Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Pursuant to order, I now call Senator Grogan to make her first speech, and I ask honourable senators that the usual courtesies be extended to her.

Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I rise to make my first speech, I'd first like to acknowledge that the lands we gather on today are those of the Ngunawal and Ngambri people, and I pay my respects to their elders, past, present and emerging. I would also like to pay my respects to the Kaurna elders, past, present and emerging, on whose land I live. I pay my respects to the elders of all the lands surrounding the Kaurna land: Ngadjuri, Peramangk, Ngarrindjeri, Narungga and Nukunu—all these nations surround the Kaurna nation—and the 40-plus nations that comprise South Australia. I understand that your lands were never ceded and that it always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I also understand the dire consequences of colonialisation and dispossession and what was done to First Nations people, and I am committed to working to right these wrongs. And this starts with a commitment to genuine and meaningful voice, treaty and truth.

I come to this place under sad circumstances with the passing of Senator Alex Gallacher. I offer my condolences to Alex's family, and I pay my respects to the hard work he did and dedication he had in this place.

I am honoured to be here today as a representative of the people of South Australia. It is a vibrant, progressive and inclusive part of this country, and I am proud that I have been calling South Australia home for 20 years. I was born to a large Irish Catholic family in south-west London. I grew up in a housing estate at the world's end, and I spent my summers in Ireland with my extended family.

My father, Larry Grogan, was a shop steward with the Transport and General Workers Union, and he was the one that introduced me to the Labor movement and the class struggle. He taught me the potency and power of working people acting collectively to improve their circumstances and that of their workmates and their communities.

My mother, Kathleen Grogan, taught me the value and importance of community. She spent her life looking after other people. She instilled in me a deep belief that I could do anything and has always, always stood beside me regardless of the scrapes I got myself into. Mum, without you, I wouldn't be here. You are my strongest supporter, and you give me strength.

Given my parents' influence it's probably not surprising that I spent my working life focusing on social and economic justice, fighting to improve the rights of low-paid and vulnerable workers, fighting for better primary care, early intervention in health, a fairer education for all of our kids and an increase to social services and opportunities for those who don't have them. But it was my earliest experiences in Australia that ignited a passion to fight for change.

In 1990 I came to this country. I bought a 1967 Holden station wagon, and I drove around Australia. My love for Australia's spectacular and diverse environment was born. I picked mangoes in the Northern Territory, I worked as a labourer in the vast cane lands of North Queensland, and I ironed shirts in Brisbane and poured beers in bars all over the country. I fell in love with Australia and its vast cultural diversity, and I was lucky enough to be able to emigrate here.

Four years later, as an Australian citizen, I was employed, I was independent, I was in a relationship that I thought was good, I had a safe place to live, I was pregnant and I was really excited for the future. But, in the space of a few short weeks, all that changed. My unborn baby was very sick. My partner couldn't handle the thought of a sick baby, so he left. I was a contract worker, and, because of my baby's sickness, I could no longer work. I ended up sleeping on the floor of a friend's place. I was 14,000 miles away from my family, and I was scared. I needed help. I was lucky I had very good friends who, along with Medicare and our social welfare system, where there for me and my son in those really difficult times.

My son, Brendan, is 26 now. He is healthy, funny, compassionate and a great joy in my life. But that experience of feeling powerless, feeling scared, being judged for being poor, being treated differently because I was a single parent and being at the mercy of the health system made me absolutely determined to make things better for other people. I've seen firsthand the challenges and inequities that people face. Indeed, I have lived them. Without the stalwart policies of previous Labor governments, I don't know what would have happened to us.

So the path I chose from there was research, policy, advocacy and fighting for those who are marginalised in our community and who are without a voice. I have worked in many of the key areas of Labor's road map for the future: environment, climate, mental health, education and social services. Working in these areas, I have seen the challenges, but I have also seen the opportunities and I have seen the solutions, and I want to be part of the team that is fighting to bring those to fruition.

I have been fortunate. I have had an interesting and varied career. But I have also worked very hard. I spent time as the head of the South Australian Council of Social Service, championing social justice issues. I've sat on the board of ACOSS. I worked in the university sector, developing pathways for people from disadvantaged backgrounds to both access and succeed in higher education. I worked for the Central Land Council in Alice Springs, fighting for the rights of First Nations people. I spent time as the head of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists to tackle climate change and protect the River Murray. I have also worked within the ALP: first as chief of staff to the then federal minister Mark Butler, working on aged care, mental health, climate and energy policy; and then for the former South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, where I was responsible for social services, environment and the River Murray. I would like to thank Mark and Jay for their support, wisdom and friendship and for believing in me.

My last job before entering the Senate was as a senior official with the United Workers Union, representing some of the most vulnerable and low-paid workers in our community. I will continue to be a proud member of the Australian trade union and labour movements and will continue to fight for workers' pay and conditions during my time here. I remain a proud member of the United Workers Union, and I offer my thanks to Gary Bullock and the politics team at UWU, for being such staunch advocates for their members, and also to the Australian Services Union—a big shout-out to Abbie Spencer and the South Australian team.

My experiences, my family and my work history have all led me to this place. They've given me the deep passion to want to fight for vulnerable people and vulnerable workers. I want to be in the room where the decisions are made, where policy is developed and where change can truly happen to make our country more equitable. I am here to represent the people I have spent my career working with and for. Those people want decent, well-paid, secure jobs so they can have a stable roof over their heads. They want decent, secure jobs for their kids so they can have hope for the future. They want a hospital bed when they need it and a COVID jab so that they can help get our economy back on track. And, more than anything, Australians want a reliable system that gives people a hand-up when they most need it: when health issues strike or when they lose their job.

We're not seeing that leadership in Australia. In fact, we seem to be going backwards. Social services are being cut, people on welfare are being victimised and, for those lucky enough to find a job despite the struggles they face, their work is precarious and it is low-paid The policies that have been implemented in recent times have made it even harder for people doing it tough. Harder to access services, with more and more hoops to jump through.

Like many parts of the country, in South Australia there are just not enough employment or training opportunities—and an alarming number of jobs are casual and insecure. The number of people in full-time work in South Australia fell by 2,300 in September, earning us the nation's highest unemployment rate, at 5.1 per cent, for the sixth time this year. Meanwhile, South Australia's youth unemployment rate rose from 9.2 per cent to 11 per cent and the underemployment rate increased to 8.4 per cent.

Despite inequities in the labour market, where you can work 50 hours a week and still struggle to put a roof over your head and a meal on the table, the government of the day continues to attack workers pay and conditions. COVID-19 has highlighted how fragile and precarious our industrial relations system is.

The binary approach to the haves and the have-nots ignores the fact that the success of a business is reliant on the strength of its workers. Whether you are a cleaner, a childcare worker, an accountant, or a farmhand your role is essential in the success of the organisation you work for, and you should be respected and valued for that role. I do believe in the role of business to help build our economic future, but it must be built on a fair relationship with workers.

COVID-19 has also highlighted how fragile and precarious our health system can be without proper funding and resourcing, including our mental health services. I will fight for more services to deal with the increasing mental health impacts of COVID-19.

Young people in particular are finding it too difficult to access appropriate mental health services. We owe it to them to have help available when they need it most, and I applaud Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews for his recent introduction of mental health specialists in Victorian schools.

I want to be part of an Albanese Labor government that is committed to creating decent, well-paid, secure jobs; one that values universal access to health care and an equitable education system; a government that understands the importance of everyone having a roof over their heads, so they can envisage a fair future for themselves and their family.

I want to be part of a generation of Australian politicians that works to rebuild faith in our democratic systems, a generation that uses their precious time here to extend our imaginations in order to resolve the complex societal and environmental problems we face.

I intend on being staunch advocate for the River Murray and the communities that rely on it for sustenance, and a thorn in the side of those vested interests who continue take more than their share. Our state's social, cultural and economic life is closely entwined with the river and therefore its health and our long-term survival.

Before I finish, I would just like to thank just a few of the many people who've supported and inspired me. Everyone in the SA Labor Party, but most particularly Mark Butler, Jay Weatherill, Penny Wong, Kyam Maher and Susan Close. I thank the great people in the environment and climate movement, particularly the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, who are truly dedicated to a sustainable future. And I thank Felicity Wade and Lyndon Schneiders for always inspiring me, uncomfortable as it may be at times.

I thank the COSS movement and all the people who've supported me in the community sector, most particularly Ian Yates. And my deep thanks to the beautiful people I call family: my amazing mum, my sister, Liz, and all my family overseas; my son, Brendan, and the other beautiful children so dear to my heart—Aaron, Ruby, Tom, Adele, Paddy, James and Pippa; my fierce goddaughters, Maddie and Jess; and also Samantha, Krista, Brodie, Ben, Bethany, Alisha, and Lou. And, within that family, a particular shout-out to the two women who have stood beside me for decades, who shared the tears, the laughter, kicked my butt when I needed it, who have never ever ever let me give up, Lesley Parker and Caroline Gaston. I am here because of you all.

These speeches are a time to place on record who you are so that the people of Australia know more about those who are representing them: I am a feminist; I am a unionist; I am a community activist; I am an environmentalist; I am an immigrant; I am a South Australian. I believe in truth, treaty and voice for First Nations people, and I believe in the value of each and every South Australian. I will fight for the rights and opportunities of our community. And I will fight for a Labor government, led by Anthony Albanese, to realise a fair and equitable future. Thank you.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I extend my congratulations to you, Senator Grogan.