Hansard debates

  Ms ALLAN (Bendigo East) -- I move:
That the following address in reply to the speech of His Excellency the Governor
to both houses of Parliament be agreed to by this house:
Your Excellency:

We, the  Legislative  Assembly  of Victoria  assembled  in Parliament,  wish  to
express our loyalty to our Sovereign and to thank Your Excellency for the speech
which you have made to the Parliament.
I am proud to stand in this chamber today as the new member for Bendigo East and
as  the  first  Labor  member  to  represent that  electorate  in  the Victorian
Parliament. I am also proud  to be here today  as  the first woman to  represent
Bendigo  in  any Australian Parliament.  I  am delighted to  enter the Victorian
Parliament in a historic year in which for  the first  time Australians have the
opportunity to vote for an Australian head of state.
I thank the people of Bendigo for electing me as their representative.

I assure them  that  my  key purpose in  being  a  member of  Parliament  is  to
demonstrate  that  the best politicians  are  those who  see  themselves as true
representatives  of their electorates  --  that means  caring  about the people,
listening to the people and speaking out for  the people. I intend to listen, to
discuss and to  be a voice for the  people  of Bendigo East. I intend  to make a
difference for them.
Mr  Speaker,  I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your appointment. I
congratulate the Premier,  the  Honourable  Steve Bracks, on forming government.
The government will give  a fair go to all  Victorians. As a country  member  of
Parliament I  say that after seven  years of city-blinkered  coalition  rule the
government's distinctive role  will be to recognise and appreciate the people of
country Victoria, to place their needs back on the political agenda and to bring
them back into the decision-making process.

As the first  symbol of what is important to me as the member for Bendigo East I
wear on my lapel  the well-recognised  poppet head  -- the logo for Bendigo, the
city I was born in, live in,  work in, love and now represent. Bendigo is a city
with a golden past  -- a past that  includes  at least three generations  of  my
family. Geographically my  electorate of Bendigo East includes the urban area of
Bendigo, including the central business district, a number of semi-rural suburbs
that lie  on the outskirts of the  city, and its borders stretch  out to include
the small towns of Axedale,  Goornong, Bridgewater and Raywood. It is a regional
centre that  services many  small towns  and is recognised as the capital of its
region.
Bendigo  is an educational centre that boasts high-quality primary and secondary
schools, a campus of La Trobe University and the Bendigo  Regional  Institute of
TAFE.  It  is  a  centre for essential health services. The Bendigo Health  Care
Group is Bendigo's biggest employer, and employs approximately 2200 people.

Bendigo  provides  excellent and  wide-ranging  health  and  community services,
including Loddon  Mallee  Women's  Health, Bendigo Community Health Services and
many other  agencies,  which  provide care and support to our local and regional
community.
Bendigo is a key centre  for the arts, proudly boasting a magnificently restored
art gallery,  the  historic  Capital  Theatre,  a  number  of  smaller  regional
galleries and a very talented population of musicians, dancers, singers, actors,
writers and artists.  It is  a great sporting town. It has many premier sporting
facilities and is known for developing talented sportsmen and sportswomen across
every sporting field. The city  is  surrounded by a beautiful and unique natural
environment  that needs  to  be  carefully  preserved  and  nurtured,  which  is
especially  important  given  the  pressures  associated  with development  that
regional centres such as Bendigo are facing.

The city  is a  major employment centre. Its people  and its  economy need  more
jobs. Regional development, which was just a public relations exercise under the
previous  administration, has to  be  and  will  be  a  priority  of  the  Labor
government. The former Kennett government and its federal colleagues have played
havoc with jobs in the traditional areas of manufacturing, heavy engineering and
the public service in the Bendigo district. The former Premier had 

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become so remote from the thinking on  jobs of  Bendigo people  that he  boasted
during  the election campaign that he  was  a  prime  mover  behind  the  Howard
government's privatisation of  Australian Defence Industries  -- once  Bendigo's
biggest employer.
My electorate of  Bendigo East experiences many  of the social difficulties that
many  towns  and  regions in country Australia  are  experiencing.  Conservative
government slash-and-burn  policies have been  devastating for  Bendigo, leaving
the town with an unemployment level of  11.9 per cent. The figures  are worse in
the rural areas that bound Bendigo,  including  some that fall in my electorate.
Youth  unemployment is  above 30  per cent in my region -- an unacceptable level
for any community.
Bendigo's  traditional  work force  has  been ravaged  because  of  the previous
government's policies of privatisation and public-sector downsizing.

Labor estimates that 1800 jobs have  been  lost  to the Bendigo district through
Kennett and Howard government sell-offs and cuts to the public sector.
Country Victoria led a voting revolution at the recent  election.  People  in my
electorate  said to me time and again, 'The Kennett government cares only  about
Melbourne. We are being forgotten and  left behind'.  That was not a myth. There
are many  symbols of  the  past seven  years that  represent the  legacy of  the
Kennett government and its impact on country Victoria. It was not a myth that 98
per  cent of all jobs  growth  in Victoria in  the  past  financial year was  in
Melbourne. It  was not a  myth that  all of  the $2.1  billion major  government
projects  were  located  in  Melbourne  and that  none  was  located in  country
Victoria.
Country communities lost their local councils  and shires, and the  related jobs
were taken from their towns.

It is hard to imagine a more  poignant symbol than the closing of a town hall in
a country town.
The symbols of the previous government's policies  on country Victoria were  its
taxes and  tolls;  the  closure of 176 country schools and 12 country hospitals;
the closing  down of five  country train lines; the  relentless privatisation of
Victoria's public assets;  and the user-pays  charges that made the  public pay,
regardless of its ability to do so, for services that were formerly free because
they had already been paid for in taxes.
The legacy of the previous government is that it has left the economy of country
Victoria  depressed and has  driven  jobs and  development  from the country  to
Melbourne. Country Victorians did not share  in the much-promoted  turnaround in
Victoria's economy.

On the contrary, country Victorians were among the prime losers under the regime
of economic rationalism that the Kennett government turned loose on the country.
Country  people  rejected  the ethics  of  the  philosophy  behind  the  claimed
turnaround.  They saw that it was  based on the slashing of services and jobs in
the country and drew its revenue from closing country schools  and hospitals and
selling off Victoria's great public assets. The privatisation of the electricity
industry is the prime example, with the resultant loss of jobs  and services  to
country  regions  and the removal  of  the uniform electricity  tariff  that had
protected country consumers in the past.
The  second  symbol I wear today  is  my Emily's List brooch.  As I have already
stated, I am the first woman to represent Bendigo in Parliament, and I thank the
women of Emily's List for  their support in helping me  achieve that. I wear the
symbol because I am committed to equality for women.

Emily's List  is not just an idea, it is a program for action; and it has at its
helm and in its ranks committed people who have shown they get results.
Parliaments across Australia are electing women in greater numbers; however, the
numbers remain far  from  equal.  It  is  extremely  important that the ranks of
parliamentarians reflect the  make-up of the  society  they represent,  be  they
urban or  rural,  young  or  old,  male  or  female,  gay,  indigenous  or  from
non-English-speaking backgrounds.
I am delighted that the election resulted in women entering Parliament in record
numbers. I  am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to ensure  that
every piece of legislation has been considered for its impact on  women. We will
be  initiating legislation  to  empower and assist  the  lives of all  Victorian
women.

Young people  in our community  are  finding it increasingly  difficult  to have
their voices heard  by decision-makers and community  leaders. Our youth are  an
amazingly diverse collection of people who are often more aware of global issues
than other members of the community.  The  issues young people face are affected
by  where  they live, their  education  and their employment  situations. As the
youngest member of  the chamber I welcome  the challenge of  representing  young
people in all their variety and in all their diverse needs and aspirations.
In my electorate of Bendigo East I represent young people who  are at school, at
work, unemployed, single, married, with children, without children, on the farm,
or at university or TAFE. My commitment to them is that 

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I  will not lecture or prejudge  them on what I, personally, may happen to think
is important to youth, because  all our experiences are  different and therefore
unique. What young  people  want, and what they  have  told me they want,  is  a
member of Parliament who  will listen to their concerns, understand their issues
and work hard to improve  their  opportunities,  whether they live in a regional
city or a country town.  I intend to do my  very best to ensure their  voice  is
heard in state Parliament.
For the record I would like to state the political and ethical values that  will
help direct my actions  and  guide  me  as I fulfil my role  as  the  member for
Bendigo East.
First and foremost I believe in equality: equality  before the law, equality for
women and equality of opportunity.

I  believe that no matter where  they live, no matter what family they were born
into  or no matter what school they went  to,  all people must be given the same
opportunities in life. In saying that I believe it  is the role of government to
ensure that all in our society are given equal opportunities.
I believe in a  universal public  health system and a public education system. I
believe  governments have  a  particular role  in  helping low-income people  by
providing  services to individuals and to groups of people in our community  who
cannot afford them.
Governments also  have  a  responsibility  to  ensure there is a fairer and more
equitable   outcome   for   its   citizens   than  that   provided   under   the
winners-and-losers mentality of the previous government.  The ideas and policies
of that government were just a prescription for social vandalism.

I say that because over the  past seven  years the  prevailing philosophy was to
withdraw government from the provision of basic services  and  to leave the task
of  filling  that  void  to the  blind  forces  of the market.  It  is  a flawed
philosophy that ignores a government's responsibilities to its community.
I am the daughter of workers. My father and mother taught me the importance of a
strong  union movement in  protecting  the wages and  conditions  of workers.  I
believe in the role of the union movement in the industrial system and I believe
strongly that the rights of workers must be protected.
I believe in respect for  other people  -- their values, their beliefs and their
history  -- and  I  believe in  honesty and  openness, both  in my  own personal
interactions and with my community.

I   believe  strongly  in  the  role  and  rights  of  the  community   in   the
decision-making process. However,  for community members to  play a role  we  as
legislators must ensure that  they have the opportunity to participate. Over the
past  seven years that opportunity  has been taken  away  from communities. They
were  disenfranchised and robbed of  a  role and a real  voice  in the making of
decisions. Communities became disenchanted  and alienated from their legislators
at  both  the state  and  local  government levels.  Local  government  lost its
representative function and became just another agency of Spring Street.
I believe in practice the best decisions are made after members of the community
have  had the  opportunity  to  participate and  had  their  ideas and  concerns
listened to  and  given due recognition.  In  addition, the democratic  idea  of
community involves consultation  and participation as an essential ingredient in
advancing the wellbeing of people who share common goals.

I see the election of the Bracks Labor government as a decisive rejection of Big
Brother bureaucracy and as the vital restoration of the concept of community and
public life in Victoria.
These values will underpin  my  actions  as  the  member  for  Bendigo  East.  I
recognise the privilege that position grants me. I  want to make a difference in
my electorate of Bendigo East, and I look forward to implementing the program of
reforms endorsed by Victorians at the state election -- and specifically, in the
case of  my  electorate,  the  Bendigo  Plan.  The  Bendigo  Plan makes jobs and
economic development its highest priority.  It includes a  range of developments
that will  enhance Bendigo's social, economic  and cultural growth.  It embraces
the  development  of a high-tech,  small  business incubator and  is designed to
attract more companies to set up in Bendigo.

I look forward to helping rebuild our education and health systems, particularly
in rural and  regional areas.  I also  look forward,  with my colleagues and the
community,  to bringing a faster train  link to  Bendigo and  to other  parts of
regional Victoria.
I wish to record the anger my electorate felt at the discrimination dealt out by
the  previous government against motorists  driving into Melbourne  via the City
Link from Bendigo and the Calder corridor. The City Link toll on the Tullamarine
Freeway is an entry tax into Melbourne. It is an unfair Melbourne entry tax that
is levied on central Victoria alone. No other country region in  the state faces
paying an entry tax  into the capital  city.  The Kennett government  compounded
that  injustice  by  also giving  Transurban,  the operators of  City  Link, the
authority to inflict an anti-country day pass  that costs country people without
an e-tag a flat rate of $7 a day to visit Melbourne and $14 to stay 

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overnight.  Transurban's toll  system  is a rip-off  of  central Victorians  and
country people and  Transurban  must  change  it.  That  is the clear and direct
message from the election in Bendigo and central Victoria.
The catchment management tax is a powerful symbol to  country  Victorians of the
previous  government's  attitude. It is  levied  on country people  alone. It is
double taxation that  charges people for  government functions they have already
paid for. The tax makes country  people  foot  the  bill  for  the  government's
withdrawal of funding from environment works. Country people will be ecstatic at
the Labor government's abolition of that tax.
During  the current  term of  government I  want to work  with the  community on
issues that affect youth, and more specifically the employment opportunities for
youth  in regional Victoria.  The  issue needs urgent  attention because in many
cases employment status defines the roles of young people in our communities.

When they do  not have  jobs their  hopes fade  and social  problems arise.  The
future  of regional and rural communities depends increasingly  on youth finding
employment in their own towns.
In  looking to the  future  I take the opportunity  to  reflect on the  past.  I
acknowledge  the contribution made  to the electorate by the previous honourable
member for Bendigo East, Michael John. He served the Bendigo electorate for four
terms  -- 14 years -- and I wish him  and his family  all the very  best for the
future.  I thank him on behalf  of all the constituents  of Bendigo East for the
work he has done for the electorate.
The most important thankyou I have is to my parents, Glenda and Peter. They have
given me love, support, guidance and a good solid Labor upbringing.

My thanks go to  them for working hard to  provide me with educational  and work
opportunities  and most importantly the self-belief and  confidence  to  achieve
what I  set out to achieve. That is why Labor governments  are important. It was
successive Labor governments that confirmed for ordinary workers the belief that
they were equal citizens, that regardless  of family income their children could
have an education, that their families would have access to a  universal  public
health  system and that their wages and conditions were secured and protected in
law.
Without the reforms initiated  by governments led by  Gough Whitlam, Bob  Hawke,
Paul Keating, John Cain and Joan Kirner, and without the support of my family, I
would not be here today to join the new Bracks Labor government to  continue the
great  tradition  of Labor  governments  --  governments  that  care  about  and
understand the community.

I also thank my brother,  Bradley, and his family for their support. I thank Ben
for his love, support, patience and belief. There are many other people to thank
for the role they played in my recent election as the member for Bendigo East. I
give  a very  big heartfelt  thankyou to  my campaign  team lead  by my campaign
director, Marty Stradbrook, and my tireless campaign worker, Peter Stevenson. In
addition I thank David Kennedy, a former member for Bendigo West in  this place,
who  retains boundless  enthusiasm  for  politics  and  put  great  energy  into
assisting my campaign.
Thank  you, too,  to the  sitting member for Bendigo West, Bob Cameron,  for his
guidance  and  advice.  I  take  the  opportunity  to  congratulate  Bob  on his
appointment  as minister. I  also  acknowledge the role  of  Steve Gibbons,  the
federal member  for Bendigo; the Victorian Branch of the Australian Labor Party;
and Andrew McKenzie and my entire hardworking campaign team.

Finally, I  thank the people of Bendigo for their support. In the months leading
up  to the  election I  embarked on  a massive  program of  doorknocking  in  my
electorate. I was overwhelmed by the positive response I received from people at
their front  doors.  Even  if their political allegiances were more in line with
those on  the other  side of the chamber I  was welcomed  and treated  extremely
well. I mention  that because  I believe  we can have political discourse in our
electorates in an  open, sensible and  respectful manner. Our  constituents have
not been  duped with  a 30-second  television grab  or  a slick  campaign. As  I
doorknocked throughout my electorate people were pleased to discuss  their ideas
and their concerns with someone who was prepared to listen. I intend to continue
to listen to the issues and  concerns of the people of Bendigo East.  I am their
representative  in this chamber, and I will continue to work hard, talk  to them
and listen to what they believe is important.
As members of Parliament we are the servants of the people in our electorates.

We must communicate with  them  in  an  open and intelligent manner, not isolate
them from the political process or seek  them out only during the  four weeks of
an election campaign.
With  the election of the Bracks Labor government we will  see  more  engagement
with the community and a reinstatement of democracy. The Bendigo  East community
will  be empowered by having the ear of the government, through its local member
-- a government which will not quash, ridicule or isolate voices of 

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dissent and which will  give back to the community its independent watchdog, the
Auditor-General.
I am excited and exhilarated  about representing the people of Bendigo East, and
my excitement has been sustained by  the support  of the community. Bendigo is a
close community that takes pride in the achievements of its citizens.
Since the election people have stopped me in the street, contacted my office, my
home   or  my  parents'  home,  or  written  letters  with  hearty  messages  of
congratulations, all  of which has  been  encouraging and uplifting  and shows I
have the support of my electorate to assist me in my work. I want to be a member
of Parliament whom  people feel able to stop on the  street to say hello. I want
to be  accessible to my constituents through my office. My electorate is looking
forward to having  a  Labor  government  in  office  again  and  a  Labor member
representing their electorate.

The  support  from  the  Bendigo  East  community also indicates that we --  the
government and the community in partnership -- will be able to work  together to
build on the opportunities in Bendigo and the surrounding region.
I would  like to  thank the  people of  Bendigo  for  their  support before  the
election  and their pleasure following  my election. Although Bendigo is a large
city  that continues  to grow, it retains the  personal contact  of a  town much
smaller. It is a unique place, one in which I love to live, and I now have pride
in saying that I represent it in Parliament.
I wish to highlight the importance of democracy in our parliamentary  system  to
our  way  of  life  as  Victorians  and  Australians. Our democratic system is a
precious inheritance that has been fought for by  past  generations. It is based
on the principle that all people are equal,  are born  free and have fundamental
rights.

There  are not many countries in the world where such liberties are  recognised.
In our  region  Indonesia  is struggling to achieve such freedoms after years of
military dictatorship,  and  East Timor has  now  finally and painfully  won its
freedom  from  the same  tyranny.  Our democracy needs  to  be strengthened  and
invigorated. Parliament must be a  genuine expression of the will of the people,
and it must be able to respond to change for the benefit of the whole community.
Parliament needs to deliver results  to the  public. It  also needs to deal with
the  gap between  the wealthy and the rest of the community, which has increased
in  recent  years. It must cater to the grassroots, ordinary citizens  who  have
come to feel  disenfranchised and angry over recent years, particularly  country
Victorians. Country Victorians believe in democracy, and  they will not tolerate
being taken for granted or treated as second-class citizens. That is the one big
message  the election sent to this Parliament. I am  proud to be here today as a
member of the Parliament that will listen to this message.

Mr McNamara --  On  a point of order,  Mr Speaker, I refrained  from  making any
comment  during  the  honourable member's address but I ask you whether at their
briefing, new members were  advised  of the traditions of the house that members
giving inaugural speeches are heard in silence -- which was the case -- and that
the speeches are not party political.