Members

Girolamo, Hon. H.M.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:57): By leave, I move:

That this council welcomes the Hon. Heidi Girolamo, elected by an Assembly of Members of both houses on 24 August 2021 to replace the Hon. D.W. Ridgway (resigned).

Before inviting the Hon. Ms Girolamo to make her first speech to this chamber, can I indicate—and I know I speak on behalf of all my colleagues—how delighted I am and we are to welcome her to this chamber to make her first speech.

I said at a function, I think it was late last week, that the Hon. Ms Girolamo was attending, that my decision to sail off into the political sunset was reinforced by the fact that so many friends and school colleagues of my children are now joining the parliament. It has only reinforced my decision to sail off, as I said, into the political sunset, because the friends and school colleagues of my children are taking over the place and are going to be running the party and, we hope, the government for many years to come.

I am delighted to welcome the Hon. Ms Girolamo to this particular chamber. As I said during her preselection, I know she will be an outstanding member of the Legislative Council and I also believe she has the capacity, if given the opportunity, to serve with distinction in higher office in the future. I want to take briefly the opportunity to say that she does have the advantage that many do not: she has an outstanding family.

Her parents, Peter and Julie, have been outstanding supporters of her, and the family, over many years, has made a wonderful contribution to small business and various other non-government organisations, support in terms of school contributions and the community and also to the Liberal Party. I know she will thank her family, I am sure, but I also want to acknowledge the wonderful support that her parents have given her during her formative years and latter years as well. I invite the Hon. Ms Girolamo to make her first speech to the chamber.

The PRESIDENT: Before calling the Hon. Ms Girolamo, I remind members that this is her maiden speech and she should be heard in silence.

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (16:00): Thank you, Mr President. Having the opportunity to deliver my maiden speech today in front of my parliamentary colleagues, our Premier, Steven Marshall, my family and my friends is an incredible privilege. As a fourth-generation South Australian I feel a deep connection to our state, its history and the pathway ahead.

I truly believe that we live in the greatest state in the greatest country in the world, and to be elected as a member of the Legislative Council is an incredible honour, allowing me the opportunity to represent all South Australians. The Liberal Party's fundamental values are what inspired me to join and lay the foundation of my values to this day: values including freedom of thought, speech and choice, equality of opportunity, along with the reward for effort for all Australians.

Our party values small government and a hand up rather than a hand out, and these are the values that I have been raised to believe in. I was raised in Adelaide and grew up with both sides of my family, who were living between the Yorke Peninsula and the Barossa Valley. My mother's side settled in the Barossa Valley after moving from Germany four generations ago. My name, Heidi, is a tribute to my German heritage. Unsurprisingly, I am particularly organised and structured.

When my grandfather, Ray Black, returned from World War II he did what many South Australians did at this time: he married, started a family and worked hard every day to provide for them. Over his life he had multiple businesses, including Black's Deli in Kadina, a small deli that sold everything from milk, bread, fruit and veg to Tim Tams. My dad would work in the shop in the morning before school and would often take a packet of Tim Tams with him to school to keep the bullies at bay.

My grandfather also owned the Kadina Ford dealership, coincidentally while former Premier John Olsen's family owned the Mitsubishi dealership. My grandfather never borrowed from a bank; he managed to purchase his multiple businesses with cash he earnt through genuine hard work and determination.

My parents, Peter and Julie Black, worked hard every day to provide my sister, Katie, and I with incredible opportunities whilst remaining humble, positive and engaged parents. They provided us with a sense of community and a duty to contribute back. People often say they have the greatest family—I truly believe I do. I am so grateful for the support that I have here today and every day.

To my husband, Lee, for over a decade you have been by my side, supporting and encouraging me. We have had an incredible journey, living both here in Adelaide and in Darwin, raising our beautiful children, Max and Olivia, and both pursuing our careers and dreams. My married name of Girolamo often confuses people, who assume that I am of Italian descent. My father-in-law, Joe, migrated to Australia as a seven year old with his family from Molinara, a small village near Benevento in Italy.

Both my family and my husband's family have a long history of small business ownership right across our state, including a pub, post office, deli, bakery, ice-cream shop and more recently cafes run by my brother-in-law, Mark. My uncle, Ross Giorgio, who is also here today, runs a very successful family business, IJF Australia, the leading commercial joinery and furniture company in Australia, based right here in Adelaide, that started over 55 years ago.

I have the utmost respect for individuals willing to take a risk and put their house and reputation on the line for business opportunities. This not only benefits small business owners but benefits our state with opportunities to employ and provide goods and services to all.

I am one of those people. My husband and I are small business owners and know and understand what it takes, challenges faced and opportunities gained. In small business you learn to be productive and resilient. Small business is the backbone of our community. It is in my blood and I believe we should do our utmost to support our small business community. It will be an area I will always champion.

Growing up, many of my friends dreamed of being a doctor, a nurse, a teacher or the next Kylie Minogue. For me my pathway was always clear: to be a parliamentary representative, to have the opportunity to represent all South Australians. Having been born and raised in Adelaide, I completed much of my schooling at Loreto College. Loreto instilled in me the importance of community service to improve the world for others, leadership, determination and that if you set your mind on something you can achieve it. It has also provided me with an incredible group of lifelong friends. I would like to thank them for their everlasting support.

My family and my schooling taught me the importance of giving back to our community. My mother, Julie, has worked in the not-for-profit space for over 30 years. She is currently Executive Officer of Ronald McDonald House, an incredible organisation that supports regional families in their most challenging times. I understand the challenges faced by many not-for-profit organisations over the past 18 months, a time when these services are more important than ever. As a government we value the importance of community-based organisations and the key benefits they provide.

I have had the privilege of being on the board of Kid Safe for more than seven years. Kid Safe is an independent not-for-profit organisation focused on child accident and injury prevention for children aged zero to 15 years. Each year, over 150 children are killed as a result of unintentional injury and a further 68,000 are hospitalised. Furthermore, in Australia, injuries remain the leading cause of death and disability in babies and children, and transport incidents are the number one cause of injury-related deaths.

My involvement in Kid Safe as the treasurer and an active board member has led to my strong interest in early intervention support for children. Prevention is the best cure and education is key in ensuring parents, carers and educators have the right tools to support our children. This includes support across our education system for early education support in schools to allow teachers to identify developmental delays, tailor education plans and help our next generation to thrive.

Our children are being raised in a vastly different era with challenges we never faced, such as cyberbullying and the distractions of technology. We must do what we can to help our children, our teachers and parents across our state to ensure they have the support and resources needed to navigate such challenges. As we enter National Child Protection Week, the slogan 'Every child in every community needs a fair go' is something that will be front and centre for me as a mother and as a member of the Legislative Council. We have a duty to protect and support our children.

My sister, Katie, and my aunty, Jan Giorgio, who are both here today, are both exceptional primary school teachers and most definitely have the patience in our family. They have highlighted to me the importance of a strong and robust education system as well as support for teachers to manage their ever-changing workload and challenges. Our education system must be futureproof and focus on training our next generation for the jobs and opportunities of tomorrow, such as cybersecurity and IT, within both our schooling and higher education sectors.

This is why it is absolutely vital to make sure the programs we implement in education systems prepare for the future from now. To achieve the best from learning, children must feel that they are safe, healthy and have access to the right supports as needed. I believe that good education starts early. I am very pleased the Marshall Liberal government is looking to provide additional early education support. This is an area I will always champion.

I have always worked outside politics, as a chartered accountant, with much of my career at Deloitte. Over the past 16 years I have developed skills and experience, focusing on good governance and risk management. The training provided by a global firm like Deloitte has been invaluable. Working for such a community-minded organisation has been a privilege. I would like to thank office managing partner Hendri Mentz, who is here today, and the team at Deloitte for their support and guidance.

Deloitte's recent announcement of the expansion of the consulting practice and a 500-person Adelaide-based centre for innovation in technology is incredible. This is a great tribute to Hendri's leadership and a sign of the positive economic climate we find ourselves in as firms like Deloitte, PwC and Accenture are expanding and setting up national hubs in South Australia for the first time in recent history.

I had the opportunity to work in Adelaide and Canberra followed by London during the global financial crisis, providing an insight to the challenges faced by organisations, including significant going concern issues. I also spent time working in Darwin, providing consulting services to the territory government. Most recently, working in professional services in Adelaide during the recent pandemic has further highlighted to me the resilience and capability of my colleagues, clients and our community.

Seeing firsthand how our state bounced back and worked through challenges makes me enormously proud to be South Australian. Australia, like the rest of the world, is still managing through the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are working as a country to repair those devastating consequences. South Australia is particularly unique, as we have seen the impressive economic bounce back and the return of many skilled people to South Australia.

Where other states have seen an increase in unemployment, we have seen a decrease. Our unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest in almost seven years, at 5.3 per cent, averaging a full percentage point lower than our previous 10-year average of 6.4 per cent, helping to make us the most livable city in Australia.

There is, however, still more work to be done. My key priority as a member of the Legislative Council is to focus not just on our economy but on the small, hardworking businesses that contribute a hefty $35 billion dollars annually to our economy. Not only is it important to support small businesses because of their economic contribution, it is important to support them because they make up an incredible 98 per cent of our state's businesses and hold 36 per cent of South Australia's workforce. They deserve protection, support and assistance from our government, and they truly are the foundation of our economy and are the key drivers to our state's growth and development.

As I mentioned before, travelling between the Yorke Peninsula and the Barossa Valley while growing up has embedded in me a strong appreciation and understanding of the importance of our regions in South Australia, along with the significance of their economic and social contribution. South Australia's unique landscape, agriculture and billion dollar wine industry have been attracting larger numbers of local tourists while still facing economic challenges over recent years. It is vital that we ensure we are providing top quality regional services, focusing on road safety, access to water, close health facilities and good mobile phone and wi-fi coverage, services that are often taken for granted in Adelaide.

My parents moved to Adelaide for university and employment opportunities in the seventies. One of the first things they did together was to join the Young Liberals. I grew up hearing stories of their time in the Young Liberals, including campaigning, performing pantomimes and forging long-term friendships with people, many of whom are still involved in our party and provided great support for me during my recent preselection.

Thank you to Sir Lynton and Lady Dawn Crosby and their daughters, Emma and Tara. I have had the privilege of knowing the Crosby family my entire life. My dad and Lynton started primary school together when they were five years old in Kadina, over 60 years ago. Kadina has a long tradition of strong Liberals, many of whom have gone on to contribute greatly to our state and our country. Lynton has been a wonderful role model for me as someone who has had such great success in the political world, both here in Australia and abroad.

I would also like to specifically thank former Senator Baden Teague and Kathy for their ongoing support, counsel and friendship. Baden has always been there to support me throughout my political journey.

I have been lucky enough to have been surrounded by family friends such as the Crosbys, Teagues and Halls, who had a positive impact on my political journey. I would like to pay specific tribute to Joan Hall and former Premier Steele Hall: Steele, a stalwart of our party, leader of our state, and one of life's absolute gentleman. Steele Hall is the only Australian member to have served as premier of our state, as a senator and as a member of the House of Representatives, all over three decades.

As a premier, Steele was labelled as one of the more progressive members of his time and introduced legislations to reform the House of Assembly to be the more equitable system that we see today. His vision for the state laid the foundation for key infrastructure projects such as the O-Bahn and Festival Centre. Steele's qualities and values are what former Prime Minister John Howard labelled as strong values of the Liberal Party. He outlined this in his address in 1996. Prime Minister John Howard stated:

Australian Liberalism has always been evolving and developing. It always will be. We are constantly relating Liberalism's enduring values to the circumstances of our own time—enduring values such as the commitment to enhance freedom, choice and competition, to encourage personal achievement, and to promote fairness and a genuine sense of community in Australian society.

This is something I find particularly relevant to this day and I hope we continue to remember these values for many years to come.

During my time campaigning with both Joan and Steele in the seat of Morialta, I learned so much from them both. I particularly liked how Steele would photocopy maps directly from the street directory, ready for us to letterbox and doorknock. Joan, Steele and their children, Alexia and Ben, majorly drove my interest in politics and my decision to join the Liberal Party when I turned 16, more than 20 years ago.

Having been involved in supporting our party as a grassroots member, campaigning and supporting our party has been a huge part of my life. I would like to pay special thanks to Sam Duluk MP, Stephan Knoll MP and Travis Munckton, who have supported me through thick and thin, my longest friends in our party. I truly value your support and guidance.

Part of what I have loved most about my journey is the support and encouragement I have received right across our party. I would like to thank state council for electing me to this privileged position. Special thanks to former senator Alan Ferguson, former senator Grant Chapman, Caroline Rhodes, Jocelyn Sutcliffe, Ben Hood, Marg Westmore, John and Lyn Nitschke, Anthea Kennett, Courtney Nourse, Emma Godfrey, Lachlan Haynes and Sam Telfer.

I thank all of my parliamentary colleagues for their support along this journey. Special thanks to Speaker Josh Teague MP, member for Heysen; Treasurer the Hon. Rob Lucas; the Hon. Nicola Centofanti; the Hon. Terry Stephens; the Hon. Dennis Hood; Paula Leuthen, member for King; Minister Rachel Sanderson, member for Adelaide; and Carolyn Power, member for Elder. I also thank my federal parliamentary colleagues for their support: Minister the Hon. Anne Ruston, member for Barker Tony Pasin, member for Boothby Nicolle Flint, Senator Andrew McLachlan and Senator Alex Antic.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank my predecessor, David Ridgway. David's connection to the South Australian community, passion for rural affairs and connection with farming communities shone through during his time in parliament. I first met David along with the Hon. Terry Stephens when they were both newly elected MLCs and I was a very new member of our party, almost two decades ago. It surprised me to meet such down-to-earth, relaxed politicians. David was always a positive, inclusive and engaging MLC and especially supportive of our next generation, and I thank him for his service to our party and our state and I wish him all the very best for his new role as Agent General in the United Kingdom.

I am a proud wife, mother, small business owner, business professional and very passionate South Australian. I am here to make a difference, to contribute to the direction of our state and to help our community. I will do whatever I can to ensure that the voices of small businesses and our diverse communities from right across our state are heard here in the Legislative Council, so we can work together to ensure a bright, vibrant future for our children. Thank you, Mr President.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.