Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Australia Day, I celebrated our great nation along with many of my Longman constituents. First up was a quick stop at the Caboolture Historical Village to, unfortunately, back a loser in the cane toad race hosted by the always hardworking Caboolture Rotary Club. Then I was off to the Morayfield Sport and Events Centre for the annual Australia Day citizenship ceremony, where I was privileged to be part of an event that saw 450 people make the very intelligent decision to become Australian citizens.

Attending these events caused me to reflect on how great our country is: the diversity, the respect we have for all the different cultures that have contributed to making us who we are today, and most of all the freedoms we enjoy, which must be protected at all costs. Although we are part of a global community, we must protect Australia's sovereignty, no matter the price. Organisations such as the World Health Organization, the World Economic Forum, the United Nations and the like may have opinions and suggestions on how countries interact with each other on the global stage, but that's all they should ever be—suggestions. We should never sign binding agreements or treaties with organisations such as these, because Australia must always be governed by Australians, for Australians, by Australians. Let us never take for granted the freedoms so many have fought for and the price paid for those freedoms.