The Hon.
Judith Troeth, Senator for Victoria
First Speech - 18/08/1993I am proud to be standing here today as a Victorian Liberal senator.
Among others in the chamber, I would like to acknowledge the presence of the honourable
member for Higgins, Mr Costello, the honourable member for Isaacs, Mr Atkinson,
and the honourable member for Menzies, Mr Kevin Andrews. As Australia approaches
the year 2000 and we review the first century since Federation, I am pleased and
honoured to be joining my colleagues in this chamber, which has been the repository
of fundamental constitutional principles for almost 100 years. At a time when
some seek to destroy the finely balanced constitutional system which has provided
this country with stable government for almost a century, the importance of this
house has never been greater. While it may suit some to describe members of this
chamber as `swill', I wish to make it clear that I am proud to be an Australian
senator and proud to have the opportunity to participate in this chamber's crucial
role of legislative review and close scrutiny of exe
cutive action. The
states of Australia will play an important role in our nation's future, as they
have in the past. They are an integral part of our constitutional system and an
important check on the use and abuse of centralised power. For the smaller states,
in particular, this chamber provides a valuable forum for the consideration of
their views. I hope that my time here never prevents my remembering that the role
of this chamber, this parliament and the entire executive function of government
is to serve and benefit all Australians. Since 1949 Victoria has been continually
represented in the Senate by at least one woman senator from the Liberal Party.
I am proud to be joining my colleague Senator Patterson in this chamber. Those
women who represent the Liberal Party know that they have been preselected on
merit. Much has been made in recent times of the importance of the women's
vote and the need to have more women parliamentarians. I have been gratified by
the number of women from the whole
of the political spectrum who have spoken
to me on this subject and expressed support for my own move into parliament.
The Liberal Party has a long tradition of leadership in women's issues and the
successful elevation of women to parliament. The first women elected in each of
the state parliaments represented non-Labor parties and the Liberal Party can
also claim the first woman member of the House of Representatives, the first woman
government whip and the first woman state president of any major political party.
The Victorian division of the Liberal Party has, through its constitution,
equal representation for women at all levels. It was extremely pleasing to see
the election of six new Liberal women parliamentarians at the 1992 Victorian state
election in addition to the three existing women members. However, notwithstanding
these achievements, the fact that there is still only a small number of women
in parliament continues to be of concern. I began my involvement in the Liberal
Party from an
isolated country town and I have now become a member of the
most important legislative body in the country. One reason why women do not enter
politics is that it is seen as an all-encompassing career which excludes family,
friends and an otherwise normal existence. I know from my own experience and observation
of political life that a political career is a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day
occupation. Nevertheless, many members of this chamber have decided to devote
a major part of their lives to working to achieve the political aims and principles
in which they believe. I hope that many more, including many women, will seek
to do the same. The words of Australia's greatest Prime Minister, Sir Robert
Menzies, remain as relevant today as they were in 1948, when he said: Politics
is the most important and responsible civic activity to which a man or woman may
devote their character, their talent and their energy. I am also proud to represent
rural women, a group of whom I have been part since my marriage
to a farmer
27 years ago. Most rural women do not feature in employment statistics, yet many
of them are among the hardest workers in this country. As the level of paid employment
on farms has fallen, along with farm incomes, many women now work alongside their
partners in the demanding physical work on the farm. This is often in addition
to domestic work, volunteer community work, the office work of farm management
and work in full-time or part-time employment off the farm to produce a second
income. Rural women make these sacrifices in an endeavour to ensure that their
farm is economically successful. Without economic success, all other aspects of
rural life become difficult or impossible. The education of children, the provision
of health care for farm families and ageing parents and the preservation of a
standard of living commensurate with long hours of work on a property are dependent
on at least a modest income which today, sadly, farming businesses are not achieving.
No group in Australia has
been more badly affected by failed government
economic policy than the rural sector. The challenge of raising five children
in an isolated environment has shown me the true importance of the family. It
is the family which provides children with a stable emotional base from which
to commence adult life. It is the family which provides a refuge from a troubled
world. It provides education, it teaches responsibility and it gives our society
strength. The family unit, in whatever form it takes in contemporary Australia,
remains essential to the well-being of Australian society. We must not allow its
importance to be eroded. There is a great deal of concern in rural Australia
about the future of the family farm. However, despite trends in earlier decades
which seemed to indicate a falling rate of family ownership of farm land and an
increase in the rate of corporate ownership, that trend has steadied. The well
managed family farm has several competitive advantages, including a greater depth
of local knowledge
and flexible labour costs. The ability to quickly adapt
to changing circumstances means that the family owned farm will be an integral
part of the rural economy for the foreseeable future. Of the 125,000 commercial
farms in Australia, 90 per cent are family owned. Given that the future direction
of farming is likely to be in the hands of families rather than corporations,
it is essential that farms be run on sound business lines. There is no case whatever
for taxpayer support of poorly managed rural businesses, including where wrong
investment or production decisions lead to commercial failure. Government should
not be in the business of subsidising primary producers every time they meet adverse
conditions. History suggests that government intervention in the rural economy
does more harm than good. Indeed, in this area, the 19th century philosopher Thoreau
was correct in his view when he said that government never furthered any enterprise
but by the alacrity and speed with which it got out of its way.
There
is no better example of an industry which the government should move quickly to
leave alone than the Australian wool industry. The dismal history of the reserve
price scheme, which resulted in unrealistic pricing and devastating levels of
debt, is a potent reminder that, no matter how worthy the objective, government
intervention in markets does not work. As Ross Garnaut's recent review of the
wool industry concludes, the future of wool marketing, promotion and stockpile
management must rest with the private sector. However, this practical, not
to say hard-nosed, attitude towards the rural sector must be matched by government
strategies to raise the profitability of rural industry. Reduced protection for
manufacturing industry, micro-economic reform on the waterfront and in land transport
and the introduction of more competitive labour markets are urgent and essential
reforms that are necessary to ensure a viable rural sector. Without them, the
rural sector, a major Australian export earner, is in d
anger of complete
collapse. At a time when some areas of rural production are sadly in need of leadership,
a long-term rural policy perspective shows the importance of government incentives
directed towards the improvement of skills in farm management and production technologies.
In addressing any vision of the future of our nation, we must reconcile the
economic vision with the human vision. Liberal Party policy is directed at removing
the cost burden from farmers and rural communities, intensifying the innovative
nature of Australian agriculture and restoring economic viability and quality
of life to farmers and rural Australia. My representation of rural people, both
in the party room and in this chamber, will be directed towards ensuring that
their interests are not forgotten and that their voice is heard by government.
In addition, as a senator for Victoria, I will be working to represent all
Victorians. It is for this reason that I will be locating my electorate office
in Broadmeadows. Broadmead
ows is a suburb on the north-western fringe of
the Melbourne metropolitan area. It is an area characterised by the presence of
families with young children, an unemployment rate of more than 16 per cent and
a youth unemployment rate of between 30 and 40 per cent. The average individual
income level is only $13,600 per annum and the annual household income is $30,000.
A high proportion of the Broadmeadows population is of ethnic origin. It is
an area claimed by the Labor Party to be typical of its heartland, yet it is in
Broadmeadows that the true human cost of the failure of federal government policies
throughout the past decade is starkly demonstrated. As if this state of affairs
were not bad enough, in the last few months the state electorate of Broadmeadows
has been deserted by its sitting member, the former Victorian opposition leader,
Mr Kennan, as part of a curious and cynical factional deal which has operated
to the disadvantage of his electorate and the women in his party and to the considerable
e
xpense of all Victorian taxpayers. The voters of Broadmeadows deserve
better political representation. I will be doing everything possible to represent
their views effectively in this chamber and to government. In common with
their rural counterparts, the livelihood of the people of Broadmeadows and similar
areas depends on effective private sector management, growth and productivity,
assisted by appropriate government policy. Many of the voters of Broadmeadows
from a non-Australian background came to this country to escape failed government
policy, poverty and a sense of despair. What must their feelings be towards a
federal government which has left more than one million Australians without jobs,
dramatically reduced average weekly earnings and destroyed the prospects for productive
business investment? Every member of this chamber must ensure that these tragic
mistakes are never repeated. Political events since the election in March, and
indeed of yesterday, suggest that our government has learn
t nothing other
than a cynical desire to retain power at any cost. Mr President, we must never
lose sight of the fact that political morality means more than just winning, political
compassion means more than just clever speeches and ministerial responsibility
means more than membership of the right faction. My political life to date
has been in the Victorian division of the Liberal Party. I am very proud to have
been a state office bearer in that organisation and to have worked with Michael
Kroger, Ted Baillieu and Petro Georgiou. I would like to acknowledge the presence
in the gallery of Russell, my husband; my children, Fiona, Simon, Keith, Richard
and Michael; my brother, Martin Ralston; Richard Burns; Ian Robertson; Helen Shardey;
and the former member for McEwen, Mrs Fran Bailey. I am also deeply honoured to
have the presence in the chamber of Dr Hewson and Dr Michael Wooldridge. I
thank my fellow senators from Victoria for their assistance and the warmth of
their welcome to me. I thank the cler
ks of the Senate and their staff for
their advice and assistance. Mr President, the English author G.K. Chesterton
once wrote: In the end, it will not matter to us whether we fought with flails
or with reeds. It will matter to us greatly on what side we fought. I know on
what side I am fighting, and there is a great deal for which to fight.
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