Matt Thistlethwaite (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There are also serious questions about how the member for Gilmore could do both jobs at the same time. Every member of this chamber and every member of the other place will tell you that service in the federal parliament is a full-time job. If you are only making a part-time effort, you are letting your constituents down. What about her obligations to Shoalhaven City Council? How many mayoral functions will she miss because she is attending to her parliamentary duties? How many community functions will be overlooked? How many council meetings will go unattended? How many local businesses will be ignored because their mayor is away in Canberra?

The Australian parliament is not a waiting room. The Australian parliament is not a retirement village. It is a proud and important institution in which the Australian people, through their parliamentary representatives, exercise their will over our great nation. The constituents of Gilmore in the great state of New South Wales deserve an MP who is committed to living up to those grand ideals. The constituents of Gilmore deserve more than a part-time MP. The constituents of Gilmore deserve a truly committed representative who is fully invested in this parliament. It is time for the member for Gilmore to do the right thing, and that is to move on.