Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I rise today, I note that tomorrow is the last day of my first 12 months, my first season, down here.

Honourable senators: Happy birthday!

I'd like to thank the people of New South Wales for giving me the opportunity and the people of the National Party for giving me a chance. Upon reflection, some of the values we have in the office are 'continual improvement' and 'be inquisitive'. I think they said it on an episode of Ted Lasso, when Ted Lasso was throwing darts at the board in the Crown & Anchor. I want to talk about where we're at and what we're at.

I'd never worked in a government office before, I'd never worked in parliament before and I'd never worked in the Public Service before I came here. Potentially—or definitely—my aspirations have outmatched my ability in this place so far. I raised this in a few different speeches on the Voice last week and also when taking note yesterday. I think that there are many things we're looking at here and there are things we could always be better at. There's 'he said, she said'. I'd like to thank the people in this chamber. So many of them are good people, really have this country's interests at heart and want good things. But forget which government; over the last 15 or 20 years, we haven't been doing as much as we could be or should be. I note that only one prime minister has served term to term in the 15 years since John Howard, and I think that's indicative of where we are.

It is time that we looked at our democracy. It's time we looked at these institutions. I think it's time we had a good look at what we're doing here. It has been 120 years that this place existed in one form or another, and change is constant. In those last 15 years that I'm talking about, with 24-hour media, Facebook and all these social media things, it has never been easier for misinformation or disinformation. It has never been easier to scare. It has never been easier for things to go around—