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Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Senator for New South Wales First Speech - 14/06/2005Senator FIERRAVANTI-WELLS (New
South Wales) (5.02 pm)—Thank you Mr
President. It is with great pride and honour
that I rise this evening to make my maiden
speech. My presence here today follows the
retirement of Senator John Tierney on 14
April. On behalf of the people of New South
Wales I pay tribute to him for his service to
the Liberal Party and the Senate. I wish John
and Pam all the very best for the future. I
would like to thank the Clerk of the Senate
and his staff and other senators for their kind
assistance and guidance in acquainting me
with this place and its procedures. I especially
thank Andrea Griffiths-Ianson, Black
Rod, for her friendship and guidance over
many years. I was proud to be welcomed by
her to this place on 9 May.
My family’s journey began on 14 February
1953, when a young man of 24 years of
age arrived alone on the docks at Sydney. He
had travelled from Italy. He had left everything
he knew and loved, including his fiancee.
He spoke no English. His old suitcase
carried the dreams and aspirations that had
motivated his migration to so far away a
land. That man was my dad. He first lived in
single quarters near the old steelworks at
Port Kembla. Later he travelled to North
Queensland to cut sugar cane. He saved
enough money for a deposit on a home. He
returned to Port Kembla and bought a small
cottage. My mother joined him in 1959.
They had been engaged for 13 years. They
married. I was born a year later and my
brother five years later. Pops, could you ever
have imagined when you arrived that one
day you would be sitting here watching your
daughter in the Australian Senate?
Mr President, with hard work, determination,
dedication and the will to succeed you
can do anything, you can be anyone and you
can go anywhere. My parents and millions of
other migrants who came here were guided
by this ideal. This is what makes Australia
such a wonderful place. Today I could be the
daughter of any migrant to Australia. The
philosophy of individual effort for just reward
is embodied in the stories of millions
just like my parents who have helped shape
the destiny of this great nation. It is also the
philosophy behind the great party I am privileged
to represent. Today I would like to
share with you the values and beliefs that
have helped shape my life and which will
underpin my service to the people of New
South Wales as their senator.
I grew up in Port Kembla, the industrial
heart of the Illawarra. My father worked at
the steelworks. My mother stayed at home. I
am grateful for the many sacrifices that my
parents made to ensure that our family had
the best that hard work could give. Today,
many who come to this country are assisted
by generous settlement services. When my
parents arrived there were no such services.
Self-sufficiency and employment became the
cornerstones on the road to building a better
life for yourself and for your children. Family
and family life have always been very
important to me. I believe in the traditional
family as the bedrock institution of our society.
I will support policies which strengthen
and enhance the value and importance of the
family.
My education in the Catholic school system
began with kindergarten at St Francis of
Assisi, overlooking the steelworks. Seventyfive
kids started school with me. Only a few
spoke English, and I was not one of them.
My primary schooling at St Patrick’s was
under the shadow of the chimney stack at
Port Kembla. I completed my secondary
education at St Mary’s College in Wollongong.
From these early days I have followed
the Christian faith. I believe in the values and
virtues that it teaches. They have guided me
and will continue to do so in the years ahead.
During this period I also learnt the importance
of choice. When my father worked at
the steelworks, the union movement was
very strong. I remember vividly when the
unions would call a strike. My father was the
sole breadwinner, so working every day was
very important to him. When the unions
called a strike, I saw the inner turmoil in my
father. He needed to go to work but, like
many other workers, could not afford to
break ranks. Regardless of the merits of the
issue, they could not go against the power of
the unions. They did what they were told. I
respect the right of the individual to choose
to be part of a collective bargaining regime
but there should be no compulsion. I say to
the elements of the union movement that are
gearing up for a fight against the Howard
government on industrial relations: use argument
and reason, not threats and compulsion—
remember who you are representing.
Mr President, I will be supporting changes to
industrial relations laws that encourage
flexibility, fairness and freedom; a system
that increases job growth, productivity and
innovation—that will give Australians true
choice.
After completing my secondary schooling,
I attended the Australian National University
in Canberra where I studied political science,
languages and law. In 1984, I commenced
my 20-year career as a lawyer with the Australian
Government Solicitor and I pay tribute
to my former colleagues, some of whom
are here today. Having had the opportunity to
represent many government departments and
statutory authorities over the years, I bring to
this place a broad and practical knowledge of
the workings of government. Having defended
both good and bad decisions of government,
I have taken a keen interest in good
public administration. Acting for the Australian
Taxation Office, I wound up companies
that did not pay their tax. I retain a particular
concern about corporate responsibility and
corporate morality, especially in dealings
with workers entitlements.
I also have an interest in simplifying the
tax system. When I first started practising
law, the tax legislation was in one volume; it
is now in four. An even, balanced or alternatively
flat tax regime could be an option in
simplifying the system. The Howard government
has made significant reforms in this
area for the benefit of the average taxpayer
and small business. More can and should be
done.
During my career, I particularly valued the
work I did for the Department of Defence.
This coupled with my husband’s service in
the Royal Australian Navy has fostered a
keen interest in defence matters, which I
would like to pursue in this place. I would
like to thank our many friends from the
armed services who are here today. I especially
value the importance of tradition and
service to one’s country. I believe in the
spirit of Anzac and what it means to the soul
of Australia.
My work in politics started as a policy adviser
with the Hon. Jim Carlton. Jim’s guidance
and support over many years has prepared
me well for my new role and I thank
him very much. I then became senior private
secretary to the Hon. John Fahey, then Premier
of New South Wales. It was a great
privilege and a fantastic opportunity to work
for him in the engine room of a coalition
government. I would also like to thank Alan
McArthur, who gave me my start in law and
most recently employed me as a consultant
with Minter Ellison Lawyers in Sydney.
Community service has been an important
feature of my life since I was young. As the
daughter of migrants I was frequently called
upon to help my parents and others in the
community, translating and assisting people
with simple tasks to help them in their daily
lives. Over the years, I have been privileged
to work for many different groups and associations
as a volunteer. I am honoured that
many of the people I worked with are here
today to share this special day with me.
I am a proud member of the Australian-
Italian community and have been honoured
to serve them as a national and international
representative. I would like to acknowledge
the presence today of representatives from
Italian government bodies: the embassy, the
consulate, the Italian Institute of Culture and
the trade commission. I would especially like
to acknowledge my dear friends Nick and
Silvana Papallo and Irvin and Lottie Vidor.
Thank you for your total faith in me. It is a
source of great pride to come to this place as
the first Australian woman of Italian origin. I
believe I am also the first Australian of Italian
origin to the Senate from New South
Wales. I will continue to strengthen relationships
with Italy in particular and more
broadly with Europe.
Over the years, I have also supported a
number of important causes. I support our
current constitutional arrangements. Through
my work with Australians for a Constitutional
Monarchy, I have worked for its retention.
I also uphold our flag as an unchanging
and timeless symbol of the values and virtues
that unify our society. Over the years, I have
been involved in many charitable activities,
but none has impacted more on me than my
work with Father Chris Riley’s Youth off the
Streets. I am honoured that Father Chris is
here today, together with some board members
and staff. Father, you taught me that
there is no such thing as a bad child, just bad
circumstances. I have come to understand the
resilience of our youth against terrible adversity.
A child is abused every 13 minutes
across Australia. Perpetrators of crimes
against children and those who protect them
deserve the severest of punishment. We must
confront and end child abuse and the exploitation
of youth once and for all. My work
with Youth off the Streets has also reaffirmed
my view of the importance of family support
to young people, of zero tolerance on drugs
and my opposition to heroin injecting rooms
and lowering the age of consent. In contrast,
programs such as Tough on Drugs and Values
in Schools have been very successful. As
a senator, I will be advocating their continued
support and expansion.
Throughout my community service, I have
come to value highly the contribution of volunteers
in Australia, whether this be in the
family, amongst the sick, the disabled, the
young or the aged. This is the social glue that
binds our society together and gives us a
sense of belonging in our communities. The
complex social challenges facing our society
will never be solved by governments working
alone, but in partnership with civil society.
As a senator, I shall work to foster community
participation and volunteerism so that
individuals, welfare organisations, business
and government can unite and together generate
true social capital.
Australia today is a country forged from
different cultures and tied by a set of common
beliefs and values—a belief in a free
and competitive market system; in freedom
of choice; of respect for human life; of the
rule of law and a fair go for all. The promotion
of these values and beliefs across the
diversity of our contemporary Australian
society is vital to our continued social cohesion.
I have lived my life across the diversity
that is Australia. Whilst cultural diversity has
brought us many advantages, there are also
challenges. When my parents first came to
this country, they, like many others, experienced
prejudice. It was a fact of life. They
got on with it. They assimilated, they shared
their culture, traditions, values and beliefs—
they accepted and became accepted. Through
this, they and many others helped forge the
unique Australian way of life we have today.
While some seek to gloss over divisions in
our society by affirming a desire for harmonious
coexistence and religious tolerance,
divisions do exist. We need to address them
before the rifts become so deep that our society’s
very existence is threatened. Australia
is a tolerant and compassionate society
founded on understanding and respecting
social and religious differences. Our success
as a culturally diverse society comes from
putting our commitment to Australia first.
Values and beliefs are important in the
mainstream of Australian political life. However,
there are those in our society who find
talk about values abhorrent—the so-called
‘chattering classes’, the elites whose view of
life is distorted by their inane fixation with
the politics of the lowest common denominator,
an outdated socialist ideology that rejects
a belief in the power of the individual. The success of the Howard government has been
to reject this ideology.
My journey began under the shadow of
the chimney stack at Port Kembla. It now
takes me back to where I started. I return to
my roots. My office will be in Wollongong
and I look forward to giving the people of
the Illawarra an alternative and effective
voice in government. The Illawarra is yet to
realise its full potential. I want to see more
exports leave Port Kembla, to see more industry
developed and more jobs created. I
want to ensure that, when my nephews grow
up and look for a job in Wollongong, they
will not be forced to move away to find
work, as I was. Future growth for the Illawarra
will require all sectors of the community
working together with all levels of government.
I look forward to the challenge.
Here tonight there are many friends who
have helped me to make my journey. I cannot
mention you all by name. You know who
you are and I thank you wholeheartedly. I
thank the Liberal Party and the New South
Wales Division. Over the years, I have had
extensive involvement at many levels of the
party and I am honoured to represent the
Liberal Party as a senator. I would especially
like to mention some of my parliamentary
colleagues—Bronwyn Bishop, Helen
Coonan, Teresa Gambaro, Bill Heffernan,
Jackie Kelly, Nick Minchin, Brendan Nelson,
Alby Schultz and Santo Santoro—and
state colleagues—David Clarke, Charlie
Lynn and Anthony Roberts. Thank you for
your guidance and support over many years.
There are many in the Liberal Party I
would also like to thank. I would especially
like to acknowledge and thank Nick Campbell,
Michael Cooke, Alex Hawke, Natasha
Maclaren and the Young Liberal Movement,
Italo Mazzola and the New South Wales Italian
Special Branch, Hollie Nolan, Peter
Phelps, Marlene Scott and the Illawarra Liberals,
Rhondda Vanzella, Helen Wayland and
my many friends and supporters in the
Women’s Council, Robyn and Harry Young,
Mervyn and Ann Youl, and the late Judith
Barton. I would also like to thank my staff
and the many volunteers who have helped
make this my very special day.
Thank you to my family: Mammina and
Pops for your love and selfless sacrifices;
Canio, the best brother a girl could ever
have; Karen and my beautiful nephews,
Beppi and Luca; my stepchildren, Alasdair
and Amelia; my aunt and uncle, cousins and
their families; my mother-in-law, Frances,
sisters-in-law and their families; and my
husband, John, my biggest fan, for your patience,
understanding, love and support.
I have tried to lead the past 25 years of my
life in service to the community and to the
public. People often ask me why I want to
serve in public life. For me, the answer is
simple. My parents came to this country to
build a better life for themselves and for their
children. Their journey is but a snapshot of
millions of similar journeys. They are not
published anywhere except written deep in
the hearts and memories of those who took
the journey and those, like me, who follow
them. This country gave my parents so
much—I have always wanted to give something
back. And so, as I stand here today, I
honour the journeys of those before me and I
look forward with dedication and resolve to
my journey ahead.
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