Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Next Tuesday, 12 December, will be the centenary of the 1906 federal election. At that election, James Mathews, a tailor from South Melbourne, was elected as the first Labor member for Melbourne Ports.

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Jimmy.

Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, Old Jimmy. Ever since, Melbourne Ports has elected Labor members in this House. Only two divisions, Newcastle and Melbourne, have a longer record of unbroken Labor representation. No coalition seat can match this record. After James Mathews came Ted Holloway, a great figure in the trade union movement in Melbourne and the man who beat Stanley Melbourne Bruce in Flinders in 1929—and it is interesting that the member for Flinders is here. Mr Holloway was subsequently the Minister for Health, Social Services and Labour in the Curtin and Chifley governments. After him came Frank Crean, Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia in the Whitlam government. Frank is now 90, in poor health, and I want to acknowledge his lifetime of service to the Labor Party and the people of Melbourne Ports. After Frank came Clyde Holding, who was Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the Hawke government and a former leader of the state opposition.

In 1998 I inherited—somewhat misusing that word—after a legendary preselection a long and proud Labor heritage in Melbourne Ports which I have maintained over the last three elections. For most of its history, Melbourne Ports has been a safe Labor seat, based on the working-class suburbs of Port Melbourne and Williamstown. Since 1969 the seat has moved progressively eastwards, losing Williamstown and taking in first St Kilda and Elwood and then in 1990 Caulfield, East St Kilda and Elsternwick and even parts of South Caulfield around the racecourse. These areas make the seat a lot less safe and it is now a marginal seat.

No doubt there are advantages to having a safe seat—as Martin Luther King said, ‘Longevity has its place’—but representing a marginal seat has its advantages too. All through the three-year cycle I get out and sell Labor’s values, policies and its record to the 90,000 constituents that I have. In these days in Melbourne Ports we have very diverse interests and communities. In going around the electorate I learn a lot about the people and what they are thinking and what concerns them. This is a challenge I enjoy, and I am looking forward to debating and defeating my fourth Liberal opponent next year.

As is well known, Melbourne Ports has Australia’s largest Jewish community and, as any journalist, MP or academic knows, I represent their concerns here as forcefully as I can. We also have a substantial gay and lesbian community, whose rights and civil liberties I am very anxious to protect. Perhaps it is less well known that we now have Australia’s largest number of migrants from the former Soviet Union, whose presence has brought new life and colour to our area. It is a great pleasure and privilege to represent such an area in this House. Melbourne Ports today spans a wide economic range. Many wealthy people live in the area, but there are still areas of disadvantage. That is why I was determined earlier this year to prevent the rumoured closure of the South Melbourne Centrelink office, which serves some 12,000 clients in the central and western parts of the seat. I am pleased to report that, for the second time, I was able to help the local community thwart such suggestions.

I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the hundreds of people in Melbourne Ports who have worked for many years to maintain the Labor tradition in the area. In the recent state election we were successful in defending the state seat of Prahran, partially in Melbourne Ports, held by my good friend Tony Lupton, against the ‘two toffs from Toorak’ who tried to win the seat with their gimmicky ‘Vote Ted, vote Clem’ campaign. It was good to see the solid Labor vote in East St Kilda giving Tony a well-deserved victory.

I have benefited greatly from the advice and counsel of Labor veterans like Senator Barney Cooney, Senator Ray and especially my good friend the Hon. Bunna Walsh—the former member for Albert Park and a Labor member for over 50 years who continues to work hard for the Labor cause—and from the dedication of rank and file members like Anne Cox, who, despite many burdens in her personal life, continues to work as a volunteer to help constituents with housing problems and devoted her time in the recent election campaign.

For 100 years Melbourne Ports has sent Labor members to this House. I am very proud to be the heir to this great tradition and I intend to see this maintained for many years to come.