Page 1008 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 2 May 2006
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engages our community spirit, and our elite sporting teams give our city a profile on millions of television screens across the southern hemisphere. For these reasons, it is important that we continue to encourage and develop sport from the grassroots level through to elite competition.
Aside from the challenges my new portfolio responsibilities bring, I am first and foremost a local member. Part of being an effective local member is developing a strong affinity with your electorate. The average age of the Molonglo electorate is 34. Having just celebrated my 33rd birthday, I have a clear understanding of the issues facing many in the electorate. About one-third of the people I represent are loosely defined as Generation X.
Generations are about shared values and experiences. My generation has experienced more change in our short time in the work force than most previous generations faced in their entire working lives. My generation grew up in a period of massive social and political upheaval—the old notions of left and right have become less relevant now than they were to our parents—we view politics as a battle between the progressives and the conservatives, rather than as a fight between capitalism and communism. Ours is a generation that grew up watching the old powers fade away.
The world has changed, and it happened live via satellite. Given the ubiquitous nature of the internet these days, I find it amazing that I completed my degree at the ANU, only 10 years ago, without ever using it. My first job did not have email. Many of my friends are in their third and fourth careers by their mid-30s. As a generation we have grown used to change and seem to be more comfortable with it.
Governments can no longer control the economy in the way they used to. While there are some things we want government to do for us, most of the time we want government to assist us to do things for ourselves. Mine is a generation that wants government to provide opportunities. Most of us were happy to contribute to our university educations through HECS but we are now horrified by the amount that those following us are expected to pay for their higher education.
It is worth noting, Mr Speaker, that the 17 members of the federal cabinet currently hold at least 18 degrees between them, most attained at no cost. These are the baby boomers responsible for brutally transferring the cost of education to generations X and Y, generations that can now look forward to enormous HECS debts on top of horrifyingly unaffordable housing and spiralling credit card debts. A good government does not leave debts for future generations to pay off.
It is often remarked that Generation X is the lost generation. We are often criticised for lacking idealism. I disagree. I do not think you can be a true representative or a true leader without the desire to shape a better world. But in shaping that world there is an expectation, often fuelled by us as politicians, that governments can solve every problem. I do not approach governing with that expectation. However, I do approach it with an attitude of being a strong advocate for social reform and sound economic management—with the goal of working together to achieve a sustainable and strong community. A range of factors beyond our control, such as globalisation, do place a limit on what governments can do. But I see the role of government as a catalyst for solutions and as a means of bringing people together to contribute to the common good.
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