Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like all members, I was very humbled to be elected to the 47th Parliament and am honoured to continue to represent the people of Gippsland to the best of my ability. I am determined, as the member for Ballarat just spoke about a few moments ago, to make sure that we can work wherever possible to build a safer, stronger, fairer and better regional Australia where everyone can get ahead. I say a simple thank you to the people of Gippsland for the trust they showed in me again in allowing me to represent their interests in this place.

In that spirit of bipartisanship, I acknowledge in particular the election of the new government, recognise the Prime Minister's success and congratulate new ministers on their roles. It is a great credit to the people of Australia that a change of government can occur in this country in such a seamless way. Our democracy is precious, and the fact that we can change governments without resorting to violence should never be taken for granted. The fact that we can change governments without the election result being contested, as it may be in other parts of the world, I think is a credit to organisations, such as the Australian Electoral Commission, for being able to manage a sometimes emotional and difficult political debate while maintaining the confidence of the Australian people to have a fair, open and transparent election. Those results, to the best of my knowledge, weren't contested in any part of the country. I congratulate the AEC for its work. I don't congratulate the AEC for the prolonged period of pre-poll voting, but I'll have more discussions with them in the months to come about exactly how many hours we need to provide for people to vote in the lead-up to the election. I think that's one area of reform that we can keep working on.

Elections are a huge logistical task for all the candidates. It ran very smoothly though in Gippsland. I acknowledge all the other candidates who contested that election, again the AEC staff in my region and the volunteers who manned the booths and engaged in a very constructive, positive and respectful way across Gippsland during the election period. Also in that same vein I acknowledge my hardworking staff and family members, who deserve enormous credit for their efforts in achieving the result we as a team achieved across Gippsland. I thank them for their ongoing support in my role as the member for Gippsland.

I also want to acknowledge the achievements of the previous government, former Prime Minister Scott Morrison and all the MPs and ministers I served with, whether it was in an outer ministry role or a cabinet role. I also acknowledge the members who did not return for the 47th Parliament, either through retirement or election results.

We're in a stronger position than most other nations because of decisions we as a government made and because of the hard work of millions of Australians in the face of incredible difficulties. During the time of the previous coalition government we encountered natural crises, whether it be drought, storms, floods or bushfires, and of course the impacts of the pandemic. The Australian spirit has been severely tested in recent years, and we as a nation have a great deal though to be thankful for. I will touch on those issues again later on in my comments, but we as a nation have a great deal to be thankful for. We have the institutions of government and the civic authorities that can respond to people's needs at critical times.

This year will be my 15th year as an MP. My commitment is to keep working in a very constructive way for the benefit for all Gippslanders and to make sure that I can work with the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the previous speaker, to deliver the infrastructure and critical services we need for the future of my community. Wherever possible I'll be seeking to have a positive and constructive relationship across the chamber but also within my own community as we build partnerships to simply get stuff done on the ground. It's all very well to make decisions in Melbourne, Sydney or Canberra, but you actually have to focus on getting stuff done on the ground where it really makes a difference in people's lives.

One of the main reasons I wanted to continue as the member for Gippsland is to ensure that we are working in a very positive way to build hope and optimism, particularly among young people. I think they've been the ones most directly impacted by the pandemic and had their confidence shaken. We need to make sure we're working with those young people right across Australia, particularly in our regional areas, to let them know they can achieve their full potential from those rural and regional backgrounds, and let them know anything is possible for them in this country if they are prepared to work hard and are passionate about their studies, to learn about their trade, to take up an opportunity to start their own business or to proceed to university and get a tertiary qualification. We should never sell ourselves short as Australians or in this place for the achievements that this parliament can work in partnership with the Australian people to achieve every day.

I'm proud of everything that my region contributes to the nation, and I'm proud of what Gippslanders do to ensure we have a safe and prosperous community. Naturally I will get an argument from every other member in this place when I say this, but Gippsland is the best region in the country. We have an enormous contribution to make to the future of the nation. But it's not perfect and there's always more to be done, and I have the energy and enthusiasm and experience now to keep delivering for all Gippslanders.

We recently commemorated Australia Day on 26 January. I'm not here to seek an argument about that date or seek to cause further division on that particular issue. But I find Australia Day a perfect opportunity to pause and reflect on what has made our nation so successful and to even reinvigorate some pride in our achievements, plus consolidate the enthusiasm within the community to build the determination we know we're going to need to overcome any challenges that might come our way in the future. I take the theme of Australia Day—reflect, respect and celebrate—as an invitation for us all to stop talking our country down and to start counting our blessings more often. That doesn't mean we ignore our modern-day problems or disregard parts of our heritage which are distressing or make us uncomfortable in some way, but it does mean we seek to build a spirit of optimism, resilience and positivity across our nation. It prompts the question on that day: what makes Australia such a great nation? Other countries have beautiful environments. There are many other countries where democracies can still flourish. We're not the only nation that has brought together many different cultures in a largely harmonious way. In my mind, in my community, it is the people of Gippsland and the people of Australia that make us exceptional.

I reflected before about the challenges we've faced in recent times, with the summer bushfires of 2019-20, the floods, the storms and the ongoing impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Throughout our nation, we are incredibly blessed to have so many people willing to volunteer in a wide variety of organisations simply to serve their communities. Whether it's frontline health and emergency services or people working with environmental groups or sporting and community charities, we have people willing to give their time for their community's benefit every day of the year. There are so many Australians who simply donate their time to quietly and diligently supporting their communities every day of the week. On Australia Day and throughout the year we should be thanking them and committing ourselves to keeping that tradition alive as a country. It's a tradition based on mateship, it's a tradition based on helping those who need a hand and it's also a tradition based on the need to feel part of something bigger than just our own lives.

The Australian story will never be finished. It's our generation that gets to write just a few chapters during our short lifetime. I believe, in this place and in our own communities, we can all choose to contribute positively to that story by volunteering and making a statement that we care about our communities—in my case, the future of Gippsland, Victoria and Australia.

It's also a time when much of the political and media commentary focuses on what's wrong with Australia. We should try and count our blessings more often as a nation. As we cast our eyes around the world and witness the stories of the pandemic, of armed conflicts and of minority groups being persecuted, we should be thankful for the freedoms we enjoy and the largely safe and secure communities we share.

We can't ignore our colonial past. It's a simple fact that the lives of Indigenous people were changed forever when European settlement occurred. Subsequent generations, though, have built the civilisation we enjoy today, and, by any comparison around the world, we have brought together diverse cultures to live largely harmoniously. That's not to say for a second that there aren't problems and unfinished business we would like to change as a nation. but I believe we're heading in the right direction. By working together we can address these difficult challenges, like poverty, homelessness, Indigenous disadvantage, mental illness, illicit drugs, family violence and any other shortcomings we might find in our government services. It's up to us in this place to be hopeful, optimistic and confident, and it's up to the more fortunate ones among us to lend a helping hand right now to those who may be struggling physically, mentally or financially. We have to believe in ourselves and each other as we keep writing this remarkable Australian story. Now is the time for leaders in this nation to find more common ground and unite around issues of critical importance to the future of Australia.

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