Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One thing people ask me now that I am 2½ years into the job and coming up to a major performance review is: are you still loving it? Do you like the job? People do not always know what it is to be a member of parliament. I have to say that one very unique thing about being a member of the House of Representatives is the honour to represent people. I know we have different philosophical views in different parties across the chamber—of course the Greens have different views to the Labor Party, to the Liberal Party and to the National Party—but it is an honour to represent people, to go in there and fight and to be people's last line of defence if the system has failed them. I always say to schoolchildren when I talk to them that there is something unique about the Australian political system and that is there is one degree of separation between you, the citizen, and the person who is the Prime Minister—you can talk to your representative. Of course if your representative is lazy or corrupt and you think you can do a better job, you can run against them and kick them out.

The thing I have enjoyed most about being the member for Mallee is that the people who live in the Wimmera, Mallee and Mildura region are straight-talking, decent Australian people. We have been reasonably successful in getting some of the government infrastructure to help them achieve some of their hopes and dreams. Farmers who plant crops need to be able to transport their crops on decent roads and on decent rail. I have been working very hard to try and deliver additional money for the Murray Basin Rail Project, the great dream to finally standardise most of the rail across Australia and standardise the rail in north-west Victoria. Duplicating the Western Highway will make people who drive on a busy road feel somewhat safer. We will be doing the sod-turning in the future of the overtaking lane on the Calder Highway between Ouyen and Red Cliffs—an area that has seen multiple fatalities. Tomorrow, I am opening the Donald Children's Centre—a little country town sees the need for having access to good child care. Last week, I opened the Horsham Town Hall and an arts centre that has great opportunities for people to come and enjoy the arts, even in country towns. We will continue to advocate for a Bureau of Meteorology weather radar tower so that we can have better forecasting for our farmers.

The other thing that I think is unique about the people I represent is they are people who roll up their sleeves and try to participate to get things done. The Stronger Communities Program, which is an initiative of our government—I hope it is one of those programs that is taken up so well that even when governments change to different administrations they keep this program—has been very special. It has allowed $150,000 in round 1 and $150,000 in round 2 to partner with small communities to do some very important things. I just rang up a guy to tell him that we are going to build some barbeque facilities at a recreational lake in the Mallee. People who have come to the Mallee realise that people are resilient, but it is hot. They do have a very dry time at times, and to be able to go to a recreational lake and somewhere where you can go with your family—in fact, the guy said to me, 'You could be anywhere in the world, you can forget about where you are, forget about your problems and enjoy some family time.' I announced an upgrade for some kitchen facilities at a football-netball club, some fencing for some tennis courts, some air conditioning for the local agricultural show society, a safety fence around a playground at the Wooroonook Lakes, and some heating for the Warracknabeal Golf Club.

When I was a candidate, a guy called Peter Fisher, who was the member for Mallee from 1973, said to me, 'You'll find the people you represent, if you get the job, are some of the most fair-minded, hardworking people in Australia.' He was talking to a city MP once, and the city MP was talking about swimming pools. The city MP was reflecting about how they had got 85 per cent of the funding for a swimming pool, but the town had decided not to go ahead with it, because they had not got 100 per cent. Whereas across the electorate of Mallee, they had got 15 per cent of the funding for their swimming pool, and the community had rolled up their sleeves, pitched in and built the damn thing. That is something special about the people I represent. With a little bit of encouragement and a lot of country ingenuity, they are going to make the Wimmera, Mallee and Mildura region a great place to live. It has been an honour to represent you for 2½ years, and I have got a performance review coming up, so it is up to you whether I get another crack. (Time expired)