Sam McMahon (NT, Country Liberal Party) | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President, and may I congratulate you on your re-election to the presidency. I have been entrusted by the people of the Northern Territory to represent their best interests. To me, this is an honour of the highest order—one which I humbly accept with great respect, devotion and reverence.

The fact that I am standing here before you as an Australian federal senator is proof that, with a little bit of work and determination, any Australian can achieve anything in this country. I was not born into wealth, education, business or politics; rather, I was born into a working-class suburban Sydney family of my mother and maternal grandparents, with my mother being the sole support for the family. Although born in the city, I was regaled with tales by my grandmother of the country, and that was something that I longed for. At the age of seven, the family moved to Queensland, settling in the small country town of Nanango in the South Burnett. I claim I was baptised in the Tweed River when I crossed the border into Queensland, becoming a passionate Queenslander.

Growing up in Nanango forged the determination in me. From the age of 10 I worked to help eke a living out of 70 acres. I chopped wood, milked cows, fed pigs, turkeys and chickens and justified having a horse by contract mustering on the weekends. Eventually it became apparent that a small farm wasn't going to sustain a family of four, and just when it looked like we would have to move along came Tarong coal, and my mother secured a job at the soon to be power station—see, Matt, I worked coal into that for you!

I was schooled at the Nanango State School, going on to complete a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland. Graduating at 21, I headed straight up to the Northern Territory—a chance trip four years earlier had seen me fall madly in love with the place. Most of my early days working in the NT were spent in a swag under the stars and beside a camp fire as I travelled to many of the iconic remote cattle stations. Apart from the veterinary work, in my down time, I got to muster cattle, shoot out of helicopters, catch wild buffalo in a bull catcher, drive road trains, live in stock camps and work alongside some of the best ringers from the Top End.

To many Australians, the NT is an enigma. They know it exists. It has a rock, a park, and a city named after some guy who discovered swimming iguanas, but that is often as much as they know. I'm supremely proud of our past. The Northern Territory has an Indigenous history dating back over 50,000 years, and there are at least 100 Aboriginal languages still spoken. Traditions and culture are an interwoven part of society. Macassan traders have been coming to the Northern Territory since at least 1650, and Chinese explorers and traders probably even earlier.

In modern times, we are derived from more than two centuries of challenges coloured by people, events, catastrophes and triumph, both nationally and on the world stage. These challenges have been as relentless and diverse as they were arduous and our collective forebears have consistently risen to meet these trials. In 1861, John McDouall Stuart set off from Adelaide on his sixth expedition to attempt to cross the continent from south to north, eventually succeeding. His expedition paved for the way for the completion of the overland telegraph line. In his book Hell West and Crooked, Tom Cole wrote:

The overland telegraph line is steeped in history, adventure and romance, and must rank as one of the greatest accomplishments in Australia's pioneering history. Before the line was built, the only form of communication Australia had with the outside world was by ship. And even with the advent of steam, mail took a minimum of six weeks between England and Australia. It took 18 months to construct 2,000 miles of telephone line through what was virtually an unknown wilderness with bullock wagons, pack horses and camels …

Many of the small places set up in those days to service the line are still towns and roadhouses today, including my home of Katherine.

The 1870s and 1880s saw a large pastoral boom. Mrs Dominic Daly reported in her book, Digging, Squatting and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, in 1879:

Notwithstanding all these difficulties and dangers … a steady stream of emigration from the pastoral district of Queensland flowed into the richly grassed and well watered lands of the Northern Territory. All that was needed to make squatting a success, when the young stock was matured, was a suitable market, and this it was hoped would be found in India, Java, and the Strait settlements.

Well, by 1893, Victoria River Downs station was shipping cattle to Batavia via Singapore. In fact, the live cattle trade has only had one official break, in 2011 when the then Labor minister for agriculture banned it for six months. This had a devastating impact on the pastoral industry, with many pastoralists still struggling to recover today. Around that same time, mining was starting to take off, with discoveries of gold, tin, silver, lead, copper and wolfram. Some of these mines from the 1800s are still in production today. Mining and the pastoral industry sustained much of the Territory in its early years, and still does to this day, and then came a series of challenges.

I am encouraged today that the bombing of Darwin, on 19 February 1942, is better recognised and acknowledged, but much of the war effort, which encompassed the whole of the Northern Territory, is still little known. More than 82,000 kilograms of bombs were dropped on Darwin during the first Japanese bombing raid, far more than what was dropped on Pearl Harbor. Eleven ships were sunk, 27 Allied aircraft destroyed, civilian and military buildings were extensively damaged, and 235 people were killed. Japanese aircraft conducted more than 100 missions to the Territory, including one to Katherine—the furthest inland raid on Australia—where two people were killed and one injured.

The Australian Army had major operational bases throughout the NT. The North Australia Observer Unit, or Curtin's cowboys, after which the present day NORFORCE was modelled, patrolled remote areas of rivers and coastline to safeguard against Japanese landings. The first Japanese prisoner of war captured on Australian soil was in the Top End, on Melville Island. The Japanese midget submarine raids on Sydney Harbour are well taught these days, yet how many know that the corvette HMAS Deloraine attacked and sank Japanese submarine I-124 off Darwin? It's now a dedicated war grave.

The positives to come out of the war include sealed roads, airfields, infrastructure and new opportunities. Life was still far from easy though, as local modern-day pastoralist from Katherine, Pat Elliott, recounted to me:

Two infant boys and a four months old baby girl, fifty k's from our nearest neighbour and no outside communication.

2000 square k's of virgin land. There was no infrastructure, no permanent water, no power; no roads, no fences.

"Home" was a tarpaulin strung between two trees by a waterhole. Cooking was done over an open fire, bread, in a camp oven on hot coals … in the ground.

Washing—by hand in the waterhole. At night, light was provided by hurricane lamps, firelight and the moon.

Fresh water was collected in 44 gallon drums from a bore on the neighbouring property 30 k's away.

The year she spoke of was 1964.

It is because of people like this that the NT developed itself after the war, emerging strong and determined, but was soon to be dealt another blow. Cyclone Tracy: most of us have heard how it struck Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974. The people of Katherine and the rest of the Territory rallied around and supported the victims—a kindness that was not forgotten, and repaid some 24 years later when Katherine was decimated in the Australia Day floods. We seem to like to stage our national disasters on significant holidays, it would seem!

We may be currently undergoing some difficult times thanks to recent Labor governments, but we have a proven track record of recovering, rebuilding and becoming a better version of ourselves. Currently, one of our greatest challenges, while not unique to the Northern Territory is of major importance to us, is that throughout modern history people of all backgrounds and locations have had one thing in common—they all relocated to find or follow resources that allowed them to survive. It's why we had a nomadic peoples and why we have ghost towns. People went where the resources were, whether that was food, suitable climate for farming or work.

This has changed significantly over recent years, particularly in Australia. We, as a society, now expect to stay living in one place and have the resources, in the form of employment or welfare, come to us. As shown by the recent failure of the Seasonal Work Incentives Trial, people are often unwilling to travel even temporarily for work. This has particular importance to the NT, with approximately 60 per cent of our population on some form of welfare, and a high proportion of people in remote Indigenous communities. These communities have grown up in areas for historical reasons, often in proximity to stations or mining camps where a small number of family groups would settle. Modern welfare systems have enabled people to stay in these communities when there is no work and facilitated rapid expansion of the population. We are now grappling with the conundrum of expecting government to create employment, often in very remote areas, where none exists. We need to examine ways to resolve this, with water and energy providing some of the possible keys.

We relish in and prosper from the vast fortunes of our parched and arid nation, but we do so in the knowledge that all bounty delivered to us has always been intertwined with the scarcity of water. So very little water is freely available across so much of our vast expanse that even today we struggle to develop and flourish in the enormous tracts of our land. Established areas of agriculture are beholden to the uncertainty of water, with drought featuring prominently in our history and continuing to do so today. We are smarter, wiser and more experienced now, and today is the right time for us to re-evaluate our capacity to provide better water resources across our nation.

Arriving at new and innovative solutions may be perplexing and demanding, and I am not in any way going to shy away from meeting those challenges head on. I seek new, inventive and pioneering solutions that transcend our normal thinking, that challenge our science and understanding and that deliver new and revolutionary results. I call upon my colleagues in this government to join me in examining a variety of means of collecting the massive quantities of water delivered by our monsoonal rains across the north and also to develop storage facilities for this vital resource. I call upon my colleagues to evaluate ways of distributing this water for the benefit of Territorians and all Australians to further grow existing agricultural areas, develop new agricultural regions and afford agriculture a level of confidence in water security that exceeds any they have previously held.

We are looking down the barrel of a crisis, a crisis of energy. While some choose to avoid addressing this issue, I choose to hear the voice of the quiet Australians and rise to meet the challenge of resolving this energy issue head on. Surprising to some, albeit obvious to others, is the knowledge that renewable energy products are not the complete solution. Research must continue in the development of renewable technologies, but for commercial use they currently remain immature and, in many cases, fundamentally flawed. The hoax of immature technology replacing safe, clean, reliable and inexpensive power stations has unfolded, and the quiet Australians are no longer content subsidising fanciful ideas that have been uncovered as fraud. We're fed up with the high costs of energy and the uncertainty of renewables. An onshore and offshore oil and gas industry, with areas like the Beetaloo and Amadeus basins currently being explored, can lead to industries and jobs right across the Territory. It has been over 10 years since we last considered nuclear energy as an option for Australia's energy mix, and in this time we have witnessed dramatic advances in technology. The time is right for us to revisit and re-examine options for us to utilise this technology. With approximately 30 per cent of the world's known uranium reserves in the Northern Territory, we have not only the capacity to develop a nuclear industry for our own energy needs but also an advanced fuel export option.

Today we are at an exciting juncture, poised on the precipice of an exhilarating tomorrow. It is a tomorrow of ubiquitous promise that should offer fortune and prosperity for all Australians. So that we may embrace the bright future ahead, we must first clear the path before us, sweeping away the detritus of identity politics and casting aside the litter of hypocrisy. We must cut through the obstructions of self-interest, and focus our joint energies on achieving real outcomes for all. We must develop innovative and sensible solutions to complex problems and assert our ability to achieve what we aim to achieve. We are compelled to do these things because the quiet Australians told us to and it is in our nation's DNA, while the nonsense of foolishly obstructing or delaying the processes of government is not.

I have a couple of thankyous to a few people. My professional organisation, the Australian Veterinary Association, had a big role to play in my being here today. It took me from being a young, raw, NT rural vet to being a leader in the profession, giving me confidence and self-belief along the way. If you take nothing away from today except one thing, it is to remind all people, particularly the young, to get involved in some sort of professional, sporting or community organisation. You will put in pebbles and sand and get back diamonds and pearls. Thank you to my local branch. You believed in me and supported me all the way through.

To my party, the Country Liberals: thank you for having the faith to preselect me, a political greenhorn, to be your candidate and the first female Country Liberal senator, with no quotas, Bridget—no quotas! To the people of the Northern Territory: thank you again for your faith in me to represent you. To the Nationals: you have embraced me; Michael, Matt and Bridget, thank you for your many trips to the Northern Territory during the campaign and for involving me when you did. To my Senate class of '19 cohorts, particularly my Nationals classmates, Perin and Susan, it's a pleasure to be amongst you. To all my coalition colleagues in this place and the other: I appreciate all your help and support.

To my staff—what are your names?—Jason, Mel and Brad, who managed to get over the initial shock of my slightly unconventional recruitment technique of a late-night phone call or over a beer in a pub and the words, 'Hey, do you want a job': thanks so much for overcoming your initial hesitance and responding in the affirmative.

To my business partner, Alex—who I continually told, 'Don't worry; they'll never preselect someone from Katherine,' and then rang on the night and said, 'Um, guess what?'—thank you for taking it all in your stride and for your unwavering support.

To Nigel, my predecessor: thank you for your 17 years in this place and all you achieved. You have left many legacies and traditions, and I'm learning them along the way. They keep telling me a few more every day. Don't worry, mate; mango daiquiri night is safe!

To my husband, Wayne, who campaigned tirelessly by my side, and to my family, friends and colleagues: you've always been there for me; you've seen something in me even when I didn't; and thanks so much for travelling from the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria to be here to support me today. To the other states: you're a bit slack!

Recently, a wise man told me, 'Don't take yourself too seriously; take what you do seriously.' I give you that undertaking and, additionally, promise to have honesty and integrity and to be humble and kind. Thank you.