Page9 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 3 November 2020
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Our new members, Peter Cain and Leanne Castley, bring some fresh air to our team this term. In Ginninderra, as a former teacher and principal, lawyer and vice-president of the Law Society, Peter will bring a huge level of experience and expertise in many aspects of governance. We are very fortunate to have him join us. In the deep north of Yerrabi, Leanne’s savviness and her background as an IT consultant and country music singer will bring a level of freshness and engagement that will be of great benefit to our team.
Madam Speaker, I also acknowledge the loss of members Caroline Le Couteur and Meegan Fitzharris, who retired from the Assembly this term; and Gordon Ramsay, Deepak-Raj Gupta and Bec Cody, who were not returned. Whilst we did not always agree, many of us on this side worked closely with them and we value the contributions that they made to our Assembly. I wish them and their families all the very best.
I acknowledge and welcome the new Labor member, Dr Marisa Paterson, and five—I did not realise I would say this—new members of the Greens: Rebecca Vassarotti, Emma Davidson, Johnathan Davis, Andrew Braddock, and Jo Clay. I look forward to working with each and every one of you.
Congratulations must go to Andrew Barr and Shane Rattenbury on leading their parties to their election as a coalition Labor-Greens government. No doubt this new dynamic, with multiple ministers from both parties, will make for an interesting term in cabinet. I wish you both well—not so well, but well—over the next few years.
We are all this place because we want to make a difference, a positive contribution to the future of Canberra. We are all this place because we have been given the enormous privilege by our community to be their voice. Our parliament and our democracy are stronger because every one of the members sitting here had the courage to put up their hand to serve our community.
I have always said that our parliaments should reflect the diversity of the communities that they serve. For too long it has not been the case. In 2016 we made history in electing the first female majority parliament in Australia. This year we did one better. What we did not achieve as a parliament is to have more ethnically diverse faces around this chamber. I am so proud that the Canberra Liberals put up an impressive line-up of candidates that reflected the depth of diversity in our great city. That was in sharp contrast to the field of candidates put up by Labor and the Greens, and our party room reflects that.
But diversity goes beyond gender and ethnicity. Our diversity of views, life experiences and opinions should be protected fiercely, because different ideas and the freedom to express those ideas make for robust debates that inevitably lead to better outcomes.
The leaders of all parties in this chamber have said publicly at one point or another—the Chief Minister said it again in his speech—that there is real potential for this term to see more collaboration and teamwork in areas where we can find common ground.
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