credible threats from wherever they emanate. But we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. We are better than that. Here the media has a grave responsibility in how it portrays, amplifies and perpetuates a view not based necessarily on facts but on opinion, thus becoming, knowingly or unknowingly, accommodators of prejudice, hate and division.

I want to pay tribute to those faith leaders, such as the late Yasser Solomon, a local constituent and friend, who, at the time, was President of the Islamic Council of Victoria and worked hard to convey the true meaning and practices of Islam. Others included Father Malcolm Holmes from the Uniting Church in Broadmeadows; the then imamof the Broadmeadows Turkish mosque, Imam Younis Jan; and the late Sheik Famini Imam, leader of the Arabic-Muslim community in Victoria.

When I reflect on the last two decades, I realise that a whole new generation of young people have grown up under the shadow of September 11 and the war on terror. I can say that many young people in my community endured challenges to their identity as Australians and as followers of the Muslim faith, and all because of the external events which were very much beyond their control. Despite this, they have risen to the occasion, and they have succeeded.

It was education that transformed and enabled my generation, and it's education that has seen my local young people of Muslim faith excel and contribute in a variety of positive ways. I want to pay homage to a dear friend, the late Ibrahim Dellal, a true teacher and a wise man. He was an Australian of Turkish Cypriot background who led the way in supporting and nurturing young people of Muslim faith by providing educational opportunities, because he knew this was the path, and the only path, to success and contribution. I worked with Ibrahim in my first term as he set up one of the first non-government Muslim schools, known then as ISIK College. Many more have subsequently followed not only in my electorate but in electorates across the country. In my electorate I note the dedication and commitment of the teachers of both Ilim College and Sirius College. I have enjoyed the many visits to these schools and witnessed firsthand their academic excellence and community spirit.

Ironically, I stand here today in the wake of continuing destruction, tensions and conflict following the terrible events of October 7 2023 and the subsequent Israeli assaults on Gaza and Lebanon. Once again we are facing challenges to multiculturalism, concerns about the fraying of social cohesion and a diminished capacity for community dialogue. It is often said that different migrant communities should not bring their troubles and conflicts to Australia. This is a naive view. It is inevitable that communities with histories and families in other parts of the world will feel passionately about conflicts and catastrophes that take place in their original homelands. It is an affinity, a connection, that we should not reject but understand and even utilise.

We Australians in general have an interest in, and opinions about, world affairs. We also have an affinity as a middle moderate power, especially but not exclusively from the Labor tradition, of being peacemakers, problem solvers and conflict resolution internationalists. Resolving conflicts and mitigating differences is never easy. There is never complete clarity about who is right and wrong, especially in contexts where they are sourced overseas and out of reach or our influence is inconsequential.

People shouting at each other in the streets is not what multiculturalism is about. I reject the notion that multiculturalism is a failure and a liability because of some of the ugliness that we have witnessed recently and throughout the post-9/11 period. The important point is that we must work to ensure that such issues and differing opinions are not used as political weapons to further divide people. That is what threatens our social cohesion. Social cohesion is not about everyone agreeing. It is not about wanting everyone to become devoid of opinion, passion or difference. It's about working to build dialogue, civilised debate and a respectful society within which people can express their views and, where possible, work for common, beneficial outcomes.

In the last 23 years, I've represented communities that carry with them historical, ancestral, protracted and ongoing differences. Working with them in a constructive and respectful manner has helped achieve many significant outcomes—outcomes that could only happen in this country and can only happen because of our multicultural ethos and demeanour.

A great example of the sort of mediation and facilitation I'm talking about is on an issue that is very close to my heart—the reunification of Cyprus. I acknowledge the presence of the High Commissioner for Cyprus, Mr Antonis Sammoutis, who is in the gallery. A small intervention of what can be achieved was set by two Australian men, one of Turkish Cypriot background, Yalcın Adal; and the other of Greek Cypriot background, Stavros Protz, who, together, walked across the length of Cyprus for 16 days in 2018—'from east to west', they called it. Theirs was a mission of peace, reconciliation and healing to a still divided island. I pay tribute to my friends Yalcın and Stavros for their courage and humanity. I was honoured to be involved in their campaign when they both came to Canberra to meet with then senator Pat Dodson. They asked him where they could source a native tree to plant at the end of their journey in Cyprus, which they did. I also pay tribute to my constituents and friends Peter Minas and Tumer Mimi, Greek and Turkish Cypriots who have worked with us over the years to promote rapprochement between the two communities both here and in Cyprus. Our rapprochement work saw me become the first Australian MP to cross the border into the north of Cyprus in 2002 to visit my husband's home, Agios Epiktitos, in the northern part of Cyprus, that he fled in 1974, and to visit Greek and Turkish Cypriots who were and still are seeking a way forward to reunite the island.

It was the Rudd-Gillard Labor governments that officially supported the Cyprus Academic Dialogue that sought to give Australia a practical role to play in building capacity for peace and resolution through the network of academics and civil society. I credit my husband, Dr Michalis Michael, for pursuing this important initiative through his work with the then Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University. By partnering with Greek and Turkish Cypriot counterparts, both here and in Cyprus, we were able to establish an ongoing collaboration where civil society took a lead in dealing with the complexity of issues. It's a fine example of Australia's citizen diplomacy.

This was followed more recently with the Famagusta Dialogues that involved the local municipalities. Here our peace-making, middle-power, internationalist disposition, combined with our multicultural ethos and access to diasporas, enabled Australia to mount these second-track peace dialogues. To sustain them, and hopefully others like them, they need support and resources. As with foreign aid, they are but a fraction of what one item of military hardware costs. It's a worthwhile investment in peace.

My advocacy for Palestinian self-determination is well known. It has always been about supporting the right of the Palestinian people to determine their future through their own statehood. I have visited the region on many occasions and I've worked with both Palestinians and Israelis over the years with a shared common purpose. I want to thank the former ambassador for the General Delegation of Palestine, Dr Izzat Abdulhadi, for his friendship and advice over the years. I also want to thank APAN, which I've worked with over the years, and also my very good friend Wendy Turner, who would be known to many of us in this place.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially during the last year, has caused major disruption and angst both here in Australia and elsewhere in the world. It remains an outstanding issue that needs an amicable solution—one that is just and one that brings peace, stability, prosperity and security not only to the region but also, importantly, to Palestinians and Israelis. My support for the Palestinian people and Palestinian statehood does not preclude my support and hope for peace, security and prosperity for Israel. I've been critical of the State of Israel over the years, as anyone and everyone who believes in human rights and international law should be, but I have a great affection for the Jewish people, and the current wave of antisemitism in our country is of great concern to me. The horrors of civilian deaths in Gaza and the destruction of Gaza cannot go unnoticed, and it begs outrage, and rightfully so. But we cannot ignore the extremities that are happening in our own community. These acts are conducted, as usual, by anonymous cowards who harbour dark intentions that have little to do with Palestine. Equally, those who seek to exploit antisemitism for their own interests should exercise restraint, responsibility and civil diligence, for they sow the seeds of hate and division.

When my family came to Australia in 1963, we settled in North Carlton. The inner suburbs of Melbourne were home to newly-arrived migrants—to Calwell's new Australians. Largely because of the textile, clothing, food and car factories, they were located there. The typical migrant story was to go where the work was and where families and communities were settling and forming. Carlton was where the first Jewish Holocaust survivors settled as refugees until they started to move out in the late 1960s and early seventies. It was Arthur Calwell who accepted the first ship of Jewish refugees to Australia when other countries wouldn't.

My parents worked in the local factories. My mother worked at the Ivan Porter shoe factory in Fitzroy, with many other migrants. She befriended a woman named Rosa. Rosa was a Polish Jew who had survived Auschwitz. They worked together in this factory and walked home together. When my mother first invited Rosa to our house, I was eight years old. I remember Rosa vividly to this day. My first impression was of a very highly strung woman. Today we would recognise this as post traumatic stress disorder. My good friend—known to many of you—Paris Aristotle and his organisation, the Victorian Foundation of Survivors of Torture, or Foundation House, would have been able to render assistance. Mum spoke little English, so I had to be an interpreter. Rosa carried with her in her big purse photographs of her family members who had perished in the death camps. She carried 'the mark', as she called it—a numerical tattoo on her forearm—and she cried as she spoke of her dead family members. I had to translate all of this to my mum, but she understood anyway. She understood empathetically what was going on; she and Rosa didn't need to speak to each other in English.

My parents had experienced the German occupation of their village, Ayios Petros, in Lefkada in the Ionian Islands. They were 10 years old when the war started. Agios Petros village sits at the back of the island, and the German command set up their communications stations at the top of the mountain just above the village. What is left of the ruins today are referred to by the locals as the 'German remains', and people don't really want to venture there.

My parents, aunts and uncles often spoke of the brutality and cruelty of the German soldiers. They were terrified of them, and the German command made sure of this. They also spoke about the concentration camps and the gas chambers and the killing of Jews. As children, we would listen to these stories, and these experiences and memories were our family's legacy. It is what they and other post Second World War migrants brought with them to Australia. It is what more recently arrived refugees and migrants bring with them also. They shaped and influenced my generation's thinking and they will do the same for current generations within the context of our multicultural Australia.

In this period of post Second World War migration, it always struck me as incredible that my parents would finally meet the Jewish people they had heard about during the war, that they would live amongst them in Carlton and they would work alongside them. My mother and Rosa shared the pain of lost homelands and loved ones, the experiences and memories of the devastation of the World War II. My formative years were shaped by these stories and these people. I know they shaped and haunted my parents' generation and all those who endured the violence and devastation of World War II. I pay tribute to them all because they were all resilient.

Australia gave them opportunity, safety and a new home. They embraced their life circumstances and became nation builders. We owe them a great debt. We owe them our modern Australia. We have a responsibility to honour and protect their legacy, and to follow their lead. Of course, Rosa has been in my thoughts constantly lately. The 85th anniversary of the Holocaust reminds us that we cannot ignore what is happening in our community at the moment. As parliamentarians, we can't just offload the challenges for others to deal with. We have to work here and within our own communities with genuine intent, and lead initiatives to lead people together.

Talk is cheap. Politicisation of conflict is dangerous. In the 23 years that I have sat in this parliament, the weaponisation of immigration, refugees and multiculturalism has not helped social cohesion; it has threatened it. I want to recognise the member for Monash, who, in recognising these dangers, tag teamed with me to establish the Parliamentary Friends of Multiculturalism in 2015. Our purpose was to reaffirm the importance of multiculturalism and to encourage the restoration of bipartisan support. A SBS news item described us 'the odd couple of federal politics' because we were on opposite sides of the political spectrum—one of Greek heritage; the other of British stock.

Let me give the House an example of what a practical response to encourage social cohesion in our community looks like. I refer to an event I organised in partnership with the now member for Macnamara, Josh Burns, when he was a young staffer in this place. At Josh's initiative we held an event for progressive young Jewish and Arab people to come together as a way of breaking barriers and confronting stereotypes resulting from September 11. In November 2012, quite a while ago, we hosted an intercultural dialogue event at the Banksia Gardens Community Centre in Broadmeadows. We had two inspirational speakers. One was the Hon. Justice Emilios Kyrou AO, the first Greek born judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Victoria, who now heads the AAT. Emilios grew up in Broadmeadows and endured, like myself and others of our generation, the rejection and racism of the time. The other speaker was renowned author and activist Arnold Zable, himself a Jewish migrant, who, like me, attended Princes Hill high school; it is a good school, and quite a few notable people have been there. They both recounted their experience growing up as migrants, experiencing racism and being outsiders. Yet despite this they were able to rise beyond it all and become successful members of the Australian community. This event had a major impact on the young people in that room not just because the speakers themselves had walked in their shoes previously but, more importantly, because in that space on that day they were able to sit together—Jewish and Muslim youth in one place at the same time. Their paths would never have crossed otherwise. I thank Josh for this initiative and look forward to Josh being returned as the member for Macnamara in this place, as he has a very important contribution to make.

This event helped convince me that it is our responsibility to lead the way. We have to make dialogue happen in a way that brings people together, especially those who have such entrenched views about each other. We can make a difference; 50-plus years of multicultural policy shows us the way. And now, 13 years later, we find ourselves in yet another crisis where old hatreds resurface and where we risk another generation of young people experiencing these fears and prejudices. We must do better if we are to protect and preserve social cohesion, and we can only do this through initiatives that encourage dialogue—not marketing or advertising it but actually conducting it.

Multiculturalism is about much more than managing intercommunal tensions or focusing exclusively on immigration and refugees; it is a practical policy framework to ensure social inclusion and equal access to services and opportunities. One of the keys to access inclusion is language and communication. A prime example of what this might look like is the initiative during the Rudd Labor government to translate the instructions on the bowel cancer testing kits into multiple community languages. I approached the then health minister, the member for Sydney, to explain that one important reason for the low take-up rates of the free bowel cancer testing kits that we all receive in our letterboxes after turning 50 and thereafter was a lack of understanding, especially amongst communities whose first language was not English. She was very quick to respond by directing her department to rectify this. The information became available in multiple community languages, and for my part I continued to tell my constituents that when they turn 50 and go onwards—as I had at the time—the Australian government sends them a birthday present in the mail, and I advised them to open it and make use of it. I hope they did!

Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will! It was such an obvious but significant dissemination of the health department's information, with the potential to change and indeed save lives. This, surely, is the point of multicultural policy—to ensure that everyone has full access to information services and that everyone, regardless of language or culture, can fully participate in our society. This is the multiculturalism that I and so many others have fought for and will continue to fight for, despite the naysayers.

I believe that all migrants should be given every opportunity to learn English, no doubt; they have to. But like my constituent and good friend the late Stefan Romaniw, I believe in the importance of supporting the retention of the teaching of community languages. Stefan, sadly, passed away last year. He will be greatly missed by the community languages sector whose advocacy he led, but he'll also missed by the local Ukrainian community.

The retention of language is not only important to our diaspora communities; building multilingual capacity is a valuable resource and asset for Australia, especially so in our bilateral relations and interactions with the world and more so with our Asia-Pacific region. It was a significant achievement when the then education minister, Julia Gillard, developed the national school curriculum, which included community languages. The member for Adelaide and I carried into this place a petition of some 22,105 signatures supporting the inclusion of the Modern Greek language on the national school curriculum as a language of cultural, community, historical and economic importance to Australia and the Australian people.

The Greek community is often held up as an example of successful integration. It is very much that. Its success is a result of multicultural policies and its own cultural and social resilience. My generation was encouraged to retain culture, language, faith and traditions while simultaneously proudly owning and bringing this inheritance along with us in our integration process. I hated going to Greek school. But I'm grateful that I was forced to by my parents, because today I'm bilingual and that is an asset. I can tell you one more thing: multiculturalism helped my generation—and I say this to a lot of schoolkids—deal with the double life we were living in our formative years, because it was a double life.

Successful integration doesn't happen by chance. Multiculturalism has and will continue to enable the integration of migrants and assist their journey to becoming Australians. It will enable our newer, emerging communities who are coming here from our region with the same aspirations and desires to hold on to language and culture, and who are making and will make their contribution to the great Australian story, for they are the next wave of nation-builders.

We saw this last week, at the SBS television's celebration of Lunar New Year here in parliament. This event was hosted by SBS's friendship group—again, convened by the member for Monash, me and the member for Fowler—and it saw the member for Monash and me dress in the traditional garments of a Korean groom, which was quite fun. The acknowledgement of country was conducted in Korean—a poignant example of contemporary Australian multiculturalism in action. SBS is a vital piece of our multicultural infrastructure. It's in-language focus is critical to our nation, to our social inclusion and to our national security.

My passionate belief in multiculturalism is why, in this place, I have always sought to be a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration. I have served on this committee over six or so parliamentary terms, both as chair and deputy chair. I'm especially proud of the committee's report Inquiry into migration and multiculturalism in Australia from March 2013. This inquiry looked at the economic, social and cultural impacts of migration on Australia. It was, as I have said, an audit into migration and multiculturalism, following a decade of criticism and fear-mongering. Other reports followed, including No one teaches you to become an Australian, and the most recent, Migration,pathway to nation building. These reports made many recommendations, but they also affirmed that, in general, Australians support multiculturalism and accept that we are a multicultural nation and that they also support migration as a nation-building enterprise.

Another area of public policy that's been consistently close to my heart throughout my time here is health. I started off specifically taking an interest in support for people with cancer, and, even more specifically, breast cancer. My very first private member's business in this place was in 2002. It was about mammary prostheses. It called on this House to note the recommendations of the February 1995 report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Community Affairs to amend the Medicare rebate schedule to include provision of mammary prostheses. The report noted at that time, some 23 years ago, that women diagnosed with breast cancer who underwent mastectomies were forced to endure not only the emotional and physical stress of the disease itself but also the financial burden of breast prostheses. Many had to use crude, birdseed-filled prostheses, like the one my mother did, or they had to make do with reused prostheses from women who had died. This motion came about after I accepted a meeting with this amazing woman named Roz Hill, who herself had had breast cancer and a mastectomy. She led the Canberra based organisation Caring for You, and, together with the Melbourne based Breast Cancer Action Group, advocated for the Medicare rebate.

When I spoke to my private member's motion, which was seconded at the time by my colleague the former member for Charlton the late Kelly Hoare, who had mentored me in my first term, I used a prop. As a former teacher, this seemed the best way to illustrate my point to the House. I demonstrated what a more sophisticated version of a breast prosthesis looked like and why it should be available to all women regardless of their financial status through the Medicare rebate. Its appearance startled and bemused the deputy speaker, who at the time was the dry witted former member for Scullin and later Speaker of the House, Harry Jenkins. The mammary prosthesis was a version of the real thing, and it caused Harry to pause for a moment—a very long moment. I eventually got the message that I should put it down.

It also caused a flurry in the media across the country the next day. Everyone was outraged as the headlines screamed 'Birdseed in the bra' and 'Dead women's breast prostheses resold'. As a result of the public outrage, the then shadow minister for health Stephen Smith, although unable to implement the recommendations of the 1995 report to amend the Medicare schedule, did commit to provide a nationally funded dedicated breast prostheses program to public hospitals to ensure that funding went directly to the provision and availability of these prostheses. This was a commitment we implemented when we came to government in 2007. It proved to me that advocates could make a difference and influence policy in this place and in this room.

I went on to become good friends with Roz Hill, and she encouraged me to keep going over the years when I had doubts about staying. Roz was a two-time breast cancer survivor but sadly passed in 2015, almost 40 years after her first diagnosis. I spent many terms up here involved in raising awareness about breast cancer through the parliamentary friends of the breast cancer networks. My own mother died of it at 53 years of age. Her experience, and mine of losing her at a young age, devastated our family, and I know, as many of us do, the impact of such diseases on the individual, the family, the community and, of course, on the public resources.

Breast cancer support became the first of many other vital access areas of health that I have taken an active interest in. I believe strongly that everyone regardless of socioeconomic status or English-language capacity should have access to information and preventative screening programs that are designed for early detection and saving lives. Raising awareness on public health issues has been critical to my work. People and communities cannot flourish without good health, and, from an economic point of view, not only does screening programs, awareness raising and early detection programs save lives but also they're cost effective.

I've also co-chaired the heart and stroke friendship group for many years, and I believe that friendship groups have a very important role to play in this place. I, like most of you, am on scores of them, and I particularly want to thank another wonderful woman, Tanya Hall from Hearts 4 Heart, for her advocacy and tenacity. My involvement in these groups has always been about how I can assist and better inform my local communities.

I also want to acknowledge the colleagues that I worked with to achieve the passing of the presumptive legislation that provides protection for firefighters. With the support of the Victorian United Firefighters Union secretary, Peter Marshall, I bypassed unwittingly my own caucus's internal processes, teamed up with a member from Melbourne and the member for Monash—there's a theme here—and secured tri-partisan support for this crucial bill.

Over 23 years, I have witnessed many changes in both of my workplaces—the main one being my electorate and the second one being here in this building. When I first came up here, there were far fewer female MPs. This place was very different. We sat longer hours. It was not uncommon to sit well into the early hours of the morning. I remember one time I was listed to speak at around 3 am on a particular bill and I had to stay awake only to discover that the bill was finally guillotined just before I was due to speak. This happened often in those days. I know it happens in the Senate more regularly, but this is the House of Representatives, where government's formed.

When I was first elected, my children were aged six and eight. Children were not accommodated for in these halls and members of parliament were expected to function in spite of rather than alongside being parents. With more women here, and both women and men of different ages and life stages, the culture has changed, and it's changed for the better. Sitting hours have become a lot more family friendly, and we actually have a childcare centre on site—something, believe it or not, that was vehemently rejected when this House was first planned and built.

These changes have not only benefited women; they have meant that male colleagues have been more comfortable talking about their children, bringing them to Canberra and involving them in their working lives. I recall an incident, and there were many of them, in 1993—this is going back a while—when I was here as a staffer to former senator Kim Carr. He had his eight-month-old baby, Ruth, who he had to hand over to an attendant before entering the Senate for a division because 'strangers' were not allowed on the floor of the chamber. Of course, now it's much more common for members to bring their babies into the chamber. That makes a real difference to a lot of the women here but also a lot of the men. Admittedly, it took some years for these changes to evolve, and I'm sure they never would have happened without more women being elected.

I'm also pleased to note the increasing number of women from diverse cultural backgrounds being elected to parliament. It is very important for our migrant communities, both established and emerging, to see people like them in positions of representation, power and influence. Not only does it give them the courage and confidence to aspire to their own goals in public or community life; it helps to ensure that cultural nuance is more likely to become embedded in the making of public policy. In my inaugural speech I said:

… effective representation involves empowering the community you serve so that it can help itself. It will be my job and proud duty to share in this work.

I also said that it was especially important for recently arrived migrants, and, in particular, migrant women, to take up leadership roles where they can and make a real impact on decision-making for the benefit of our community. I'm pleased to say that there are many such women in my electorate today. They may not necessarily become members of parliament, but they are already leaders in my community. I have always found that approaching women in my communities is the most efficient and effective way of learning about the issues that matter most to people—to help spread awareness of, and access to, services for the people who need them the most. It's usually the women who understand the needs of families, children and the elderly. They are the ones who get the jobs done.

I became an MP because I was always interested in being involved—or, as I often explained to school students, because I don't mind my own business. It's been gratifying, rewarding and sustaining to have met and worked with so many others who also don't mind their own business—many of them for no financial reward. I've met so many amazing people over the years, but I would like to highlight just a few of the extraordinary women from my electorate that I've had a privilege to work with.

I'll start with Nayana Bandari. She leads the Oorja Foundation, a community group she helped established to help the growing Indian community. Thank you, Nayana, for the wonderful work you do and for giving me the opportunity to be part of bringing to Australia the film Geeta, an award-winning documentary about an acid attack survivor Geeta Mahor and her daughter, Neetu, and their fight against gender based violence. We showed this film in the Parliament House theatre. `I want to thank its director and producer, Emma Macey-Storch, for her amazing work in helping to make arrangements for Neetu to give evidence by phone from India to the Human Rights Subcommittee inquiry into violence against women and girls.

Ravinder Kaur is from the Sahara organisation, which is another community based organisation. Ravinder is fearless, kind and passionate about helping the elderly in the community navigate their way into a new life in Australia.

Maria Liistro approached me many years ago to help her persuade a hospital to give her 13-year-old son, Sammy-Joe, life-saving treatment for his rare condition, trichothiodystrophy. Maria fought for him and established the Friends of Sammy-Joe Foundation in 2006 to raise awareness and to support other families in similar situations. Sammy-Joe was not expected to live beyond 25 years of age, but today he is 36 years old—largely due to his mother's sheer and unwavering determination.

Agnes Nsofwa established the Australian sickle cell advocacy group. I'm proud to have been the inaugural patron of this very important organisation; it was a real highlight to launch ASCA at the Royal Children's Hospital in 2018. Even more so, Agnes lobbied and succeeded in getting newborn screening for sickle cell disease added to the newborn bloodspot screening program, and I want to thank this government for actually implementing it. It's made a huge difference to the community.

Wendy Dyckhoff has played a central role in raising awareness and advocating for the forgotten Australians. Wendy overcame the impact of childhood trauma and abuse to educate herself and fight for the rights of all caregivers. The apology that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered to the forgotten Australians was a milestone in Wendy's life, and it encouraged her not only to not stop campaigning but to continue to campaign to improve the lives of many others.

Dorette Sayegh, who is no longer with us, made such an impression on me when I attended her 80th birthday party in 2014. Dorette was the first woman to qualify as a dentist in her hometown of Basra in Iraq. There are many such qualified medical practitioners and other professionals from Iraq and Syria living in my electorate. Like Dorette, they have made me acutely aware of the enormous talents, skills and qualifications within our diverse communities, especially the refugee communities, which we should respect, support, harness and recognise. We should find a way, at least, to allow them to participate.

Gina Dougall is the dynamic, inspiring CEO of Banksia Gardens, a wonderful community organisation in Broadmeadows. Gina and I have been working together in our shared community for about the same amount of time, and, thanks to her leadership and vision, Banksia Gardens has hosted many of the most significant community gatherings that I've been proud to be involved in.

Aynur Simsirel is a teacher, education adviser and, now, Ilim College's new chief executive officer. I've worked with Aynur over the years but more recently following October 7. She has been instrumental in guiding the school's response to the consequences of October 7. In her caring and compassionate manner, she set up support groups for the children who lost family members in Gaza and, later, those who came to Australia from Gaza. They have settled in Calwell, and my local community has embraced them with love and support.

Mental ill health is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and, along with addiction, the sheer weight of its impact is wreaking havoc in the lives of our constituents, especially young people. The mental health of our community is as vital as its physical health. As it currently stands, the mental health system is overstretched and therefore limited in its capacity to respond at all times. This is especially critical in the non-English-speaking communities, where attitudes to mental illness and addiction are influenced by cultural nuances such as shame, lack of information about getting help and an inability to navigate the system. We need to support and partner with the mental health professionals, the mental health advocates and the grassroots community groups who are well-placed to be part of a more holistic approach. One such example is Mental Health Foundation Australia, a grassroots organisation focused on providing a referral service for multicultural communities. They do amazing work, and they're effective, but they don't receive any government funding. I'm joining their board, and I hope to use my knowledge about how this place works to convince government that the foundation should be supported. If community is prepared to step up, government must be prepared to step up also. We shouldn't stick to the usual funding script alone. I want to give a big shout-out to team GROW Clinical Psychology, a psychology clinic in Roxburgh Park using their professional expertise and cultural and linguistic know-how to help our local Turkish-speaking community. The practice recently received one of the inaugural Stronger Medicare Awards, recognising its exceptional service.

Despite the changes in demographics over the years, Calwell remains a predominantly blue-collar constituency. The loss of the car industry—and, particularly, for us, the closure of Ford—continues to have a huge impact on the local economy and employment opportunities. A lot of local people have lost jobs through the decline of manufacturing, once a mainstay of Melbourne's northern suburbs. But I'm proud to say that this government has not given up on Australian manufacturing, and we have seen new industries grow, including in food production and medical and advanced manufacturing. When I was first elected, the Kangan TAFE boasted a state-of-the-art aviation school. Sadly, that is now gone, but Kangan, with the support of the state government, has built a new health and community centre of excellence, opening this Thursday, which the minister and I visited recently. Maybe we can get leave to go and share some birthday cake with them. That's always been a problem, you know. The leave business has always been a problem.

While we have faced change that is not always welcome in my community, we are resilient and resourceful, and we are always looking to the future. The electorate has changed in shape and complexion. Where Craigieburn was once the outer fringe of Calwell, it is now the geographic centre, and the northern growth corridor stretches ever further north. The member for McEwen and I have always tussled and had fights about Craigieburn, because it keeps bouncing between us during the redistributions. I've got all of it back now.

The electorate now reflects the new sources of migration to Australia, including from the subcontinent—the countries of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, in addition to, as I've already mentioned, the large refugee communities from Iraq and Syria. Faith is central to many people's lives in Calwell. Our faith communities now include the rapidly growing Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist communities. I've enjoyed my longstanding relationships with a number of temples, and particularly with the Tibetan Buddhist Society, and one of their very important leaders, the venerable Anna Goldstein, who I worked with many, many years ago in the office of Joan Kirner, when she was the education minister. Life has a strange way of coming around.

It is ironic, therefore, that I, who vehemently and publicly opposed Australia's involvement in the Iraq War in my first term here, would end representing in this place the biggest constituency of refugees from the region, who are Chaldean Christians and Assyrians. The churches play a central role in their lives. For many years, I have worked closely with Father Maher and others. I even helped bring the then governor-general, Sir Peter Cosgrove, to attend mass at the Chaldean Church of our Lady of the Plants. The community was thrilled to have the Governor-General in their church. It was a powerful sign of connecting to this country's highest office, and it made them feel that they were truly included in Australian society.

I want to add my praise for the caring principal of the Good Samaritan Primary School in Roxburgh Park, Paul Sedunary, and his wonderful staff. I thank them especially for the work they do with the young refugee children. Seventy per cent of their students are refugees from Iraq and Syria, and, recently, from Gaza. This school and its staff, including the beautiful Ban, who is their liaison officer, go above and beyond the call of duty. Of course, there are many incredible public schools and non-government schools throughout my electorate who continue to do a wonderful job of teaching and supporting our young people. Visiting as many of them as I have been able to has been one of the highlights of my parliamentary career and has allowed me to continue to practice my teaching skills—and I have come to the conclusion that if I were to be back into the classroom now, I'd be in all sorts of trouble. I'm completely out of date.

In closing, I want to begin by thanking Mary Elizabeth Calwell for her friendship. She has remained a constant and loyal friend, ensuring my connection to Labor history, Labor values and the legacy of her father, the man who my electorate is named after, remains strong and well-informed. Arthur Calwell was a visionary operating within the context of his time. As such, he can only be described as bold, courageous and with a firm commitment to acting in Australia's national interests.

To my staff—and there have been so many over the years; too many to mention, so I'll try and do that another time—I just want to say thank you to all of you, current and past. Some of you have gone onto do exceptional things, and I'm very proud of you. I do want to make a special mention to the longest-serving members of my team. Helen Patsikatheodorou, otherwise known in our community as the 'pink mayor', on account of her having been Mayor of the City of Hume twice during her diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer. In our office, she is known as: 'If anyone can, Helen can,' because of her unyielding assistance to our community and her determination to solve problems, and she does. Joanne Dougall was with me from the beginning, and after a break she returned to the office. It's only fitting that we retire together. I met Carole Fabian when she interviewed me for that electorate officer's job in 1987. We often joke that I went on to become the boss, and I am the boss now. I hope I'm a good boss. Also Basem Abdo, who is now the Labor candidate for Calwell. I look forward to watching Basem take our community forward into the future. He is young and smart, and I have no doubt he will make an excellent contribution both in here and in the electorate.

Finally, to my family—there they are—guess who's back! My husband, Michalis; my daughter, Stella; and my son, Stavros. They were six and eight when they were first here, which gives you an idea of just how long I've been here. It hasn't been easy for you guys, but it's been very hard for me. The 24/7 job I stepped up for meant I had to find ways of accommodating its demands and expectations with those of my family and personal life. I have missed so much while I have been up here in all those years.

I tried to manage it by ensuring that I always knew where my kids were and that I always took their calls, no matter where I was or who I was with—there are some stories, and I won't name that prime minister! I took helicopter parenting to new levels. Today it would be drones, and I reckon they would have been more useful. I solved problems ranging from finding socks to what to have for dinner and everything else in between, and I did all that over the phone. Zoom and video weren't available in those early years, and, now that they are, no-one at home really has the time to sit and zoom with me while I'm up here. I don't think they want to, either! My life revolved around the parliamentary sitting calendar, and so did my family's. They were sometimes resentful, but we remained close and intact along the way. I want to thank you for the many times you have said to me: 'It's okay, Mum. Don't worry. We're good.'

I've known so many people in this building. So many wonderful people make up the sum of who we are in this place. In my opinion, ours is one of the best parliaments in the world and the most architecturally elegant, and no-one should say anything other than that. I've enjoyed being here. It has been a privilege to have sat in this chamber. It truly is a measure of our success as a modern multicultural democratic nation that we are given opportunities to participate and to be heard no matter who we are, where we come from, our colour, our creed or whatever. But it has been an even greater privilege to have been given the opportunity to serve my local community of Calwell, and I want to thank them for eight consecutive terms of support. I have grown to know them so well, and I'm very proud of them.

Thank you all. We are a great country and we are a successful country, but we shouldn't take our lucky country for granted. It's our responsibility to protect it, regardless of our difference. To you, Mr Speaker, I hope I've been of some use over the years as a mentor in the early days before you rose to fame. You have been a really good Speaker, so I want to leave with this: geia sas, sas efcharisto kai kali synechia. Loosely translated: see you later—I think you all know what 'geia sas' means—thank you, and may you go forward successfully. Thank you.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to congratulate the member for Calwell on giving a final speech, a valedictory, that reflected her career and her character. It was full of grace and gratitude and particularly concentrated on the importance of supporting multiculturalism and Australia's diversity—something that she has done in her entire time in this place.

Her electorate, of course, is one of Australia's most multicultural. In any visit that I've made to that electorate, Maria is someone who has engaged with those multicultural communities, brought people together and enhanced social cohesion. She can be proud of all she has given in service of the Labor Party and our nation, and in Basem Abdo, whose campaign I was happy to launch with Maria at an early learning centre in her electorate in Calwell in December, she has found a replacement who will carry on a commitment to multiculturalism and to looking after the people of Calwell.

So, after a long and successful career, I congratulate Maria and I wish on behalf of the Australian Labor Party all the best for her future and that of her family.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like just about everybody who gets to this place, my journey was not entirely straightforward. In 2007, Manuela, Gabriel and I were living in Surry Hills—a lovely part of Sydney but not very fruitful territory if you wanted to be a Liberal MP. So we moved to Miranda, and I sought Liberal preselection for the seat of Cook, covering the Sutherland shire of Sydney. As history records, I did not succeed. But, just 18 months later, Dr Brendan Nelson announced he would be stepping down in Bradfield.

Manuela, Gabriel and I were now back in Surry Hills, living in a recently, and rather expensively, architecturally renovated terrace house with our family expanded by the happy arrival of Hugo, then around six months old. So when I told Manuela that I was turning my attention from the southern suburbs of Sydney to the northern suburbs of Sydney she took a moment to gather her enthusiasm, but very soon she was fully on board for this latest quest—and, if the Princess Highway heading south had been the boulevard of broken dreams, the Pacific Highway heading north turned out to be the yellow brick road.

Within a few short months I was standing in this chamber giving my maiden speech, as it happens, precisely 15 years and one day ago—although it feels like five minutes. In that speech, I said:

I want to be a voice for rational policymaking which recognises some basic realities—the reality that we are a small country in a large world which does not owe us a living; the reality that the prosperity we enjoy today is not guaranteed but needs continual work; the reality that our prosperity depends much more on the efforts of the private sector than the public sector; …

How would I assess my performance against the aim of being such a voice for rational policymaking? In the marking scale used when I was a student at Sydney university in the 1980s, I would not give myself a high distinction or even a distinction, but I think it's probably worth a credit. I was lucky to work on some issues where I had relevant expertise.

After the 2013 election I was made parliamentary secretary to the communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull. He asked me to take charge of the Mobile Black Spot Program, our election commitment to spend $100 million on better mobile phone coverage in rural and remote Australia. I travelled all around the country, holding community meetings and visiting black spots, as we finalised the rules of the scheme and kicked it off. A lot of people said to me, 'Telstra has the best network in regional and remote Australia,' so just give all the money to them. But I thought we could design a reverse-auction process to maximise the competitive pressure on the three telcos—Telstra, Optus and Vodafone—and in turn maximise the number of new base stations we would get for the money. When the telcos lodged their bids, it was clear the strategy had worked. For this relatively modest sum, they collectively committed to build 499 new mobile base stations.

I drew several lessons from this experience. First, well-designed, competitive selection processes are a good way to get value for money for the taxpayer. Second, you should aim to have government intervene just enough to get the outcome needed but no more—in this case, what was the smallest subsidy we could pay to get a telco to build a new mobile base station? Third and most important, in politics we are often seeking to deliver emotionally important outcomes. But the more work you put into developing a rational and carefully designed policy, the better your chances of getting the outcome you seek. Because of careful policy work, we didn't get 200 or 300 or 400 new base stations; we got 499.

I am certain that for every one of those there are people alive today because a 000 call could be made and help obtained quickly after a farm accident or a car crash on a country road. The emotional outcome—enormously important—is saving lives, as well as all the other benefits, such as being able to make or receive a phone call in areas where before this program it was impossible. But we got a much better outcome because of good policy design. All too often in this place, the fact that the objective is important, that it is emotionally compelling, is the excuse for poor, ill-disciplined, wasteful policy design. As I will touch on later, I regard the National Disability Insurance Scheme as suffering from this problem.

I drew on these policy principles time after time as a minister. Working on the News Media Bargaining Code with Josh Frydenberg and Scott Morrison, we wanted enough intervention to bring Google and Facebook to the negotiating table with Australian news media businesses. The process we designed worked as intended, securing some $200 million in payments from the platforms, not only improving the profitability of Australian news media businesses but also leading to a lot more journalists being employed. It is a shame that the current government has not been able to continue our work effectively.

On the other hand, I am pleased that in other areas this government has continued directions I established. I welcome their support for the eSafety Commissioner, and I'm delighted to see Julie Inman Grant in the gallery today. I welcome the more sensible approach to extending the NBN fibre rollout. Instead of building fibre to every home, now there is fibre built down the middle of the street, with the connection to the customer's home done only when the customer orders a high-speed broadband service—a much more efficient use of taxpayers' capital.

I'm pleased that the changes I made to Australian content rules for free-to-air television have not been reversed. These rules required commercial TV networks to show multiple hours of specified content, including drama and children's content, each week. But not many people watched it, and much of this content was low-cost, low-production-value material produced solely to meet the quota. The changes I made aligned with what I saw as the broader strategic goal for the Australian screen production sector—how to make shows that would sell globally, including to the global streaming services.

So we needed to remove perverse incentives to create content that was not globally saleable. We also needed to give better financial support for the production of television content, including streaming, so we increased the producer offset for television from 20 per cent to 30 per cent. The Screen Producers Association strongly opposed these changes, but I believe they were a positive for the screen sector. And while there are ups and downs from year to year, over the past few years we've seen a clear upward trend in Australian screen production.

One of my most challenging times as communications minister was the 2019-20 bushfires. On the worst day, around 150 mobile base stations were off the air across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. No mobile coverage means no EFTPOS and no capacity to call or text for help. It was a reminder of something we too often overlook: the sustainability of the physical telecommunications networks which underpin the internet and, in turn, the digital economy. These networks are built and maintained by Telstra, Optus, TPG, NBN and the rest of our telco sector. In many places these networks are vulnerable, with little or no network redundancy. This is an economic issue as well as a network design issue. The margins made by the telcos in building and operating networks are modest, while the global tech firms which write over those networks are making supernormal returns. This disparity presents a growing risk, in my view, and needs policy attention.

The issues in communications were interesting and important. Equally fascinating were the issues in cities and urban infrastructure, a portfolio in which I served under various names from 2015 until 2018 and then again for nearly 18 months from late 2020, when it was added to my continuing responsibilities for communications and the arts. The high point, undoubtedly, was working on the Western Sydney airport. When Malcolm Turnbull asked me to take responsibility for this project, I set out to learn as much as I could about airports in general and this project in particular. I visited Changi Airport in Singapore; Incheon in Korea; Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton in Britain; Schiphol in the Netherlands; and Dallas-Fort Worth in the US, in each case meeting the chief executive and other members of the executive team. All of them were extremely generous with their time and insights. This was a policy nerd's dream trip.

I also spent many months engaging with the Sydney Airport Corporation. This company held a legally binding right of first refusal to develop the Western Sydney airport but, in the end, decided not to take up that right. We were well prepared for that scenario and announced almost immediately that the Commonwealth would establish a special-purpose company, WSA Co, to build the airport, with funding of $5.3 billion. This will not just be a new airport; it is the core of a new western parkland city, a new third city for the Sydney basin. It will have parks and recreational space. It will have a 23-kilometre-long metro rail line, with six stations running north to south, as the spine of the new city. It will have medium- and high-density housing around the stations. Because of the airport and the businesses the airport will attract, there will be jobs locally for people who live in that housing. This is urban policy, economic policy, transport policy and environmental policy all coming together.

None of this would have happened without the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister, the key role that Lucy Turnbull played as chair of the Greater Sydney Commission and the strong backing for this vision from New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her government. I worked particularly closely with the New South Wales Minister for Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres. Stuart and I worked closely with the eight councils who had joined with the Commonwealth and New South Wales governments in the Western Sydney City Deal. I was impressed with the way the councils stepped up to think about what was best not just for their area but for the whole of Western Sydney. I acknowledge the advocacy of key Western Sydney leaders like David Borger. Anybody who has had the chance to drive down The Northern Road and look at the massive Western Sydney airport site and how well-developed that project is would agree with me that this is going to have a very big impact for our city and our nation.

In years to come, I believe the Western Sydney airport and the associated policy framework, including the Western Sydney City Deal, will be seen as a template for urban policymaking in Australia. It's important for a host of reasons, including the huge challenge of housing affordability. If we can deliver new planned cities like this, with a combination of medium- and high-density housing, extensive parklands and local economic activity delivering local jobs, we have a powerful policy tool to bring a growing supply of affordable housing in areas which offer good quality of life.

Part of the solution to housing affordability, I believe, comes with delivering better public transport connections, particularly rail, between our big cities and surrounding regions. This lets people buy homes in more affordable areas while remaining plugged into the economy and jobs markets of our big cities. We did significant planning work between the Commonwealth and state governments on what we called 'faster rail'. In the 2022 budget we announced funding for three rail corridors from the federal government: $1 billion for a corridor between Sydney and Newcastle; $1.1 billion for a corridor between Brisbane and the Gold Coast; and $1.6 billion for a corridor between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. I want to acknowledge the two members for the Sunshine Coast, with whom I worked very, very closely on securing that announcement and the 'on again, off again, but ultimately on again'—as best as can be determined—commitment from the current government.

On the 90-kilometre corridor from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, our funding was targeted to a 19-kilometre segment between two stations roughly halfway along the corridor. This would double capacity from two tracks to four and realign and straighten the tracks. Why should you care? Because having a stretch of four tracks means you can run more express trains and all-stops trains. It gives benefits along the whole corridor, allowing faster, more frequent and reliable services. It's not a coincidence that that was also what the funding for the Newcastle-to-Sydney corridor was dedicated to, similarly increasing from two tracks to four. This might not be as exciting as very fast trains, but it's targeted, it's cost-effective is and it will deliver tangible benefits within a few years. It was a privilege to work on these issues.

It was also a privilege to be the Commonwealth arts minister. This brought some extraordinary experiences, such as visiting the set of Thor: Love and Thunder in Sydney and giving then 11-year-old Hugo the chance to meet Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi, who were both extremely charming, I must say. Equally special were the days spent visiting artists in four Indigenous communities in the APY Lands in the north of South Australia. Travelling with then South Australian premier and arts minister Steven Marshall, I met some remarkable Australians, including Robert Fielding and Betty Kuntiwa Pumani, winner of the 2017 Wynne Prize. There is no more distinctive feature of brand Australia than Indigenous art. As arts minister, I spoke very deliberately of wanting to build the market for Indigenous art. I visited Desert Mob in Alice Springs, Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair and the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair. These are important marketplaces where very talented artists can earn an economic return and buyers can purchase remarkable works.

When COVID came along, almost immediately performances were cancelled, venues were closed and artists and crews lost their gigs. I felt a tremendous sense of responsibility. Could we devise policy settings to help sustain the arts sector and get it going again once COVID was over? We could. I want to acknowledge the strong support of Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg. The Morrison government provided unprecedented support to the arts sector, with more than $10 billion in wages and cashflow support under programs like JobKeeper. Our $200 million RISE fund supported 541 projects, created more than 213,000 jobs and stimulated a two-year pipeline of events, with an estimated total audience of many millions of people. We managed to get money into art forms that had been underfunded for a long time and money into suburban and regional Australia, which normally do not see a very big share of the Commonwealth arts funding.

Left-leaning journalists at the ABC and the Sydney Morning HeraldI acknowledge that phrase is a tautology!—take it as an article of faith that the arts sector receives support stronger support under Labor than the coalition. Let me give you this fact. In 2021-22, under the Morrison government, there was record Commonwealth government funding to the arts of more than $1 billion. I want to say in particular to those coalition supporters in the arts sector: yours can seem a lonely and dangerous existence, I know, but I know you are there and actually in quite surprising numbers in some places. After all, artists, theatres and bands are businesses. Today we think of Shakespeare as a genius playwright, but he was also an entrepreneur, taking risks, employing people and building a business. I reckon old Will would have understood the solid policy case of giving small businesses with a turnover of less than $10 million a capped tax deduction of up to $20,000 for business related meal and entertainment expenses.

In communications, arts and infrastructure I was lucky to have had some prior interest and exposure, but when new prime minister Scott Morrison asked me to become social services minister in August 2018 I was coming into a portfolio about which I knew little. I only did the job for nine months. I learned a lot in a short time. I lived in constant fear that a journalist would start an interview with the question, 'Minister, what is the JobSeeker payment for single adults under 55?' Since you ask, it's $778 a fortnight. The portfolio included the National Disability Insurance Scheme. We need to acknowledge reality. The costs of this scheme are running wildly out of control and the governance and controls are deeply unsatisfactory.

I referred earlier to the tendency in this place to use high emotional importance as the excuse for poor, ill-disciplined, wasteful policy design. This is what I believe has happened with the NDIS. Its advocates promised that, by spending more money on people with disability, the scheme would increase their capacity to work and to make a productive contribution and, in turn, it would generate economic benefits. That is a very worthwhile goal, but there is little evidence that it is happening. We need a well-designed, well-targeted, efficient scheme to support people with a disability, but what we have is very far from that, and every Australian taxpayer is being hit with a big and rising annual bill. There is a lot of work needed to fix this.

Something else our nation would benefit from, in my view, is a scheme under which older Australians can use some of their superannuation balance to purchase an annuity from the Commonwealth. Recently I was interested to see the Grattan Institute advocating for such a scheme. Just to be clear, my view is it should be a choice. I would strongly oppose compulsion.

Another policy in another portfolio I think we should adopt is the system of per kilometre road-user charging for electric vehicles. I advocated this unsuccessfully as urban infrastructure minister, pointing out in one speech that, under our current fuel-excise system, somebody driving an old Holden Commodore is effectively paying 4.5c a kilometre through fuel excise to use our roads, but, if you drive a Tesla, you're paying nothing. In other words, we have a fairness problem, but we also have a problem that, as the share of electric vehicles rises, revenue from the fuel excise will drop. Today this is a revenue stream in net terms of some $11 billion or $12 billion, which is money we rely on to pay for building new roads and maintaining existing roads.

In my view, it would be fair and sensible to impose a federal per kilometre charge on electric vehicles set at a rate derived from the average effective rate per kilometre paid by users of petrol and diesel vehicles through the fuel excise system. Today electric vehicles are relatively expensive, and they're bought by more affluent Australians, so such a charge is unlikely to discourage electric vehicle sales. Rather than undermining the transition to electric vehicles, I see this as a policy measure which supports this inevitable and desirable transition by getting our road-funding arrangements set up for a world in which more and more vehicles are electric. It's one of a number of things I think we need to do, along with rolling out better and more comprehensive charging infrastructure.

As for those who would criticise this as a new tax, my answer is, on the contrary, it's about updating an existing tax to deal with technological change. The Liberals want to see the lowest possible taxes charged fairly across the broadest possible tax base. If most Australians have no choice but to pay a tax but a small minority avoid it by buying an expensive vehicle using the latest technology, then we have a problem with the design of the tax and we need to fix it.

When you're a minister, you regard parliament as an annoying constraint on your work. You have to answer all those pesky questions and, when you have a bill, you have to get it through the chamber. But, in this term, as Manager of Opposition Business, I've had to pay a lot more attention to the workings of the parliament. I want to thank and acknowledge you, Mr Speaker. Working collaboratively with you was an unexpected pleasure, but I have formed some clear views about how this place works and how it could improve.

Our voting process in the chamber is inefficient. It should be electronic. In my view, once the speaker says, 'Ring the bells for four minutes,' after members have come in and the doors are locked, members would hold up a smartcard or their phone to a reader. The vote would be captured and electronically tallied, and it could all be done in a minute or two. Having question time at 2 pm is inefficient. So much time is spent across this building every day preparing for possible questions in ministers' offices and working out questions to ask in other offices. It should be at 11 am with the standing orders providing for it to conclude automatically by 12:30 pm at the latest. This would free up lunchtime for meetings and events, and it would reduce the amount of the day committed to fairly unproductive short-term work in preparing for question time. Three-year terms are inefficient. To move to four-year terms should be a no-brainer. Under our current system, within about a year and a half, you start to hit the pause button on doing anything significant because your first consideration is how it might play in the next election.

Well, you might conclude from some of these comments that you are listening to a grumpy, splenetic man leaving the parliament disgruntled that his greatness has not been recognised and spraying around a collection of uncharitable observations as a parting gesture. On the contrary, as I leave this place I am not disgruntled at all; rather, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to serve in parliament and as a cabinet minister. It was only possible because of the Liberal Party, and the committed and dedicated volunteer members of the party in Bradfield and all across Australia. Our democracy is a precious and fragile thing. People who commit their time and energy and often money in being a member of a political party make an absolutely vital contribution to that democracy.

I cannot mention everybody in Bradfield who helped me but I do want to acknowledge my three FEC Presidents Alister Henskens, Carolyn Cameron and Jon Stewart; and to mention just a few others Nick Campbell, Jimmy Chen, Namoi Dougall, Penny George-Farlow, Ros and Geoff Jarrett, Robyn and Roger Kerr, Charles and Belinda Khong, Brett and Vicki Kvisle, Simon and Alicia Lennon, Michael Li and Michelle Lam-Li, Alan and Lyndy Lipman, Jenny

Powell, Victoria Qiu, the late and much missed Geoff Selig and Jane Selig, Les and Larraine Taylor, Barbara and Gary Ward, Jan and Tony Ward, James and Leanne Winter and Di Woods. I have missed out many others and I apologise but I certainly recognised and appreciated your support.

My Liberal Party involvement goes back to 1981 when I joined the Young Liberals and 1983 when I joined the Sydney University Liberal Club. I retain close friends dating back to those days, including Stephen Coutts, Patrick Fair, Don Harwin, Marise Payne and Michael Photios, all of whom helped me very considerably as I sought out a seat in Parliament.

For those engaged in careful decoding, yes, all are self proclaimed moderate Liberals, as am I. So too are other good friends who helped me on my journey, including Matthew Abbott, David Begg, Simon Birmingham, Scott Briggs, John Brodgen, Matt Cross, Matt Daniel, Jason Falinski, Joe Hockey, Matt Kean, Brendan Lyon, Natalie Ward, Sam Witheridge and Trent Zimmerman.

I may be a moderate but I am a strong believer in the importance of diversity of opinion in our party room. The Liberal Party is at its best when both our conservative and our small-l liberal traditions are respected. Most Liberal Party members and overwhelmingly our voters have zero interest in factions and arcane internal ideological squabbles. They simply want to see a strong, capable, sensible centre right government which is careful with their money, which works to build a stronger economy and which keeps a careful eye on our national security. I am very proud of our coalition parliamentary team and the discipline and focus we have shown over this term, under Peter Dutton’s leadership. We are a real prospect for government, which two and a half years ago seemed most unlikely.

My parliamentary career was only possible because the people of Bradfield saw fit to place their trust in me for six successive elections. Politicians as a class are not held in terribly high regard by the Australian people, but they tend to make an exception for their own local MP. I have been treated with courtesy and kindness, and I thank the people of Bradfield for that. Over recent weeks as I have gone about the electorate I have been very touched by the number of people who have come up to me to wish me well for the future. And it was only possible because of the love and support from my family. I am so pleased that my wife Manuela, my stepson Gabriel and my son Hugo are here today. I have put them through a lot and I am very grateful. As I often say when Manuela joins me at political events, she is the human face of the operation. But as well as being a wonderful wife and mum, she is also a very talented jewellery designer and accomplished businesswoman, with her store, Zappacosta Jewels, having operated successfully in the Strand Arcade in Sydney for over twenty years. I am very proud of what she has achieved.

When it comes to gratitude to family members, I also want to mention my mum Mary, my sister Sam, her husband Andrew and sons Tim and Nic. All of them have handed out at numerous elections and helped in countless other ways. I am grateful to all my personal friends and supporters who have helped out on campaigns - including, softly be it said, some who are not Liberal voters but still came along to put on the t-shirt and hand out for me. I am grateful to the many people and organisations who made political donations in support of campaigns in Bradfield and beyond

I am grateful to the four leaders I have served under: Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton. All gave me opportunities to contribute. I am grateful to the many wonderful colleagues I have worked with in the coalition party room over more than fifteen years, and I also want to acknowledge and express thanks for friendships with people across the parliament, of every political stripe.

I'm grateful to all who served as my staff in my electorate office and in my ministerial and shadow ministerial offices, quite a few of whom are here today. I can't mention everybody, but, in my electorate office, Jacquie Barnes and Jacquie Parker were key in earlier and later years respectively. As chief of staff at various stages, Luke Coleman, Alex Waldren, Boronia Morrison, Ryan Bloxsom and Brooke Curtin led my office very capably. I was pleased to have a number of ministerial staffers with deep sector experience, like Emma McDonald. I want to particularly mention the wise, unflappable and often extremely amusing Imre Salusinszky.

Let me close by speaking about why I am optimistic for Australia and our future. This sentiment can feel rather unfashionable at the moment, but I think we live in a remarkable country with a very bright future. We should give ourselves more credit than we do for our remarkable national achievement in building the most successful, multi-ethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multireligious nation in the world. The electorate of Bradfield is a microcosm of Australia. Almost 25 per cent of its residents report being of Chinese heritage, another four per cent are Indian, three per cent are Korean—and many other backgrounds as well. I should acknowledge our Armenian community, our South African community, our Jewish community—and there are plenty of others that I'm forgetting in that quick list.

What I see in our schools, in Scouts and Guides groups, in sporting clubs and in so many other institutions is a no-nonsense, lets-get-on-with-it attitude to make everyone feel welcome and included regardless of who they are or where they come from. It's not mandated by governments or decreed by bureaucrats. It is the ordinary practice of millions of Australians—building relationships and making friendships, and thereby overcoming the suspicion and mistrust that all too easily can arise between people of different backgrounds. I'm optimistic about Australia's future because I believe we will keep attracting smart, motivated, energetic people from around the world. Our focus on skilled migration for many decades has served Australia very well.

I am also optimistic about technology. When I reflect on the unbelievable changes just in my own lifetime, to me the evidence of scientific and technological advancement improving our lives is absolutely compelling. There is a strand of thinking on the far left which hankers for some kind of pretechnological state of grace and purity. It is delusional. How anyone can maintain this belief the first time they have a serious dental issue requiring treatment is entirely beyond me. Do I think all applications of technology are positive? Of course not. But consider the internet—it has transformed the way we live, work, meet our partners, entertain ourselves, do business and a hundred other things besides. Is there a lot of pointless, stupid stuff on TikTok and social media generally? Of course there is. But the phenomenal amount of practical, useful information available to any one of us is, in my view, absolutely something to celebrate.

'What about artificial intelligence?' I hear you say. 'It's going to take our jobs.' As the expression goes, predictions are hard, especially about the future, but we can see a clear patterns from every previous wave of new technology. There has been alarm that it would destroy jobs. Instead, it has changed jobs and created new jobs while increasing prosperity. 'What about global warming?' you ask. 'Aren't we all doomed?' Let me be clear—I absolutely believe that we're seeing an increase in the parts per million of carbon, that there's a link to the burning of fossil fuels and that we need to phase out fossil fuels, and of course that is the clear commitment of the Liberal and National parties. But I'm an optimist that the human race will get this job done, and science and technology will be the way that we will do it. I have to say, I'm even more optimistic now, after spending 2½ years as shadow minister for science, visiting supersmart scientists, researchers and businesspeople all around the country.

Once you've had a few decades on this planet, you've heard plenty of examples of seriously scary things that are about to destroy us. When I was a school and university debater, it was the coming ice age. Later it was peak oil. Then there was the Y2K bug—remember that? It was going to bring the entire global economy to its knees because computers had been programmed with only a two-digit field for the date back in the sixties and seventies, and, once the date flipped over from 31 December 1999 to 1 January 2000, everything would suddenly stop working, chaos would descend and zombies would walk the earth. It didn't happen. Of course, there are things that it's rational to be concerned about, but to be rationally concerned about risks and threats is one thing; to plunge from that into despair is not the right response. I believe the right mindset for our nation and indeed for our world, to use the title of an impressive recent book, is rational optimism.

Let me conclude. It has been a privilege to serve in this place for 15 years. It is time for renewal. Thank you. It has been great. Keep in touch.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—On behalf of the coalition I want to formally congratulate our colleague Paul Fletcher for the amazing contribution he's made to the Liberal Party, to many areas of endeavour, in different portfolios, but most importantly to the betterment of our country. He has been in our leadership group as Leader of the House. As he said, he's served under four leaders in our party, and we have each seen great qualities in Paul, and he hasn't let us down. He's been able to contribute to many debates because of his business background and because of his intellect, and his capacity has been on display around the shadow cabinet table and the cabinet table for a long period of time. We will miss him in his seat, but I know he's done a lot of work to help Gisele and provide support to a transition, which is going to be incredibly important, because we want to maintain that seat, and we want Gisele Kapterian in this parliament as the next member for Bradfield.

Can I just say thank you to all of Paul's supporters who are here today and, most importantly, to his beautiful family. Families often make a sacrifice, and that's true in the Fletcher household as well. But Fletch has an incredible next career ahead of him. He has been a dear friend, a confidant and a great supporter to many of us for a long period of time, and we wish him every success in the next phase of life.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—On behalf of the government and at a personal level: I remember after my third year of not being selected for the Sydney uni debating team I asked who the selector was, and that was the first time in my life I heard the words 'Paul Fletcher'. Paul has made an extraordinary contribution for his side of politics. The role of Manager of Opposition Business is where we have worked most closely together, and on that I simply say that the most important thing about that relationship is that in the worst and most heated moments you can trust that you will always be honest with each other. Paul has been impeccably honest and has kept to every agreement that was made—and when he couldn't make an agreement, he just said so. In terms of the running of the parliament, I don't think you can ever ask for more than the integrity that comes with that.

In terms of his portfolio, for his side of politics, the legacy is extraordinary, and I'm glad he focused so much on Western Sydney Airport, which has been an issue which has gone back and forth—certainly well before I arrived here, and before the Leader of the Opposition arrived here. It was a live issue when the Prime Minister first arrived here. To have played a significant role in that development is something he'll be forever proud of.

Can I simply say, on behalf of the government and as someone who, like the member for Bradfield, knows there's nothing wrong with being loyal to a party and being able to say so—it's not why all of us are here, but it's why most of us are here—for your side of politics, you have been true to your party, true to your values and true to yourself, and you leave here with your head held high.

Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Standing to give a valedictory speech after just three years as the Independent federal member for North Sydney is nothing short of surreal. No-one—well, except maybe Antony Green—could have predicted this plot twist, especially given that, when as a community we decided to take our voice and our vote back in 2022, we had plans that reached well beyond one parliamentary term. At the time we were deeply dissatisfied with what we saw as a lack of direction or ambition offered by either of the major parties. Regardless of what our MP said to our faces in our electorate, when they came here they would always cast North Sydney's vote the way the party instructed them to. The blue tie/red tie dynamic was too focused on working for itself rather than for us.

When we wanted faster action on climate change, we were witnessing prevarication and outright denial. We were literally told we were overreacting and we needed to calm down. Where we expected integrity, transparency and accountability from those in parliament, we were instead offered $10 million in regional sporting grants to fix our iconic—and not-so-regional—North Sydney Olympic Pool. It seemed the expectations for appropriate conduct set by us ordinary folks were too pedestrian, and we were told that if we had a problem with that we could take it up at the next election. Where we wanted to see a society where everyone could reach their full potential regardless of gender, racial, cultural, sexual or religious background, we were offered a government hell-bent on advocating for women only when it was not 'at the expense of anyone else' and who openly castigated those who wanted true equity as 'woke'.

So, after 115 years as a safe Liberal seat, we did the unthinkable and turned up en masse to take our parliamentary voice and vote back, rather than simply handing it over yet again to an unresponsive and disrespectful party system. As one of the first seats ever established in Australia, North Sydney has a long history of not just looking out for ourselves but doing what we can to ensure no-one is left behind. While some have decided to describe us as 'woke, latte-sipping, inner-city dwellers', my community has contributed much to our country, from innovation to leadership and economic stimulus.

As my community's champion in this place, I've done everything I could to ensure our authentic voice was heard here—not one filtered through a party backroom but one that has been raw, honest and at times controversial. That has taken courage but courage is something North Sydney has in spades, as was evidenced by the way we approached the Voice referendum in 2023. Offering my respects to the traditional custodians of the land that I am speaking on—the Ngunnawal and the Ngambri—as well as to the traditional custodians of the land on which my seat sits—the Cammeraygal and Wallumattagal—isn't something I do because it's politically correct; I do it because I was taught we should respect those who have come before us, honour the legacy they have left us and aspire to learn the lessons they pass to us.

In the case of our First Nations people, for many years our country has not listened for what we might learn, instead often choosing to pursue agendas which assume we know better than those who are living the experience firsthand. This attitude has seen what is often described as 'well-intentioned policies' pursued relentlessly, even as those impacted by them have asked us to step back and listen—and we seem determined to carry on in that fashion. I don't say this from some high horse but as someone who has been an active member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights and who, in that role, has witnessed some of the most reductive thinking I have seen from people in this place when it comes to recognising and honouring First Nations people's capacity to make decisions for themselves. In 2023, my community's courage, compassion and wisdom to vote for the Voice to Parliament reaffirmed that I was absolutely representing the right people. Ultimately, I believe we must confront our past, embrace the learnings and pursue true reconciliation with the First Peoples of this continent in a way that prioritises fairness and respect.

I want to take a step back and share a very personal truth with you—that being that, as my parents will attest, as a child I dreaded the game of musical chairs. It was such an anxiety-provoking experience for me, as I hated the thought of having to race or fight for a chair and I worried how the person who did miss out would be left feeling. Fast forward to today, and I can't help but laugh at the fact that I seem to have found myself once again in a game of musical chairs and no seat is left for me. As my seat in this place is abolished, however, rather than feeling anxious I feel really deep gratitude for the extraordinary experience serving my community has been. From the rapid learning curve through to the sheer volume of information I've had access to, the great minds I've heard speak, the people I've met and the processes I've witnessed, the learnings I take from this place will last me a lifetime. That's because, as an Independent on this House of Representatives crossbench of the 47th parliament, I have been one of just 151 people in this country who have had the opportunity to develop, discuss, debate and decide the laws that govern us, and that is a pretty bloody extraordinary thing to have done.

While the boundaries of my electorate have ebbed and flowed over time, with Warringah created in 1922 and Bradfield and Bennelong in 1949, North Sydney has always held its own until the most recent Australian Electoral Commission review of our electoral boundaries. Over 124 years, North Sydney has been a seat of many firsts. In 1900, we were one of the original 75 divisions created that contested the first federal election in 1901. In 1990 we elected Ted Mack, who was the first Independent in the modern era of politics, breaking an 89-year-old hold on the seat by conservative party politicians. In 2015 we elected Trent Zimmerman, the first openly LGBTIQA member in the House of Representatives. In 2021 we were the first new seat to announce our intention to run an Independent in the 2022 election. And in 2022 I became the first woman and only the second Independent to win the seat. In 2025 we're the first Federation seat and the first seat held by an Independent to be abolished and, to be honest, I could have done without those last two firsts. While I think ending as an Independent seat held by a woman is a great way to go out, I do want to acknowledge the members for North Sydney who came before me, all who contributed more than what they took from this place.

Moving forward, our community will be absorbed into Warringah, Bradfield and Bennelong. While it is the end of an era, I know the courage, conviction and compassion of the North Sydney community will strengthen those electorates. I've tried not to take a single minute for granted in this place, with people much wiser than me, including the interminable Cathy McGowan sitting up there in the wings, counselling me very early on that I needed to work like I had just one term—and thank goodness I took their advice! Working with my community, my team and others in this place and key stakeholders across society, I've introduced three private member's bills to parliament to drive broader discussion and legislative reform. One was to bring Australia into line with the rest of the world and give people access to cleaner cars. Another was to end indefinite detention and finally make it illegal for the Australian government to hold those fleeing for their lives and seeking our protection for more than 90 days or to detain children. The final one was to apply a human rights framework to housing and homelessness policy and bring consumer voices to the front of that debate.

Recognising the power of working across political lines and building consensus and awareness, I've also worked with parliamentary friendship groups, including establishing the Parliamentary Friends of Youth Mental Health and co-chairing the groups for cancer care and a cure, women in work, Amnesty International, the Australian Red Cross and the Hazara community. I've served on three joint parliamentary committees, including: the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards, which developed the first ever binding code of conduct for parliamentarians and everyone working in or visiting parliamentary workplaces; the joint standing committee overseeing the workings of the Parliamentary Library, which provides invaluable research and data to everyone in this place, and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, which not only scrutinises every bill that passes through this parliament for human rights compatibility but has also held inquiries into the potential for a national human rights act and income management in our country and is currently investigating antisemitism in our universities.

If you can believe it, I've spoken 143 times and moved 82 amendments to 19 different pieces of legislation. I can see the Leader of the House smiling as I quote those stats as many of them have been done with him. Each of those amendments were designed to improve transparency and accountability, whether that was in climate policy or for small business, to improve economic inclusion or on superannuation reform laws. In total, I have made 238 statements, including questions of government, amendments to legislation and constituency statements. But more important than numbers are the truths they reflect. I was there fighting to legislate 43 per cent emissions reductions as a floor, not a ceiling. I was there fighting for a binding code of conduct for everyone in this place and for better behaviour. I was there fighting for human rights for all. I was there fighting for HECS reform and rebates for young Australians. I was there fighting to lift the single parent payment. I was there fighting for greater protections for small and family businesses. I was there fighting for families to enable access to a home and for fairer childcare fees. I was there fighting for the best and cleanest transport for our kids, and I was there fighting for our environment. Each of these actions fundamentally helped shape the debate in this place and helped create what I hope is a new path towards consensus.

As my term in parliament comes to an end, I wanted to share my key take-outs in the hope that they will inspire others to choose optimism over despair.

Firstly, there is power in understanding our democracy is the direct result of our individual voting decisions and actions. If we are unhappy with the direction our country is headed in, fixing it is on us. No-one else is going to come and save us.

Secondly, winning the seat of North Sydney says everything that needs to be said about exactly what one person can do. The community movement in North Sydney showed that a group of committed people, united behind a common idea, can achieve extraordinary things.

Thirdly, though, there is still so much work to do. While the environmental catastrophes of the 2019 and 2020 summer and the appalling treatment of women in this place were enough to drive momentum for change in 2022, the past three years have seen us continue to struggle as a nation, to find our way forward, as some have actively sought to divide and undermine our national character.

And, finally, despite progress, we continue to move too slowly—too slowly to embrace the economic opportunities that come with addressing climate change; too slowly to help the most vulnerable, as more and more everyday Australians get left behind while vested interests double-down to protect their margins and the status quo; too slowly to end debates that pit us against one another, whether that is man versus woman, city versus country or those who were born here versus those who have immigrated; and too slowly to change a political dynamic which gets stuck on being so focused on maintaining short-term power that it's incredibly difficult to drive the necessary long-term reform.

As a nation, we've faced significant challenges over the course of the last three years, including increasing global conflict, starting with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Iranian regime's crackdown on its citizens, the October 7 attacks in Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza. Every instance has left us shocked as we've witnessed the brutality that people have levelled against one another, with far too many innocents caught in the crossfire. Meanwhile, democracies have been under siege globally as far-right movements sweep through previously progressive societies.

Here at home, the campaign around the Voice referendum unveiled a schism in our society that stunned many, while more recently the rise in all forms of racism, particularly antisemitism, has created a sense that hate is boiling over. This is further reflected in the abhorrent increase in the rate of violence against women across our community.

Economically, many have been left feeling like they just can't get ahead, as wages have struggled to catch up with inflation, and young Australians are being left behind in the race for homeownership and long-term financial equity, drowning under levels of educational debt not previously seen in this country. Underlying it all is the increasing frequency and severity of climate disasters that see our emergency services fighting fires in one place while responding to catastrophic floods in another, with the knock-on effects driving a cost-of-living crisis.

In my electorate, these issues have translated to a significant loss of green space, as open land is sacrificed to infrastructure and greedy owners seek to increase their property value by killing trees along our foreshore, while a housing crisis has pushed essential workers and young people out of our community. It has also created challenges to our social cohesion, with various members of our community feeling increasingly unsafe, whilst worrying rates of youth mental health distress, unprecedented numbers of women and children seeking refuge from domestic abuse and more and more pensioners living in our community struggling to stay in their homes are leaving us with more people living in vulnerable situations than we've ever seen.

In contemplating everything I've just outlined then, I can't help but feel that we must ask ourselves: what is it that we believe in today, and what are we prepared to do to fight for those beliefs? As Robert Menzies, the father of the modern day Liberal movement himself, once said: 'It happened because we had something to believe in, not just something to oppose.' So while many of my experiences in the last three years would suggest our current political frame has sunk to a place where opposition for opposition's sake is all that matters, I have hope—hope that is driven by an understanding that any government derives its power and authority from the people.

In this way, democracy is not reserved or an entitlement for certain parties, groups or individuals. Rather, political equality amongst all of us means no single person's vote is any more important than another's, and that truth is not only important but must be protected. A healthy democracy requires public awareness of personal responsibility, understanding of democratic processes and, I believe, active participation. I've seen the power of that level of participation not only through our day-to-day work in our electorate but during the deliberative democracy forums I've hosted on topics as contentious as housing availability and supply, access to early childhood education and care and support for small businesses. As my independent predecessor Ted Mack said:

… government should be open to public scrutiny … elected representatives should enable people to not only participate in all decisions … but ultimately find ways to have people make decisions for themselves … a decision taken by the public as a whole will be right more often than decisions taken by an elite group …

But currently our parliament operates on the basis that, 'Because I have the numbers I am right and you are wrong,' and that is holding us back. The alternative is a democracy where independents bring authentic community representation to this place and force conversations that are focused on building consensus across the chamber to move us forward on tax reform, forward on economic development, forward on renewable energy, forward on nature protection, forward on gender equity and forward on human rights.

In 2022, communities like North Sydney disrupted the system. As more and more communities announce their intention to run their own independents in 2025 I am truly hopeful that courageous and ambitious thinking and debate will be brought back into this place. Community independents run because their community asks them to and because they believe our democracy will be stronger if their community has a genuine voice which is heard during the political debate. On the other hand, communities send independents because they want their parliamentary voices to be heard for their individuality in this place, not because they think they have all the answers or they think they have a greater right to be heard but because they believe that by sharing their collective experiences, opinions and ambitions they will add value to the national discourse. Unfortunately, they know that at the moment neither of the major parties are providing that level of discourse for them. They want to see a parliament that is diverse, vibrant, resilient, responsible, responsive and optimistic—a place where people listen as often as they speak and are prepared to work together to help move our nation forward.

When I made my first speech in this place I talked about four values I believed had led me here and would guide me in my time as member for North Sydney. They were community, curiosity, compassion and courage, and they have indeed been the foundations of everything I have done. During the election of 2022 the traditional two-party system touted the rise of community independents as a risk to stability and predictability, and we're hearing those same threats thrown around today. They argue that without party domination our parliament would descend into chaos. We've proven them wrong during this term. Rather than chaos, I believe people like me have brought a level of debate and consideration to this parliament that has not been seen since the earliest days our democracy, and that is a good thing. This parliament should serve the people, not the politics. Yet for this to happen, people must continue to stand up, turn up and speak up.

As I leave this place I do so with a very deep sense of optimism that through greater community representation in parliament we can develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be Australian: to recognise and respect everybody's fundamental human rights; to get comfortable with the conversation around racism so we can recognise it, name it and act on it; to achieve true gender equity, with our expectations of appropriate behaviour and integrity modelled from the top down; and to, as a nation, fully embrace the huge economic potential that comes with no longer shying away from the challenges presented by climate change. But this will take true leadership that inspires and encourages us all to push for something better. That will need to come from a place that is grounded in compassion and courage, and to me that sounds a lot like the community independent movement has more to offer. Extraordinary things can be achieved when we take the time to truly listen to each other, and that must be the ambition for this process and this place. It cannot just be about power and control.

Doing politics differently is incredibly tough. It's isolating, sometimes overwhelming, and it requires coverage, conviction and support. In closing I want to thank the thousands of people who have helped me in this experience, and I have to preface it by saying I haven't named names, for fear of missing somebody out. To my community, to the board of Kylea Tink Independent Ltd, to the incredible volunteers, to the people who take the time to speak with me, to the advocates who turn up and reach out to me time after time, to my donors and supporters and to my friends and the wider community independent movement, thank you for seeing what you did in me.

To those in parliament, the people who keep it working—the clerks, the security team, the cleaners, the gardeners, the stewards, the hosts around this house—your smiles have made every one of my days in this place better. Thank you.

To my peers, colleagues in both the House of Reps and the Senate, while we've not always agreed, I've always valued the opportunity to listen to the arguments you have made and have respected the fact that progress is only possible through the open and honest exchange of ideas. Thank you for continuing to fight for what you believe in.

To the political leadership, especially the Speaker of the House, Milton Dick, thank you for your patience, humour and guidance. This is a crazy environment, and I'm so appreciative you were willing to help me try to make sense of it. And to the ministers in this government, thank you for being prepared to listen to my arguments and to have those conversations. I have truly enjoyed that interaction with you, and I believe you are 100 per cent committed to making this place a better place.

I also want to thank the Leader of the House and the opposition's business manager. You've taught me things and I still don't think I've learnt everything, but I'm very prepared and looking forward to watching my crossbench colleagues continue to challenge you.

To my team, thank you for holding the line, for turning up in a way that has prioritised listening to our community, working incredibly hard to digest and critique every piece of legislation that has been presented to us and for always having my back. My trusted advisors—you know who you are. You are the people who when you say no I hate it, but I listen. And when you say go, I ask you how far you need me to move. Thank you for pushing me.

My family, my mum and dad—I am so grateful you have been there every moment. Thank you for wanting to protect me when I've been under attack and for reminding me that this is just another chapter in my life, not my entire story. To my brothers and sister, thank you for getting interested in politics and, again, for being there to shield and support me when vitriol was being hurled my way. To my kids, you are my world. Back in 2021, I only said yes to running because I wanted to be able to honestly say to you that I had done everything I could to leave this place better and to leave it as something you deserve. I'm actually really sorry this experience has been so disruptive for our family, but we did it together—and I think Uber has been very grateful that I've spent three years here. And for a family like ours to do something like this together, well, that's pretty bloody incredible.

To my current crossbench colleagues, you are such an extraordinary group of human beings. You are articulate, you are intelligent, you are courageous and it has been an absolute privilege to get to know each of you. To leave calling you friends is a true blessing. You've got this next election. Our country needs you, so please hold the line.

And, finally, to those community independents who will run in the upcoming election, including Nicolette Boele in Bradfield, if you remember nothing else, remember this: first they will ignore you, then they will laugh at you, then they will fight you and then you will win. Go get 'em tigers! Thank you.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—On behalf of the government, allow me to acknowledge that Kylea Tink's first speech showed an infectious enthusiasm and that that enthusiasm and optimism has been the story of this whole term.

When redistributions come by, the loss that you immediately go to—it isn't as though a community won't be represented, because the communities all go somewhere. The loss that everyone was talking about immediately was the loss of Kylea Tink. What many people outside the oddness of our occupation won't appreciate is the number of changes that are made that are not in the public view.

I know with legislation of my own and some briefings where, at the end, having provided a briefing of legislation I was intending to introduce, it was almost shell shock in terms of some of the responses I got sometimes. But there were changes that were made to legislation before it was introduced. The one that comes to mind immediately was a variation in how same job, same pay was done. Even though it still didn't have the support, there was a fundamental shift in how we did it because of feedback that was given by Kylea Tink because of her business background. There are changes in legislation—that story will be all across the parliament.

But, I think, most importantly, beyond that, there was a change of tone, because Kylea Tink's optimism was part of the parliament. North Sydney was better served because you were here, the parliament was a better place because of your role here, and Australia is a better country because of what you've done in the 47th Parliament. So thank you for your work.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—In the same vein, on behalf of the opposition, I'd like to extend our congratulations to the member for North Sydney on her service to this place. It's not bad for a kid who went to Coonabarabran High School and rose to great heights. I think it's a lesson for a lot of young people in regional Australia today: to never sell themselves short, always aspire to be their best and try to make a difference in our community.

I know the member didn't expect her career in this place to end at the whims of a boundary change. But I have every confidence in the world that, whatever she pursues in the future, she will pursue it with integrity and vigour, and she'll continue to make a difference to Australian society, and I wish her well.

I want to extend thanks, on behalf of the opposition, to her family—thank you for letting Kylea serve with us. You have the good fortune of spending more time with her. Unfortunately, I'm not sure whether she's a good cook or not, but Uber may suffer as a result!

I do sincerely wish you all the best for the future, and thank you for your service to the parliament.