Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have to say that I'm a little bemused at the motion by the member for Clark. I appreciate that his motion, although it doesn't refer to that person, is about one man. But, in doing so, the member for Clark ignores millions of Australians before today, millions of Australians today and millions who will come to this country in years to come.

I'd like to tell you a story about two men: Joszef Kovach and Stephan Katerinka, or Joe and Steve as I got to know them later in their life. Joe and Steve grew up in Hungary. Born in the twenties, they went through the Second World War in Hungary when Germany invaded their state. They were imprisoned, they were brutalised, they saw the worst of what humanity could offer. But they were fortunate that they lived through that period of time and, together, they caught a boat to Australia in 1948. They were sent out to the Cowra migrant camp where they were put to work anywhere they could be used, in the shearing sheds and on the farms. But, through conversations with them, they told me that they were happy to be there. They were happy to be there because they were free. They were happy to be there because they had opportunity, and they made the most of that opportunity. Together, they worked. They went to Paddington. They opened a delicatessen together and worked there for many years. They could do so because there was rule of law and there was democracy, and they were given the opportunity to vote and make decisions, not like what they were subjected to during Nazi Germany.

Joszef ended up working for many decades and retired as an accountant with Qantas. Stephan ended up starting a turkey farm and sold to one of the major processors in Australia. They could do that because of the rule of law. In their retirement, I used to go and visit them. They would talk about politics and they would argue about politics, but they could do that because we live in a democracy and we have the rule of law. Nothing has changed.

Moreover, under this government there are opportunities. Unlike what the Greens would like to tell you, there are opportunities. The sky is not falling. What we have is opportunities. At every citizenship ceremony I go to in my electorate of Cowper I meet people—we have people from South Africa, India and China, people from all over the globe—who want to live in this great country because we have the rule of law and we have democracy. They don't have to worry about their house being burnt down in the middle of the night. They don't have to worry about being raped on the way to school because they choose to get an education. We have the best country in the world because we have the rule of law and democracy, and that will continue because we are being served by a great government.

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