Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I stand before you today, I want to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples. While I live on Wajuk Noongar country, the privilege of serving in this place has connected me to Yawuru, Gija, Yamatji, Bardi Jawi, Ngaanyatjarra and many other wonderful communities. It is a connection that has taught me a profound truth: progress happens when we stop seeing others as strangers and start recognising our common interests and humanity.

In his historic Redfern speech, Paul Keating said:

We practised discrimination and exclusion.

It was our ignorance and our prejudice.

And our failure to imagine these things being done to us.

I've got a great-great-great-great-uncle named Alfred Howitt. He led the search party that found Burke and Wills—my mother originates from Victoria—and he witnessed firsthand the consequences of our failure to learn from First Nations people. As Burke lay dying at Cooper Creek, it is well documented today that his racial arrogance prevented him from learning and asking for help from First Australians. Today it is in all of our interests, if we want to live abundant, sustainable lives, to draw on the knowledge of First Nations people—knowledge accrued over six millennia.

For me, the gap between Australia's legacy of colonialism and the needs of First Nations people still remains too great. This is important to all of our wellbeing, and for our wellbeing as a nation. The issues confronting First Nations communities cannot be addressed by treating communities as the problem. We can only step forward by listening to the oldest living culture on earth, a culture that has adapted and renewed itself over the last 200 years since colonisation. A failure of imagination and the inability to see our interests align with others lies at the heart of so many challenges we face, both as individuals and as a society and a nation. I have to say that it was a pleasure to see how we responded to these needs in the Labor budget delivered last night, including cost-of-living relief, climate change, support for families and more.

In 2014, when my first term in this place ended, I stood on the other side, six months pregnant with Jasper—hello, Jasper!—giving my valedictory. He's now 10. I became pregnant with you, Jasper, between the 2013 election and the 2014 Senate re-run, after the AEC lost all those ballot papers. It was a very challenging time for me personally on many fronts, but also there was a loss shared by so many of my Labor colleagues. We knew that some of the reasons behind our defeat were of our own making. But we've worked very hard to rebuild and earn the trust of Australians, and we seek to hold that trust secure.

Jasper, when I returned to parliament, you were nearly two. I have, in fact, Malcolm Turnbull to thank for my return because he called a double dissolution election. I remember talking to you, Jasper, about going to work in Canberra again, and you pointed to the sky and said, 'Plane.' I'm pretty sure you thought that coming to Canberra meant that I was literally up in the air in an aeroplane all the time. It did feel that way sometimes. Jasper, I'm enormously proud of you and of our family. I want to thank Dennis and Stephen and my wonderful wife, Bec, for making it possible for me to serve in the Senate for these last nine years.

Back in 2001, as a state legislative councillor, I was involved in changing the laws around access to IVF in Western Australia. I was part of campaigns before that time that asked Western Australians not to imagine the wish of de facto couples, single women, including lesbians, as strangers in our desire to have a family. Without that change I would never have had the privilege, Jasper, of being your mother because you simply wouldn't exist. So I know that you know that the work of parliamentarians is important. The decisions we make in this place matter both in Australia and overseas. But to me, Jasper, you're more important than all of that. I know you're upset about missing your school puppet show tomorrow, but thank you for being at this puppet show with me today. We both experience that feeling of missing out sometimes, and this place, like your puppet show, holds a unique magic—a stage on which to recognise and respond to the many issues affecting Australia and the world, with a new iteration of sometimes old debates every year.

I really feel these past nine years since my return have been incredible, from defending hard-fought Labor reforms in opposition to embracing the opportunities of government—from marriage equality to COVID, from manufacturing to employment, social security, immigration, blocking regressive industrial relations changes and engaging in ever-evolving debates about rights and freedoms. It has been such a great privilege to play a role in these debates and more.

The journey to marriage equality was long and deeply personal, as it was for others of us in the chamber, but I was so proud to walk that path alongside so many Australians who demanded fairness and dignity. I hope that my time in this place has shown young queer, LGBTIQ+ Australians that there is a place for them in politics and in shaping our country's future. On that note, Senator Wong, thank you for placing me on the committee that established the guardrails for implementing marriage equality. And it was such a great pleasure to work with you, Senator Dean Smith.

We need strong institutions that listen to citizens, and the Senate's capacity to do that is indeed a powerful one. Of course, in this context, Senate committee work is key. When compared to other upper houses, our role in reform through our committees exceeds that of other parliaments around the world. Of course, as I look at the Clerk, we could not accomplish this without the hard work and commitment of all of parliament's officers and staff. I thank you and all of the staff here—the clerks, the committee staff, the Black Rod—for your steady moderation of this institution. I also thank security, COMCAR drivers, cleaners, catering staff, the library, building services, the Parliamentary Budget Office and attendants. You all make this place function, despite the tendency of politicians to create chaos by sitting late and engaging in heated debates, as we may well do tonight.

We are in a very dynamic place, and, having visited other parliaments, I've seen that the access of civil society, unions, advocates, business, health consumer groups and more to this building, and therefore to power, is such a great asset to our nation. This openness is special. Please protect it. It helps us recognise the issues that are important to the nation.

In my time in the Senate, I've seen how we need to face the critical need to break down barriers that make us see the needs of others as strangers unaligned to our own interests. When we see someone who doesn't look like us, sound like us, act like us or love like us, our first instinct is often rooted in fear or judgement. There's a popular quote on TikTok at the moment, from US governor Pritzker. He said: 'We survived as a species by being suspicious of things that we are unfamiliar with.' But he goes on to say: 'This instinct, this animal brain, it limits our potential. When we fail to evolve past these primal urges, our thinking lacks imagination and creativity. Our problem-solving becomes narrow and ineffective, and, most importantly, we miss the opportunity to learn from and connect with the rich diversity of human experience around us.' I have witnessed this throughout my parliamentary career, from the struggle for marriage equality to the recognition of First Nations voices, the fight for transgender rights and the protection of vulnerable Australians from predatory systems like robodebt. In each case, progress only happened when we stopped seeing strangers and started seeing people.

I've been reading an essay by Palestinian writer Isabella Hammad. It's titled Recognizing the Stranger. She writes of recognition versus denial. Recognition means acknowledging our shared humanity and the legitimacy of others' experiences, even when they're different from our own. She also goes on to say: 'With recognition must come action.' She commented on the extremity of language from the Israeli government, dehumanising those being bombed—50,000 lives, or more. But as a nation we have citizens with interests on both sides of this conflict. Just as the Berlin Wall fell, apartheid in South Africa ended, and all throughout history great civilisations rise and fall, nothing is in stone. We always have the power and an obligation to look to the future and to shape it with a stranger in mind.

I saw the transformative power of recognition firsthand when our party caucus welcomed First Nations voices like Senator Dodson's, Senator McCarthy's, Marion Scrymgour's, Linda Burney's and Jana Stewart's. Our discussions changed fundamentally. Today it feels like we're no longer deliberating on the lives of strangers. We can discuss what is important to us all, and that means a great deal to me.

The same principle applies across every domain in life and decision-making. The success of Australia's response to HIV has always meant not treating those affected with stigma or discrimination. Our progress on marriage equality came when Australians recognised that our relationships and families have the same qualities as any other—love, kindness and support.

Our strongest public institutions are those that listen to and serve all citizens, not just a privileged few. In saying this, I think particularly of the Fair Work Commission, Medicare, the PBS, the Net Zero Economy Authority and even the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, who are seeking to drive economic investment and opportunity for communities around the nation. My best experiences with colleagues in this place have never focused on our differences. We've always sought to replace fear with curiosity and, in committee work when taking evidence, to ask in a collaborative way with our colleagues, 'What do we need to learn from this person or this evidence?' It's a practical wisdom.

As a Senate, we should always keep an eye on the need to reform our institutions when they're out of touch, out of date or leaving people behind so that all voices can be heard. We want public services to be adequately resourced to respond to citizens' needs, where we recognise that no parent should be deprived of a relationship with their child due to poverty and no child should be deprived of basic health care like immunisation here in Australia or overseas—a world where we understand that there can be no strangers among us if we are the truly multicultural nation we claim to be. This is a value in today's day and age, in a complicated world, that we must continue to share, with no stranger to us in Palestine or Israel, just as we were moved to see no strangers in our support for the end of apartheid.

Speaking of strangers, transgender Australians have been talked about in this place by some as if they are strangers to citizenship in their own nation. These debates reinforce harmful stereotypes about how men and women should behave and exist in the world, and this ultimately limits all of us—the policing of who's allowed to have a masculine or feminine attribute. It's a ridiculous debate that distracts from the real issues. To address these issues, we need to listen to transgender people and let them speak for themselves. Extreme debates about same-sex parents or marriage equality are no longer the norm. Australians are listening to transgender Australians, just as they did on the calls for marriage equality, and, for us in this place, Australians overall would much prefer politicians to be supporting issues that actually affect their daily lives. They understand that stopping discrimination does not cost money—we can walk and chew gum at the same time—and that these attacks on transgender people undermine the human rights of all.

As I leave the Senate, I reflect on what this journey has taught me about the connection between recognition and action, and recognition isn't just an abstract concept; it demands action. Some of the highlights we've seen in this place relate to child migrants, institutional child abuse, the apology to stolen generations and veteran suicide. These are all issues we recognise that we have to respond deeply to. In this context, I'm proud to have stood firmly on the side of transgender rights, sex workers, people living with HIV, vulnerable children, traditional owners and many other people throughout my career, recognising that social and economic exclusion means you need to take action and that taking action doesn't benefit the few; it benefits us all.

Deep relationships with brave constituents and advocates have been deeply fulfilling, enriching my understanding and effectiveness as a senator, and from all of these people I have learned a great deal. Justice cannot be sought and found without people speaking for themselves. In issues spanning the Sterling collapse, robodebt, the misuse of Centrepay, dowry abuse, immigration rights, aged care, manufacturing, consumer rights, unions, sex workers, LGBTI health, children's policy and HIV, all of these groups and advocates have been instrumental in my drive for the pursuit of justice and positive change.

When we truly see others in their full humanity, we must not be passive. We must not be passive in the face of injustice or indifference. It's wonderful to see how my colleagues in this place understand that recognising issues in our society must compel us to step forward and make a difference. I've tried very hard to embody this principle in my career in this place, and I ask my colleagues who remain in this place to stay brave in your pursuit of justice. Stay curious. Your recognition of what matters to Australia must be paired with the courage to act upon it even when it's difficult.

I want to thank Steve McCartney, state secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. It's been a collective effort to build political support for important workplace and income and industry issues. But your leadership is also about recognition and action. Your leadership on a just transition in Collie is showing the rest of the nation what needs to be done. You've taken insecurity and navigated that with recognition and action on issues that others remain in denial on.

To the union movement and the ACTU, I'm proud to have been a servant of your movement, our movement, standing up for workers' rights, particularly in my role as chair of the Senate employment committee in the past. Tony, you're doing a sterling job now. I thank the Senate for the opportunity to help the lives, rights and needs of Australian workers so that they be recognised and reformed in this place.

To my Labor colleagues, our collective commitment to the common good is a wonderful asset to the nation. Each of us has the great privilege of helping to realise the values of the Labor Party. To my Western Australian colleagues, thank you for standing up for our state and for being great campaigners. It is a privilege to have been entrusted for so many years with the values and opinions of so many thousands of WA Labor members. I want to thank all of those members now for handing out at polling booths, doorknocking and sharing your values and opinions. I particularly want to thank those who handed out back in 2014 on that rainy day when I stood as the only person at the polling booth in Gidgegannup.

I want to thank the electors of Western Australia, regardless of how you voted. I hope you feel I have served you well. I particularly and proudly want to thank the broad network of party members who are Rainbow Labor. You've given me tremendous personal support. You have been at the core of what Labor governments have been able to do to support LGBTIQ+ Australians. I will always remember the national conference of 2011, where we changed the platform to support marriage equality as a highlight.

I'm going to give a shout-out to Bill Bowtell to thank him for all he's taught me and for his own contribution to the causes we share. I want to express my gratitude to all of those who've made my work possible. I'm very proud to have been part of an Albanese Labor government. In my many years of working with the Prime Minister, I have watched as he has consistently provided stability, made progress and dealt with complexity while keeping sight of the public interest that guides our party. We need leadership with these kinds of navigation skills, and our Prime Minister has them in spades.

I've got many colleagues I'd like to thank for the opportunity to contribute to reforms: Bill Shorten, on Centrepay; Tanya Plibersek, on midwifery; Mark Dreyfus, on hate speech, discrimination and more; Senator O'Neill and my colleague from WA Zaneta Mascarenhas, on a commitment to protect people from financial abuse; Mark Butler, on his work on HIV; and Ged Kearney, on LGBTIQ+ health. Julian Hill, we've known each other for some 25 years, and I want to acknowledge the many things we've worked together on, but, more than that, I want to thank you personally for your friendship, for drinking tea late at night, sitting in bed like two old nanas.

I have a great deal of gratitude for all my colleagues—for all this and more. There are too many other collaborations and outcomes with colleagues right across the parliament to mention at this time, but I thank you all. I have friends and comrades who I thanked in 2013 and who have remained supporters and allies on this journey, and I thank you again without naming you. Many others I'll never have a chance to thank. But I do want to say thank you to Tim Cahalan. Tim asked me to call him a god or something in this speech, but I want to thank you, Tim, as a person with a disability, for your visibility and voice in our party and for standing up against robodebt. Your perspective and advocacy have strengthened the collective work of our movement. Our party is always more effective with diverse voices at the table so we can recognise and respond to what's important.

I depart knowing that this place is brimming with talent and dedicated Labor ministers, who share my values, and it makes it easier to leave. I don't feel the need to be on the stage in the next iteration of debates. It does make it much easier to leave. That stage will soon include Ellie Whiteaker, the first female secretary of Western Australia Labor in our more than 100-year history, who is ready to carry the torch. Ellie in fact worked with me in the past in my office, and I want to thank all my staff for all they have done: helping constituents, listening to people on the phone, strategising with me, giving me sound advice and keeping me organised. You've delivered a great deal to constituents on issues and things that have affected them and that I will never even know of.

Nicky McKimmie, thank you. Alison Elgar, thank you. Jaime Page, thank you. Tania McCartney, we've worked together a very long time, and I thank you. I want to thank all of those who have worked with me since I was first elected to the state parliament, in 2001. Your loyalty, dedication, shared commitment to justice, and agency on issues of importance to us are just as important as mine. Ashley, Andy, Alanna, John and Kate, just to mention a few from the past—and Nicky Slevin is up there, too—I've worked with some of you for such a long time, and, long after our work together has ended, our friendships are strong.

Finally, to my wife, Bec, thank you for marrying me on 4 June 2003. Thank you to my mother, Sandra; my father, Greg; and my siblings, Nicholas and Fleur. Thank you for making it possible for me to serve and for being there when politics was tough. Whether in this place or anywhere else in our nation, the work we do when we recognise our shared humanity lifts us all up. It elevates us above our animal instincts, above our fears and prejudice and into a place where we can see further and find solutions. So, to all of those I have worked with and made friends with in this place, please do not be a stranger. I still want to look to new horizons with you.

Looking to the future, I will draw on my values to help me recognise my next endeavour, whatever that is to be. But I know in the meantime I'm looking forward to school pick-ups, not missing Jasper's school events and being home for dinner with Bec and Jasper more often. I thank you all for the privilege of serving in this Senate.