Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Before I call Senator Ghosh, I remind honourable senators that this is his first speech; therefore, I ask that the usual courtesies be extended to him.

Varun Ghosh (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, and pay my respects to their elders past and present. Serving the people of Western Australia in the Commonwealth Senate is an honour and a privilege. I am grateful to the Western Australian Labor Party for trusting me with that responsibility. I would like to use this opportunity to tell you a little bit about my background and the experiences that have led me to want to serve in this place. I would also like to express my gratitude to the many people who have supported me on that journey. At the outset I pay tribute to my predecessor, Senator Pat Dodson. Senator Dodson has been a champion for justice and a lifelong advocate for Indigenous people and regional and remote Australia. His contributions to Australian life and to this Parliament are immeasurable. As I begin my time in the Senate I take heed of Senator Dodson's words in his first speech:

All of us, regardless of race, culture or gender, share a strong identity as Australians wanting to build a common, tolerant and prosperous future together. If we work to find what we have in common rather than what divides us, I believe that we can be better people; we can build a better Australia; we can build a better place for the next generation together.

I believe in those words and the noble purpose to which they call us.

The earlier generations of my family were born in India. My name is Varun Nagarajan Ghosh, and I am a proud Australian of Indian origin. My grandmother Ammama was a loving mother, an active and popular part of her community, providing help and support to her family and friends. My grandfather Bava lost both his parents as a child and went to work young as a mail-sorter in the post office and then a clerk in a bank, where he rose to the position of general manager. My grandmother Didi Bhai studied and then taught Bengali literature at the Indraprastha College for Women in Delhi and particularly loved the poetry of Tagore. My grandfather Dada Bhai also lost his mother as a child and his father as a teenager. He worked as a clerk in the Calcutta customs office and studied for his commerce degree at night. From there he built an academic career.

My mother, Lakshmi, and father, Soumya, met while studying medicine at the Christian Medical College in Vellore and last year celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary. They came to Australia when my father won a scholarship to do his PhD at the Australian National University. My mother joined him, commencing her training in paediatrics at Royal Canberra Hospital, where I was born. My mother then specialised in paediatric neurology, with a particular interest in epilepsy, and my father is now an adult neurologist, after devoting significant parts of his career to scientific research. Though not particularly political, my parents believe very strongly in the importance of hard work and the value of education. They have supported each other in their careers, taking turns to pursue opportunities for each of them in different parts of Australia and the world. After Canberra we lived in Kingston, Ontario, where my brother, Gaurav, was born, and then Sydney, Brisbane and New York. We moved to Perth in 1997. Though we lived in various places, my brother and I grew up in a home that was always warm, loving and secure. It was a place where our curiosity was encouraged, books were abundant, and reading and conversation were family pursuits.

My parents' hard work and commitment to our family provided a platform for my life, and I feel a deep sense of gratitude to them both. I am honoured to stand here today as a member of the Australian parliament to say, 'Thank you.' I would also like to thank my brother, Gaurav. Only two years apart, we grew up playing every sport going, including cricket, hockey, soccer, tennis and footy. Gaurav is now a doctor and has always been a calm and dependable source of support and advice.

This country welcomed the Nagarajan Ghosh family with a spirit of generosity that defines Australia and Australians. This generosity is a source of my heartfelt optimism for the future of our nation. At school, political and legal studies classes and involvement in debating and the United Nations youth association sparked interest in the Australian political system and our place in the world. I also made dear friends, and I am glad that Ash, Pete, Ross, Jimmy and others are here today. My interest in school led me to the study of law and political science at the University of Western Australia, where I was captivated by constitutional law and political philosophy. Later, I was fortunate to win a scholarship to do a masters degree in law at the University of Cambridge.

When not squandering my time on the hockey and cricket fields of East Anglia, I continued to explore interests in constitutional theory and jurisprudence, and was influenced, in particular, by John Hart Ely's ideas of democratic integrity and John Rawls's conception of justice as fairness. Rawls said that the first virtue of social institutions is justice, as truth is of systems of thought. But justice cannot be done without acknowledging, plainly and honestly, the truth that people begin their lives from different starting points. This recognition must underpin our efforts to achieve formal and substantive justice in our society. None of us knows, or can choose, who our parents will be, the country or circumstances into which we will be born, or what natural abilities we will have. But we should all have an equal chance to realise our potential and to flourish. Where an Australian starts their life should not determine where they finish it. I am grateful for the many opportunities in my life, so I feel a duty to use every effort to expand educational and economic opportunity in this country. It is a responsibility that I feel deeply, and it will guide my time in this place.

Much of our education is not formal. Some of the most important lessons a young person can learn are encountered on the sporting field. Sporting clubs and the communities that arise around them have been very important parts of my life. We moved around a lot when I was younger, and playing in local cricket and hockey teams gave me a sense of belonging and let me experience the wonderful camaraderie that arises among teammates, playing alongside people of different backgrounds, ages and experiences. Many were eager to impart some earthy life lessons to a young law student. I cherish those moments, and I'm glad some of those teammates are here today. I hasten to add that my enthusiasm for team sport and the joy that it has brought me are no indications of my sporting ability, which might politely be described as 'limited'. On a more serious note, I firmly believe that sporting clubs form a crucial part of the fabric of Australia, and not just sporting clubs. Local and community organisations across the country contribute in myriad ways to the health of our society. Their continued success requires people to have space in their lives to participate. We must, as a society and a parliament, foster an Australia that allows people to play active and engaged roles in community life and in family life. This requires security of work and predictability of hours. It requires safety at work and freedom from financial hardship. It also requires acknowledging that women are more likely to suffer from financial distress and economic insecurity than men and addressing that inequality.

I have been a Labor person for my entire adult life and indeed slightly before that. I joined the Labor Party when I was 17 because I believed that everyone should have access to high-quality education and training and should be paid fairly for the work that they do. Reading about the Hawke and Keating governments, I was drawn to the boldness of their economic reform agenda and their vision of an Australia that is confident in itself and comfortable in our region. At the UWA Labor Club the engaging debates and welcoming people confirmed that I was in the right place.

After a stint as the UWA Labor President and the WA Young Labor President I settled into the pleasant rhythms of party membership, volunteering on election campaigns, participating in policy committees and attending quiz nights, sundowners, doorknocks and branch meetings. My involvement in the Labor Party for more than 21 years has shaped a large part of my life. It has produced enduring friendships and a range of experiences—some good, some bad, but all memorable. I'm glad that friends from the UWA Labor Club and from the WA Labor Party are here this evening.

My working life to this point has been spent as a lawyer. I was drawn to legal practice because I enjoyed the study of law at university and wanted to advocate for clients in court. I began work at Mallesons Stephen Jaques in the banking and then litigation teams and was quickly immersed in the legal problems of the commercial world. It is great to have colleagues and friends from Mallesons here in the gallery and others taking a few brief minutes away from the time sheet to watch from Perth. I also practised law at White & Case in New York, where I was admitted to the New York bar. Working in financial law during a volatile period following the global financial crisis involved long hours negotiating and drafting transaction documents. The experience fostered my belief in a well-regulated financial system that encourages innovation and economic freedom but does not increase moral hazard by forcing taxpayers to bear the cost of financial risk-taking.

After New York I worked in insolvency law reform at the World Bank in Washington DC and also was able to pursue my interest in the stability of systemically important financial institutions. The bank's mission is to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity in a liveable world. Though occasionally bureaucratic, there was an energising spirit of optimism and cooperation at the bank when I was there, and it taught me the importance of placing local communities at the centre of designing and implementing projects.

Missing my family and Australia, I returned to Perth in late 2014, where I rejoined legal practice. For the last six years I have practised as a barrister, acting for a range of businesses large and small and for individuals. I was also briefed to act for trade unions and their members in matters concerning underpayments, wrongful termination and the proliferation of sham enterprise agreements. I am very proud of that work. I sat on level 12 of the chambers with a wonderful collection of civil and criminal barristers whose irreverence and sense of fun made me feel at home. Sir Owen Dixon once said that a barrister enjoys life for but a short interval, the interval between the time when he is doing nothing and the time when he is doing nothing else. Though my work at the bar followed that pattern, I loved the intensity of hearings and trials, the solitude and focus of preparation and the collegiality in the spaces in between. The lawyers and barristers I worked with shared a commitment to the ideals of justice, the rule of law and equality before the law. Yet my work in the law also showed me the legal system's capacity to reflect, reproduce and sometimes exacerbate the economic and other power imbalances that exist within our society. In this place, which is tasked with making laws, we must endeavour to correct those imbalances.

During my working life I've been fortunate to pursue two other passions: teaching and writing. Teaching constitutional law and administrative law at the University of Western Australia was incredibly rewarding. Teaching a subject, in some ways, is the best way to understand it, and I hope to draw on this experience in my work in the Senate in communicating what we do here to those I represent and by learning from the people that I meet.

Peter Rose gave me the chance to write critical pieces for the Australian Book Review, and I was grateful for this creative outlet away from the law. I also owe thanks to Jamie McNamara, whose devotion to his craft has always been an inspiration. I particularly appreciated that the Australian Book Review was committed to paying young reviewers for their writing. It is essential to the nurture and survival of young artists, writers and performers that they receive fair payment for their work.

Quite apart from my profession, the conservation of our natural environment, its beauty and diversity are close to my heart. I've loved hiking and bushwalking in national parks and wilderness areas in Australia and around the world. My state of Western Australia has stunning natural and climatic variation, from the southernmost parts to the north-west and the spaces in between.

Western Australia is home to eight of Australia's 15 biodiversity hotspots, and also hosts three World Heritage listed sites. These form part of the natural wonders of our state, but also make Western Australia vulnerable to the effects of climate change including habitat and species loss, and the rise of extreme weather events and natural disasters.

I'm proud that the Albanese Labor government is committed to tackling climate change. It is vital, in that effort, that we ensure the measures implemented are realistic, evidence based and equitable. Environmental protection and economic development can, and indeed must, be complementary in order to ensure that Australia remains a great place to live and to work. To achieve many of the aims of the Labor Party and the Labor movement and the aims I've mentioned this evening, Australia needs a strong economy. Improving productivity and fostering a diverse competitive private sector are fundamental to creating high-quality jobs and economic growth. A strong economy is essential for improving the lives of working people. If there are winners in economic downturns, they are not working people or those who suffer disadvantage.

I will speak now of the vast and vibrant state of Western Australia which is my home. I am proud to represent my state in Canberra, although I am also conscious of the enormous responsibility that brings. In the past, Western Australians have felt distant and sometimes neglected by Canberra and by our compatriots over east. Our state has remarkable opportunities, but distinct challenges. Western Australia occupies one-third of Australia's total land mass and has the longest mainland coastline of any state or territory. This size offers us bountiful resources and space, but also makes the provision of infrastructure and services more complicated, particularly in regional and remote parts of the state.

WA also has a distinctive outlook on the world. Perth is Australia's Indian Ocean capital, and it is closer to Jakarta than it is to Canberra. It also sits in the most populous time zone in the world, and we inhabit this space at a time when the focus of the world is turning to the Indo-Pacific. We are an export-oriented economy—mainly minerals, energy and agricultural products—which accounts for 50 per cent of our gross state product.

Western Australian goods exports account for 46 per cent of Australia's overall goods exports, and around four per cent of the nation's GDP passes through the port of Port Hedland. Our export focus makes open trade routes and freedom of navigation crucial to our economy. Our defence forces, our alliance structures and our diplomatic initiatives all play vital roles in ensuring and maintaining a rules based order in our region and around the world. Western Australia's resources industry has brought significant economic benefit to the state and to the nation, and Sandgropers are rightly proud of our contributions to the national economy.

It is refreshing to have a federal government, the Albanese Labor government, that makes investing in Western Australia a priority, particularly when it comes to economic infrastructure and education. Ultimately WA's success is Australia's success.

It is an extraordinary honour to serve in this chamber, but I did not get here on my own. I would like to acknowledge the members of the WA Labor Party and convey my gratitude for their support. The advice and counsel of Chris Evans, Gary Gray, Kate Doust, Bill Johnston, Ben Wyatt, Lorna Clarke, Tim Hammond, Lauren Cayoun, Tony Buti and Matthew Swinbourn has been invaluable.

Though born in Canberra, I have never worked here before now. The warmth of the welcome that I have received from my parliamentary colleagues—particularly my Western Australian colleagues—has made that transition easier, and for that I say thank you. I'm grateful for the support of Ben Harris, Jo Clossick and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association of WA; Brad Gandy and the Australian Workers Union; Tim Dawson and the Transport Workers' Union; and Mick Buchan and the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. I would also like to thank Carolyn Smith of the United Workers Union; Josh Dekuyer of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union; and Clement Chan, who was until recently at the United Professional Firefighters Union of WA, for their support.

I also have a wonderful staff in Matt Kavanagh, Fran Hickling and Jasmine West. I would like to thank them for their help and, in particular, Matt for his good humour and tireless efforts since I have been selected. I also thank Lawrence and Helen for their counsel.

I have been galactically fortunate in the people that I have gotten to know in my life: teachers, colleagues, teammates, comrades and, most importantly, my friends and family. That I stand in this place today is a result of their commitment, guidance and love. I feel a profound duty to make sure that that good fortune is paid forward. I will endeavour to fulfil that duty with dedication, optimism, energy and care.

As a senator, I serve the people of my state and the people of Australia. I will be a friend and advocate for those who are marginalised, for those who feel forgotten and for those who seek to realise the great egalitarian promise of our nation. I will strive to make sure that their voices are heard. Thank you.