Hansard debates

Mr BRAYNE (Nepean) (17:30:12): I move: That the following address, in reply to the speech of Her Excellency the Governor to both houses of Parliament, be agreed to by this house: Governor: We, the Legislative Assembly of Victoria assembled in Parliament, wish to express our loyalty to our Sovereign and to thank you for the speech which you have made to the Parliament. Thank you, Speaker. Thanks also to the Premier, Deputy Premier, ministers, members of the Parliament on both sides and the Leader of the Opposition as well. I think some media were here, and I thank also my family and friends. I want to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, as well as the traditional owners of the land of the Mornington Peninsula, and pay my respects to their elders both past and present. I do this not because I have to or feel any sense of obligation to but because it is right to acknowledge that this country did not begin 200 years ago but has been the home of many for thousands of years. I want to also pay tribute to the former member for Nepean, Martin Dixon. Martin had been the local member for the last 22 years, and his love of and commitment to the Mornington Peninsula is evident in his longstanding service. I am extremely humbled, shocked, excited, overwhelmed but above all ecstatic to be standing here in the Parliament of Victoria as the member for Nepean. It was an unexpected victory for many reasons. The part of the Mornington Peninsula that I am now so lucky to represent has been held by the Labor Party only once before—from 1982 to 1986—for four years out of the last 100 years. If history was not enough proof, then the betting odds certainly contribute to the feeling of a shock victory. The Liberal campaign in Nepean was on $1.01 and I was on $16. But the most telling sign that I seemed unlikely to win came on election night when ABC election analyst Antony Green called the election in Nepean for Labor and said, 'What do I know about Chris Brayne? I have no notes on Chris Brayne. No notes’. It is right therefore to acknowledge my Liberal opponent, Russell Joseph. Russell did run a really solid, fair and respectful campaign. I decided immediately after being preselected that I would never make any mention of Russell in a nasty or partisan manner. The people of the Mornington Peninsula have zero time for political games, and I certainly never wanted to degrade someone as a way of making the case for my being elected. I was raised with the notion that you should never push someone down to pull yourself up. This was made easier given Russell is such a decent bloke. I know that whatever he chooses to do in the future he will show the same dedication to values and to the Mornington Peninsula that he showed throughout the campaign. This dedication to the Mornington Peninsula is fairly easy for those living on the peninsula. We know how lucky we have got it. I should know: I was raised entirely on the Mornington Peninsula. I went to Flinders Christian Community College in Tyabb, Victoria, a school which provided such a safe and nurturing environment and had such a handle on the serious challenges of bullying, drugs and emotional neglect that it could then afford to pick up on when your shirt was hanging out, when your top button was not done up or when you committed the ultimate sin of not sitting down while Bruce the bus driver was driving. During my final years of high school I was fortunate enough to visit Indonesia as an exchange student, staying with a Muslim family who spoke little English and attending school there at SMA Tirtonirmolo in Yogyakarta. There I was blessed to experience for the first time Indonesian culture and meet so many incredible people, a culture that is so different to Australia's with a population of people so naturally warm, friendly and excited about meeting Australians. I have remained close with the organisation which oversaw my exchange, the Australian Indonesian Association of Victoria, a not for profit which works tirelessly to build up more young Australians’ knowledge of Indonesia and which has the ongoing goal of fostering close Indonesian‑Australian relations, something I wholeheartedly support. Indonesia is our second closest neighbour geographically and is even closer than New Zealand and I fear we as a nation are squandering our opportunity to have a truly deep and meaningful relationship with this beautiful country. Since finishing university studies I have pursued a few different opportunities. I have done some work experience in some political offices. I was placed as a camp counsellor at Camp Saginaw in Oxford, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 2016. And, yes, I also worked at the Dromana Drive‑In. A member interjected. Mr BRAYNE: Good one! Last year, though, I was extraordinarily blessed to do an internship at the Carter Center, which I had incorrectly assumed would be the highlight of my young adult life, until now I guess. The Carter Center was founded by former US President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. I was placed in the democracy program, which oversees election observation missions throughout the world, ensuring elections are transparent, fair and conducted impartially. During my time there I was ever so fortunate to meet the 39th President on many occasions, including on Thanksgiving when, during the Thanksgiving lunch, I was offered by one of my supervisors, Story Evans, the chance to sit at her table. When I went to sit down I looked to my left and saw President Carter seated eating his turkey. I remember saying, 'Oh, Mr President, is there someone else sitting here?’, to which he responded jokingly, 'No, we saved it for you’. All of the interns were granted a personal photo with the President and the First Lady, which President Carter would later address and sign. Now, if any of you want to see the photo, please—and I mean genuinely—please do not hesitate to ask, because I will not hesitate to show you all. Everyone in this room entered politics for different reasons. There was probably a period of time, a moment, when you decided to care about something bigger than yourself, there was an issue that needed to be tackled or you realised that this is a country worth fighting for. My interest in politics built up at a vulnerable time of my life. We all go through hardship. My hardship was losing my mum from breast cancer at the age of 11, and my family’s core was shaken. My dad, the strongest person I have ever known, was struggling. My grades began to slip, my behaviour became more erratic and attention seeking and the value I placed on life was less. Then I saw a documentary called An Inconvenient Truth starring someone I had never heard of before, some guy called Al Gore. As I watched, I learned of his journey and I absorbed his passion. Here was a man passionate about an issue, committed to a higher purpose and championing a cause for our planet and its ecosystem. If he could be this passionate, maybe I could be too. I took on his purpose and gave myself one. About two years later Kevin Rudd decided to run and run hard on climate change, and I knew which party cared about our environment. Rudd was absolutely right when he said that climate change is the moral challenge of our time. He should never have been shamed by others for saying it, because it is a moral challenge when you have to decide whether our climate, our biosphere and our humanity should be placed at risk for short‑term profiteering by corporations and greedy individuals. Whether we should care about polluting our sea and our land and destroying habitat is a moral challenge. We have one planet. It is a moral challenge because we have to choose whether to continue this way, and nothing will stop us except ourselves. They are my morals and they are the morals of the Andrews government to care about our planet and to act on climate change. Our natural environment is something the people of the Mornington Peninsula care deeply about. When you are raised next to the ocean and when you are raised next to state parks, even the hardest of hearts cares about the fairy penguins. I must have the only electorate office that is over the road from a beach. I ran in my hometown, in the place I have lived and breathed my entire life, because I was a supporter of the Andrews government and desperately wanted it to be re‑elected. Despite being a Labor member for many years and a Labor supporter for more before that, no government in as many years has been as efficient as this one, offered up as many hardworking ministers as this one and been led by such an experienced and competent Premier as this one. It seemed quite reasonable to run as the Labor candidate for Nepean even if it was unwinnable, because Labor had a good track record to run on in this state and I wanted this state’s booming economy and record investment in infrastructure and services to be felt on our Mornington Peninsula. Now it will be. I also want to take this opportunity to make a comment on the recent state election, because though there are many good people in both parties, there are passionate debates around the many issues facing Australia. It is important to note then that not one problem we face can be solved through division. Indeed I will never support any proposal for a solution that seeks to make reference to or punish certain sectors of our society. One of the issues regularly canvassed throughout the campaign was crime. Yes, crime is an ongoing challenge for any society, and that is why we have got more police on the beat than ever before, but it is how we handle issues like crime that define our country, our state, our values. I will never be a part of any solution that seeks to divide our community, to divide our country. We can only solve problems together, and this applies to every challenge our country faces going forward. With the distinction of being the youngest member of the Victorian Parliament, for the next four years I will also be representing a group of people who on paper have never had it so good but who in reality are experiencing unprecedented challenges, hardship and fears about their future. If you can believe it, the Mornington Peninsula is actually becoming more youthful. I have heard too many stories of young people based on our peninsula who have tragically taken their lives. We must tackle this head‑on. There are so many people to thank for the campaign. Obviously I want to just give a collective thank you to everyone who contributed their time and efforts to campaign for Labor and for me, even when the odds seemed so slim. As well, there have been many people in my personal life who have supported me over the years. I, like everyone, am the product of many people and many experiences, and I hope that people who have been in my life for many years will see their impact in my decision‑making over the next few years. At the start of the speech I said the victory was unexpected. At the end of this speech I say to you all that, though unexpected, this opportunity will not be wasted. Every minute I am in this position will be dedicated to the Mornington Peninsula, to being in a sense an ambassador for the people of Nepean and the community I love and am now so blessed to represent for the next four years. Thank you all. Members applauded. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I acknowledge in the gallery the former member for Brighton.