HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH

Address-in-Reply

SPEECH
Monday, 12 September 2016

BY AUTHORITY OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Monday, 12 September 2016 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 507

SPEECH
Date Monday, 12 September 2016 Source House
Page 507 Proof No
Questioner Responder
Speaker Husar, Emma, MP Question No.

Ms HUSAR (Lindsay) (15:49): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and can I congratulate you on your re-election to the role
of Speaker. I suspect that there may be times when my passionate advocacy for the people of Western Sydney
is too loud or too frequent and earns me a bench seat outside this chamber—but hopefully not too often. In the
end, I appreciate that we are both here to make sure that this place, where important decisions are made, operates
fairly for all those inside and outside its walls.

I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respect to those
people. I would also like to acknowledge the people of the lands of Lindsay that I proudly represent. To these
the traditional custodians of the land, and ancestors past, present and future, I pay my deep respects to you and
your culture, the oldest continuing culture on earth. During my time in this place I will work hard to close the
gaps of inequity that sadly still exists today, and I will work hard for the proper recognition of our nation's first
people as a sign of my commitment and the deep respect I hold for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,
the first Australians.

I am Lindsay version 5.0—the fifth member for Lindsay in the 45th Parliament, voted in from position No. 5 on
the ballot paper. Some might say No. 5 is alive! In winning Lindsay, something they said could not be done, we
achieved the impossible. Lindsay is no longer a bellwether seat, and I am proud to be the first Labor woman to
represent Lindsay. I acknowledge Lindsay version 1.0, the Honourable Ross Free, who is here today; and also
version 3.0, the Honourable David Bradbury, who is in part responsible for my being here today. I would like to
thank the voters of Lindsay who have placed their faith in me to represent them, to speak for them and to ensure
that the needs of our community are a first-order priority, not an optional extra.

Before I move on, the fact that I have been in the Labor Party a short time needs some reflection. I would like
to thank the people who in my brief period have shown me a huge amount of support and guidance and made
me see things in myself that I did not even know existed. I thank Kaila Murnain—our New South Wales general
secretary, ceiling smasher, Fortress New South Wales boss lady and election slayer!—who has had my back since
I walked through the door and has supported me even as an unknown quantity. I would also like to acknowledge
Pat Garcia and Jay Suuval, from New South Wales Labor, who join us here today. I thank Alex Classons and Russ
Collison, two of the starting five who knew I had something to contribute and backed me from the beginning.
And to the leader in the upper house in New South Wales, the Honourable Adam Searle: I do not know how,
when or why our friendship began, I just know it has been there from the very beginning. I thank you for your
trusted and measured advice. To former New South Wales Premier, the Hon. Nathan Rees, who gives advice
freely, refrains from judgement, and lets me make my own mistakes occasionally: your firm advice has not let
me down. To my former boss turned colleague, my electoral neighbour, mentor and friend, Ed Husic: keep the
meter running, add it to my tally, and one day I will figure out how to repay the debt of gratitude I have for
the time, the wisdom, and the answering of 47 million questions—even if I may have asked them before—and
for only ever saying, 'I told you so' once, and being right. Next time you tell me not to play basketball during
a campaign, I will probably listen—probably.

To the wonderful members of the great Australian Labor Party, the Lindsay FEC, the Young Labor crew, the
volunteers who want Labor governments, and to friends who for months campaigned alongside me in this two-
year battle, some of whom join me here today: thank you seems an inadequate statement for what your support
means to me. I will stand up for our shared values in this place and, in doing so, honour your time and commitment
to our common goals. To our campaign family, which spans two elections—both of which were run out of my
home, and forced you all to become de facto family members in a most unconventional family—thank you for
working in sometimes less-than-ideal conditions, and for showing up and making sure I did the same, even when
exhaustion and breaking my body made your jobs harder. Liam Rankine and Peter Grey, the Western Sydney
campaign team bosses, I thank you.

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I would just like to acknowledge all of the people in the gallery today, all of my friends, for their epic journey
on the bus from Sydney to be here in support of me today. My sincere thanks to the Penrith Valley Community
Unions, Unions NSW, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union, Communications, Electrical Plumbing Union, Transport
Workers Union, Health Services Union, United Services Union, and the Australian Workers' Union. Mary Court,
Mary Yaager, Mark Morey, Alex Claassens, Jim Metcher, Tony Sheldon, Gerard Hayes, Graeme Kelly, Russ
Collison: without your support I would not be here. The decent working conditions of every single Australian are
owed to the mighty trade union movement, and without your continued advocacy for workers and their families,
our country would go backwards. Never stop fighting for fairness. I know, in this place and beyond, I will not.

Thank you also to EMILY's List for supporting me, and for the work you do in ensuring that women get elected
to our parliaments. Our parliaments should reflect the people they represent, and you cannot do that without
women. I have to admit though, and probably not unlike yourselves, I look forward to the day when EMILY's
List is not needed, a time when women are treated equally and allowed to make their own health choices, when
quotas are not necessary, and when women receive equal pay for equal work.

To my favourite New South Wales state members, particularly those I came to know during the 2015 state
campaign: I may now be in a different parliament but rest assured, I will help wrestle Western Sydney back into
the Labor fold, and I will do this because we know only Labor understands Western Sydney.

To our leader Bill Shorten—epic timing!—thank you for your leadership which was outstanding in arguing our
case for a fairer Australia and putting people first, and for joining me more than once on the campaign trail.
To my federal colleagues, Tanya Plibersek and the Chrises Bowen and Hayes, Tony Burke, Catherine King,
Jason Clare, Sharon Bird, Justine Elliot, Ed Husic, Deb O'Neil and Sam Dastyari: thank you for your support
throughout the campaign and for continuing that support following my arrival in this place.

To my long-suffering and neglected friends: I know I almost never answer my phone, and responding to a text
message or email or even listening to a voicemail is absolutely out of the question. I do not know how you put
up with me but I am forever grateful for our friendships. Thanks for letting me miss out on some of the special
occasions, and not making me feel guilty for my absence by welcoming me back seamlessly when I am around.
And to Leonie: none of this would have happened without your loyalty, support and the dedication you have to
me, and for my children, and I thank you for being who you are.

Getting here was an absolute team effort and I thank everybody involved. I look forward to continuing this
journey with you all. Lindsay is now my patch of the world that I have called home my whole life, and a
place I now proudly represent. When I look around that place, I see things that make the community I love so
great: our university, our thriving city centre, the small businesses, our growing arts scene, an active sporting
community, and the living elements—our river, the lakes, the Cumberland plains, and the World Heritage listed
Blue Mountains as our backyard. I see our people, and I count the people of Lindsay as our No. 1 asset. We do
not ask for much, we are fair-minded, we are loyal, we help each other out, and we work hard. We are, however,
disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to most things, compared to our inner city and northern suburbs
neighbours—public transport, roads infrastructure, and a lack of local jobs. And our health is affected, with some
of the highest rates of heart and lung disease, and we currently—sadly—claim the title of having the most under-
pressure hospital in the state of New South Wales.

A hospital that already cares for 350,000 people will need to serve even more, as our Western Sydney home
grows to become Sydney's third city. Like many parents in Lindsay, I have frequently relied on the exceptional
care provided by the under-resourced and overworked staff at Nepean Hospital, without whom my youngest
child would have died at just 10 days old. Had it not been for our world-class universal healthcare system, I
would have been faced with crippling debt, or the death of a baby—which is why I will always defend Medicare.
The inequity for the people in my community is without doubt growing. With Medicare under threat, huge cuts
to health care, plans to deregulate university fees, stagnant wages, housing markets exploding, the casualisation
of the workforce, and the cost of living increasing, the divide is getting wider. These, though, are not endemic
problems faced by my community alone. They are challenges repeated in communities right across Australia,
and they demand and deserve immediate action. These are questions of intergenerational equality, and I look
forward to being part of this debate—a debate that is so important my community.

Since my election to this place, I have seen the people of Lindsay stand up and fight for what they believe is
fair and just for us. Liberal governments have consistently shown they simply do not understand us, do not serve

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us, and do not represent us. The people of Lindsay know they need someone in their corner, one of their own,
someone like them, to advocate for their needs and those of their family, and the people they care about. That
is how I ended up here. So often I hear people refer to politicians as out of touch and not being from the real
world—when I look to the class of 2016 and all of the diversity my newly elected peers bring, particularly those
on this side of the House, I see a paediatrician, a pharmacist, an early education teacher, journalists, lawyers,
counter-terrorism experts, mothers, fathers, women, Indigenous women. I believe that if you want to know how
to solve some of the complex issues facing our country, you need to ask those who have been affected by the
inequity and the injustice, or those whose luck of the draw has simply just been less lucky. You need to ask the
people who have not just lived through adversity but who have helped others to overcome it. I am a mum—I am
a single mum—raising three very different but amazing children, one of whom has special needs, one of whom
has her own additional health needs, and one who is just a typical teenager. I will leave it to you all to decide
which of these three presents the greater challenges!

Life for me has not been without adversity. I have spent 29 out of my 36 years, both as a child and as an adult,
living in domestic violence. If you want to know how to address the biggest challenge facing women and our
children today, you need to ask the people who have been affected. Even better than that, you need to elect
them to decision-making tables where rhetoric will not be accepted and only action will be good enough. In this
place I will use my life's experience to contribute all that I can to tackling the scourge of domestic and family
violence. I will stand up for the parents leaving violence who are confronted with a family law system that does
not always work for them.

The situation at the moment is truly a national emergency, and one that cries out for more focus and more attention
from our leaders. Domestic and family violence is one of the contributors to children living in out-of-home care.
Children in foster care are typically disadvantaged compared to their peers. Despite best efforts, children often
bounce from home to home, with little to no regard for stability and the wellbeing of the child. We must do better.
I will be looking for opportunities to work with the states to reform our out-of-home care system and ensure that
society's most vulnerable children are no further disadvantaged by the system.

Another of the challenges facing many families in Lindsay is accessing the services they need when caring for
someone with special needs. Raising a child with special needs and navigating what is a minefield was probably
my lever for really getting started in politics. There is no more isolating feeling in the world than being a special
needs parent. When all the other families can access and engage in the community at their own free will, ours
needs special planning, special stories and sometimes a reconnaissance mission. to explore the suitability. After
all the box ticking had been done and the mission looked like it might be a success, you would forge ahead.
And when I say 'mission', I actually mean getting from one end of the local supermarket to the other without
my son experiencing a total meltdown and the unaware shoppers you come across offering a wooden spoon to
spank your naughty son with.

When the campaign for the National Disability Insurance Scheme began I immediately knew, from my experience
with my son, that I needed to support this to ensure that kids like mine, mums like me and families like ours
were able to access something that can and will change their lives forever. I thank those people on my side: Bill
Shorten, Julia Gillard and all of those people who worked tirelessly to ensure that this was a national priority.
The NDIS is a great starting point. It will help serve the day-to-day needs of people living with a disability. Now
is the time to start the next conversation about raising participation rates in open employment and the significant
contribution people with a disability can, do and will make to the workforce.

And whilst we work towards the rollout of the NDIS we must be thinking about the physical accessibility of
public places. Before arriving here I worked for the disability access committee serving Penrith City Council.
Our committee advocated for improved accessibility within the local community. However, there is still a long
way to go. I want to see major changes around physical access, particularly two basic and frequently overlooked
areas: changing places and play spaces. It is necessary to legislate for public bathrooms to be accessible for those
who need it. Changing tables which cater to the needs of older children and adults are a basic necessity requiring
immediate action. For those who rely on changing facilities like these, the choice currently is between a public
toilet floor and leaving the venue altogether and heading home. Neither of these is acceptable and undermines
the quality of life for those with a disability and their carers.

In another area of my advocacy work it has been my great privilege to work alongside the Touched by Olivia
Foundation, who are the world leaders in inclusive playground design, ensuring that children with special needs

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can enjoy the same facilities as their peers. However, until such time that there is legislative leadership in this
space, inclusive play areas will remain the exception and not the norm. Inclusion in society makes all of us
stronger.

We are all shaped by our families and by our experiences—for better or for worse in a lot of cases. It is the
lottery of life. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and there is no making sense of any of it. This was
my experience in 2007 when my amazing, smart and beautiful cousin Chloe died unexpectedly at age 18 from
a catastrophic brain aneurysm. Chloe impacted my life in many ways, none more significant than her choice
to be an organ donor. On her passing, our family honoured her wishes, and through her gift of life she saved
seven others.

Our rates of organ and tissue donation here in Australia are unacceptably low. Tara Bennett, a local Glenmore
Park schoolgirl in my electorate, came to meet me last week. She lost her three-year-old brother, who was waiting
for an organ transplant. Our organ donor opt-in system, which can be overridden by families, is not working. We
have an opportunity and an obligation to create legislation which will increase our rates of organ donation, and
we need to continue this conversation about how we achieve this.

There are many issues that I am passionate about, but time prevents me from covering all of them in detail today. I
will be an advocate for policies that ensure we defend fair working conditions and end all forms of discrimination.
So with all of my lived experience, both as a mother and an advocate for the issues I have outlined today, I
promise to work hard as the member for Lindsay.

I cannot let today pass though without acknowledging the most important people of my life: my mum, my dad,
my sister, Amy—the people who will always love me the most; thank you for your support—and my freakishly
amazing children, who are, beyond a shadow of doubt, the most exceptional part of my life. Being your mamma
is the greatest privilege I will ever know. The triumphs, the tests, the tantrums—all of it: I would not trade a
single moment. Mitch, through you I have learnt patience I did not even realise was possible. Zhalia, you remind
me too much of myself most days. Your strong will, belief in fairness, your empathy and your outstanding ability
to argue your point will stand you in good stead for the future, little girl. And when you tell me you are proud
of me, you bring tears to my eyes. And to my little Evie: you reinforced the lesson I learnt from Chloe about not
taking any of it for granted. When the doctor told me you were touch and go there for a while, I was reminded
that we are all on loan from some other place and in a second it could all be gone. And with that I vowed that
each second would be valued and I would let you know each day through my actions how much you are all loved
and cared for. Thank you for supporting me to come into this place and your daily reminders to keep it real.

I thought I would share a quote by Daniel Goldston that hangs in our home and one I often tell my children. I
think it is quite relevant to all young people in my electorate of Lindsay:

If you're going to be passionate about something, be passionate about learning. If you're going to fight something,
fight for those in need. If you're going to question something, question authority. If you're going to lose something,
lose your inhibitions. If you're going to gain something, gain respect and confidence. And if you're going to hate
something, hate the false idea that you are not capable of your dreams.

For those of you who might struggle to see the amazing opportunities ahead of you and for those of you who, for
one reason or another, feel like things are stacked against you, I stand here as proof that you are not voiceless,
that we can as a community come together and demonstrate and agitate for the things we think are important and
the things we want to see changed. That is why I am here.

As my good friend Adam still reminds me, governments more or less tax the same amount and spend the same
amount. It is who they choose to tax and what spending they choose to prioritise that reveals their true nature.
Government is about making choices, and I am proud to be on the side that chooses to make fairness, equality
and opportunity for all a priority.

On 19 June we launched the federal campaign in my home town. I stood proudly under a banner that read 'We
will put people first.' From now until my time in this place, that is exactly what I will do.

CHAMBER