Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) | Hansard source

Yes, well—'That's what Jacqui thought.' It's one of those things where I want to do good for the people of Tasmania and I've found a place where I think that will happen. The changes we're doing for the tax reform are going to show workers, businesses and future generations that reform is required to improve the quality of life that we have within Australia. We're going to deliver a new round of tax cuts, including more tax cuts for every taxpayer, from next week. We're helping more Australians realise the dream of homeownership and supporting investment and innovation. That's one of the things that I wanted to come into this place and make a difference with: showing people in Tasmania that there is hope, there is opportunity and there are choices they can make to ensure that they have a better future. Some of the things I've done in this place are to ensure that housing in Tasmania is better and that Tasmanians have better opportunities open to them when it comes to health and education.

Reducing the tax burden for over 13 million workers is an important thing. We want people to have money in their pockets so that they can build a home, have a life, raise children and have a family. We want to ensure that the housing market increases and doesn't decrease like it has over the past few years. We want to ensure that businesses and startups are here in Australia, because it's important that we have industry, business and money within our homes and our country and in Tasmania in particular. One of my focuses is that we should have money, industry and business so that we can maintain families in my home state.

We shouldn't have to worry so much about what is going away from our homes and what is going away from our state. It makes me sad, when we look at change, that it's seen as a bad thing or that learning and educating yourself—about what differences there can be and how they can improve things—are seen as a bad thing. Learning from change, different datasets and different people is not backflipping. I've learnt many things from the people across the floor and also from the crossbench and the Greens. They have helped me become a better politician and understand where I stand within my community. I will work hard for the next two years to ensure that the people of Tasmania have industry, business, money and opportunity to build families, homes and industry within my home state.

As I said the other week, I do not apologise for backflipping and changing my colours. I'm proud to be a senator for Tasmania. I'm proud to be a Labor senator for Tasmania. And do you know what? Come on down and join the party. It's a great place to be. And do you know what? You've all encouraged me to be a bigger, better version of myself, and this is the bigger, better version. It's loud, it's proud, it's Tasmanian and it's also a Labor senator.

Honourable senators interjecting—