HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-05-07 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Address in Reply

Address in Reply

Adjourned debate on motion for adoption (resumed on motion).

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (15:42): Prior to the break, I was outlining reasons why South Australia needs to debate electoral reform and I was explaining that there were at least three options available in relation to a top-up system, which would guarantee that when the majority of South Australians vote for a particular party, that party would form government. Prior to the break, I explained the first two options. I will now explain the third option.

The third option is an option where more members of parliament are allocated to the winning party based on the number of extra votes they got. For instance, in the last election, 92,000 extra votes were obtained by the Liberal Party. If you divide 92,000 by the average of the number of votes in an electorate, that gives you 22,000, so you get another four members of parliament. That option was put to me by an academic. I do not think it totally resolves the problem, but it is another option that could be considered in the mix.

The reason that I am raising electoral reform is simply this: the parliament now knows that despite the best endeavours of the 1989 reforms and the referendum and the insertion of a fairness clause, the parliament cannot hide from one fact. South Australia now has an electoral system where it is possible that 92,000 extra people in the state voted for the party that lost. Regardless of party, regardless of the calibre of the campaign which will be subject to debate—to me that is irrelevant—what we have now in South Australia is a system that is broken.

It is a system that is broken because the voters are not being served by this system. Try to start an incorporated association and, when you bring the members together, you say, 'I'm going to design the voting system so that a minority of votes can outvote the majority.' That would be unacceptable, and for a state that prides itself on the fairness of its electoral reforms—the vote for women, the vote for Aboriginals (which were earlier than any other state), the fairness test which was brought in and the secret ballot developed in South Australia by Boothby—why now would we turn our back on the problem, regardless of party? The issue is very simply this: we now have an electoral system in South Australia that is clearly not delivering to the majority of South Australians the party they vote for, or the government they vote for.

By going to a system where government is established by whoever wins 50 per cent plus one of the whole statewide vote, it solves a number of issues for the voter. No longer do the vagaries and misjudgements of the electoral redistribution system carry such weight in the formation of government. After the last electoral redistribution the then leader, Isobel Redmond, came out and said that this side of the house would need 54 per cent of the vote to form government and people laughed at us. Of course, we won 53 per cent of the vote and lost.

After the election, ABC radio's electoral specialist, Anthony Green—read the transcript—gave an expert view that we would have needed 54.5 per cent of the vote to win. Put that to one side for a minute because that is a Labor versus Liberal issue. I am past that in this instance. What we have to explain to the public, if the parliament decides to do nothing about this, is why are we leaving in place a system where the majority of voters—not by one or two votes, but 92,000 no less, 92,000 extra votes (which is roughly 10 per cent of the vote); there are roughly one million votes in South Australia, so about 9 per cent of the votes—9 per cent more vote for a particular group and they lose. I cannot think of another organisation where that would happen.

My argument is simply this: the voting system is not serving the voting public. It may well be serving political parties, but the primary role of the voting system has to be to give the voter, the majority of voters in the state, the government they vote for. So, I have outlined today a method to get to that position. All of the options have some difficult questions to resolve, but none of the resolutions to those questions are as ill as the ill that exists currently where we know that 92,000 more people can vote for a particular group and they lose. Why should the majority lose?

The Labor Party will come back and say that this is all about winning 24 seats and that is the current system. That is fine. The reality of what that means is that the battle ground is about eight seats; there is $300,000 or $400,000 spent in eight seats and all the rest of the seats cannot really have a lot of attention paid to them. So, the whole battle ground, the whole state, revolves around six or eight seats.

The reality is, I am arguing: how is that in the best interests of the majority of South Australians? I am arguing there are different ways to resolve this issue, a different way of forming government through exactly the same voting process. That is, rather than ask the question on polling night, 'Who won 24 seats?', ask, 'Who did the whole state vote for?' Whoever wins that question then we need to amend the legislation to provide that that group has a majority of one in the house if they have not won enough seats to do so. It would totally change the way that governments operate; it would change the way that the parties campaign.

The reality is that my side of politics has benefited from this system nationally. It is rather interesting—and if the Labor Party is going to argue against this, I will be interested in its response—because of course in the 1998 federal election when John Howard won the GST question, he received less than the majority of votes. I think Beasley won 51 per cent and Howard won 49 per cent. The reality is that this works both ways.

To me, this is not a Labor/Liberal thing. We know the rules of the game. You go out and play to the rules of the game and you win or lose based on those rules. What I am saying is that the people we are meant to serve, the voters, are not being served well by the current rules. The last two elections clearly show it, and I think the parliament has a duty to have the debate and see if we can't deliver the voter one simple thing: that is, a system that guarantees that, when the majority of South Australians vote for a particular group, that group wins. The simple reality is this: if that new system existed, the government will win sometimes and the opposition will win other times, but at least the voter would get the government they vote for.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Reynell I would like to remind the house that this is the member's first speech, and I ask that members accord her the customary courtesies. The member for Reynell.

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (15:51): Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and congratulations on your appointment. Congratulations also to all new and continuing members. I start by acknowledging that the land we are on today is the traditional land of the Kaurna people. I acknowledge their spiritual and cultural relationship with this land and pay my deep respect to Kaurna elders past and present.

I am a proud and active supporter of and speaker for our recognised movement. Australia's and, indeed, South Australia's story is one of the richest in human history. It spans tens of thousands of years and at its heart is the oldest living culture on the planet. It is an inspiring and impressive history. But Australia's constitution, our set of rules, our founding document, which symbolises on the global stage what we are about, does not recognise that culture. It is silent about tens of thousands of years of history. It does not recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and, shamefully, it also gives governments power to discriminate against groups of Australians voting based on race. We need to remove that discrimination and we need to include recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, because it is the right thing to do.

I acknowledge what has been done to date in this parliament to right this wrong. Removing this discrimination will mean Australia can lift its head and authentically live the values we pride ourselves on having as a nation: fairness, inclusiveness and diversity. It is our generation that can do this. It is our generation that can break the silence and proudly shape a better and fairer future. I am committed to working with all this house, with our federal parliamentarians, and all of the communities that we represent to do just this.

I have had the great pleasure of collaboratively organising a number of community forums across South Australia about our nation's need for recognition, and I look forward to continuing to deepen our nation's conversation. I also start by acknowledging the compassionate, lovely, strong and community-minded people of Reynell, who have bestowed on me this incredible privilege of being their member of parliament following 17 years of representation by former member Gay Thompson. I thank the many individuals, families and dedicated people involved in clubs, schools, the RSL and community groups and organisations of Christie Downs, Christies Beach, Morphett Vale, O'Sullivan Beach and Lonsdale from the bottom of my heart for their faith in me. I commit myself to working as hard as I possibly can every day, every single day, to make a difference with and for them.

My being here today is nothing less than a dream come true. It is an honour and a privilege to be elected to serve my community and my beloved state of South Australia, and that is exactly what I will do. We are all the product of our experiences, and experience can be both the hardest and the best teacher, and in my case a teacher that could so easily have taken me on a different journey.

I was born here in Adelaide and taken to my first home in Netley where I grew up just a couple of streets from the back of the airport runway. My mum, Jeanette Walsh, then Hildyard, was at home with my four-year-old brother and three-year-old sister and at that time my dad worked for the Lands Titles Office in Adelaide.

I have very early memories of things not being as they should in my house. One of the experiences that shaped me was my father's chronic alcoholism. My father possessed significant sporting prowess and sharp intelligence, but his overwhelming addiction and propensity for violence when under the influence of alcohol also often made me feel confused, unsafe and scared. It sometimes made me feel as if I somehow did not fit.

My younger sister was born when I was four and in the few years that followed my dad left us. He came back from time to time when he was drunk to try to break into our home. I remember having to stay at school long after home time to stay safe. I remember on the very rare occasions when he promised to come and see us and take us out, waiting for him to come and take us wherever he said he would, and eventually realising that it was not to be. As a child, it was hard to make sense of it all. I now understand that there are a range of events that people in our community experience that result in them losing their way. My dad is also a product of his own experiences and I forgive him and always wish him the best.

The question for us here in this house, as representatives who have the great opportunity to work with and for our community to make change, is: what can we do to help people who are lost find their way again? Growing up in a single parent family where we faced significant financial hardship, as the single mother's pension was never quite enough to make ends meet, where we witnessed domestic violence and felt a sense of abandonment, it often felt as if there were only a few short steps between losing my own way and continuing onward.

However, despite our difficulties, I did not lose my way and that is because I watched my mum walk her journey where, in the face of significant hardship, she did not get lost but grew stronger. She went back to school, completed her year 12 and got herself a teaching degree. She had the courage to speak up fiercely for herself and for others. She taught my brother and sisters and I very strongly to value the family we were and, importantly, to be active participants in our community. She also taught us, no matter what was happening for us, to look upwards and outwards and see what was happening for those who may have been doing it even harder, and to help where we could.

My mum taught me to speak up for myself, for others and for what is right, to listen to your heart and sometimes the uneasy feeling in your stomach, and to speak it always. She is a tireless advocate for many causes and particularly for those affected by mental illness, and her voice against injustice is fierce. As our neighbours growing up know, her voice is also very loud. She was incredibly resourceful and taught me the value of really hard work, as did my grandfather Charles Beaumont, who was a source of much kindness in our lives. He loved musicals, cricket and his family. He tried, very unsuccessfully, from a young age to teach me the value of saving, but taught me successfully the value of being kind to others when times were difficult for them.

My grandfather recited a poem to me over and over again and wrote it in my autograph book, opposite the page that held the signature of South Australia's greatest legend, Russell Ebert. It went: 'Life is mostly froth and bubble, but two things stand like stone: kindness in another's trouble and courage in one's own'. My grandpa Charles worked his way from being an office hand from the age of 14 who emptied bins in an office to being the CEO of a major South Australian insurance company. I dare say he would not have agreed with all my political views, but he would have shared my unwavering values of respecting others, being kind to them, particularly when they were down, and just getting on with things in the face of your own adversity.

I see a number of his qualities in my big brother Luke Hildyard, for whom I have the utmost love and admiration. Luke is an excellent father to his boys Charlie and Danny Hildyard; a beautiful husband to his lovely wife Leanne Carr; an outstanding sportsperson, having represented our state numerous times; a patient teacher; an incredibly generous volunteer running, football and lifesaving coach; and someone who has forged his own strong path set by his own strong and sometimes unique moral compass. Luke is someone who has defied statistics and shown how a good man can be developed. In that regard, I also acknowledge my lovely stepfather Noel Walsh.

I was also strongly influenced by my two frankly fabulous aunties, Dr Rosemary Beaumont, who is also my godmother, and Dianne Beaumont. They lived interstate when we were growing up, but came whenever they could to support us, as they have done today.

My mum and aunties lost their mum at an early age and together formed an extraordinary trio from whom I learned much. The aunties introduced me to many things, from surfing (which I love to this day) and camping (which I am not so cut out for) to fondue, fierce and frank discussions sometimes fuelled by their occasional love of green ginger wine, and to the concept that women could do anything—anything at all. They also helped me to make sense of why we were sent to an emergency recess so our teachers could tune in to the television on 11 November 1975 to find out what the hell had happened to our prime minister.

I see their outstanding intelligence in my older sister, Sally Hildyard. I was in awe of her incredible creative talent from a very young age—not so much when she forced me into her constant dramatic productions which she would put on for the neighbourhood, but I do remain in awe of her incredible talent today.

My commitment to making a difference with and for our community was born in those early years and nurtured through subsequent experiences. I learned not to get lost. I was also guided by the lessons taught by a much broader community family in our schools, our church community, and the numerous sporting, lifesaving and other clubs of which we were members, all of which housed a great network of community-minded people, including the member for Colton.

I see in my community in Reynell today so many wonderful people who are similarly committed to supporting children and other community members. I see volunteers who donate hours and days every week to their club or community organisation they support for completely selfless reasons, purely for the benefit of their community. They are the lifeblood of the south, and I look forward to working alongside each and every one of them to make our community as resilient, strong and compassionate as it possibly can be.

Participation in sport and other activities was always a great place for me; it made me feel valued and equal. I am an avid follower of many sporting codes and a passionate supporter of many sporting teams, particularly a number of women's teams. I am dismayed that our sportswomen are often very poorly recognised, and I look forward to working with others to right this wrong.

My mum demonstrated very strongly an unwavering faith—a faith in things unfolding as they are meant to, and a faith in our own strength to accept and deal with difficult times. I was raised by my mum as a Catholic and I am still a Catholic; importantly, however, I fundamentally value the Christian ethos of not judging others, of accepting everyone in their choices, whichever part of the world they come from, and showing love and compassion in all circumstances—all of them—no matter what.

One of the circumstances that my family and many families in our community increasingly have to deal with is mental illness. I heard yesterday that 45 per cent of South Australians are affected by mental illness at some point in their lives. It is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and it is a challenge that requires our most compassionate response and a collective focus on how all of our decisions can positively enhance our community's mental health.

My younger sister, Alison Hildyard, first developed acute schizophrenia when she was 15, and now at age 40 she continues to live her life with it. She is beautiful, she is kind, and she is the strongest person I know. Her illness has taken her to hell and back, and sometimes from the brink of despair she has only just returned. In the first 10 years of her illness, she spent half of that time in psychiatric wards in various hospitals in Adelaide, and sometimes in the locked wards of those institutions. After 25 years of taking large doses of psychotropic medication her physical health is negatively impacted, but she remains beautiful, strong and kind. Despite experiencing some of the most traumatic and debilitating times, there is never a negative thing to be said about her, nor how she has dealt with those times.

Hundreds of incredibly dedicated and compassionate people work in our mental health sector. They are often all that stands between dignity and isolation, respect and solitude for people like my sister. I cannot applaud their commitment enough. I also say, however, that our systems and resources have not always been structured in a way that ensures our most vulnerable citizens are treated at the level of compassion they need and with the support they deserve.

One of my worst memories is visiting my sister in one of our hospitals to find her unnecessarily and inappropriately restrained physically. I will do everything I can as a member of parliament to ensure that this or anything like it never happens again to anyone's sister. I will also work, however I can, to ensure that the insecurity that the federal government's proposed cuts are currently creating for people affected by mental illness, as well as many other vulnerable people, those who care for them, support them and provide resources for their wellbeing—cuts which will see this group of people further marginalised and at further risk—will not come to fruition. How we treat our most vulnerable citizens as a society is a measure of our society's wellbeing and success, and I intend to do everything I can to ensure that we are measured well.

Following primary school, I attended Plympton High School. I worked out from a very young age that if I wanted to do anything socially or buy anything new rather than second-hand I had to work. From a young age I learnt to work really hard all of the time. I got my first job cleaning at a butcher's shop in Kurralta Park at 14 and, at 15, I worked at Coles where I was proud SDA member, and in a number of other jobs. I have supported myself since that time. I left school after year 12 at 16 years of age and worked as a clerical worker. I moved out of home when I was 17.

During my time working as a clerical worker my unrelenting passion for fairness and my desire to speak up with and for others became apparent to colleagues, particularly during my time with a global corporation where I found myself shocked at some of the things I experienced, heard and saw. My ability to speak up in an articulate fashion was somewhat limited at this young age, but what may have been lacking in polish was certainly never lacking in passion. The unrelenting passion for fairness, developed throughout my childhood, grew during these years. It is where I began to hone my skills to speak up and also where I realised that sometimes the best thing you can do is speak up with and for others and give them a voice.

It is where I began to think about what makes things fair in a workplace and how you achieve that fairness. It is those years that led me to question more strongly what I could do to channel all of the views, thoughts and feelings I had into a pathway that would lead me to constructively make a difference to the lives of others.

I studied full time at Flinders University as a mature age student while simultaneously working as a cleaner, a highly unsuccessful professional runner, a typist, a swimming teacher and a lecturer in keyboard skills. I somehow found time to frequent my favourite south-western suburban nightclub, Lennies, where I have some very fond memories of some very bad dancing and also to enjoy the Adelaide live music scene which was thriving at that time with bands like the Numbskulls, the Clowns of Decadence, and Exploding White Mice.

Importantly, through my years at university, I began to discover the structures and organisations that you could work within to change the world. I proudly joined the Labor Party in the early 1990s as well as the Federated Clerks' Union, and I was privileged to work from 1994 to 1996 for federal minister for immigration and ethnic affairs Senator Nick Bolkus.

I was also privileged to be part of a great political discussion and to get to know and be supported by Mick Tumbers, Clyde Cameron, Penny Wong, Ian Hunter, Mark Butler, our Premier (the member for Cheltenham), Quentin 'Blinky' Cook, and Marg Sexton amongst others. They planted ideas about where my burning passion could take me. I was also humbled on joining my union to begin to learn about other stalwarts of the progressive movement in South Australia—Harry Krantz, Marg Adams, and Elliott and Elizabeth Johnston. I had the pleasure over the years to get to know Marg, Harry and Elliott more, and their words, actions, bravery and clear vision about what kind of world we should live in and how what we do creates that world inspire me to this day, as do their campaigning skills.

I will never forget visiting Harry Krantz in his later years with Marg in hospital. It was at the start of the WorkChoices campaign, and he was clearly very unwell. On our coming in, he perked up, waved aside my questions about his health and asked me a series of questions about the campaign and, once satisfied with the answers, fell asleep.

In 1996 I had the great honour of beginning to work for my union, the Australian Services Union, which the FCU had become a part of. Finally, I had found a place in which I could work with and for others to achieve fairness. I had the honour of standing alongside union members in so many different industries as they went through experiences at their workplaces that changed their lives, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. That was common about every one of those experiences was that their unity, their generosity and their commitment to supporting one another got them through those times.

ASU members serve and support other people. I was honoured to become the secretary of that union in 2009. Collaboratively leading your union and working in the union movement is extraordinary. Along with the Australian Labor Party, there are no organisations more focused on working with and for people to achieve fairness that better accord with the values of supporting others to be treated with dignity and respect, and that enshrine a collective and fundamental belief that bringing people together is the best way to positively achieve change. Our union movement is almost 150 years strong here in South Australia and for all of that time it has stood up for people across our nation and, despite attempts to bring it down, it will be there for another 150 years and beyond, standing up for generations of the future.

I wholeheartedly thank my friends, leaders of United Voice and mentors whose support for me has been unwavering and whose commitment to focusing on workers is extraordinary—David Di Troia, David Gray and others at that union including Cheyne Rich, Demi Pnevmatikos and Larissa Harrison. David Gray's leadership is at the root of a number of progressive reforms and achievements in South Australia and I am humbled to have his support.

I pay tribute to my friend and secretary of SA Unions, Joe Szakacs, and thank him for his support and friendship. He is an incredible leader who will make a difference to the lives of South Australians for decades to come. I pay tribute to the incredible women leaders of the union movement, who have guided me and given me strength for many years, including during the hardest of times: Max Adlam, Karen Atherton, Kate Coleman, Janet Giles and Karen Brown. I also state my deep gratitude for the wise guidance over many, many years of union leader and family friend Wayne Hanson, and express my delight at the lovely friendship I have with Justin Hanson and Alex Overley.

During my time with my union, all of the best moments were those where we empowered members to take a step to lead on an issue they were experiencing, to do and say things they had never said or done before, sometimes in front of thousands, to stand up, to take on a new challenge, and to find others to work with to make change. That is what being union is all about.

It is my fundamental belief that leadership is both inherently personal and fundamentally collective. In choosing to lead, to do something different, we all have to make a personal and courageous decision to lead, but the best leadership is when the outcomes focus on achieving a collective goal, and the best leadership is undertaken in a way that builds leadership capacity in others. I thank former ASU secretaries Andrew Dennard and Senator Anne McEwen for doing just that for me.

I thank every ASU member that I have worked alongside and take my hat off to the hundreds of union reps who also give others the courage to stand up. I acknowledge those reps who have tirelessly given even more to their union—members of the ASU executive—who work in energy, local government, community services and the finance industry: President Kristen Gilbertson; vice presidents Robert Habel, Zerebar Karimi, Rosi Reschke and Darren Wicks; and all members of their council.

There are many stories of union work that I can share. The one that I will share is the incredible privilege of working with thousands of community workers and hundreds of community organisations to historically achieve equal pay. Community workers are at the heart of our community. They work in large charitable organisations, homeless shelters, youth organisations, domestic violence shelters, community centres, Aboriginal organisations, peak bodies and advocacy with our most vulnerable citizens to ensure they participate with dignity in life.

I asked community workers for years about why they do the work that they do, and 100 per cent of the time those workers replied that they did this work because they cared about people and wanted to make a difference. Eighty-five per cent of these workers are women, and for years I also witnessed the impact of the deep undervaluing of their work—the seeing of care work as an extension of women's work in the home as unskilled, as something one should only volunteer to do.

I was part of a movement that said, 'Enough.' It said that it was time for this work at the heart of our community to be valued and it was time for equal pay. By working together across Australia we secured an incredible legal victory to ensure that this group of workers received pay increases of between 23 per cent and 45 per cent and to enshrine, finally, equal pay. What we also secured was value for this work and, importantly, a deep valuing of the work by workers themselves and a preparedness to speak out for themselves.

I pay tribute to women like Maria Hagias, Megan Hughes and Sandra Dunn who have literally dedicated their working lives to supporting women and children affected by domestic violence. One in three women globally, or one billion women, are now affected every year by domestic violence, and their children are negatively impacted. It is an issue that we have to address. It is pressing and it is urgent and we all have to stop it. I acknowledge the vigil that is happening just 200 metres from here tonight to remember the women and children who have lost their lives due to domestic and family violence.

I remember asking one of those women, Sandra Dunn, to speak at a rally in Adelaide for equal pay about her working commitment and she was incredibly apprehensive about doing so. She asked why on earth people would want to listen to her. She told me that she felt sick before doing it and I think she may have actually been sick. She spoke and she was wonderful. Later that night I tried to find her to tell her how great she was but I could not find her anywhere. When I finally watched all of the taped news services, lo and behold, I saw Sandra on every channel. Not only had she spoken to hundreds of people, she had also spoken on TV and to radio crews and print media. She spoke out for what she believed in.

Through our equal pay campaign we gave women like Sandra a voice. We also shifted a workforce from believing that if they valued themselves somehow something could be taken from those they supported, to a deep knowing that if they valued themselves and were paid what they were worth that they could stay in the sector into the future to keep supporting those most vulnerable. Together across Australia we worked with large and small community employers to secure funding for equal pay and only together we won.

I look forward to continuing to work to ensure rights at work are maintained, to ensure that women's work is valued, to continue to secure equal pay for every woman in every industry and to create great jobs for the future. I strongly believe that one of the best ways to ensure a person is included in community life is to ensure that they have access to secure and decent employment. It is indeed urgent for us to nurture and grow the industries of the future; industries that can be uniquely South Australian so that we can build good pathways to good jobs for our kids and for generations to come.

It is pressing for us to do this at both a local and statewide level and I commit to working with all of you to do this. Through my years of working with both workers and employers in a range of industries, and most recently working in the community sector for collective impact backbone organisation Together SA, we create the best pathways and address our kids' needs through strategic collaboration, through working together in a coordinated way, through partnering with unlikely partners committed to the same goal. Collective impact is a mechanism for deeply engaging community around the results they want to see and focusing all of the energy in a community: business, community organisations, philanthropy, government, local government and the community itself in achieving that result and measuring progress against that result.

There are results that together we have to achieve in the electorate of Reynell and across South Australia. We have to reinvest in Christie Downs and listen to our community, and we have to keep ensuring that everyone in our community has access to secure and decent housing, quality education, great transport, great services and excellent care when they most need it. I will stand up for these things for the people of Reynell.

Despite our best efforts there is much to do if we are to realise a fair and equal South Australia. There remain those with far more means than others. There are those who are at far greater risk of illness than others, those who access great education and others who cannot, those who are accepted by everyone in our community and those who are not. My desire to work with others to achieve fairness for all community members and to create a fair, strong and vibrant South Australia remains my driving and unrelenting passion. It is indeed why I am here—but I am only here because of the support of the people I have mentioned and my family and friends.

Thank you to everyone who campaigned alongside me in Reynell, so that we could continue to build a progressive, fair and vibrant South Australia. My volunteers—who are all friends, old and new—telephoned, letterboxed, visited shopping centres and doorknocked alongside me. They also cooked for me, calmed me down, ran quizzes and fundraisers for me, drove my children around and stopped me from driving them up the wall.

Thank you Kerry, Andrew, BJ and Henry Oates, Matty and Louise Blowes, Mark Hubbard, Andrew Hunter and Sally Foster, Elizabeth DeCaux, Nat Cook, Neil Davis, Vicky Williams, Andrew and Lorrae Clark, Olive Weston, Norah Fahy, Nola Stone, Nic Szuster, Christie Baverstock, Anne-Marie Griffin, Stephen Barclay, Sam Lane, Sam King, Ellen McLoughlin, Vicki Osland, Rhiannon Newman, Kim Stewart, Brad Chilcott, Carina Lawless, fellow candidates in the south Kyam Maher and Chris Picton, Cameron Smith, Justin Kentish, Lois Boswell, Don Frater, Sinead Hollingworth-Hughes, Idris Martin, Leon Cermak, Angas Oehme, Emily Gore, federal member for Kingston Amanda Rishworth, and the dozens of enthusiastic and passionate members of Young Labor, who were tireless in their efforts, and so many more.

I want to individually acknowledge so many friends but will single out just a few. Nat Cook and Neil Davis, I am so sorry for what happened to your son Sam. It is tragic. I am so thankful for the work your foundation does to empower young people and to ensure that no other family has to go through what yours did. I am proud to volunteer for the Sammy D Foundation, and I am proud and happy to call you friends. Your courage inspires me and your friendship makes me very happy.

Thank you to my oldest and dear friends Ilka Walkley, Mary Hajistassi and Elizabeth DeCaux—who have been with me for decades—for everything. They are incredibly special women whom I admire and love. They are wise, they are sometimes incorrigible, they are hilarious, they are loyal, they are my family.

I have never been able to relax. I used to mistakenly equate contentment with restlessness or a need for change, and then I met my husband, Charles Wright, or, as he is affectionately known by many in our life and a number of communities across South Australia and, indeed, probably nationally and internationally, 'poor Charles'.

Charles has taught me to be peaceful, even as I rush around. He has taught me to allow myself to be loved well and to love well. His support of me is unshakeable and, as we discovered in our election campaign, literally knows no bounds. He is kindness personified and his calm, clever and compassionate way of going about things, very rarely for himself and always for others, is extraordinary. Thank you for getting me, for getting most things and for loving me when I am at my best and also when I am at my worst.

Last, but certainly not least, are my boys Che Cielens and Liam Wright. Thank you for your full hearts and your open minds. Thank you for your incredible resilience during the marathon that was our campaign. Che, you had my immense love from the moment you were born and it grows every single day. Liam, we have built our relationship from when you were six, and I thank you for all it has been and all it will be into the future. You always have my love and support—always. Thank you for the beautiful young men you have become. You give me hope and make me believe that we can indeed shape the world into what it needs to be for the future.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Hartley, who has sought and been granted leave to speak out of his place, I would like to remind the house that this is the member's first speech and I ask members to accord him the customary courtesies. The member for Hartley.

Mr TARZIA (Hartley) (16:24): Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Firstly, I thank the member for Morialta who has today allowed me to sit in his seat. I have done this so that one of my constituents, the very hardworking Mr Philip Menz, President of the Physical Disability Council of South Australia who is in the gallery today, can see me from his wheelchair during the course of this speech. During the course of my parliamentary career, I hope this parliament makes this place more accessible for those who are in such a position. May I begin by also wishing the honourable member for Fisher all the best with his treatment and I extend my thoughts and prayers to him and his family during this hard time.

We observe today a victory for the state Liberals in the battle for Hartley—a victory for the long term, for regeneration, for change and for growth for the future. It is a great honour and a pleasure to stand here today as the fifth member for Hartley, and currently the youngest member of this place. Hartley is in the heart of the inner north-east of Adelaide. It is a close-knit community comprised of many migrants, many of whom share a common ambition and a drive to succeed to the best of their aspirations. I stand here today proud to represent such admirable people and eager to serve this great state of ours.

First, I would like to congratulate the Speaker of this house on his re-election and I would also like to thank the Governor of this great state, His Excellency Rear Admiral Kevin Scarce for his opening of the 53rd Parliament. I would like to congratulate all the new members and also all the members who have been re-elected. The recent election was hard fought and I am proud of Steven Marshall and the state Liberal team for our campaign. Steven Marshall and our team present a vision for this state by drawing on the ambitions of businesses and restoring confidence and pride in all South Australians.

We on this side of the chamber sit in stark contrast to the government opposite us, which has presided over—and continues to preside over—the decline of the state's future economic prospects. In fact, Deputy Speaker, it is my opinion that the economy is a bit like the clock in this house. It runs backwards and it has been going backwards time and time again.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That's not true. It's digital and it is moving well today. You're misleading the house.

Mr TARZIA: It is completely in the wrong direction, Deputy Speaker.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, it's meant to make you watch.

Mr TARZIA: Deputy Speaker, I am a product of what you would call post-World War II migration into Australia and it is in times like these where long-term thinking is required and bold, balanced, long-term decisions are needed, I am reminded of my two late grandparents: Vincenzo Tarzia (my namesake) and Salvatore Bruno, both of whom were Italian migrants from poverty-stricken southern Italy and who moved to South Australia seeking a new life and better opportunities for their families. Vincenzo and Salvatore were two honourable men and I know that they would certainly be proud to see me here today as the member for Hartley.

As the descendant of European migrants, I would like to pay a tribute to many before me with Italian heritage who have served this electorate and this state in this parliament, and other parliaments, including but not limited to: the Hon. Mario Feleppa MLC, whom you may remember, the Hon. Julian Stefani MLC, the Hon. Carmel Zollo MLC and, of course, my immediate predecessors in Hartley, Joe Scalzi and the Hon. Grace Portolesi.

The spirit of post-World War II European migrants has always been a great source of inspiration for me. With about 18 per cent of the Hartley electorate being solely of Italian origin, many families can relate to a story similar to that of my family. I would like to dedicate my election victory to the sons and daughters of all migrants in South Australia, because without their ambition and their sacrifice and their entrepreneurial spirit the state certainly would not be what it is today.

My late grandfather Vincenzo Tarzia was born in the seaside town of Siderno Marina, Reggio Calabria. He was a fisherman and later a soldier who fought in World War II for the Italian army. He was captured but escaped and migrated to Australia and settled in South Australia. My other grandfather was Salvatore Bruno, born in the country town of Altavilla Irpina in the Campania region, about 70 kilometres outside Naples, where he worked day in, day out down a sulphur mine. But he wanted a better future for his family. He never sought a handout. He looked for new opportunities to give his family a better life and once he settled in South Australia my grandfather got his first job at General Motors Holden, within the first week of his migration—a job that he proudly held for over 30 years until his retirement.

Both my grandfathers worked tirelessly for their family and for their children—my parents. They were not afraid to make tough decisions in their hope for a better future for their family, and I am proud of my grandparents, and, through their example, they have taught me the value of hard work, of ambition and of sheer determination for a more prosperous future. It is these values that have ultimately guided me to undertake this honourable responsibility. It is migrants and the children of migrants, like my grandparents, Vincenzo and Salvatore, and my parents, Mary and Tony, who have helped to make this state, and Hartley, great. It is these migrants who have inspired me to commit myself to public service today.

I was born and raised in South Australia and I was privileged enough to attend St Joseph's School, Payneham, a primary school founded by the Sisters of St Joseph in 1962. It began with 42 students and it has expanded to about 400 today, from preschool to year seven. I am truly grateful for the Catholic values that were instilled in me from a young age and I acknowledge Father Allen Winter, who was my first local parish priest. I am pleased that he is still there today serving his community as well as he did when I was at school. He tells me that I am his first MP to come out of his parish. It is also fitting to mention that my parents first met each other at that parish at the Feast of St Anthony held on the school grounds in 1974, they tell me.

My journey continued on to Rostrevor College where in my final year I was fortunate enough to be head prefect and dux of the college. That school was established by the Christian Brothers in 1923 as an extension of the facilities offered at CBC, Wakefield Street. The school borders the current boundary of Hartley, and its motto of Palma merenti—Latin for 'Reward to the one who earns it'— has always inspired me. It was good to see Ty Cheesman, my previous legal studies teacher, who by chance was in the gallery today hosting a group of school students, as I understand it.

After completing school I studied and graduated with degrees in law and commerce from the University of Adelaide and later went on to tutor in commercial and corporate law at that university in the business school. My studies were a good opportunity to serve my students and provide them with good advice to help them succeed. It is this passion for service to others that inspired me to work in many professional fields, including funds management and the legal and commercial sectors. It is also this passion that made me want to be involved in politics from a young age and to make this state and the electorate of Hartley great.

However, I make the point that I am certainly not a career politician, but I will serve this electorate and house hopefully for many years to come. I come to politics from the private sector. I have no union alliance; I have no political bloodline; but I have a long-term vision to improve my local area and this state. This path for me has been a choice that I have carefully considered and I have decided to undertake, leaving behind my immediate legal and commercial career. I am not afraid of hard work. My first job was at Foodland working for the Romeo family stacking shelves at the age of 13.

I made the decision to run for public office at age 23 and in late 2010 I was elected as a councillor of the City of Norwood, Payneham & St Peters, part of which lies in Hartley. It would be fitting of me to mention that I see two hard-working Norwood, Payneham and St Peters councillors in the gallery today, and I acknowledge the role that they have played in mentoring me and assisting me along the way—Councillor Minney and Councillor Duke. As a councillor, I believe I was able to help improve the vibrancy of the City of Norwood, Payneham & St Peters and I am proud of our work here, particularly in helping and lobbying for PISA (the Italian Meals on Wheels) to stay at its current premises in Firle.

I would like to acknowledge and thank the volunteers who keep that council area ticking (because they are the backbone of the community) as well as the tireless staff and elected members of that council. I would also like to acknowledge the City of Burnside and the City of Campbelltown which also lie in Hartley. I would like to specifically acknowledge the hardworking volunteers, the staff and elected members of those councils who I have worked with over many years and who together make our community a better place.

My membership in local council has certainly allowed me to participate in various local charitable, community and sporting groups, such as Faith Hope Charity, the breast cancer group that my mother, Mary (a remitted breast-cancer sufferer), founded which raises money for breast cancer research, patient care, and breast cancer awareness, proceeds of which are distributed to hospitals and institutions here within South Australia. I have watched my mother's organisation spring from small beginnings, to watching it gain corporate sponsorship, and I am proud to say that she has raised over $500,000 since the organisation was founded 10 years ago.

Throughout my time as a councillor, a candidate, and now as a member of this place, I have been privileged to support charities such as the Little Heroes Foundation supporting children battling cancer, and the St Vincent De Paul Society, and I am active in the Campbelltown Rotary Club, Payneham RSL and, of course, a proud follower of the Norwood Football Club.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mr TARZIA: I notice I was in the minority there, Deputy Speaker; in fact Deputy Speaker, I put it to the house that down the track perhaps the Address in Reply board could reflect the colours of the previous premiership team rather than what looks like black, white and teal.

It is estimated that philanthropic organisations receive over $2 billion each year and that the intended targets of many charities receive only 60¢ in every dollar that is donated. While Australia's charitable donation trends are increasing, Australia does not possess the ingrained philanthropic culture that is seen in countries such as the United States, for example. Research conducted a number of years ago shows that the US gives around 1.6 per cent of GDP per capita to not-for-profit organisations, whereas Australia gives just 0.7 per cent. I believe that as elected representatives we should always lead by example to participate in and promote these organisations and by doing so encourage members of our community to assume a degree of responsibility for their fellow compatriots, to lead from the front and partake in these organisations as many of our members from both sides of the chamber do already.

South Australia is a great state, but we are in a state that has been underperforming well below our best for at least the last 12 to 13 years. Let there be no misunderstanding: no one is more responsible for this calamity than the government sitting opposite me. Under this government South Australia is suffering under the highest taxes in the nation, the worst performing workers comp scheme in the nation, the worst small business conditions and confidence in the nation and spiralling public debt.

At the same time, South Australia's export market is dying. Over the past 12 years of this Labor government, our total number of exports has fallen from 7.5 per cent to 4.4 per cent of the national market. As a young professional I am passionate about ensuring that South Australian school and tertiary graduates are afforded the same opportunities of employment that other states enjoy. As the great Roman senator and advocate Cicero once said, 'Let the welfare of the people'—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: In Latin.

Mr TARZIA: In Latin? I could go for Italian, perhaps, Deputy Speaker. He said, 'Let the welfare of the people be the ultimate law.' Sadly, this ethos is not reflected in the approach taken by this government. Unemployment in South Australia is the highest of any mainland state and has risen to 7.1 per cent compared to the national average of 5.8, and this is obviously at a time when all other states are increasing their rate of employment. It is South Australia's highest unemployment rate in 12 years. And what about regional South Australia experiencing its highest unemployment rate in 14 years? In my electorate of Hartley one in five young people are unemployed—one in five—and this is in spite of the fact that my predecessor was minister for employment.

I spoke previously about the hard work and sacrifices of families like mine and others to migrate to help build this state. Liberal Party great and former premier Sir Thomas Playford is remembered for bringing new industries and new migrants to build our great state because he understood that bold decisions had to be made to secure our future and with it create new jobs and prosperity. The current government will be remembered for abandoning South Australia's long-term economic future and investment for short-term political fixes by engaging in public spending projects which they do not have the revenue to sustain.

As a result of the corrosive impact of the government's policies they risk losing a generation of young professionals and workers to other states and overseas. For example, since this government first took office, over 34,000 South Australians have migrated interstate, many of them young people. As the youngest member of this place and as a member of South Australia's emerging workforce, I regret to inform you that many have already left us and unfortunately will not be coming back. What remains of my generation will be paying for this government's recklessness and poor economic management, for many years to come.

How is an economy supposed to thrive, rebuild and prosper when the productive element of its economy, that is, our young brains trust, our graduates, our up-and-comers, are rapidly leaving, as they are? Our state simply cannot prosper when only a diminishing few do well. Prosperity rests upon every child in South Australia having an opportunity to have the same start, the same chance, to achieve their ambitions.

For 12 years this government has ignored the increasingly obvious signs that are written on the wall, that South Australia's reliance on manufacturing and agribusiness exports alone will no longer sustain South Australia's revenue base. This government has done nothing to improve the efficiency and productivity of our labour market. It should be of no surprise to any member of this place that in a developed economy which has traditionally relied on certain industries, that in a period of changing times and markets these industries cannot continue to support our economy on their own. The job opportunities in these areas, which people like my grandparents grasped, are not new industries and new opportunities are required.

I believe it is time for all South Australians to increasingly look to other sectors, like the resources sector, to guarantee long-term investment and job creation. I believe for too long South Australia has missed out on this opportunity. Have a look at the Angas Zinc Mine and BHP Billiton's decision to shelve the Olympic Dam expansion. The list goes on and on. By now we could have had one of the largest producers of minerals, particularly uranium.

In the midst of these disastrous and shameful truths about the ills this state suffers sits a government that has done nothing to address these problems. It has become clear to me, while observing this government over the past 12 years, that only the Liberal Party has the appetite and the dedication to change our current direction and avoid the cliff from which we are about to fall economically.

I am determined as a member of this place to do all I can to rectify the problems that our great state faces. I do not fear these problems; I welcome the opportunity to help solve them and I stand before you as a breath of fresh air in this place. I believe we must invest more in research and development to harness our new ideas and our technology, alter our tax laws, improve our schools and hospitals, and implore and empower our citizens to learn more, to reach higher and to get the state moving again.

Hartley is a hard working, multicultural electorate. A significant proportion of people are from migrant families, with 48 per cent having both parents born overseas and 35 per cent speak two or more languages. Hartley is one of the most religious electorates, with a strong Judeo-Christian population comprising almost 50 per cent of the electorate, and there is barely a weekend that does not feature a fair, a fete, a Festa, a festival or a fundraiser.

Members interjecting:

Mr TARZIA: Lots of F words there. Hartley's diversity is shown, with 11.4 per cent of households in Hartley speaking fluent Italian, as I try to from time to time. Hartley is a true representation of the vibrant cultural diversity that exists in 21st century South Australia. It covers about 15.5 square kilometres and includes suburbs like Campbelltown, Felixstow, Glynde, Hectorville, Kensington Gardens, Tranmere, Magill, Auldana, Rosslyn Park and parts of Payneham and Paradise.

Hartley is an electorate that is blessed with many outstanding local businesses—over 500 in total—which employ thousands of South Australians, and with an array of local cafes. Where would I be without the hundreds of macchiatos that I consumed during the election period. There is something for everyone in Hartley. In the south of the electorate, Penfolds Magill Estate Winery and Restaurant is one of the state's premium food destinations and is located in the heart of Hartley. For the sweet tooths there are endless locations—for example, Robern Menz, home of FruChocs. There are families like the Capaldos at Glynde Mitre 10, which has recently been recognised for its excellence within the hardware industry at the Hardware Association of South Australia Awards.

Areas like Glynde showcase a plethora of Australia's finest food manufacturers, including Gelato Bello, Nuts About Food, AR Ravioli and La Casa Del Formaggio. Furthermore, the continental stores in the seat are some of the best in Australia. It was very hard to keep the weight off during the election campaign. Have a look at Pasta Deli, the Italian Place and il Mercato, for example.

Hartley was named after John Anderson Hartley, who established the system of compulsory education in South Australia in 1875, and the seat was created in the electoral redistribution of 1976. On behalf of my volunteers, I am proud to say that Hartley now has the worst Labor vote since 1993 and the best Liberal two-party preferred vote since 1993, and we won it with a commitment to help improve the area for all residents of Hartley.

During the course of my campaign it was a privilege to hear the views of my constituents that impact their day-to-day lives and to fight for their causes. Whilst there are many local issues, I was especially honoured and privileged to stand beside Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the local federal member and minister, Hon. Christopher Pyne, during the campaign to announce funding to build a fully developed Campbelltown leisure centre, with an eight-lane FINA qualified swimming pool, so that the children of Hartley can have the opportunity to learn how to swim, in Campbelltown, in Hartley.

Backing sport in our community is a good thing, especially in our youth, for sport teaches children about winning and losing, about discipline and about keeping fit and healthy. I am proud to say that it did these things for me when I won my first premiership with the Payneham Norwood Union Football Club many years ago, and that amongst other things, the state Liberal Party made a significant commitment to the Hectorville Sports and Community Club at the last state election.

Traffic in the electorate is a concerning issue, and I am proud to say, as many would view if they drove through the electorate today, that we were successful in lobbying the current government to upgrade the Magill Road/Glynburn Road intersection, which has been plagued with congestion problems. I also particularly highlight the need for a solution for better parking in Paradise. It is vital that the proposed McNally development has a traffic management plan. We also experienced a change in planning initiatives during the course of the campaign, particularly in Felixstow and Paradise, with the community's concerns being heard and listened to.

Preventing a substation from being built in residential Glynde continues to be an ongoing cause which we must keep fighting for, and I welcome the government's election commitment—and we will hold them to account—to relocate the substation to an alternative industrial site. I welcome the Italian government's decision to keep the Italian consulate open in Adelaide.

I believe that the best life we can lead is in the service of others. I grew up in and around the seat of Hartley; it is where I live and the place that has given my family and our community so much, and it is time to give something back. While we make a living by what we get, we certainly make a life by what we give back. I want to bring a positive change to the people of Hartley and for the people of South Australia. Our community can be better.

I am committed to the people of Hartley because there is no reason why Hartley cannot be stronger than ever before. It is this drive to serve others that made me want to enter public life. It is this drive that has drawn me to the Liberal Party. A key objective of the Liberal Party as set out in our constitution is to:

…[encourage] individual initiative and enterprise as the dynamic force of progress…In which the youth of the nation is given every encouragement to develop its talents to the full, recognising that from its ranks will come the leaders of tomorrow…[and] in which family life is seen as fundamental to the well-being of society, and in which every family is enabled to live in and preferably to own a comfortable home at reasonable cost, and with adequate community amenities.

Sir Robert Menzies, our longest-serving prime minister, thought of the Liberal Party as a:

…progressive party, willing to make experiments, in no sense reactionary but believing in the individual, his rights and his enterprise.

He also stated that:

If liberalism stands for anything, and young liberalism above all, it's for a passion to contribute to the nation.

History shows us that our society and our government interact at its best when the size and impact of our government is curtailed and free enterprise is encouraged. Governments have a duty to empower private enterprise to succeed to expand the economy. State owned and operated industries cannot alone sustain an economy into the future. It is only through the drive and industrious energy of the individual that truly drive the direction of our economy. For too long in South Australia that drive has been stifled and crushed by mismanagement, by red tape and by the carelessness of this government.

As a Liberal, I believe in equal opportunity for all South Australians and the encouragement and facilitation of wealth so that all may enjoy the highest possible standards of living, in health, in education and in social justice. I believe we should certainly fight for a free market but ensure there are rules to ensure competition and fair play, and care for the most vulnerable in our community. It is this dedication to giving back and to making sensible decisions that inspired me to help the people of Hartley and to make our state more prosperous.

The recent election was a challenge for all involved, and I would like to sincerely thank the people of Hartley for their support. I would also like to thank my family for their tireless work behind the scenes. To the charities, community groups like Probus, Lions and Rotary, the sporting clubs, the churches, and many others who have supported me, to my campaign manager, Sue Lawrie, the relentless lioness of the state Liberal Party, who is with us here today, and to those who helped me with my campaign: without your work and support, this would not be possible.

I am proud to stand here and say that my volunteers and I door knocked every street in Hartley, with no union alliance. I am proud to represent Hartley in this parliament, to make this state once again prosperous and to make South Australia even greater. I pledge myself completely and wholly to the people and institutions of Hartley so long as they deem me fortunate enough to represent them.

In closing, I would like to thank those who made it possible for me to have the privilege and honour of representing the people of Hartley in the South Australian parliament. I thank God. I thank my sister, Therese, who yesterday graduated from the University of Adelaide with her Graduate Diploma in Nursing. I thank my girlfriend Charissa for her love and her support and, of course, my parents and both of our families for the long road they have supported us along, and for the love and support that they have given us. As you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and other members before me know, public life can certainly be demanding on our families and friends, and I would like to thank them for their ongoing love and support of my pursuit to make Hartley and this state great.

I thank the members of my party and my financial donors for the trust they place in us. Further, I thank some state and federal members of parliament for their assistance during my political career, primarily the member for Dunstan. While some would like to remain anonymous—and I will respect that, they know who they are—I would also like to mention the federal member for Sturt, the Hon. Christopher Pyne, as Hartley is completely within the federal electorate of Sturt. I acknowledge the Hons Simon Birmingham and Rob Lucas, and the members for Bragg, Morialta and Unley.

Finally, I pledge to represent this place and the people of Hartley with a sense of duty, honour, gratitude and humility. I will stay hungry for the people of Hartley and hungry for the people of South Australia. I will be fighting for an economic recovery of this state from this place with a long-term view, with youth and drive, with diversity and openness, with an appetite for calculated risk and an aspiration for reinvention. I will continually ask what I can do for this state and what I can do for Hartley, and the job will not be done unless all that can be done has been done. I will help lead this state with good conscience. And may history, Deputy Speaker, be the ultimate, the final judge of our deeds.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT