Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great privilege to have been elected to this House for a sixth time. As I said in my address-in-reply speech in 2005, I still have that feeling of wonder that we are able to reinvent the process of democracy every three years—the apparent simplicity of it all, yet the sheer incredibility of it when one looks at how utterly few and endangered are the true democratic societies of our world. That feeling of wonder has not diminished. If anything, world events and the fragility of some so-called democracies show us that more than a facade of polling day is needed to ensure that a country is truly democratic and that its peoples can express their views and opinions without fear and cast their votes without intimidation. Indeed, apart from free and fair elections, strong democracies also have a judiciary free from political interference and a parliament with a strong opposition. So, although I find myself on the opposition benches, as I did when I first entered this place in 1993, I appreciate the importance of being a strong opposition and keeping the government accountable, and I remain steadfast in my advocacy on behalf of the electors of Pearce.

May I therefore begin by thanking the electors for re-electing me and my campaign team who made the way smooth during the course of this election campaign and who organised the campaign with great skill and efficiency. The team was led by campaign chair, Mr Lane Taylor, assisted at all times by his wife, Julie, and from time to time by his son, James, and daughter, Jessie. No candidate could ask for a steadier hand on the tiller than Lane Taylor’s. He has been an important support person right from my first election in 1993, and his wise counsel and calm demeanour have always been generously offered. I want to record my appreciation to my family and to all the campaign team members and my staff: Jana Allan, Anne Bagot, Amy Chadbourne, Richard Johnston and Neil Oliver, a former state member of parliament who came out of retirement to assist. Ron Farris, my longstanding friend, was a tower of strength, assisted by my former personal assistant, Kirstin Mardardy, and Stuart Burling and a host of loyal supporters who manned the campaign office and helped out on polling booths on election day. They are too numerous to mention personally, but to each of them I say thank you. Members and executives of the division of Pearce, led by president, Rod Henderson, have been unstinting in their support and I am indebted to them, as I am to the Western Australian Liberal Party. To know that these people care enough about preserving our democratic way of life and the laws being passed in this place is heartening and inspiring. These are the people who volunteer to ensure that the wheels of democracy remain oiled and functioning strongly.

In February, I had served 15 years as the member for Pearce. I always feel proud of the contribution that people within the electorate make to their communities, to their state and to their country. It has been a privilege to represent their interests in the federal parliament and to support the many initiatives that the communities foster. One of the marvellous things about being elected as a member of parliament is the opportunity not only to see the problems and challenges that face many people on a day-to-day basis but to see the triumph of the human spirit and to experience the kind personalities and the generosity that is so often extended.

During the address-in-reply debate in 2005, I raised several issues which I wish to revisit briefly. I raised mental health as an issue that was pressing due to the steady rise in the number of people who were homeless, often because their mental health issues were not diagnosed, treated and managed. The Howard government made a substantial funding commitment and, indeed, provided leadership in taking up mental health issues in consultation with the states. Attention to mental health policy was urged in no small measure by my former colleague the then member for Leichhardt, the Hon. Warren Entsch, whose representations were tireless. I think the House is grateful for his advocacy in that regard.

I see the current Prime Minister taking an interest in homeless people. I sincerely hope that the momentum of the previous government in addressing these issues will not be lost, as the issues of mental health and homelessness have taken on a more urgent dimension with changes to the social security pensions and work requirements and the current crisis in housing affordability. Indeed, I intend to raise this with the parliamentary Standing Committee on Community, Families, Housing and Youth, to which I have been elected deputy chair. I thank my colleagues in that respect. For people on low and fixed incomes trying to find affordable rental accommodation, the current housing affordability crisis is a tragedy. The supply of public housing is failing to keep up with demand and the level of rental subsidies is falling short of the mark with the rapid escalation of rent, which is heading to an average of $400 per week in Perth—a trend that is followed by most of the other states and territories.

Having spoken in the previous address-in-reply debate on the issue of children in detention and my concerns about indefinite detention, I was pleased to be able to support the private member’s bill put forward in the last parliament by the member for Kooyong to amend the Migration Act to ensure that families with children were housed in community housing rather than in detention centres. That amendment bill was passed in this place and the operation of that law is, I understand, working very well. For those being held in detention indefinitely, the amendment bill gave greater transparency and accountability. The oversight role was given to the Ombudsman, who is now required to report to this parliament, followed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, which must report every six months to both houses on the reasons why someone is in detention for more than two years. I am pleased to learn that the Ombudsman, in the most recent report, has reported on some of those issues and that the current minister is trying to find a way to deal with some of the more intractable cases, as difficult as these are.

In 2005, I said on Aboriginal reconciliation and Aboriginal health:

It is a matter of enduring shame that so many Aboriginal people still live in circumstances long unacceptable to most of us.

I also made the point that, while practical measures are important, there is a pressing need to recognise the injustices and the ill-conceived policies of the past, no matter how well-meaning they were. In that respect, I again pay tribute to the former Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs the Hon. Mal Brough for progressing the practical measures so urgently needed and to the current Prime Minister for the apology extended to Indigenous people at the commencement of this 42nd parliament. Whatever progress we have made in these areas and more, there are great challenges ahead.

The Howard government presided over an incredibly stable economy characterised by low inflation, low interest rates, low unemployment and the retirement of $96 billion of debt. With the $8.5 billion in interest saved annually, tax cuts were possible and both business tax and the personal rate of tax were cut substantially. Industrial disputes fell from 79 working days lost per 1,000 employees to a very low 15 working days lost per 1,000 employees. Keeping inflation low is one of the greatest challenges facing the government. Inflation and interest rate rises hurt those on fixed and low incomes in particular, and everyone in general, as it erodes savings and increases the price of day-to-day necessities. If wages and industrial disputes are allowed to escalate, inflation will quickly erode any value both to those working and to those relying on fixed incomes and pensions.

The work of reform needs to be continuous, as we live in a dynamic, global system. Without constant attention to education and training, we will soon fall behind other competing countries. Education continues to be a major focus for me. I want to see the young people in Pearce continue to have options to enter university, vocational education and training, traineeships and apprenticeships so that they will find fulfilment in their long working lives as well as being able to contribute to the prosperity of their families, their community and the nation. Pearce does have several TAFE colleges, as well as several agricultural colleges, and these play a vital role in providing options for rural and regional students in higher education and vocational training. I pay tribute to the work of those teachers and administrators, who maintain a high standard despite the constant struggle to attract sufficient funding.

Agriculture is a multibillion-dollar industry and, in my view, we do not place a high enough value on clean food production and those who labour to provide food both at a domestic level and to boost our balance of trade through the international export market. We have some of the most efficient farmers in the world, yet they continue to battle unfair international competition, with some countries providing significant levels of government subsidies to their growers. In addition, our growers often meet much more stringent regulations—and quite rightly so, Mr Deputy Speaker Scott; it is an issue which you would fully understand and appreciate—on the use of chemicals, pesticides and hygiene, while products from competing countries, whose standards are not as good, often make their way onto our grocery shelves at very competitive prices. Besides addressing the unfair competition, we need to support our farmers by ensuring that we have the best agricultural scientists, land managers, agronomists, farm machinery mechanics, engineers, water scientists and the whole range of people that work hard to grow high-quality, clean produce by staying at the forefront of agricultural science. Wherever you turn in Pearce—whether it is farming, where there is a critical shortage of farm labour; the hospitality industry; mining; retail; the sciences; or medicine—all areas have difficulty attracting qualified staff.

The education policies of the Howard government saw record increases in the number of students enrolling in medicine—nursing went up by 47 per cent and medicine by 63.5 per cent nationally between 2001-05. In the past five years the number of medical students in Western Australia has doubled, and this has necessitated an expansion in the number of clinical training places. I look forward to working with the community, the University of Western Australia and Notre Dame University to influence a decision to fund clinical training places in regional hospitals so that the current pressure on the major city teaching hospitals does not see new graduates leave Western Australia. I strongly support the proposal put by the universities for regional training places, as doctors trained in regional hospitals are more likely to settle in those regions when they complete their training. Education and training remains one of the key issues, and I will continue to build on my support for community initiatives to improve training and education options for the local community.

Other issues that I believe need to be addressed in this 42nd Parliament include federal-state relations. Given that Federation was created in 1901, we must turn our minds to building a federal system of government that recognises contemporary issues. There is a need for much clearer delineation of responsibility between state and federal governments and a need to stop the blame game. I am not a centralist, because I believe such a policy requires total conformity and diminishes the ability of individual communities to shine by building on their natural attributes. Conversely, a decentralised system encourages diversity and competition. This resonates with the electors of Pearce, as I know they work hard to convince the WA state government of the merit of investing in their region—a lot of the time without any great success under the current regime.

Of the regions, Pearce will be the key to managing the rapid growth that is taking place in Western Australia. By 2015 the population of the state of Western Australia is projected to reach 2.3 million—almost double what it is now. This is double the growth projections for New South Wales and Victoria. Diversity and decentralisation will therefore be pivotal to managing the explosion of growth in Western Australia, and planning for that needs to be taking place now so that it is managed in a way that recognises the sensitive environment of the outer metropolitan regions. Pearce includes the Hills, the Swan, the Chittering and Avon valleys, as well as many rural areas that need to preserve local flora and fauna and to manage land degradation and water conservation issues. The need for careful and sensitive environmental management is critical. There are, of course, many other issues in an electorate as diverse as Pearce that will make demands on elected members at all levels of government.

It has been no secret that, since 2000, I have taken a particularly keen interest in the issue of both type 1 and 2 diabetes. The number of people with diabetes continues to escalate in our community. Such is the concern internationally that the United Nations passed a special resolution last year for the first time recognising diabetes as a problem of international dimension. If we are unable to stem the growth in the number of people presenting with diabetes, the burden on the budgets of all countries, both developed and developing, will be unsustainable. So I hope to continue the work in this parliament that I started in 2000, the work of the Parliamentary Diabetes Support Group, ably assisted by my colleagues the member for Lyons, Senator Barnett and the member for Moore. We are hoping to have a few more people on board. Many members of this chamber and of the Senate have taken a keen interest in the work of the Parliamentary Diabetes Support Group.

After Easter, the New Zealand parliament will pull together a group of people from the Pacific to try and engage parliaments in the region on how we deal with the diabetes pandemic within the western Pacific. This parliament is committed to making poverty history; it is one of the millennium goals. As quickly as we make progress on a number of fronts—in forgiving debt and in other measures to help deal with this problem—diabetes threatens to undo much of the good work. Diabetes is a very serious health problem that leads to many complications, and the cost to national budgets, not to mention the cost to the quality of life of individuals diagnosed with diabetes, is extremely high. So we are hoping to progress this matter in other parliaments and, very shortly, to look at this issue in the western Pacific.

We also made representations both to our own ministers in the latter part of our term in government and to the current ministers to make sure that every Australian child who has type 1 diabetes who needs a pump to deliver insulin has access to one. We are hoping that the government in its forthcoming budget will honour the commitment made by the Howard government to make this possible for children and young adults with type 1 diabetes. With the best of care, their life term is likely to be 15 years less than the rest of us. Insulin pumps often deliver far better outcomes in regulating the amount of insulin they have and that, in turn, prevents many of the complications that come from diabetes.

Many in this House have heard the incredible speeches given by young people coming to this House for the Kids in the House functions. We have had two of them over the last few years, and they have been touching indeed. So I am hopeful, as I said, that the current government will understand the urgency and importance of that measure and make money available in the forthcoming budget to improve the health outcomes of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

Finally, as has been my practice in the past, I will continue to actively visit the many country towns and suburbs that make up the electorate of Pearce. I want to meet local people and more fully understand their aspirations and assist them in ensuring that those aspirations become a reality so that they have effective representation—an effective voice—in this place.

Debate (on motion by Mr Laurie Ferguson) adjourned.