Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker Thomson. I would like to congratulate you for being returned to this place. You have certainly served this place with honour and distinction for many years and I have enjoyed working with you. It is with great pride today that I rise to give my second speech in the address in reply to the Governor-General. Indeed, it is a great pleasure and something that I hold tremendous pride in. To be elected to this place is a tremendous achievement that many of us have striven for over many years. I would like to thank the electors of Corangamite for giving me that opportunity to do this again.

In 2007, when I was first elected, many people in the federal seat of Corangamite were surprised at the outcome. The reason for that surprise was that I became the first Labor member in more than 70 years. I remember getting around the electorate shortly after that victory and being sworn in as a member of parliament, reaffirming my commitment to all of those communities in what is a very, very diverse regional country electorate in Victoria.

Corangamite covers some 7½ thousand square kilometres, covering localities such as Anglesea, Apollo Bay, Barwon Heads, Colac, Inverleigh, Linton, Lorne, Torquay, Winchelsea and many parts of the City of Greater Geelong, particularly the suburbs of Belmont, Grovedale, Highton, Ocean Grove and Portarlington. What makes being a member for Corangamite so rewarding is the diversity of those communities that I represent. All of them are motivated by similar but different issues. All of them derive their incomes from very different and diverse parts of the economy, from beef to crops, dairy, fishing, forestry, sheep, horticulture and organic farming but also from the important tourism industries, manufacturing, technologies, health and universities. That is what makes representing this seat so enjoyable—the opportunity to participate in such a diverse debate.

Indeed it is almost impossible to undertake the role of a parliamentarian without loyal and dedicated staff. I would certainly like to place on the record my thanks to Richard Morrow, Joe Taylor, Sonia Kosicki, Annette Downie, Michael Rootes, Shannon Farley and Sue Weymouth. They have all worked for me with dedication over the last 2½ years, providing a tremendous service not only to me but to the people of my electorate by ensuring that their interests have been attended to through the course of that time. I would like to thank them very much for that hard work.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Before the division I was in the process of thanking my staff, who not only have worked tirelessly for me over the last three years but have also worked tirelessly for the electorate to ensure that the issues and interests of my electorate are recognised and responded to on behalf of the Gillard government. I also thank my campaign team, who have also worked tirelessly to campaign with me over the last three years. I particularly acknowledge Rose Hodge, Greg Slater, Lisa Darnanen and many friends and colleagues in Young Labor who have been out with me doorknocking, holding street stalls and ringing and talking to voters on issues that are important to them. Running a political campaign, whether you are a member of the Labor Party or a political opponent, takes an enormous amount of volunteer effort. I certainly very much thank them for that significant resource and help.

I also put on the record my thanks to the Victorian ALP head office and I particularly single out Dean Rizzetti and Nathan Lambert for their support, their advice and their guidance. It has been very much a privilege to work with them. I also thank the trade union movement who, again as they did in 2007, came out and supported me in a very active way to ensure that we were re-elected locally and were able to form a Labor government. I particularly thank the LHMU, the CFMEU, the VBU, the ASU, the NUW, the ETU and the CPSU for their friendship and support over that period of time. It is true that the Liberal Party spent a significant amount of money in trying to win the seat. We were able to respond through the hard work of many, many, many volunteers in getting out there and selling our message.

As I said earlier, my electorate is extremely diverse, both geographically and in terms of the communities within it. We have the Bellarine Peninsula, the Surf Coast—including towns such as Torquay and Jan Juc—and, of course, the famous, iconic Bells Beach. We have the Great Ocean Road, we have the Otways and we have very productive farming land. Representing this tremendous part of Victoria and the very diverse communities within it provides me with enormous satisfaction, for which I thank those communities, and provides enormous challenges in getting our message out there in a way in which is understood by them.

I think it is probably fair to say that the two issues that I predominantly campaigned on in 2007 were Work Choices and climate change. I know many other members of this House campaigned extensively on those issues in 2007. I was delighted that we were able to resolve the Work Choices issues early on in the previous parliament. I know my electorate was grateful for the new regime that we put in place: Fair Work Australia as well as the restoration of workplace rights and terms and conditions that had, quite frankly, been built up by generations of working families. To be able to put in place a mechanism that restored those rights was something that I was tremendously proud of and something that my community responded to in a very strong way.

As I mentioned, the other dominant issue was climate change. Climate change proved to be a difficult issue for the last parliament to respond to. It was particularly difficult for the Liberal Party, which constantly changed its position as it changed leaders. I certainly believe that the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme that we proposed was the right way to go to put a price on carbon and to set about a path of a lower carbon future. We know the history of that legislation and that it was ultimately frustrated in the Senate. It is unfinished business from the 42nd Parliament. I, along with many of my colleagues and my community, certainly hope that the 43rd Parliament is able to put a price on carbon and is able to respond to those challenges. We know that, if we do not do that, communities in electorates like mine—electorates right across this nation—will struggle as a consequence of not responding to climate change. That is something that I look forward to working with this government and this parliament to resolve over the coming few years.

Through the course of the last parliament the other significant challenge that we had to respond to—one that we were not anticipating during the course of the 2007 election—was the global financial crisis and the crippling impact that that would have on many economies around the globe. The Australian economy, through active government intervention, responded in a very strong way. If we look at what the government did, we see that we put in place programs that would lead to significant investment and a significant flow of capital into the Australian economy that was needed because the private sector was withdrawing capital as equity markets and the like were drying up.

In particular, the Building the Education Revolution—the part that I am most proud of—has led in my electorate and electorates throughout this country to a substantial number of new jobs as companies, builders, subbies, plumbers, plasterers and electricians go about building the new, modern school infrastructure that is so sorely needed across this country. We know that whenever the Australian economy goes into recession it is always the building sector that goes in first and it is always the building sector that comes out of a recession last. I know the importance of that work. There is no doubt that without active government intervention from us the economy would have been in far worse condition than what it is in now.

If we look around the world and we have a look at where other countries are going in responding to the global financial crisis, it is true to say that our economy is a remarkable story in comparison to most of the rest of the OECD. In fact, as each and every month goes past it seems that another economy is sinking further into the abyss of the global financial crisis. It is certainly having devastating consequences. The OECD continues to report these matters to us on a regular basis.

It has been with some pleasure that over the last few months I have been getting around and opening these new school facilities and certainly seeing the delight on the faces of the kids, their parents, their grandparents and, of course, importantly, their teachers, who have in many cases been asking for some time for a substantial capital injection into their schools to build new facilities. I look forward to getting around the electorate and opening some, I think, 57 further projects. I have about 64 schools across my electorate.

During the course of the 2010 federal election, I was out there advocating for the needs of my community. I would particularly like to put on record my thanks to all of the ministry and the cabinet for the commitments that we as a government have given to my electorate. Some of the projects we were able to commit to and now deliver include the duplication of the Princes Highway—something that I have campaigned for for many years—from Waurn Ponds, the outer suburbs of Geelong, right through to Coolac. There is also funding for the Coolac Bluewater Fitness Centre; for the Geelong ring road, an important economic driver in my electorate; and also for many sporting clubs throughout my electorate, including the South Barwon Football and Netball Club, the Torquay Tigers, the Belmont Lions, the Ocean Grove footy club and Winchelsea Community Sports Club. All of these are tremendously important projects for maintaining a fit and healthy lifestyle and certainly projects that I was very pleased to support. I am very grateful that I was able to secure those commitments for my community.

My community, particularly the outer growth suburbs of Geelong and the Surf Coast, has gone through quite remarkable population growth over the last 10 years or so. It is important that we keep up with the infrastructure requirements and the needs of those communities. It is true to say that the Howard government failed to do that and we have over the last three years been playing catch-up. I have been able to secure those projects to ensure that we provide a quality life, an opportunity for kids to receive a quality education in quality buildings, and an opportunity for those communities to participate fully in sport and recreation. I have been very pleased to be involved in that.

In the very short period of time left I would like to again acknowledge and thank the voters of Corangamite for giving me this opportunity. I am sure many of them in 2007, when they first elected me to this place, were probably surprised, given that I was the first Labor member to represent the seat in more than 70 years. I am certainly of the view that they made a very clear and deliberative decision this time around in 2010 to support me—not only to support me but of course to support a Gillard government.

Indeed, on the pendulum my seat was the last seat that the Gillard government secured. That enabled us to talk to the Independents and the Greens and persuade them that we were the best party to represent the interests of this nation and to govern. I would certainly like to recognise that and to thank the electors of Corangamite not only for returning me to this place but also, importantly, for enabling the Gillard government to be the government for the next three years.

The electors might have been surprised in 2007 and I am sure they were surprised for different reasons in 2010, but I would certainly like to thank them. I look forward to working hard on their behalf over the next three years to secure commitments, projects and opportunities for our community as we go forward. It is a great privilege to be here. Great responsibilities come with that and I certainly look forward to working on behalf of the electors and for them.

See this speech in context