Grievance Debate

United States Presidential Election

Mr MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Leader of the Opposition) (15:04): The next time we get together in this house the United States of America will have chosen who their leader will be for the next four years. That, of course, is an incredibly important decision not just for those good citizens of the United States of America but for everyone around the world.

The interest in this US presidential election extends well beyond the shores of the United States of America, particularly right here at home in Australia, and the reason is that the United States has a proud history of being the leader of the free world, the great liberal democracy of a modern civilised nation that has all too often had to bear the burden of being a great leader of this cause of freedom throughout the globe.

I think it would be reasonable for a citizen of the United States of America to feel as though that somehow is a burden, a burden that they are left to bear, to carry the mantle of taking upon all the responsibility that is associated with being part of a country that wears the crown of leadership. But it is a responsibility, in my view, that sits well with this great nation of 330 million people, a GDP that is well and truly the largest in the world to the tune of $20½ trillion, a nation that is full of innovation—indeed, four of the top five universities anywhere in the world are in the United States of America. This is a country with whom leadership sits well.

To any casual observer, democracy around the world, including here at home and also in the United States, has been tested in recent years. This election presents yet another test for the people of the United States to choose a leader who will guide the globe through an increasingly tumultuous period and an unstable world. I have confidence that the people of the United States will form a good judgement about who will lead them during this time of need, during the world's time of need.

I draw that confidence from the people of the United States. Any of us who have had the opportunity to travel to the United States extensively will quickly attest to the extraordinary warmth and generosity of spirit that comes across from the citizens of the US. But there is one story that sits rather deeply with me that, as I said, gives me confidence in the decision that is coming up.

My grandmother was a displaced person during World War II. She found herself working as forced labour within the Nazi labour camps in a munitions factory. Upon being released from that, as a widow she was trying to get back to her daughter she had been separated from in Hungary, and she was making the journey across continental Europe. She managed to get her hands on a bike and was making her way and making substantial progress, and during that journey she suffered the full horror of war.

On more than one occasion, she had interactions with people from other lands that were not of a positive nature. I remember her recalling one of her hardest days was when the Russians took the bike away from her that was allowing her to get closer to her daughter, but I remember her reflecting that is was the Americans who gave her cigarettes and it was the Americans who gave her chocolate. It struck me that it was never about the cigarettes or the chocolate; it was the act of decency, humanity and compassion that she received from those American soldiers who gave her a sense of hope and inspiration to persevere in what was a very substantial struggle for her at the time.

I hope that when we gather here after the first Tuesday in November it is those characteristics that inform the people of the United States of America about the judgement they make so that the United States can continue to be the leader that it is and the source of hope and inspiration for so many freedom-loving people around the world. The people of the United States should be in all our thoughts, and prayers if appropriate, so that they cast that judgement with the compassion and humanity for which they are famous.