David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

TTLEPROUD (—) (): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Firstly, I wish you a Merry Christmas. As someone who came into this parliament with you in 2016, I think there is some sense of pride about your ascension and the fact that someone from our cohort has come to lead this parliament. So congratulations, and I wish you and your family every festive greeting. To you and the parliament's staff and attendants, from our Comcar drivers right through to our gardeners and cleaners, who keep this place moving: thank you. It should never be taken for granted what they do for this parliament in making it run the way it should.

Thank you to the Prime Minister and his family, particularly Jodie and Nathan—you would not find a finer young man; he is genuinely a beautiful young man. To the Labor Party, I'd like to say thank you and congratulations, in all sincerity. I wish you and your families a festive season, one in which you have the time to reflect and are able to enjoy your families. To Peter, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Liberal Party: I wish you all the best during the festive season. Thank you for your respect for our coalition and your respect for the National Party and its values and principles, as we respect yours. I say to my party, the National Party: thank you for the honour that you've bestowed on me to be the leader of our great party, which is steeped in great tradition. Thank you to the crossbench, and we wish you festive season's greetings as well.

I'd like to particularly thank not just staff of the National Party but all staff, whether they be ministerial leaders or even electorate staff. They take on a great burden, and they take this on with a sense of dignity in the face, sometimes, of great adversity. We should never forget what they go through. Particularly when there is a change of government, there are many lost friends who aren't coming back—who didn't come back after the election. They are sometimes the human toll of democracy, and we should respect and honour those people who, unfortunately, didn't come back and who have had to find new occupations. It is important for us to acknowledge those men and women, fine young men and women, who come and are prepared to put their convictions behind a politician. That takes great courage, and great respect should be shown to them.

To those in regional, rural and remote areas who are doing it pretty tough at the moment with floods: thank you for your courage in a time of adversity. This is a time where we see this great nation coming together, where this thing called servant leadership comes forward and where the local community put their arms around each other and makes sure that they bring the community through, day by day and step by step. We should be proud that we have a nation that can do that, whether that be through the ADF and those ADF personnel who are out there on the front line or whether it be the emergency service personnel, who are prepared, in many cases, to put their lives on the line for no pay and who volunteer their lives to save their fellow Australians. That's servant leadership.

That's something we as Australians should look up to, and we must understand that this great place has a responsibility to honour that in making sure that, while there is debate, and fierce debate sometimes, we respect what Australia should really be about and what our democracy should be about: empowering those great Australians who are prepared to do anything and put their lives on the line for their fellow Australians in their darkest hour. It is something that we are the custodians of, and we should take that deeply seriously.

To people particularly in regional areas at the moment who are doing it pretty tough with floods: our thoughts are with you, and as a parliament we will be with you. When we get to this time of the year, it becomes even more difficult than other times, and, for those who have lost loved ones, tragically, this will be a hard period. So it's important that we honour and respect that and that we as a parliament know that the great privilege that we've been given to stand in this place, which very few have been given in our nation's history, includes a responsibility to continue to support them as they go through their journey.

It is a great honour to be in this place. Thank you to my family, Amelia and the boys, who hopefully will get to see me a little bit—for a couple of weeks anyway. I thank them and the families of all those who reside here, as well as the staff, who sacrifice so much. We are the volunteers; they are the conscripts that put up with so much. In your darkest hour, if you don't have that support of your family, it takes a lot to get through. To have that support at home—until you've sat in these chairs and understood that it is difficult—to say thank you seems too little. To the families of all that reside in this place, this is a time to reflect and to honour you, to thank you and to understand that our great country is built on that principle of family. It's what keeps us together. It will drive this nation and it will keep us through the dark times and the good together as a nation. On behalf of the National Party family, to your families, I say: merry Christmas, and let's have a great 2023.

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