Ms France:

I move:

That the Address be agreed to.

I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we are gathered and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. I would also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of my electorate of Dickson—the Turrbal, Kabi Kabi and Jinibara peoples.

My epic journey to this place to represent the people of Dickson was not part of a grand plan or a lifelong dream; rather, it was hundreds of little steps—a lifetime of small acts of kindness and support from so many good people. Some of you are in the gallery, some are in my electorate of Dickson and some are scattered across this big, beautiful country and the globe. Some of you, like my Henry, are in another place, hopefully looking on with a big, wide smile.

My journey to this place is not a sad story, nor is it a happy one. It is a human story. It will shape me as a representative and has narrowed my focus, but it is not especially unique. Most of the people I represent in the electorate of Dickson share a life of ups, downs, success, hardship, loss and happiness. Winning Dickson was highly unlikely and, to some, an insurmountable mountain. With the very, very best Labor Party branch members, it took seven years to climb as a single mum with one leg, battling one of the most prolific politicians of our time. 'Highly unlikely' was also how the doctors described the death of my darling boy Henry from leukaemia last year, aged 19. Despite the very best public health care, he is not with us, and he is so desperately missed. People often ask, 'How are you standing?' I say, 'On one leg.'

I was a curious but lonely child. I struggled to find friends at primary school and to find comfort at home. My parents separated and divorced when I was about six. My brother and sister and I moved with Mum eight times in 10 years. Many of my best memories growing up were of spending every second Sunday with my dad visiting the Dyson family. We five kids—gen Xers—wandered through the bush, made our way to local parks, explored abandoned cars and made bush cubbies—no fear. Those cherished days were shared with my oldest friend, Emma Kennedy, who is in the gallery.

As I got older, I sought out my own people in the local neighbourhood. I wandered up to a property one day, aged about 15, and kind of refused to leave—mucking out stables, riding unbroken horses and sharing sandwiches with Tom and Bernie, two old fellas who ran the property. Nearby, I made friends with Carmen and her parents, Sonya and Peter Bond, who declared that I could stay whenever I liked and eat as much as I wanted from their fridge. Like theirs, my door has always been open to neighbourhood kids, and my electorate office door will always be open to my community.

At 16, I landed on the front porch of my dad's house on North Street, Southport. That tiny, hot fibro house on the Smith Street Motorway, built by my grandparents, was once described as the house of Labor on the Gold Coast, and for good reason. Labor values of economic and social justice are not just something my family has voted for; they have underpinned our weekends, our work and our friendship for generations. Those values drive everything I do and fight for in Dickson.

My grandmother Mary Lawlor created the family template for generational activism. Mary was the wife of painter Jim; a stay-at-home mum to five boys; and a volunteer Lifeline telephone counsellor. Mary was feared and revered in equal amounts by the Southport Catholic Church congregation and local politicians. When the priest told parishioners at Sunday mass in 1972 they should not vote for her beloved Whitlam, she did not hesitate. The take-down in front of the whole congregation is still remembered today. She was never a member of the Labor Party, but she was the embodiment of Labor values. The early seventies were important years for our country and for Mary. Whitlam was elected in 1972 with a bold agenda that gave working-class families a chance at a better life. Her first grandchild—me—was born in 1973, and in 1975 Mary went all the way to the High Court of Australia to challenge unfair electoral boundaries and end the gerrymander system. 'Who is this housewife from Southport?' they said in Queensland parliament at the time. Fighting for fair is in my blood.

Whitlam's Medibank, ending conscription and offering free university changed everything for my grandparents and their boys and, in turn, for me. Medibank meant my uncle Gerard, who had cystic fibrosis, could see a specialist in Brisbane and receive lifelong treatment at our local Prince Charles Hospital. Medicare is Labor's heart, but it is also mine. Medicare saved my life and gave my Henry the very best chance of surviving leukaemia. Mary never stopped fighting for Medicare, and nor will I.

Stuffing envelopes, letterboxing and council meetings with my grandparents were part of my little world. If you want change, you have to work for it. I soaked up every single word, and, so it seems, did their eldest boy—my dad, Peter Lawlor, just over there. In the eighties, Dad represented Gold Coast SEQEB workers sacked by the Bjelke-Petersen government. I heard the stories of families unable to pay the bills because they dared to fight for secure jobs. What I saw in my dad and my grandparents was solidarity in action: the gifts of time, free legal representation, a meal or a shoulder to cry on—gifts that reverberate across generations. My dad stood with the Electrical Trades Union in Southport, and, decades later, ETU members stood with me over three election campaigns to win Dickson, and some of them are in the gallery. Labor will always be the party for workers, fair wages and conditions. It is core business, and it is part of my core.

I have moved to and lived and worked in Toowoomba, Townsville, Perth, Hong Kong, London and, of course, Brisbane, but moving in with my dad at the age of 16 was probably the most impactful move of my life. Not only was it the beginning of a truly awesome father-daughter bond but it set me up for a well-lived, socially aware future. We laughed a lot in that tiny fibro house. Dad was the perfect antidote to a moody teenage girl—not a lot of direction but plenty of sarcasm and jabs. 'Looks like you put that make-up on with a brickie's trowel!' 'Maybe you should try getting to school on time just once or twice this year!'

In Dad I watched a master class in perseverance and commitment. He first ran for the state seat of Southport in 1992 with a margin of 12 per cent, eventually winning the seat for Labor in 2001—his fourth attempt. He'd previously been encouraged to run in a safer seat. 'If I'm not running in Southport, I am not running anywhere' was his response. He went on to serve as the member for Southport for 12 years, and as a minister.

I always got the question, 'Are you going to follow in your father's footsteps?' 'No way!' I'd say. I saw power to right wrongs in the media, in exposure, and studied journalism at the University of Southern Queensland. Toowoomba was not really the place for a progressive girl from the Gold Coast, but the country kids put up with my loud opinions. Importantly, I was surrounded by people who saw the world differently to me, who perhaps voted differently, whose parents had different priorities. Many became lifelong friends; some of you are in the gallery today.

After finishing university, I worked at the Courier-Mail. From there I worked in Hong Kong, covering the landmark right-of-abode cases in the high court and court of final appeal. In London, I worked for the healthcare commission, working on the very first and the second state-of-health-care reports for the UK parliament. The work was great, but the people—from all walks of life and cultures—gave me a huge appreciation and understanding of lives that looked different to my own.

I've always loved work and never imagined stopping. But, by 2006, two little nippers had arrived: Henry and Zac. Two in child care while working full time meant my family was about $300 a week worse off, so, like many women in my electorate, I had little choice but to become a full-time stay-at-home mum after my Zac was born. Being mum to my boys is by far my most treasured life experience. Every story read, every meal, every sloppy kiss, every win or loss on sporting fields, every birthday cake, every trip to the park is cherished. I also met so many generous and accomplished mums. My baby group mums, Jo and Natalie, and the mums I met through schools have been by my side for two decades, in hospital and in grief. Many are in the gallery.

After four years caring for my boys, when Henry started community kindy, I was offered a part-time job, and I jumped at it. Despite taking a spectacular pay cut, I was grateful for anything that would put an end to that big, wide gap in my CV. Within a year my boss, Wayne Denning, took a chance on me, giving me the unique opportunity to produce a one-hour documentary for the ABC. Wayne, who is in the gallery today, is a proud First Nations man from Central Queensland and is such a talented businessman. He never flinched when I left work because one of my boys was sick. He saw my potential and was flexible well before community expectations demanded it.

Fifteen years later and as a result of Labor's laser-like focus on women's economic empowerment, we have paid parental leave, we've reduced the burden of childcare costs, and we are working towards gender pay equity. Those changes have been hard fought for by many women—like Virginia Clarke, a founding member of EMILY's List, who ran in Oxley against Pauline Hanson twice. She's been by my side campaigning in Dickson over the last seven years. She is also in the gallery.

Little did I know then that the mother of all unconscious bias and discrimination was shortly coming for me. I lost my leg in 2011. The ground shifted. Everything was hard to navigate, and I was pitied. But I survived, and so did my baby, Zac. Everyone in my life remembers the day I was supposed to die. I lived thanks to trauma surgeon Professor Martin Wullschleger, his team at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and also the bravery of strangers at the scene—Megan Brennan, who looked after my Zac, and Eric and Joe, the two young men who pulled the car off me and without whom I wouldn't be here.

Martin's split-second decision, though, to amputate my leg with a makeshift tourniquet saved me and ensured my kids had their mum. We keep in touch, and Martin is in the gallery. Martin, I am in awe of your courage, expertise and work ethic and that of so many other health workers who have gotten me to this place. Everything they do at work ripples outwards.

I left the hospital positive and determined to head on down to that leg shop, buy a leg, put it on and walk off into the sunset! Of course, it didn't work like that. The first time I went out to dinner, a lady stopped us and said: 'You have such a pretty face. What a pity you are in a wheelchair.' I had six surgeries in four years, suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder, struggled to get out of the house, didn't drive for nearly three years and had severe phantom pain. I was told I was unlikely to ever work again. I was also unable to use a traditional socket prosthetic despite my very best efforts. My dream of being able to hold Henry's and Zac's hands while walking to school or the park seemed to be over.

I was at my lowest point when I entered the office of orthopaedic surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis. Munjed, a refugee surgeon from Iraq, put his arms around me and said, 'I'm going to do everything I can to get you walking again.' I was osseointegration patient No. 26 in Australia. The surgery was groundbreaking, risky and my only option. I've now been walking for 11 years, with a little help from my wheelchair. Munjed is in the gallery. I am so grateful you stepped outside of the boundaries of what was thought to be medically possible at that time. I literally would not be standing here today without you. Modern Australia is the product of migrants and refugees like Munjed who have come here and worked hard to give back and contribute to their adopted country. Their only request is a chance to thrive.

My osseointegration surgery also connected me with other people with a disability. One of them was the truly remarkable Shona Muckert, a bilateral amputee from the Sunshine Coast, who said, 'Come and try outrigger canoeing with me.' That invitation changed my whole outlook on life as a disabled woman. Quite suddenly I was amongst the waves, paddling my little heart out. I was unsheltered, free of bias and pity, and with others who shared disability but who were working, raising families and living really good lives. Shona is also in the gallery. Champion! The more I paddled, the more confident I became. I went on to represent Australia with my No Limits team. They showed me that disability is not a barrier but that our environment, assumptions and lack of opportunity are the barriers. Some of those people—Paralympian Susan Seipel, Glenn Pyne and world champion Shona—are in the gallery.

Sport is such a powerful tool in combatting depression, anxiety and loneliness. It brings people together. I will always be the champion for our sporting teams and clubs in Dickson because I know they make our community better, and I am here to help ensure people with disability have the same opportunity to prosper and live fulfilled lives as the rest of society.

This new-found confidence ushered in a new era that I like to describe as 'failing forward', the just-bloody-do-it era. I was pretty angry by the time I joined the Labor Party in 2016. Labor delivered the NDIS, but people with a disability still struggled to be seen, to get around and to get jobs. Landing a job was incredibly difficult for me. People only saw disability. It was like I was born on the day of my accident. No-one cared what was on my CV. As someone who draws a lot of my self-worth from work, this was devastating.

My place in the Labor Party began with Labor Enabled, a great crew of underutilised disability activists who welcomed me with open arms. It became clear that, in order to help change the perceptions of disability outside and inside the party, we needed to be seen as potential candidates, potential MPs. I hadn't thought of actually being the candidate until the then Queensland state secretary, Evan Moorhead, convinced me to run in a totally unwinnable preselection for a state seat. I failed forward. The experience turned a switch, and the journey to win Dickson began.

Dickson is much like the Gold Coast I grew up in in the eighties. Our suburbs north of Brisbane are leafy, still home to koalas, with town centres surrounding train lines that connect city workers and semirural acreage lots with small mountain communities. Our Moreton Bay community is aspirational: lots of families, mortgages and great public schools. There are many working-class battlers and those who rely on us and government services to help get them through the tough times. Young people priced out of Brisbane are moving to our region in droves. I have doorknocked many thousands of homes over the last seven years, but at this election the people of Dickson could not have been any clearer. My community wanted help with the cost of living. They wanted more health services, more bulk-billed GPs and more housing, and, importantly, they wanted a government and a representative who is focused on them and their issues. In voting for me, they rejected the politics of fear and division.

The 2025 campaign was obviously my best, and that is quite a bizarre thing because, behind the curtain, I was grieving and desperately wanting to hold my son, Henry. He passed on 20 February 2024, after an 18-month battle with leukaemia. The week before, he was able to come home for a couple of nights. He asked to sleep in my bed, next to his mum, like he did for years when he was a little boy. All night I watched him breathe, in awe of him—his courage and his ability to smile despite unbelievable pain and the never-ending hospital stays and treatments. I am so, so grateful for those hours. He told me many times that this election was my time. He was convinced I would win and said a number of times, 'Don't make me the excuse for you not doing important things.' And this was so important. His words, his courage, were with me every day of the campaign. Henry was instrumental in getting me to this place.

Also pivotal were the Dickson Labor Party branch members, of which there are many in the gallery. Many of you have been campaigning for a Labor win for two decades, asking for nothing in return but the possibility of a good Labor government. Succeeding in Dickson is your win. You have been relentless, you have never given up and I am so happy that I have been a part of your win. Thank you.

I also had a very awesome all-female campaign team. Our Queensland state secretary, Katie Flanders, together with Megan Kennedy-Clark and my campaign managers, Emma Holmes and Natasha Maynard, steered us to victory—along with a bit of help from Paul Erickson. They are the very best marginal seat campaigners in the country. For the first time, our Dickson campaign was tailor-made for my community, and that made all the difference. Thank you.

Perhaps my greatest political believers are the Prime Minister and my former boss and former Queensland premier Steven Miles, who is also in the gallery. When you're running for a third time, there will always be those who question if you're the right candidate. The Prime Minister and Steven have always been in my corner. Their support has meant I've continued to climb the mountain and succeed when many others said I should step away. Prime Minister, I remember our first conversation. You were the shadow minister for infrastructure, in 2018, and you called me out of the blue one morning and just said: 'Hey, it's Albo. I've just landed in Brisbane. Let's have a coffee.' What you were really saying was, 'Hey, you're one of us.' And that meant so much. I wouldn't be here without your unwavering support. Steven, I've learnt so much from you. Having worked with you over many years, I know you spend more time listening to people than talking, and that is an incredibly important lesson for me as a new representative. Thank you for always having my back.

Over three campaigns, I have got an incredible amount of on-the-ground support with all the support you can think of—emotional, strategic, mowing of lawns, all sorts of things—from members of the mighty United Workers Union. Some of you are in the gallery. Thank you. Thank you to all union members who joined our campaign.

My family; my dad; my son Zac; my partner, Rob; my brother, Phil; his wife, Marika; and the Griffiths all give me so much joy and are my whole world. Thank you for your unconditional love. Zac, I hope I have shown you what is possible even when the universe gives you grief. You and Henry are the loves of my life. I'm so proud of the young man you are, and I know your dad, Clive, and Henry would be looking down on you with pride too.

Thank you to the people of Dickson for putting your faith in me. As I said on election night, I will be a representative for everyone in our community, whether you voted for me or not. I am one of the first women with a disability to be elected to the House of Representatives and the first person to unseat an opposition leader. Kindness, a helping hand, opportunity and open doors have got me here, and that's what I will be giving to the people of Dickson.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the honourable member for Melbourne, I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first speech, and I ask the House to extend to her the usual courtesies.

Ms Witty:

I second the motion. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners and custodians of the land upon which this parliament stands, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, and I pay my respects to elders past and present. I also acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, the traditional owners of the land I'm so proud to represent. Sovereignty was never ceded.

I stand here today deeply humbled and profoundly honoured, not just as the elected member for Melbourne but as someone who lives, breathes and belongs to this remarkable city. Melbourne runs through my veins and, while I resist the classic Melburnian uniform of head-to-toe black, I leap at the chance to show visitors the soul of my home town. I'm eager to lead them down graffitied laneways, push open secret doors and step into hidden gems bursting with life, flavour and laughter. We share food that warms the heart and conversations that linger well after the plates have been cleared. That's Melbourne—surprising, vibrant and generous. I'm proud to call it home and carry the voices of my neighbours, friends and fellow community members into this parliament.

My journey to this chamber is more recent than most but, in many ways, I've been walking towards this my entire life. I've waited on tables, punched numbers in banks, been a small-business owner and rolled up my sleeves in the charity sector—always working, always learning. I've helped to raise money for social and affordable housing and I've given free nappies to families in crisis. I've witnessed far too often how systems can fail the very people they're meant to protect. But I've also seen something just as powerful: how community can rise up, surround someone in need and carry them forward with dignity and care.

The road to this parliament hasn't been smooth or simple, but every twist and every struggle has shaped me. I have a deep belief that people in politics should never chase power for its own sake. They must reach, heal and build. They must serve people, always. I believe with my whole heart that the future isn't something we wait for; it's something we create together. When I finally gave my goal shape and set my sights on becoming the member for Melbourne, I embraced it, and I was embraced wholeheartedly and without hesitation. From the very first Labor member I met to my now colleagues and the leader, the Prime Minister, I felt it in my bones. I found my team. Thank you, Labor members. Thank you, Prime Minister. You are my people, my community and now my friends.

Labor people are people who don't wait to be asked—people who act, who reach, who lift, driven by a fierce belief in fairness and the unshakable conviction that everyone deserves a fair go. Labor people saw me, supported me and stood beside me as I made my way here. To everyone who helped carry me to this point: thank you. I carry your faith in me with gratitude and determination, and I will spend every day earning it. You have shown me what it means to fight for dignity, to stand up for working people and to lead with purpose.

I am proud—deeply proud—to walk in the footsteps of those who built Medicare, expanded education and stood firm to protect the rights of workers, and now I take up that torch. Thank you to my predecessor, Adam Bandt. I acknowledge your service to our community. We all know Melbourne is a passionate and principled city, and I intend to carry that spirit of fearless advocacy grounded in Labor values.

Hey, Paul—that's my husband, who's not here tonight but is cheering me on from overseas—thanks for getting on board and finding a way to be okay with this. I know it wasn't your choice but I'm grateful for your support. My family, who are here, and my friends, thank you for grounding me. To my campaign manager, Karen Douglas, and the rest of the team—there are too many to name, but I know that you know who you are—thank you. Not just on my campaign, but for the many years before, you knocked on doors, made phone calls, delivered flyers, handed out how-to-vote cards and believed in our message of unity and justice. This moment belongs to you.

Wouldn't my dad be so proud to see me here today? Of course he would. But the truth is that making my dad—and my mum—proud was a very low bar. They were always proud of me, my older brother, BJ, and my sisters, Emma and Liz. We were brought up in a family that knew love. We knew our parents loved each other, and we knew they loved us, too. With support like that, I knew I could do anything. My parents not only showed us love but also taught us to work hard, tell the truth and never walk past someone who's been pushed aside.

I was lucky—truly lucky—to find the right kind of love in my husband, Paul. We're far from perfect, but we choose each other every day. We share a vision, we work through the mess and the joy, and together we've built a life filled with love and purpose. For us, becoming parents didn't follow the well-worn path. When our time came, we weren't blessed with an easy journey. Over 10-plus years, we endured heartache after heartache, pregnancy after pregnancy ending in loss. We grieved deeply. We searched for other ways to grow our family.

I remember one day, after a devastating loss, my mum gently said to me, 'Maybe you were meant to be a mum for all children.' At the time, her words hit a wall. I was too shattered to hear them or to let them in. The ache was too fresh, too sharp, but her words stayed with me, and slowly, as the fog of grief lifted, I opened my heart and myself to a new path. I stepped into the world of foster care, not out of ease but out of a deep-seated need to turn my pain into something positive.

Paul and I welcomed children into our home and into our hearts. Some days were beautiful. Other days tested every ounce of strength we had. But it was one day with one extraordinary boy—let's call him Mat—when everything shifted. Something in that moment changed me, redirected me and set me on the path that has led me here, to this chamber, with a heart full of purpose and a voice ready to fight for children who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves in rotten situations.

When he arrived in our care, Mat was a shy boy of 10, and he left us to live with his family as a happy 12-year-old. One day when I picked him up from school, he said, 'Sarah, can I tell you a secret?' As he usually didn't say much, I was pretty excited for him to start a conversation and excited to possibly hear a story from a day at school. 'Sure, mate. What's your secret?' Now, I'm not going to tell you what that secret was, because, No. 1, it was a secret. But, No. 2, no child should have experienced that secret. The only person I told that secret to was his caseworker.

I know that as parents we all do the best for our children, but what if, at even your best, you can't protect your child? What if, at even your best, you can't put a roof over their heads or food on the table? From that day on, I knew I had to do more to support kids like Mat and the families that love them. With every decision I've made since that day, I have always had him and kids like him in my mind, and I will continue to. With every decision I am asked to make while representing the people of Melbourne, I will always ask myself, 'What would Mat need so that he and the hundreds of children like him can grow up to be the best people they can be?' I know that, as a society, we are only as good as our weakest link. If every child gets the best start in life to be to best human they can be, we are all lifted. That's what I want for every kid in Melbourne—the Melbourne I grew up in.

I'm Melbourne through and through. I live it. I breathe it. I carry it with me wherever I go. I love every corner of this city. From the alleyways that hum with hidden music to the multicultural kitchens that feed entire communities, I love it all. Melbourne is a city of ideas, of resistance, of reinvention and of deep, enduring care. It's where I found my voice. It's where I learned to fight for what matters. It's where I fell in love, built a home and made friends who feel like family. Melbourne raised me, shaped me and showed me how powerful community can be. We are the home of the eight-hour working day and the union movement. The Victorian Trades Hall, the oldest continuously operating trades hall in the world, stands proudly in my electorate. This building isn't just bricks and mortar; it's a living monument to courage, solidarity and working-class power.

Some might say art, culture and working rights are peak Melbourne, but what about sports? You will also find us in our team colours at the 'G. Sport pulses through Melbourne's veins. We were Australia's first Olympic city, way back in 1956, and we've been showing up ever since. No matter the code, no matter the weather, we pour into our stadiums, our pubs and even our lounge rooms to support our teams. I love watching the streets around the MCG come alive, pulsing with the colour and noise and anticipation. Before the game, you'll often find me in the local Richmond pubs, soaking in the buzz as crowds gather—chanting, laughing, decked out in scarves and colours—and stream towards the 'G, where thousands come together for something bigger than themselves. You don't need a fixture to know who's playing; you just need to look around and see what people are wearing.

But Melbourne is more than just a game. We pulse with the heartbeat of live music, breathe the soul of theatre and ignite the spark of stand-up comedy. We celebrate creativity, amplify voices and carry stories that challenge, inspire and connect us all. Just as we turn up for our teams, we fill the seats for a show. We also stand strong in what we believe in. We are proud of our radical traditions. We speak up. We stand firm. We organise. We mobilise. We demand better. We don't settle for what is; we imagine what could be. And, while we are often the first to dream of a better world, we are just as often the first to act when we see injustice.

I believe in an Australia where every person has a safe and secure home, education is free, health care is universal and no-one is left behind—an Australia where every child, no matter the postcode, can live a full, free and fantastic life. I believe in a democracy where truth is spoken, where First Nations voices are heard and where climate justice is not an afterthought but a foundation. I believe government can, and must, be a force for fairness, for equality, for hope and for transformation.

The challenges we face are real, and so are the opportunities. Most of Melbourne's high-density suburbs sit right here in the seat of Melbourne, and that places us at the very heart of the housing crisis. The crisis didn't happen overnight. It is the result of years of underinvestment by previous governments and the blocking of good housing policies, which has slowed progress and kept supply dangerously low. But we can't get stuck blaming the past. We must confront this crisis now with honesty and urgency and courage.

Inner Melbourne cannot become a playground for the wealthy, a place where only the privileged can afford to live. That's not the city we love. That's not the city we believe in. Every person in every family—every young person starting out, every older person who's worked their whole life—deserves the dignity of a safe, secure and affordable home. Housing is not a luxury; it's a human right.

Today, it's harder than ever to get into the housing market. Skyrocketing prices and shrinking availability have locked countless people out of the chance to own their own home or even find a secure rental. This is not just a setback; it's a crisis that threatens the fabric of our community. It's simple economics. We have a supply-and-demand problem. Demand is rising, but supply hasn't kept up. The failure has been decades in the making and puts profit in front of people. I am glad to be in a government that is determined to change that.

Homelessness is the harshest symptom of this failure. How do we stop someone from being homeless? It might sound simple, but the only answer is to give them a home. Often safe houses are all that's needed—a place where people can cook a meal, wash up and simply feel secure. Without that foundation, everything else—health, work, education—becomes so much harder. This is our moment to fix the system to ensure that no-one is left out in the cold and every person has the chance to call a place their own, because a home is more than a roof; it's the foundation of hope, security and belonging.

Just as people are being priced out of homes, we also risk being locked out of a liveable planet. We must treat the climate emergency as the defining issue of our time, not just with policy but with justice. That means a just transition for workers. It means listening to science and acting with urgency, and it means ensuring that the benefits of the clean energy future are shared.

We must fight for fully funded public education, from early childhood through to TAFE and university, because every child in every suburb deserves the best start. And we must recommit to equality—not as a slogan, not as a feel-good promise but as a lived reality. We must demand it, defend it and embed it in every workplace, every classroom, every law—equality for women, for migrants, for queer Australians, for First Nations people, for people with disabilities—because equality doesn't take; it gives. It lifts, it includes and it liberates. It builds a stronger, fairer country for all. Equality cannot be negotiable.

To represent Melbourne in this place is not just an honour; it's a calling. I do not pretend that I stand here alone. I bring with me the voices of renters demanding justice, of people demanding climate action and of communities demanding to be heard, not managed. We are building something bigger than one person. We are building a future where no-one is forgotten and everyone belongs. That is the future I will fight for, side by side with the people of Melbourne, because building our future together is what I am here to do. It's our purpose. Thank you.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the honourable member for Braddon, I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first speech, and I ask the House to extend to her the usual courtesies. I give the call to the honourable member for Braddon.

Ms Urquhart:

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respect to elders past, present and emerging. In August 2011, when I gave my first speech in the other place, I never imagined I would be standing here in the House of Representatives giving my second first speech! I have left some things out, so, if you want to catch up with my life before here, go and grab the first one. You'll find it in the Hansard!

I want to start by thanking my friend the Prime Minister, who asked me to run for the seat of Braddon—my home, my birthplace and where I've lived all my life. With three years left in my Senate term, it was something I would never have considered. But, PM, with your encouragement and with encouragement from some others, I said yes—not the first time you asked, but eventually!

To my family, who have supported me in everything I've ever done in my life: I say thank you. My husband, Graham, has been my biggest supporter and is the person who accompanies me to almost every gig that I attend. He has for many, many years put up signs all around Braddon for every candidate, and at the last election—not this one, but the previous one—he said, 'I am not doing that again.' But he was the first to ask, 'When do we get them started?' He does everything else asked of him—well, mostly. Thank you. We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary this year, and we're looking forward to the next 50. To our twins, who are grown up now; to our grandchildren, who are nearly all grown up now; and to my sister and brother—my sister's over there sitting on the floor with Graham, the man I married 50 years ago—thank you for all the support that you've given me over many years. To our friends and wider family—many of them are sitting up in the gallery—who suffer the craziness of my diary to arrange even a meal out: thank you. To all those who made up my campaign team, the hundreds of volunteers and supporters who rode the journey with me and the many donors who backed me: thank you.

To the amazing trade union movement in Tasmania who backed me in completely—and I must make special mention of the SDA, HACSU, RTBU, UWU and my own union, the AMWU, who I proudly wear—and supported me beyond my wildest dreams, I am forever grateful. Thank you, Steve and Jacob. Winning Braddon belongs to all of you. I am proudly union from my days of working at the factory in Ulverstone. I am proud to have been a continuous member of my union, the AMWU, for 46 years, and I will continue to be a proud member.

I acknowledge my predecessor, Gavin Pearce, who held the seat since 2019. Well done on your service to our community.

The community of Braddon is made up of eight local government areas and diverse industries of agriculture, aquaculture, mining, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, education, health and more. We have a rich First Nations community. Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation, which I have worked with very closely over the past years have achieved amazing things for their community and will continue to do so with their success in receiving funding for the Indigenous Rangers Program. They are delivering for their people, the young members of their community, and they are building understanding, and teaching and educating us on their traditions, making us richer by sharing their knowledge and traditions. Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation, based in the far north-west, are an energetic community gaining huge respect by becoming entrepreneurial and self-sustaining to ensure that their younger generation continues to learn and educating the community about their culture.

The people of Braddon are hard workers and have an enormous vision for the place we live. Some need a hand, and it's these people I want to see grow and flourish with opportunities that are on our doorstep. We have entrepreneurs who work hard and bring huge value and expertise to our region. We have communities who look out for and care for each other. We have the most fabulous coastline—running the length of the electorate from Port Sorell to Woolnorth—wild rainforests, fabulous farmland and wild seas of the West Coast; and, sitting out in Bass Strait, one of my favourite places to visit, which is open to every element and a 30-minute flight from the Tasmanian mainland that can be hairy sometimes, is King Island. It's home of the famous and best cheese and some of the best golf courses Australia has. Clean air and crisp mornings are part of how we have grown up. We have an abundance of seafood, vegetables and other produce, which we regularly share with the rest of Australia and other parts of the world.

Many of our industries are emerging with technological advances. We are a clean, green energy hub, and we really punch above our weight when it comes to ingenuity in some of our industries. We also have a vibrant arts community; many festivals and innovative small producers; lots of small craft distilleries; Creative Paper, the largest handmade paper producer in Australia; and even a tulip farm amongst them. My union, the AMWU, is at the forefront, working with employers and employees to ensure industries have good, well-paid jobs that continue well into the future.

I was extremely proud to be the candidate for Braddon, putting forward a suite of policies and commitments that support our communities, including in the areas of health, tourism, communication and early childhood education. We had a small team but we doorknocked nearly 19,000 doors and had over 6,000 conversations—lots of community barbecues, coffee and catch-ups. I loved talking to and listening to the community, learning more about the issues that they were passionate about and sharing Labor's policies and a vision for a stronger, better and more inclusive Australia.

I have relatives, friends and people I know in almost every part of our community. It's those that I look to for grounding and also for information about the things that our communities care about: Andrew Bell, the bagpiper in Queenstown, who plays in the main street at 12 noon on Thursdays and from the lookout over the town on Sundays; the CWA women in Currie, who always give me a really warm welcome; and Michael, in Highclere, who rang me during the campaign and said that he'd never met a candidate before because 'they don't come out this far'. Thanks, Michael and Mary-Lou, for inviting me into your home for a good chat about the election. I loved travelling out to Highclere to see you both. These are some of the people who make up the Braddon that I love.

I was born in Latrobe, grew up in Ulverstone and Gawler, and have lived in Gawler—not in South Australia but the Gawler in Tasmania—in the same cottage, which was built in 1888, for the last 46 years. That's where we raised our twins and have many great memories formed with family, friends and grandchildren. I spent my school years in the public system at East Ulverstone Primary, Ulverstone High School and then Devonport Technical College, now known as TAFE. I've worked in retail, in aged care as a teenager and in hospitality, and I worked in my first real job, on the factory floor at Edgell-Birds Eye in Ulverstone, for 11 years.

I moved on to being a union official. I became the state president of my union and, in 2004, became the first female state secretary across Australia of the AMWU, loving the job of a union official for over 20 years. For me it wasn't really a job; it was a way of life that I loved, and I was lucky enough to get paid for it. I have a different job now, but it's still my way of life that I love.

In 2010, I was elected as a senator for Tasmania, becoming deputy whip in the Senate in 2013, Chief Opposition Whip in 2016 and Chief Government Whip in the Senate following the 2022 election. I loved this role. I loved the intensity, the madness of the day, and having to pivot when the day as laid out suddenly changed. My time in the Senate is something that I will cherish forever, and the friendships that I forged for life, and the experience is something I will remember always. It is a true house of review. I take this opportunity to thank the Clerk of the Senate, the attendants who looked after me in the chamber, Senate Services, the Senate committee staff, the Black Rod, Hansard and Broadcasting, and all those on that side of the building—and the wonderful cleaners on that side. Thank you.

Well, here I am now on this side of the building. As of February 2022, there were 55 people who had served in both the Senate and House of Representatives—so I guess I'm No. 56.

As I said earlier, in Braddon we are a clean green energy hub. We have many hydroelectric dams that generate our power. A large number of these sit within the electorate of Braddon and specifically down the West Coast, where the above-average rainfall helps to keep these filled to generate power. In some areas of the state we have an abundance of wind to power the turbines that sit on the land amongst grazing cattle and sheep, but we have so much more opportunity in this area. I am passionate about ensuring we have the opportunity to pursue more renewable energy from my neck of the woods. We have passionate people who want to get on with the job of making sure that we produce this energy to attract more industry and then to create more jobs by having the components built in Braddon. This will mean that our young people are able to build a fabulous career right in the place where they grew up. I've heard constantly from our Prime Minister and Treasurer about our government commitments around productivity and building productivity. This is exactly what we can do in Braddon, by getting these renewable projects off the ground, up and running as soon as possible.

In some areas of the electorate, connectivity is a barrier. It's a barrier to enabling residents and businesses to fully realise the potential of the area, and I was very pleased to have made the announcement during the election that federal Labor will team up with a carrier who can improve connectivity across the West Coast, Waratah and Circular Head regions. These areas are, again, the powerhouse of Tasmania and are being left behind by the lack of interest from the current carrier, so it's time to shake them up and get value for money to the residents and visitors of this region. I look forward to working with Minister Wells's office and the department to fully realise this commitment to those areas.

Looking outside the square in terms of health delivery is necessary. In regional areas like Braddon, I see an opportunity to provide services to remote regions with collaboration from all health providers in the area—things like utilisation of nurse practitioners to handle cases within their scope of practice to relieve the pressures on GPs; better facilitation between state health and NDIS providers who travel to regions to provide care; and the opportunity for pharmacists to realise their full scope of practice. There is so much more that can be done for regional areas if professionals work together instead of pulling against each other.

In 2018, an intensive care paramedic, a friend of mine, Simone Haigh—she's up there today; she's actually one of our family, as we've adopted her—came to me to see what we could do in relation to the mental health of first responders. She said, 'How do we get a Senate inquiry happening?' I said, 'Well, you've got to go and talk to a senator.' So we had a chat, and away we went with the inquiry into mental health of first responders. That led to the report The people behind 000: mental health of our first responders. Simone's close friend, a paramedic, had taken his own life a few years before, and she had seen the effect that the profession had on her colleagues. We visited every state and territory with the inquiry and gained an incredible amount of evidence with the many witnesses who attended. It was harrowing, to say the least, to hear some of the stories of those who we rely on in our time of need and how they were not getting the help when they needed it the most. The report outlined 14 recommendations, a lot of which recommended the federal government work with state and territory governments. Some things have improved. However, there is still a lot of work to be done, and I intend to continue that work to improve the outcomes for those who come to our aid when we are most in need.

In July 2023, a number of first responders left the Lambert Centre in the heart of central Australia to walk the 2,400 kilometres to the heart of the nation right here in Canberra. Over 91 days, they walked to raise awareness of the recommendations of the Senate report. I was honoured to join the last leg of the walk, from the National Emergency Services Memorial to here in Parliament House. It was an emotional and heartwarming experience. I want to pay my huge respect to Matt U'Brien and others who walked the entire 2,400 kilometres. They were joined along the way by hundreds of others, an amazing effort. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. This is a personal legacy that I carry over to this place, to work on the delivery of those recommendations. I really don't like leaving things half done, so be prepared for me to lobby on this.

Braddon has traditionally been known as a marginal seat. However, in 2022 the trend was broken by the Liberal Party, with Braddon becoming a fairly safe seat for the first time in 12 years, with a margin of eight per cent. I am proud to have secured the seat with a 15.2 per cent swing and swung it to being fairly safe for Labor, the biggest swing in the country. As the 11th member for Braddon since the seat was formed in 1955, I will work hard to represent the people of Braddon with passion and energy, and I am energetic—anyone who knows me—am not afraid of hard work and love what I do. I am immensely proud to be in this chamber to help deliver the outcomes for my community.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I give the call to the honourable member for Menzies, I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first speech, and I ask the House to extend to him the usual courtesies.

Mr Ng:

I'm honoured to stand here as the first ever Labor member for Menzies. I represent a movement I passionately believe in and a community I love, a place I grew up in and have spent most of my life in.

I joined the Labor Party because of its unwavering commitment to social justice and progressivism, because I know that only Labor governments have delivered and defended so much of what makes us a more just and kind country. Only Labor introduced Medicare, land rights, antidiscrimination legislation, needs based school funding, the NDIS, collective bargaining and worker protections. Only Labor governs for modern Australia, with all its diversity and promise. We do not bury our heads in the sand as the world changes around us but embrace new challenges and the opportunities they present. At the last election, our platform reaffirmed our commitment to these fundamental principles. I will be forever grateful that the people of Australia and of Menzies endorsed these values.

Social justice and progressivism ask that we engage in truth-telling and reconciliation. I therefore acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waterways on which this parliament sits, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. I pay respects to elders past and present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here today. I also acknowledge the traditional owners of my electorate of Menzies in Melbourne's east, the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung of the Kulin nation.

The northern boundary of Menzies is formed by the Yarra River, or Birrarung in the Woiwurrung language. Birrarung means 'river of mists and shadows'. For 65,000 years, it has been the centre of life and creation stories that continue to be nurtured and shared to this day. Menzies is blessed with many culturally significant sites as well as sites of resistance to the devastating impacts of colonialism. The Wurundjeri believe that they are part of the land and the land is part of them. While many of us as more recent arrivals do not have the same unique connection to place, we could learn much in recognising our interconnectedness with and duty of care for the land and natural environment.

Without the Labor Party, it is fair to say I wouldn't be here today—not just here in this parliament but here at all. My dad, John, is a Chinese-Singaporean immigrant. He came to Australia in the 1970s as a skilled migrant—a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer. To this day he still does physically demanding shiftwork and applies himself to keeping up with ever-changing technologies. He has always been frugal and self sacrificing to provide for his family both here and back in Singapore, sending money home for his mother, brothers and sisters, who did not have the opportunities that Australia provides.

It was Labor's commitment to antidiscrimination that led the Whitlam government to finish the work begun by the Holt government and finally stamp out the White Australia Policy. This made his migration possible. My mum, Tina, is from regional Victoria and was the first in her family to go to university. She supported herself as a hospital worker, became a lawyer and later in life became a Uniting Church minister. Again, were it not for the Whitlam government's commitment to equality of opportunity in providing free university education, she would never have realised her potential. Less wholesome is the fact that they met each other at a disco! But—moving on quickly from that—without Labor they would not have been able to make the contribution to Australia that they have.

When my parents brought me home from the hospital, it was to their first house in Doncaster East in what would become Menzies. It was a wonderful area to grow up in—a mix of peaceful suburbs, beautiful parks and bushland. We went to church at St Gregory in Doncaster, learnt to ride our bikes at Banksia Park and walked our dogs by the river in Warrandyte. I would go with my dad to Box Hill to eat noodles and buy ingredients for dinner we couldn't find anywhere else. At the risk of carbon dating myself, as a teenager in the nineties, I'd go to Westfield shopping town to get an undercut, find the latest CDs at Sanity and buy jeans which I'd promptly go home and rip, to my parents' dismay. I hung out with my friends in Surrey Hills and Blackburn and played futsal at Box Hill indoor sports centre. It is not a log cabin story! It's been a fortunate life.

That good fortune meant I knew I should give something back. I volunteered in an aged-care home, a community legal centre and my community. I became a public servant and worked in migrant and refugee settlement. This helped me appreciate what a gift it is to live in a tolerant, democratic country. It also showed me that it is not enough that government supports be available but that they be accessible to everyone. I became a plaintiff lawyer. I saw many people's lives derailed by circumstances outside their control, demonstrating the importance of social safety nets and access to justice to help people get back on their feet. And I joined the Australian Labor Party.

When I got older, I moved to other parts of Melbourne, interstate and even overseas. These experiences broadened my horizons but helped me realise where home was. When my wife, Maaya, and I decided to have a family, we moved back to the Menzies area, and in those years it had changed. It still had the same mix of suburbs and bush, but it had grown more diverse. Our established Italian and Greek communities were still there, but we now had the largest Persian community in Australia, a growing Indian community and people from practically every country on Earth. Forty-four per cent of people in Menzies were born overseas, and 68 per cent have at least one parent born overseas. The Chinese Australian community had grown so that those with Chinese ancestry now make up 27 per cent of the electorate, the highest proportion in any electorate nationally.

When I was growing up you didn't see many East Asian faces in the street. Still, instances of overt racism were rare. There were occasional slurs in the playground and the time a neighbour suspected my dad of wanting to eat their dog. More pervasive was the question, 'Where are you really from?' or comments like, 'You speak really good English.' While these episodes were significant enough to remember, they weren't much more than annoyances. Then, in 1996, a member of this House—Pauline Hanson, in her maiden speech—said Australia was 'in danger of being swamped by Asians,' dredging up tired old colonial fears of a yellow peril. For the first time, I felt there were some in the population, maybe a sizable number, who considered me less Australian because of my race. I am happy to say that we now have a much more reputable member for Oxley. Not long afterwards I learned that the then prime minister, John Howard, had not only failed to denounce Ms Hanson's words but had said similar things himself earlier in his career. This was in stark contrast to other prime ministers I had known. Bob Hawke was a fierce antiracist who spoke out against John Howard's opportunism in favour of the brotherhood of man and compassion over fear. Paul Keating had the vision and bravery to embrace Australia as part of Asia. I raise Ms Hanson's infamous speech not to elicit sympathy but to remind all of us in this House, if we need any reminding, that what we do in this place matters, not only in the legislation we pass but in the words we speak.

It is not just Chinese or Asian Australians who have suffered. Prejudice comes in waves, and bullies will always target the most vulnerable. Muslim and Jewish Australians, refugees, the LGBTIQ+ community and, especially, our First Nations Peoples have all been vilified by opportunists, some of whom have held seats in this place. We have one of the most powerful platforms in the nation, and I urge all of us in this parliament to turn away from opportunistic division to embrace and tell the story of modern Australia as it is, in all its rich diversity and cultural expression. The Labor Party have led on this because social justice and progressivism mean antidiscrimination and inclusivity. We championed multiculturalism for years when it was denied by conservatives. We have stood against racism and discrimination because we believe in the equality of all Australians.

In my lifetime I have seen enormous change in how Australia talks about migrants. I look around my community—at the kids playing in the schoolyards, the sporting clubs, the small businesses and the thousands who attend the Box Hill Lunar New Year festival and the Persian fire festival—and I do not see division. I see people embracing diversity and revelling in the sharing of culture.

I look around at this new parliament, particularly those on this side, and I see it beginning to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. This is not diversity for diversity's sake. It is vital that young Australians of all races can look at federal parliament and think, 'That is somewhere I can aspire to be.' Our backgrounds, whether professional or cultural, allow us to bring knowledge and skills to parliament that result in better government. We have seen how improving gender representation has allowed more equitable policy in health care, in industrial relations and in education. Cultural representation will enable us to break down barriers, make the most of our skilled workforce, provide fairer government services and create more opportunities to engage with our region and the world.

Social justice and progressivism also demand we act on other urgent issues. We live in a country of increasing inequality, where the fair go is being eroded. Income inequality, after being stagnant for years, had increased to a 20-year high before we came to government. Wages as a proportion of company profits have been in decline for decades, particularly in the last five years. Too often we hear the CEOs of large companies openly say their only responsibility is to their shareholders, forgetting their responsibilities to their customers, their employees and broader society. Meanwhile, workers are saddled with an increased share of the tax burden. The picture is worse for wealth inequality. The top 10 per cent of households possess 44 per cent of all wealth in Australia. Twenty years ago, the richest 200 Australians held the equivalent of 8.4 per cent of GDP. Now they hold almost triple that. This is not due to a tripling of ingenuity or risk taking but is largely the result of passive capital gains.

We as a party welcome aspiration and people enjoying the fruits of their labour, but there is a point at which gross wealth next to poverty damages the social fabric. It breeds division and instability. Only Labor will address this. We cannot sleepwalk our way to a society where our children never reach their full potential because of inadequate health care, underfunded schools, unaffordable housing and an insufficient social safety net. I am proud to be part of a government that, under the leadership of this prime minister, has increased wages and reduced income inequality, strengthened Medicare and public education, and invested more in housing than any government since World War II. We must continue this work with renewed ambition and drive.

We must also ensure that government services are accessible and effective by maintaining our commitment to a strong public service. I am proud to have been a public servant and to be part of a government that respects the vital role the Public Service plays. In the last election campaign, those on the opposite side attacked the Public Service. In some circles, it seems, it will always be fashionable to do so. It was as if they learned nothing from robodebt, the fullest realisation of a public service hollowed out by neoliberal ideology, cronyism and corporate outsourcing, which cost the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our community. A strong, well-resourced public service that can provide frank and fearless advice is essential to avoiding these mistakes in the future. It is not about big or small government; it is about government that works for people.

That is not to say that government is perfect. As both a public servant and a lawyer, I saw how easy it is for people to fall between the cracks of services and the justice system. All too often, government is not a helping hand but a bureaucratic labyrinth that compounds trauma and disenfranchisement. All of us here have good intentions about the legislation we want to pass and the programs we want to create. We must ensure that we back that with the means to deliver it. I am optimistic about the ability of this parliament to solve these problems. I am eternally grateful to the people of Menzies for the opportunity to contribute to this work.

As with all achievements, but particularly those in the Australian Labor Party, my presence here today is the result of a collective effort. Above all, I want to thank the loyal rank-and-file branch members of the Labor Party. It may shock you all to know that Menzies has not always been Labor heartland. For decades, we would stand candidates and run campaigns with little hope of success. But, when we asked volunteers to staff the booths on polling day, to doorknock or to letterbox, it was the stalwarts who always turned up.

So thank you to all those who kept the flame alive for Labor in Menzies, particularly the many long-serving Labor members, including some life members who are here today. The party and I owe you a huge debt. Thank you to my campaign team: Harry, Alessandra, Dustin, Tracy, Alfonso, Daniel, Mia, Tim, Mandy, Natalie and Ian. I'm incredibly proud of the grassroots campaign we ran and of the discipline, hard work and determination we showed against what seemed like unsurmountable odds. Thank you to all the volunteers. Every doorknock, phone bank, street stall, yard sign and donation made a difference. Thank you to all my friends who came out and helped, especially those who would never usually entertain the idea of joining a political campaign.

Thank you to the Prime Minister for an amazing national campaign and for all your visits to Menzies. I hope you enjoyed the beef and black bean sauce! Thank you to the Foreign minister, Penny Wong, for leading the way for Chinese Australians in parliament for so long and for all your support in Menzies. Thank you to the Deputy Prime Minister, the members for Bruce, Isaacs and Scullin, Senator Jana Stewart and the many parliamentary colleagues who supported the campaign. Thank you to my state colleagues the members for Box Hill, Glen Waverly and Eltham, as well as the MLCs Sonia Terpstra and Shaun Leane.

Thank you also to Julijana Todorovic and Kat Hardy, Labor lawyers in Slater & Gordon, for your support. Thank you to the union movement, particularly the CPSU, ASU and AMWU. The union movement remains the heart of the Labor Party, ensuring we stay true to our principles and our roots, driving so many of the reforms we undertake for working Australians.

Thank you to my staff—Emily, George, Dustin, Tracy, Chris and Kimberly—for all your hard work and support. You're all incredibly talented people, and I'm looking forward to everything we can achieve. Thank you to the previous Labor candidates for Menzies for chipping away at what seemed like an impossible margin. Thank you to the Labor supporters in Menzies. It has meant the world to have people coming up to me since the election and saying they have voted Labor their whole lives but this is the first time they've had a Labor representative. I'll do everything I can to make you proud.

Thank you, of course, to the voters of Menzies. Whether you voted for me or not, I promise I will work hard for you every day. Being the candidate and now the member has given me the opportunity to meet so many extraordinary people who volunteer in their business associations, sporting clubs and arts organisations, in their local Rotary and in places like Doncare and Eastern Community Legal Service to give their time to build our community and help the vulnerable. I was particularly proud of the civil and respectful way all the candidates and political groups conducted themselves in Menzies. That we could have a genuine contest of ideas is something of which we should all be proud.

I'd like to acknowledge the previous member for Menzies, Keith Wolahan, who throughout the campaign was a thoroughly decent and gracious person. I'd also like to acknowledge Kevin Andrews, who served his electorate and this House with dedication for an incredible 31 years.

Finally, I would like to thank my family. To my dad, John: thank you for teaching me the value of hard work and keeping my feet on the ground. To my mum, Tina: thank you for teaching me to always challenge myself and to seek out adventure. To my sister, Stephanie, about whom I can only say nice things publicly because I'm covered by parliamentary privilege: I've always looked up to your drive and strength. To my niece, Poppy: thank you for always being so kind and considerate. To my children—to my eldest, Ayana: thank you for your fierce intelligence, your independent mind and your sense of humour. To my youngest, Miles: thank you for being so caring, so bright and so joyful. You kids are a light in all of our lives. And to my wife, Maaya: I can't thank you enough for everything you have given me. You're the strongest and most loving person I know, and none of this would be possible without you.

I am grateful to the people of Menzies for this opportunity to serve and to contribute to making this country a more equal and just place for all. Thank you.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the honourable member for Griffith, I remind the House that this is the honourable member's first speech, and I ask the House to extend to her the usual courtesies.

Ms Coffey:

Mr Speaker, I acknowledge the traditional owners of this place, the Ngunnawal people, and their elders. I acknowledge that our parliament assembles on what always was and always will be Aboriginal land. Let me tell you a bit about my community, its physicality and its soul.

Griffith stretches from the bustle of sellers in West End's Davies Park markets to the squeak of sneakers at the Clem Jones Centre, in Carina. It's the sleepy koalas nestled in the tallest gums of Whites Hill Reserve, staring, between chews, out to the city's lights. It's the sound of skiffs pushing off from the Brisbane Sailing Squadron, in Bulimba, and everything in between. Griffith is the weekly tribe of B4C volunteers, with gloved hands and soiled knees, restoring our waterways one mud squelch at a time. Griffith is the Romero Centre refugee support workers, with smiles so warm you can hear them, welcoming new arrivals to our community. It's the bellow of the full-time siren on Jack Esplen Oval after a Morningside Panthers' win, and it's the escalating beeps of a laden forklift in a Murarrie warehouse.

Griffith is the rustle of scrubs on our diligent, hardworking and caring health workers at the PA, Mater and Greenslopes hospitals, who are performing daily miracles with a sense of humour in a universal healthcare system that is the envy of the world. It's the adorable giggles at mat time led by some of the country's best teachers and educators, who are building the busy brains of our next leaders. It's the chitchat of hospitality workers in cafes and restaurants all over, the clink of two steins at Brisbane German Club before the Lions beat the Bulldogs at the Gabba and the titter as the lights dim and the curtains lift on yet another world-class performance by the Queensland Ballet, the QTC or the QSO. I can't believe this is my job—to be representing my community, hearing it and listening to it. I want to thank the people of Griffith, who have trusted me to listen to their voices and to bring them to this place. The weight of that trust is not lost on me, and I vow to carry it daily with the dedication it deserves.

I had the chance to listen to the voices of my community when I knocked on almost 15,000 doors personally. This is often seen as a necessary part of campaigning, but I think it's so much more than the steps we take to get to this place; it's our training, and, if we do it right, it's the source of our continuous professional development. If we don't listen, if we just talk, how on earth do we know the needs that we are representing? I had the great fortune to hear every kind of story, stories from every walk of life, without discrimination. But my doorknocking has left me with some lingering concerns for our nation's and democracy's future. What I found amongst the heartening and funny, the warm and the delightful, was, worryingly, disenfranchisement in some parts of my community—and I'd hazard a guess that's not limited to Griffith. I believe this can be seen in the number of informal votes, in those people who chose not to vote and, in many instances, in those who voted for more extreme representation. Too often I heard, 'Politicians are all the same,' or, 'There's no point in voting.'

Research tells us that Australia's trust in government has generally declined since 2007, alongside a significant drop in trust in political institutions and a rise in dissatisfaction with how democracy works. I can't tell you how many times, like King Solomon and the baby, I directed a voter to ABC's Vote Compass to encourage them to find a party to vote for when I knew it would not be a vote for me. In a democracy, to vote is first in importance, far more important than a vote for any one candidate to be able to triumph within it. I believe politicians everywhere must embrace authenticity, moral courage and genuine connectedness to win back trust not just for political parties but for democracy itself.

In strengthening our democracy, we strengthen our future. I believe there are some concrete ways this can be achieved. First, we need to seek to understand before we are understood. I personally undertook six months of full-time seven-days-a-week doorknocking, with 1.7 million steps—the equivalent of walking 112 times across the full length of my electorate. And I would do it again in a heartbeat, because, having walked over 200 kilometres of the Camino de Santiago, I can tell you doorknocking was a pilgrimage, a daily meditation. In the thousands of conversations I had, in addition to the heartening and the funny, I found people who were lonely, people who had been let down or overlooked and people who disagreed with me or my party's position. So often I found myself sitting on someone's front steps for an hour or more, just listening, and I realised we must hold space for those we disagree with, for people who say things we find unsettling, and we must listen deeply and with a determined openness, honouring the inherent dignity of all.

Two, we have to admit mistakes, see the merit in our opponent's perspectives and, when it's right to, change our minds—which is hard when the gallery is itching to accuse any politician of a backflip or backpedalling. A backflip makes for a salacious headline, but it's not the story. The story is what goes into a political actor discovering, having listened to stakeholders, that the solution to a problem is not quite what they thought it was when they set out to fix it. In this chamber, I look forward to debate. I look forward to hearing arguments I first disagreed with and find myself slightly persuaded by. The composition of this chamber is the visual representation of our nation's current ways of thinking, which means, despite a loud and convincing victory for Labor, there is still a spectrum of views, and each one of them deserves respect and a ready ear. I want to hear all those views. It's my job. And it's my job to represent all the people of Griffith. I must deliver for the people who brought me here and the ones who didn't vote for me. I commit to showing up for all of them every single day for as long as they'll have me.

Three, we can only combat cynicism and scepticism, apathy and resentment if we show up wholeheartedly every single day in this place and in our communities. This is hard for us all in an age of social media, where I was told online, during the campaign:

Just another wokie. Get back in the kitchen

And:

Typical city dweller women shut ur mouth u no nothing about the real world

And:

Bleach blonde. Opinion invalid

We must remember, as Simone Biles cautioned us, a hurtful act is the transference to others of the degradation which we bear in ourselves. We must keep showing up for all of them, wholeheartedly, again and again—showing up each day to Roosevelt's arena. I believe this is the only way to combat the growing disengagement and disillusionment. We must hold on to the optimism that first brought us into this place—hold on to what we know is the capacity of the Australian people.

Four, we must show courage, and, as CS Lewis pointed out, courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at its testing point. In my conversations with constituents, courage was being frank when I knew something couldn't be fixed or would be slow to fix. It was speaking up even when it meant we disagreed, admitting when things are complex and honouring people's ability to understand this. As tempting as it is to bluff through a suggestion with a great idea when you know full well that's not how it works, to do so ruptures the very trust placed in us, stoking and justifying the cynicism I've already addressed. It is weak to placate, to take the easy path, to leave a brochure and knock on the next door. We must find the time, the strength and the patience to better express ourselves, to explain our position and to agree to disagree when we know it to be true.

And, finally, we need to be kind and see compassion for its inherent strength. In 'This is water', Foster Wallace concluded the really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline and effort and being able to truly care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in a myriad of petty, little, unsexy ways everyday. He concedes it is unimaginably hard to do this, to live consciously, adultly, day in and day out.

On election day, I was stunned when a voter told me he couldn't possibly vote for me because I have MS, and he couldn't be represented in parliament by someone who could be in a wheelchair. To be clear, this was the only time I received feedback like this from any of the more than 111,000 voters in my community, and it knocked the wind out of me. In a strange turn of fate, it was the then member for Griffith, Max Chandler-Mather, who saw me step away from that interaction, and the kind words of support he offered me I will never forget. Max and I have differing views about how positive change should be brought about in our community, but it was his radical kindness that day that I wish to acknowledge from this seat he once held. I recognise it, as I have it in me. And the Australian people recognise it, because they voted for a prime minister who values kindness, one who sees kindness and compassion as strengths. I thank Max for his kindness and I wish him well for his next chapter.

There's another political opponent I'd like to thank, while we're on the topic. It was Senator Pauline Hanson who prompted me to step up and get involved. I had been raised to be welcoming to strangers, inclusive and supportive of those struggling and in need. I am also always very keenly aware of Australia's history. My own ancestors who were early Queensland pastoralists perpetrated some of the worst massacres of First Nations people in our history in the Bundaberg and Gin Gin regions of Queensland in the mid-1800s. In 1996, Senator Hanson delivered her first speech to this House. I was 15 years old, and it was a speech that quite literally changed the course of my life. In it, Senator Hanson claimed that we were being 'swamped by Asians'. She criticised those people working to support First Nations people and multicultural groups, and in Queensland this speech gave rise to a new wave of racism.

At 16, I helped establish Young Australians for Anti Racism and Reconciliation to combat the racism and division that we were seeing in our communities. In 2000, I was selected by Aunty Jackie Huggins as a youth speaker for Corroboree 2000. I was there in the Sydney Opera House as elders called out, 'Say sorry,' to then prime minister John Howard, who refused to apologise to the Stolen Generations. I saw the tears run down their cheeks as they turned their backs on his cold obstinance. This had a profound impact on me. I doubled down on my volunteer work with Reconciliation Queensland, alongside the late Aunty Joan Hendriks, a force of kindness and industry, which ultimately saw me move to Adelaide for two years to work with my now dear friend and mentor Professor Peter Buckskin and the late Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue, heading up their state reconciliation body. I have been shaped by some formidable First Nations elders and other leaders in this space. I went on to work for 13 years for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, alongside Michelle and Andrew Penfold, two more forces for good in this world—work that saw more than 1,000 First Nations young people receive a transformational scholarship.

Eight years after Corroboree 2000, I sat up there in the gallery and witnessed first-hand former prime minister Kevin Rudd's profound and moving apology to the Stolen Generations. It was one of Rudd's very first acts in the new parliament. Rudd is someone I have known since childhood, someone who I've seen fall asleep, exhausted, on my family's couch every Friday night after a hectic week of his own doorknocking pilgrimage through the streets of Griffith. Here he was, in federal parliament, putting right that which was wrong. The contrast to Howard's refusal was stark. Whilst I had always held Labor values, in that moment I saw how Labor governments can have a decisive, demonstratable and profound impact on people's lives. I joined the party shortly after.

You must first know who you are and what you stand for before you can hitch your identity to a political wagon. As soon as I did, it was as clear as a kookaburra at dawn. I am Labor because I believe our First Peoples have the inherent right of all Australians to thrive. Labor is the party of native title, the Redfern Statement and the apology, a party that deeply understands the importance of Australia's First Nations people to our nation's history, identity and future.

I am Labor because I believe in the primacy of education and its power to transform lives. As a qualified secondary school teacher and a mother to two young boys, I know education is the key to every Australian's future. As our Minister for Education, Jason Clare, shared, it is 'the great equaliser in an unequal world'. I believe in the importance of civics education and media literacy in upholding our democracy, the importance of teachers to learning outcomes and that, whatever school a family chooses, their child deserves the best education Australia can offer.

I am Labor because I believe that everyone, including those differently abled and managing complex health conditions, deserve the best health care and a chance to thrive. At 29, I sat in a neurologist's office staring at my MRI and was told I likely had multiple sclerosis. It shook me. I searched for people living openly and thriving with this disease, and I found few, so I chose to live openly and vulnerably, whatever my trajectory. Thank you to the people of Griffith and the Labor Party for accepting me as I am. I hope this acceptance is a balm to others who may be living isolated in the shadows of their own diagnoses. I am thankful to say that, with Professor George Jelinek's program, 14 years on I am living well with MS. Labor created Medicare and the NDIS, systems vital for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions. Labor champions antidiscrimination in a society where everyone is treated with respect and can participate fully.

I am Labor because I believe in an Australia that is for women. I was blessed to call the late Dr Dale Spender a friend and mentor. I wish Dale was here today to see me join the continuation of Labor's first majority-women government. To walk in this place alongside my heroes—even more women who have helped shape me and who I am and who our country is—means so much.

And, most pressingly, I am Labor because we need urgent action to address the climate crisis and to protect our natural environment. Labor is protecting threatened species and oceans; approving record renewable energy projects; rescuing the Murray-Darling; setting emissions targets in law; and, soon, establishing our first independent national environment protection agency. When I left Norman Park kindy at five, my teacher, Mrs Cooper, told Mum she'd likely see me on the news, chained to a tree. Instead, I found a home in the Labor Environment Action Network, standing proudly alongside some of Australia's greatest environmental activists, who keep climate and nature at the heart of our work.

Now is probably a good time to thank my mum, Dianne Coffey; my dad, Raymond Coffey; my sister, Fleur Foster; her husband, Wayne; and her children, Brigid and Sean. Over the past couple of decades, my family has had a front-row seat to some of the highs and lows of Australian politics. Protectively, I am sure they have their reservations. Despite this, they have offered me nothing but the best support.

Our family, our roots, are inexorably tied to Griffith. As a child, my grandmother Florence Hilda May Watson moved from Crows Nest in Queensland to Bulimba, where she met and married my grandfather, Stanley Fletcher, known as 'Pop'. Pop was a cleaner in a picture theatre and a Missos member—what is now the United Workers Union, my union. They lived in a small workers cottage on Bulimba Street. My mother was raised by my grandma and her older brother, Harry, and his wife, my aunty Joan Fletcher, following the unexpected passing of Pop when my mum was just seven years old.

My other grandfather, Alexander Coffey, was the child of Scottish immigrants. He was a fitter and turner and married my nanna Edna Blair. They lived in Beatrice Street, Hawthorne, where Dad grew up. Mum and Dad met at Balmoral State High School, where there is now a Coffey House, named after my family and particularly my late uncle Dennis Coffey, who broke the world record for the longest straight flight in a single-engine aircraft. He flew from Carnarvon in Western Australia, intending to land at Brisbane Airport, but ran out of fuel and glided into Archerfield. His record still stands. My father will be very pleased to know that that has now been recorded in Hansard.

My mum and dad raised us in Miles Street, Hawthorne. We found community at St John the Baptist at Bulimba, where we made many friends, including the Rudd family.

I also want to thank my Labor family—the almost 1,000 local members of the Australian Labor Party. I am proud my candidature was successful through a rank-and-file preselection process. It matters to me that I am here with their blessing and support.

To our branch members I say thank you. Your relentless commitment to telling our story, to sharing our values and to doing so with whatever spare time you had, for no personal gain, is deeply humbling, and I know you did it because you believe in a Labor that I believe in. You believe in serving people, in justice, in kindness and in integrity.

To first among equals, Peter Kington: thank you. Thank you to my amazing campaign team, led by Alicia Weiderman. Thank you to Matthew Stoward, Brayden White, Grace, Emi Hall, Patrick Hanlan, Jordan Ayton, Claudia Meza, Claire Single, Anahita Ebrahimi, Mitchell Jones, Peter Allen, Conor Wood, Sarah Bowman, Lisa Maroney, Gabe Kramer and Hayden Shepphard. Thank you also to Sam, Fiona and Lisa, Stephen Sadler, Nicole and Chris Boulton, Lenne Bridges, Kate Flanders, Ben Driscoll, Ben Coates, Richard Alcorn, Father Daniel Hobbs, Kyl Murphy, John Arnol, Patti Reilly, Paul Ericson and Senator Murray Watt.

Thank you to the United Workers Union, a union still working to support some of Australia's most vulnerable workers. Thank you also to the RTBU and the broader union movement.

Thank you to our prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and to the many ministers, Labor caucus members and their teams from across Australia who were so supportive. Thank you to our local elected representatives, including Joe Kelly MP, Dr Barbara O'Shea MP and Councillor Lucy Collier—and a special thankyou to Di Farmer MP, who has invested so much in me over the years. Thank you to Terri Butler, the former member, Troy Spence and family. Thank you also to Kevin Rudd, Therese Rein, Jess Rudd and their families.

And thank you to my three leading gentlemen. To my children, Alexander and Lewis: thank you for letting me pursue my life's work. And to my remarkable husband, Jason McKenzie, my companion on this journey: we did it.

In closing, I say that I believe it is listening that builds trust, courage that prizes honesty and kindness that drives justice. I believe that when we in this place are at our best—that is, listening intently, speaking hard truths with integrity, being brave and compassionate—it will help shape a future that we can be proud of, a future where dignity and opportunity belong to everyone.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the debate be adjourned.

I will just briefly say that we have witnessed, from the members for Dickson, Melbourne, Braddon, Menzies and Griffith, five extraordinary contributions to this House. It makes me incredibly proud as the Leader of the Australian Labor Party, but even more proud as the Prime Minister of Australia, that we have people who have shared their personal stories and overcome so much to get here. They have also spoken about their commitment and their hard work. They have been very generous in talking about the contribution others have made to getting them to the House of Representatives, but what's very clear is that the quality of these people has been front and centre in getting them elected to the House of Representatives.

We have heard about their commitment to education, health, housing, multiculturalism, justice for First Nations people, climate change, gender equality, social justice, aspiration and opportunity for all. As someone who has been here for a while, I believe that, with these contributions, Australia is in good shape, and the party I'm proud to lead is certainly in good shape as well.

I commend every one of the five who've made these contributions—and I commend you for the way in which you've done so as well. No doubt your passion will shine through in the contribution that you will make over the next three years and—more importantly, I think—beyond that, as contributors, not just as local representatives. I think it is pretty clear that there are going to be people who will contribute not just to their local electorate but to the growth and prosperity of our great nation and will shape it in a way that certainly is consistent with the extraordinary progressive values that we have seen on display here this evening.

Debate adjourned.