Wednesday, 21 September 2022

 Mr T SMITH (Kew) (10:01): I wish to thank the electors of Kew, who have elected me twice to this place, particularly in 2018 when I was the only Liberal elected amongst four state seats which overlap the federal seat of Kooyong. I thank the Liberal Party. I thank my staff, Jen, Helen and Vanessa Brown, who has done an amazing job. I particularly want to thank the federal vice-president of the party and someone who has put up with working with me for six years, Caroline Inge, her son Ander and her sister Cathryn. I must also thank my family, my parents, Colin and Deanne Smith, and my sister’s family for their love and support. I must also thank my federal parliamentary colleagues whose friendship over the last year will never be forgotten—Michael Sukkar, Alan Tudge, Sarah Henderson and my friends from north of the border Senator Jacinta Price and that legend Senator Hollie Hughes. I also want to thank former health minister Greg Hunt, former High Commissioner to the UK George Brandis, my dear friend and mentor the 28th Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, as well as former foreign minister Alexander Downer and his family, particularly Georgie and Will. I must also thank my friends in this place and the other place, the members for Benambra and Croydon, Matt Bach, Bev McArthur and her husband Stewart. I also wish to thank John Roskam, the Kemp family and Dan Feldman.

The existential threat to the world is not climate change; it is the regimes in Tehran, Moscow and Beijing. With the time that I have left, I fear that our country’s best days are behind us, not in front of us. As Churchill said, I feel we are going to once again have to arm ourselves, ‘be ye men of valour’ and stand for what we know is right: truth, justice and freedom.