Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thirty-five new members here. Thank you, Mr Speaker—already showing your capacity! For me, 76 was the only number I was focused on, and we got 77, and I thank the member for Gilmore for that.

But, going forward, new members in particular—I encourage them. When I got here, being a dork of parliamentary and political processes, I actually read the standing orders before I got here and read House of Representatives Practice. The rule book does matter in terms of getting things done. It's not just a matter of being pedantic. I know that from time to time there have even been criticisms passed in this place that people are too concerned about parliamentary processes. That's how rules are made. That's how—

An honourable member: A minority opinion.

Indeed. That is how laws are made in this country, and it is important that this parliament operate in a way that brings pride to people.

In many countries of the world, people stand in front of tanks to try to get the right to vote. In Ukraine at the moment the people of Ukraine are standing up against an autocratic regime which is engaged in a brutal and illegal invasion. They are standing up for democracy in Ukraine. We in this parliament should be very proud that we had an election on 21 May, we had the swearing in of a new government at 9 am on the Monday morning and I was able to represent Australia at the Quad leaders meeting, with the foreign minister. It brings credit to our system as a whole that you can have a seamless, orderly transition of power in a democratic country. That's important. It's important, though, that we respect the fact that we didn't elect just one party; we elected a range of people to this House and to the Senate. Those views need to be able to be heard in a way which produces better outcomes, and your role, Mr Speaker, is to ensure that that happens in an orderly way.

I congratulate you very much, Mr Speaker. I look forward to working with you and I look forward to your rulings and deliberations being absolutely fair and correct, as I'm sure they will be. It's a great honour to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. Well done.

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