Tony Crook (O'Connor, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, on indulgence: I thank the House for their indulgence and I congratulate the member for Newcastle as well. First of all, I would like to start by sincerely thanking my family, my wife and three daughters, Cassie, Jemma and Georgia, and our newly acquired son-in-law, Damen—it sounds a bit like we purchased him, doesn't it?—for their patience and understanding over the last 3½ years. I think that only those who actually do this job can truly understand the pressures it places on families and relationships.

All through my adult life—well, from 15 April 1978, which was the day I first dated Karen—Karen has always supported me in everything I have done. Whether it was being a mother to our children, being my business partner and No. 1 station hand on our sheep station for 30 years or filling my many community roles, particularly during my time as National President of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and as Chairman of RFDS Western Operations, Karen has always been there, although it must be said, sometimes frowning. I should add that, if we were ever working or drafting sheep, we would always kiss goodnight before we started, because we knew damn well that by the end of the day we would be not talking.

If you let it, this job can be all consuming. I am sorry to say that I have done this at times much to the detriment of my family. For this, Karen, I am truly sorry. Whilst on apologies, I need to apologise to my father as I have not succeeded in getting tawny port on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. I did try with Minister Plibersek, as I am sure the minister can attest.

My time in this place has been well documented and interesting, to say the least. If you compare this hung parliament to the recent hung parliament of Western Australia, they are literally poles apart. In the WA parliament Brendon Grylls and the WA Nationals delivered an outstanding regional policy in that hung parliament in 2008. In just over three years the Royalties for Regions Fund has delivered nearly $6 billion and over 2,500 projects to regional Western Australia. It is a policy that the Leader of the Nationals, Warren Truss, has said is 'a regional policy the envy of all other states'.

Most importantly, the WA Nationals and their WA Liberal partners delivered stable government. This policy and position was clearly reflected in the last state election where the WA Nationals had an outstanding outcome. This, unfortunately, cannot be said for this hung parliament. For a parliament that promised so much for regional Australia by virtue of those who gave it power, it has failed dismally by comparison.

The WA Nationals went into the last federal election predicting a hung parliament—in fact, hoping for one. If this was going to be the case, there would have been no better place to concentrate our reverse the rip-off campaign, seeking a better regional infrastructure outcome and a fairer, more equitable GST return, than from the crossbench. Despite what many have tried to portray, this decision was taken well before election day. During my entire campaign I stated I was willing to be different and, if necessary, sit outside the National Party room. I urge any doubters to go to YouTube and type in 'Tony Crook'. Although it is not particularly compelling television, it is there for all the world to see and was reported on extensively prior to the election.

I have also been challenged for bringing the Prime Minister and senior government ministers to my electorate. I refute this out of hand. Julia Gillard is the Prime Minister of this great country, not put here by my voice or by my vote. It is a position that I and everyone should respect. I am proud to have had the Prime Minister accept my offer to visit the O'Connor electorate, as I know the town of Esperance and the city of Albany were to host her. I was proud that I could give the Prime Minister a firsthand look at the wonderful south coast town of Esperance, show her the port and the plans for the foreshore redevelopment, proud to have briefed the Prime Minister on the exciting PortLink Project, a project that Minister Anthony Albanese labelled 'a nation-building project without peer' when he opened the Over the Horizon conference at the invitation of me and the Esperance Chamber of Commerce.

I was equally proud to show the Prime Minister firsthand the historic King George Sound in Albany, where many of our brave ANZACs last saw Australian soil some 99 years ago as I was to peruse the plans on the site of the exciting ANZAC interpretive centre that will not only showcase Albany's historic place in history but also open up many more opportunities for Albany and the Great Southern.

I am also proud to have had Warren Truss, Barnaby Joyce, John Cobb, Darren Chester, Fiona Nash, Nigel Scullion and Scott Morrison—all who I hope will be senior members of the next government—accept my invitation to O'Connor. I was proud to bring anyone of influence, whether it be in this government or the next, to my electorate. In fact, I saw it as my duty to do so. To advocate for our electorates should actually be our No. 1 job in this place.

There are obviously many people to thank in what has been an exciting and challenging time. First up and apart from family, I sincerely need to thank the WA Nationals and the people of O'Connor for giving me this great privilege of representing them. I have always endeavoured to put their interests and those of regional WA first and foremost. Thank you to each and every constituent in my electorate who took time to contact me or my office on issues that were very important to them. In particular thanks go to those I called on for grass roots advice on what their town or region was thinking. This inside knowledge is always much appreciated. I must also sincerely thank my loyal and long-suffering staff, both past and present. In an electorate as large as mine, they are as much a member as I am, and I cannot thank them enough for their commitment to me and to the constituents of O'Connor. Special thanks to my daughter Jemma, who is here in the chamber today. She is far better at this job than I.

I would like to thank my fellow federal National Party colleagues, many of whom have joined us today. I thank them sincerely for the support they have given me, not just since joining the party room from the crossbench but from the very beginning. They had every right to be more than a bit miffed about my and the WA National's position coming into this parliament. They did know, however, how successful the WA Nationals had been in delivering an outstanding regional policy and stable government and what we were hoping to achieve in this parliament. I sincerely thank them all for their faith in me, for their friendship and, in Darren Chester's case, for his poor humour.

I should also apologise to them, particularly their leader, Warren Truss, and shadow agriculture minister, John Cobb, for the position I placed them in with regard to the Wheat Export Authority. This, however, was an important bill for the WA growers and I was very proud to support them. While on agriculture, this parliament must address the pressures that are on agriculture. It is totally unfair that our farmers continue to compete with their global competitors on an unfair playing field. I liken it to two evenly balanced AFL teams, and one gets to kick with the 10-goal breeze for the whole game; or two cricket teams playing with one team fielding only five men. Something must be done.

I would like to acknowledge my former crossbench colleagues, and I thank the member for Denison for joining us today. Even though I have disagreed with them pretty much all of the time, I have enjoyed their camaraderie. In the member for Denison's case, we have had many a discussion around the GST, and the member for Denison should be recorded as being, I think, the GST thief of the parliament.

An honourable member: Hear, hear!

Hear, hear! I am glad he concurs. I also extend my thanks and appreciation to those on the other side of the House for the respect and the friendship they have afforded me.

I have served on two committees, which I found very rewarding, and I would like to thank the agriculture committee chair, Dick Adams, and the regional Australia committee chairman, Tony Windsor, as well as the committee secretariats for their hard work. It should never, ever be under estimated what they do. I would also like to thank the Speakers of the House, and particularly former Speaker Jenkins for his compassion and tolerance, even at 2 am, during my endeavours to make what I thought were sensible changes to the mining tax—amendments, I might add, that would have made very little difference to the minimal return that this government receives, but certainly a big difference to investor confidence in the mining industry and to the ridiculous compliance costs that all implicated now have to suffer for no good reason. I know I have given the Speakers in this House far less grief than the previous member for O'Connor—

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