Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We tweaked it! And there is a debate as to whether or not it is better or cheaper and as to the rollout. But you know what? I think Australians would appreciate a little bit more honesty, and I do not think we would be judged poorly for occasionally offering a compliment to good policy when it is needed, rather than opposing it for the sake of opposing.

People in my electorate can smell—and excuse me—bullshit coming a mile away. And they will resonate to sincerity. I think that, as politicians, if we could have, and be seen to have, a softer heart and to have less of an agitated, always-confrontational spirit then I think we would just get more done in this place. I think there is a desire for us to achieve more. But, unfortunately, if it bleeds it leads in the press. People want to see that gladiatorial conflict, even if it be two opposing members of this place at seven o'clock in the morning on news feeds. And there are virtually whole networks allocated to political commentary. Often the stuff that flashes up down the bottom of the screen is the bad news. But there is a lot of good news that happens in the place—a lot of good news.

Some of the other work that is happening here, which I am proud of, is the work that I do as a government backbencher, in my capacity as secretary to the economics committee and as secretary to the agricultural committee, where we scrutinise bills that go before cabinet. That committee will be meeting tonight and will again be influencing the direction of the country through some of the work that we do there.

I also want to give the Deputy Speaker a quick update on some of the work I do with an organisation that I call A50, the Australian Economic Forum. That 50 is representative of 50 people from around the world who influence the Australian market. I do this in conjunction with Tom Murphy—who started off on the Merrill Lynch desk in New York. He is an Australian who used to play rugby for the Brumbies. How's that? He can play rugby, and is smart and rich! Tommy and I got together and we thought we would pull together this A50. The 50 is representative of 50 people; 20 are the largest buyers in the Australian market. We bring in buyers from around the world in equities, debt, trade, short money, long money, superannuation and hedge funds. We bring them in from the UK, the Middle East, Europe, America, Canada and Asia, and we stick them next to 20 of the top CEOs of Australian listed companies: the banks, the Caltexes, the BHPs, the Rios and the AMPs. We book a room at the Opera House and we put these guys in it. The remaining 10 people in the room are the top 10 regulators of the country so that they all hear the one story. Those regulators look like the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the trade minister, the Reserve Bank governor, the Foreign Investment Review Board chairman, the ASIC chairman, the ACCC and a number of other regulators.

We sell a simple message: Australia is open for business. I make an effort to pull that group together—and we have done it for the second year in a row; it is extremely successful—because the people in my electorate need security in their future through Australia being a net importer of funds. When I am in the pub, people say to me: 'Why would you invest so much time in that? How does that affect me?' When the value of a superannuation fund held by anyone in my electorate is going south, it is mostly because those 20 guys are pulling their money out of Australia, and it has taken the value off. So I add value to their superannuation funds when I can convince those that invest in our markets that Australia is a good bet—it is a good short-term bet; it is a good long-term bet—and convince them to continue to stay here. There was money looking to leave the Australian market in the downturn of the resources sector. We did a back-of-the-envelope calculation of the 20 that were in the room. The net funds under management from that 20 were in the vicinity of $17 trillion. That is what these guys bring to our economy. That is why it is important for me and Tom Murphy to spend time talking to those companies, letting them know that Australia is a place to invest in in the future and that we are a good bet.

I can talk about projects in my electorate—and during their address-in-reply speeches, members will do that—but electorates expect members to deliver projects. You are not going to get re-elected because of the size of the projects you do. You are going to get re-elected if you can connect with your electorate. You are going to get re-elected if you can empathise with your electors, if you can truly believe in your elector's concerns and if you do your best to address them. In this place we so often become consumed with issues that we believe are important to our electorates, but when I go back and sit in the pub they are not talking about gay marriage and they were not talking about section 18C. It is so easy to become distracted because a journalist sticks a microphone in front of your face as you are walking into this place—which we refer to as 'the doors'—and asks you about something obscure that happened in the last 12 hours, as if it is the most important thing to them. It is not important to our people at home—to the people we love, to the people we represent. What is important to them is security. It is making sure that they have enough money in their pockets so that they can live a comfortable and safe existence. What is important to them is making sure that there is an economic environment where they can get a better price for their product at the farm gate today than they were getting yesterday. Unfortunately, that is not often the case—in particular, for a number of dairy farmers who are in my electorate; it is beautifully rich country. At the other end of the scale, my cattle market is extremely buoyant and my cattle boys are performing well. I have two or three major selling yards—Silverdale Saleyards, the Beaudesert Saleyards and Boonah. Cattle are going off extremely strongly at the moment. Our grain prices are strong. And in my electorate we have some of the most beautiful country.

In closing, I would not be here if it were not for the incredible generosity of so many people in my electorate and in the LNP secretariat. I also want to acknowledge my staff. It would humour the House to know that I was fortunate to celebrate my birthday this week on the 27th, and that my chief of staff also celebrates his birthday on the 27th. My constituent officer, Alice Warby, is turning 70—Alice, I should not have told the world that, but happy birthday to you—also on the 27th. It is as if you cannot get a job in my office unless your birthday is on 27 March! Greg Birkbeck, thank you for the work you do for me. You have been with me since day one, and I think that is a sign of the respect that I have for you. Alice Warby has been with me since day one—it is now our third term; again, that is because of the trust that I show in her and the solid nature of the way that she has my back. Coming onto staff more recently is Rochelle Richards, formerly Rochelle Maloney. Rochelle was my first PA, when I first started my transport business back in 1992 and, after having three children, she has come back to work with me. That humbles me. Her father used to work for me in the transport business for nearly 20 years. My PA, Jo Dempsey, an incredibly strong woman, has gone through some hardship, but Jo is just shining every day, as she learns more and more and grows in the position. To all of those within the LNP branches who drag themselves out to attend branch meetings and to assist on election days, whether it is handing out how-to-vote cards, manning booths or sticking up posters—there are too many of you to mention, but I stand here as a result of your efforts and, in return, I will give everything I have to make sure that I earn your confidence to elect me again as your candidate at the next election. God bless.

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