Wednesday, 9 February 2022

Members

Ms Burnett-Wake

Inaugural speech

Ms BURNETT-WAKE (Eastern Victoria) (17:08): It is an honour and privilege to be standing before you today as the new Liberal member of the Legislative Council for the Eastern Victoria Region. I am humbled by my selection, and the gravity of the responsibilities that come with this position are certainly foremost in my mind. I wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the Eastern Victoria Region, which is home to the Boon Wurrung, the Gunnai/Kurnai and the Wurundjeri people, and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.

I am the first Liberal Party woman to represent the Eastern Victoria Region. Seeing more women in politics and holding senior positions across the board is something I am passionate about. I take over from the Honourable Edward O’Donohue. Edward has done so much for the Liberal Party, its members and the communities of Eastern Victoria Region. Taking into account his generous and significant contribution, there is no doubt he will be deeply missed. I will strive to serve the Liberal Party, its members and the community by maintaining the same high standards set by Edward. Thank you for your service, Edward, and the support and friendship you have extended to me.

In his inaugural speech in 2006 Edward spoke on several topics that are as relevant today as they were then. One topic that struck particularly close to home was his mention of the Latrobe Valley’s brown coal industry, the baseload power generation. Growing up in Yallourn North, every day for the first 21 years of my life I woke to the droning hum of the Yallourn power station. The hum was part of our everyday lives, and we considered ourselves lucky that the wind rarely carried the stench of the paper mill in our direction. It may sound like the backdrop to an awful childhood, but it was anything but. My father and my grandfather worked at the power station and had a journey to work free from traffic jams or overcrowded trains, and I had the privilege of growing up in the countryside with all the joys and difficulties that it brings. I could safely walk to the local school, ride bikes or horseride with my friends and cousins, build cubbyhouses in the bush and spend summer days swimming in the local creeks, rivers and lakes. We did not have a care in the world. It was a truly idyllic childhood.

Today the power station is in wind-down, along with the employment that it once provided. We see adverse economic and social consequences, particularly in Morwell. A once-thriving country town is now in decline, with businesses leaving and increasing social problems. As I learned growing up, it is possible for a country lifestyle and heavy industry to coexist. That said, over the last 20 years wind turbines have sprung up on our hills and solar panels cover our roofs. Where is the local manufacturing industry to support these innovations? Furthermore, where in the Eastern Victoria Region is the long-term, secure employment that ordinary people can build a life around? There is still the traditional economy of the region—agriculture, forestry, fishing, other natural resources and of course tourism. As in 2006, the region was faced with numerous challenges and yet offered many opportunities. There is no escaping the fact that the region’s future must also include technology and innovation-based businesses that can contribute to economic stability and expand youth employment opportunities.

I was forced to leave the Latrobe Valley to find employment in a job that aligned with my interest in the law and my determination to leave the world a better place than I found it. I started out at ASIC followed by time working in the then migration and refugee tribunal as a case officer, where I got my first taste of reading and understanding complex legislation and policy guidelines. It was there that I grew to understand the true role and importance of migration in Australia’s future and how important it is for legislators to make clear and unambiguous laws founded in sound policy objectives. Well-founded policy and the precise wording of legislation can make an enormous difference. Having frequently been in the position of interpreting law and making decisions in accordance with the law I have gained an appreciation of how hard legislators and experts work to create it.

It is sometimes forgotten that it was a Liberal government that championed postwar migration from Europe and later a war-torn South-East Asia in the 1970s. It was also a Liberal government that acceded to the refugee convention in 1954. Migration has been of tremendous value to Victoria, perhaps more than any other state. Targeted skilled migration programs are a means to bring the best people from around the world to our region, where they can help our businesses succeed and share their knowledge and skills whilst enriching our culture.

Both my grandmothers migrated to Australia from Scotland with their families. They came here for a better life. They were the matriarchs of the families and have left a long legacy behind them. My paternal grandmother had 11 children. My maternal grandmother had eight. I have 41 first cousins; all of my cousins have children. Our family reunions are very large. I was fortunate enough to have my maternal grandparents, whom we called Nanna and Poppa, live with us while growing up. My nanna was a woman who worked hard all her life. She worked tirelessly for her family, the most important thing to her. It was her work ethic and dedication that provided the foundation of my belief that strong families provide the best hope for our children. Strong families, whatever their size and shape, enable individuals to thrive and contribute. It is certainly true of my family, and to this day any member of my family, be they aunt, uncle or cousin, I know I could pick up the phone and they would be there to help.

In addition to receiving support from my family I have received much support from many, many members of the Liberal Party. The Honourable Jason Wood, who I first met back in 2003, has been a good friend and will always go out of his way to help not just me but anyone in need. Steve McArthur has also been a wonderful support, and I thank him for that and his mentorship. Donalea Patman, Ranj Perera, Jenny Fernandes, Sarah and Ray Krumins, John Schurink, Margaret Fitzpatrick and Matt Reid, thank you for your support too. Another person is Holly Byrne, who I met some 13 years ago. Holly is the Victorian Liberal Party’s female vice-president. Her commitment, her integrity and her willingness to mentor and support women in politics is commendable. Thank you for your support and friendship, Holly. I would also like to thank the many other Liberal Party members in the Monbulk and Evelyn state electorate conferences and those beyond who gave me support along the way. You know who you are. Thank you for the support and advice.

My nanna was always forthright when sharing her opinions. You always knew where you stood with Nanna. She lived to the age of 102, and she told me the secret of her long life on her 100th birthday—but as for what that was, that is a story for another time. What I will say is that I am proud to have inherited her passion and tenacity, and this extends to belief in liberal values—the true liberal values that the party was founded on: fundamental freedoms, democracy, equality before the law, the importance of family, opportunity in a tolerant and diverse society, free enterprise and small, decentralised government.

Now as then, small businesses offer a hope of prosperity for anyone prepared to work hard. When businesses succeed, communities grow and prosper. The prevalence of job opportunities offers hope for young people to remain in the eastern region if they wish to do so. That is important to me. Like all parents, I want my children to be able to live prosperous lives and have a safe and secure future. But the world today would have seemed inconceivable in 2006. We can only guess what they will experience in the future and do our best to prepare for it. We can look to the past for lessons, but we cannot go back there. The only certainty in life is change. When Edward spoke of democracy in his inaugural speech, he could hardly have imagined the threat that it would face from out-of-control social media, fake news and illusory truths and from those who seek to use the media as a weapon to destroy democracy itself.

As a councillor I learned to cut through the noise of the internet by going out and listening to people and hearing their concerns personally. After the devastating storm the Dandenong Ranges experienced in June of last year—the worst in a century—large parts of my local community were left without power and telecommunications for weeks and in some cases months. I want to thank the councillors of Yarra Ranges council, the CEO and staff, who all worked tirelessly from day one to relieve the disaster and who are still working even now to clear and repair the damage. Many hazardous trees still must be removed before tourism can properly reopen.

When it comes to matters of the environment and conservation, each area is unique. Applying a single uniform policy to every region is not the way to create prosperity. We must encourage industries that will be essential for our communities to prosper but must also strive to secure our national heritage and national environment now and for future generations. We should aim to do better than allowing highly polluting industries on people’s doorsteps, near schools or in other areas of outstanding natural beauty or environmental significance. If we manage development in a sustainable way, it can create a net benefit for the environment and community.

Ensuring that development is beneficial to the local people requires them to be heard. My experiences on Yarra Ranges Council showed me that LGAs are a precious resource. They are our partners in government. If we listen carefully to them, we can hear exactly what is troubling the residents in each area.

The eastern region has been financially devastated by the pandemic as well as storms, floods and bushfires. Areas that depend on tourism have seen two years of little to no revenue, and many businesses have failed as a result. In the last two years across the region we have seen some of the worst storms, floods and fires in history. In the face of the relentless disasters we must be prepared. Our infrastructure must be resilient. Power and telecommunication providers need stronger incentives to build robust systems.

I want to take this opportunity to thank and pay tribute to the many valiant emergency workers, firefighters and volunteers who give so much of themselves in the face of these adversities. I also want to give special thanks to the CFA. Most country areas have limited access to full-time firefighting professionals, and the dedication and standards of the CFA volunteers are well known to those in country Victoria.

It was partly because of my success in winning the council election that I was able to participate in the Pathways to Politics for Women program through the University of Melbourne in partnership with the Trawalla Foundation and the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia. I would like to thank the program, its organisers, educators and guest speakers. Without their wonderful help I might not be here speaking to you today. I want to give back to that program and other similar initiatives so that we can hear from more women in positions of leadership, whether it is in business or in government. Women make up just over half of Victoria’s population, and balanced representation can only lead to better outcomes for everyone in this great state.

Another concern often brought to my attention as a local councillor was issues relating to law and order. We need to detect, deter and disrupt unlawful activities that threaten community safety. I will always be ready to listen to residents and the police and hear their concerns. The police have direct experience of the dangers posed by illegal activity, and it is the job of the government to properly enable them to enforce the laws that keep us all safe. We should also be mindful that crime is increasingly shifting online, and when that impacts Victorian residents it can become a state-level problem. The internet is now an essential tool for business and government, and the state must recognise the local consequences of cybercrime.

We need to focus on community safety, but we need to deliver good education and we need to promote investment in business and especially promote those businesses that will secure our future and sovereignty. Nationhood begins in the classroom. Other countries around the world understand this implicitly, and we choose to ignore it at our peril. It is our duty as legislators and as parents to pass on the best of Australia, its values and histories and work together to continue to build our great nation, led by a dream that each generation can make it greater than the last.

In a post-pandemic world many are moving away from the inner suburbs and looking for a better quality of life in outer suburbs or country regions. Those people want to work remotely, and they need high-speed internet services to do it. Those services are now essential, and they must be reliable.

Business has learned that home workers can be highly productive. Commuting into the CBD is no longer necessary. Some will choose to live in Drouin or Wonthaggi or Lakes Entrance and work in Sydney, Chicago or London because that is no longer unusual in a world where people really can work from home and because it gives space for their children to play and an environment that they can enjoy in the free time they are no longer wasting sitting in the car or in an overcrowded train.

Over the pandemic the producers of Victoria—farmers, bakers, artisan crafters—have helped provide locally for Victorian consumers, and there is tremendous potential to invigorate rural and semirural communities if we put the right incentives in place and work together with LGAs to deliver what local people want, not just food but also manufactured goods and services. Interstate and international markets will always be essential, but in times of disruption local providers can provide a reliable backstop.

The residents of Victoria and the eastern region simply want access to good infrastructure, amenities, good education for their children and good health care. Infrastructure projects are vital, but we need them to be agile and responsive. Private enterprise leads the way in these areas, and government can learn from them how to deliver faster, cheaper and more responsively, to measure satisfaction with services and to reduce waste. It should not come as a surprise that as a Liberal I would like to see more areas where private enterprise is given the right environment to prosper and provide choices and solutions—with appropriate oversight, naturally.

However, there are areas where people expect a government service—for example, health care, and very rightly mental health specifically is a focus right now. However, the eastern region creates additional challenges for health care, especially for those without easy access to the large hospitals of inner Melbourne. I will be advocating for improved access to health care specifically for those in rural areas. We can build a state where those living in a rural region have equitable access to essential health care without travelling hours into the city. Prevention is better than cure. For young and old, the earlier and more quickly health problems can be addressed, the better the outcomes for those involved. Diagnosing issues earlier not only gives people better lives, it can also avoid costly treatments or the secondary impacts that illness involves.

Whatever the specific issue, we need to move forward with transparency, strategic thinking, positivity and tolerance to preserve a society where people are free to choose and be themselves whenever it does no harm. Innovation is impossible without choice, and without innovation we have stagnation. Yet for change to bring better quality of life, we need to prepare for it. The lesson of the last two years is that dramatic surprises that arrive unprepared for are hard indeed to bear. We cannot plan for every eventuality, but most of the challenges we face are no surprise. Health, education, law and order and prosperity are not new expectations, they are simply the yardstick by which any modern government should be judged. We have plentiful examples in other states and other countries to learn from.

Leadership is not a position or title; it is action and example. It is the duty of leadership to offer hope when a problem can be solved by working together. I will strive every day to work for the people of Eastern Victoria, bringing them strong representation. I look forward to doing this, led by Matthew Guy, holding the government to account and presenting the people of Victoria an alternative government in 2022.

Finally, I want to thank my family and friends for their love and support—my parents, my sisters, my husband, Peter, and my children, Dylan and Adrian, who are here watching today. You are my foundation. You keep me going every day. Thank you for believing in me and coming on this journey with me to make a difference.

Members applauded.