Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ten years ago today, on 2 March 1996, the people of Australia elected the coalition government to office to look after the affairs of this nation. In so doing, the people of Australia also elected John Howard to become this country’s Prime Minister. On this occasion, I want to congratulate the Prime Minister on a significant milestone in our country’s history. I want to thank him for his leadership and for his commitment to our country: to try to make this a better nation for all of us and for those Australians who are to follow.

I have been privileged to have been part of two of those four elections that we celebrate today. I have had the great pleasure of representing the electorate of Ryan in the last 4½ to five years. In the parliament today, on this auspicious occasion, I rededicate myself and recommit myself to the electorate which I have the great honour of representing. Ryan is a federal seat in Brisbane that covers mostly the western suburbs of Brisbane. It is a wonderful part of Brisbane. It is a place where families can live together in harmony and prosper. We have wonderful schools. We have wonderful facilities. Those of us who are residents of this part of Brisbane say that we live in one of the nicest places in Queensland.

A couple of weeks ago the electorate of Ryan was ranked fifth on an index of the happiest electorates in the country. Last week in my electorate a number of people came up to me and congratulated me on this achievement, but I told them it was more a reflection on the character of the people who live in Ryan, who are very civilly oriented and community minded.

Being in government is about making a difference in people’s lives. It is about creating jobs and addressing health needs. It is about making a real impact on people’s lives on things like mortgage rates and funding for roads. We have addressed government debt. We all know that when the Howard government came to office in 1996 this country had government debt of $96 billion. The debt is now retired—there is no more Commonwealth debt—and this will make a difference for future Australians. It means money that would have been spent on interest payments can now be allocated to essential services.

Politics is a profession that people sometimes criticise. All politicians are subject to criticism because of the profession we are in. But I think it is a noble profession and it is a great honour. As representative of the people of Ryan in this parliament, I say again that I am deeply privileged to have their vote of confidence.