Ms GEORGE (4:59 PM) — Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker Causley, and congratulations on your recent election. I am very honoured to enter this chamber as the representative of the Australian Labor Party for the electorate of Throsby. I succeed Colin Hollis, who represented the electorate from the time the seat was created back in 1984 until his retirement. I want to place on record the collective appreciation of the electors and all the local ALP members for his work and efforts on their behalf.

I take this opportunity also to thank the many ALP members who worked in a voluntary capacity to ensure my election. Thanks also to the electors of Throsby for their support and their acceptance of me, coming as I did initially from outside the electorate when I stood down as President of the ACTU. I am committed to giving them effective representation.

I know it is popular for those on the other side of this chamber to decry the achievements of the union movement and on occasion to vilify trade unionists and their leaders. We just heard that amply expressed by the minister for employment. But you cannot ignore the facts, nor rewrite history. The trade union movement in this country has been and will continue to be an important institution, defending and protecting the rights of ordinary people.

The minister could be reminded that it is the union movement that has nurtured some of Labor's, and indeed the nation's, greatest leaders, including John Curtin, Ben Chifley and Bob Hawke. I am very confident that soon we will be adding Simon Crean to that list of history and tradition. I think when the minister gets up in this House and vilifies the contribution of the union movement and unionists he would do well to be reminded of the nation's leaders—those of stature, like John Curtin, Ben Chifley and Bob Hawke.

The union movement has always worked to defend the interests of ordinary working people. When you look at issues like maternity leave, family leave and the introduction of superannuation, you see that the union movement was behind all of them. Unfortunately, many in the work force today take for granted their conditions of employment, not realising the struggles and sacrifices that led to their attainment. But shamefully there are those in this House who consciously and deliberately set about to destroy those hard fought for gains that we have made over the last century.

Unions have always shared with Labor a commitment to a growing economy that delivers jobs and opportunities and a society that is just and fair. I am proud and privileged to have been a part of it. I want to thank the union movement for providing me with a multitude of opportunities and support over a 26-year period. For the record, so that there is no confusion in future, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations should realise that I am no union bureaucrat: I trained as a teacher, I taught in the classroom and every position that I have held in the 26 years was a representative and elected position.

No-one's personal achievements can be seen outside the context of the collective efforts that made them possible. The women's movement gave me great inspiration and courage. My late husband, Paddy George, first introduced me to politics and in later years Bill Kelty was a bedrock of support and encouragement. To my friends, supporters and partner, Denis, I am pleased you can share in this occasion with me. Lastly, but most importantly, I give thanks to my mother, who is here in the chamber.

My parents were displaced people at the end of World War II and came to Australia as refugees with no English, no friends or family and with few skills. Demonisation is not a new phenomenon. In those days, they suffered the taunts of wog, dago and reffo. Today, as the member for Sydney so eloquently explained, demonisation is just as insidious, although taking a new form. It says much about my mother and as much about this country and its people that a person from a background like mine—growing up in migrant hostels, in public housing and in a single parent household—is able to address you today in this parliament.

Our country is richer for the many refugees and migrants who have settled here. Twenty-five per cent of the population in Throsby were born overseas and have contributed to the rich tapestry of people living in a country noted hitherto for its racial tolerance and vibrant mix of cultures. I am hopeful that the position taken by Australia at the end of the Second World War, when we exhibited international responsibility, compassion and humanity, can again come to the fore in addressing the current plight of asylum seekers and refugees.

My personal experiences and my life story help me appreciate the critical role played by this national parliament. It is the decisions made here that have such an important bearing on the wellbeing of our society and our communities. Governments can and should make the difference in ensuring that equality of opportunity continues to be available for all their citizens, as it was for me. We are justly proud of our egalitarian traditions and values, but much of that is now at risk for our society is increasingly divided. Many people and regions are not sharing in the benefits of our nation's prosperity and now more than ever there are winners and losers. I hope that I am able to make a considered contribution to the debates about this growing inequality and, more importantly, to the policy solutions which deal with disadvantage, poverty, unemployment and how we keep the door open to equality of opportunity. I hope in a small way to be able to make some difference to the wellbeing of the people of my electorate.

The seat of Throsby covers an area of approximately 392 square kilometres around Lake Illawarra. It is an area of great natural beauty and a heartland of significant economic importance. It has the deepest harbour on the eastern seaboard and is home to the largest integrated steel plant in the Southern Hemisphere. The spin-out of BHP Steel in coming months is a critical issue and one which is understandably creating a good deal of anxiety and uncertainty among the work force and local business. The ongoing viability and success of our domestic steel making capacity is critical not just to the region of Illawarra but to this nation, and I am pleased to hear of the efforts that at least in this regard the government is taking to convince the United States of the folly of their ways.

Our region, like so many others in Australia, is going through a difficult transition. Over the past 15 years, the manufacturing and mining sectors in the Illawarra have shed many thousands of jobs, as has the steel making operation. The regional economy is attempting to diversify, with growth in tourism, information and communication technology and business services. Here I want to say that our local university—and I stress the importance of regional universities, which have been suffering under the cuts from this government—is helping drive that future development as a centre of excellence in advanced technology, research and innovation. The community have faced significant economic change, adversity and unemployment, but their keen sense of community and optimistic spirit, I am sure, will help them rise to the challenge of coming years. But it will require of this government more than a blind faith in market forces. A more interventionist approach to industry, regional development, infrastructure funding and employment policy is urgently needed.

The seat of Throsby ranks ninth on the index of relative socioeconomic disadvantage. This index includes indicators such as income levels, educational attainment, unemployment, one-parent families and renting households. Throsby ranks in the bottom third of income indicators—a key measure, I think we would all agree, of relative disadvantage. Any suggestion therefore, as is often heard from members on the other side of this chamber, that if you happen to be poor it is your fault—somehow a personal failing— reveals a total lack of understanding of the causes of poverty and the growing inequality in our society.

This government's domestic policies, including the introduction of a regressive tax regime, coupled with cuts to our social infrastructure and deregulation of the labour market, have all worked to undermine the living standards of the lowest paid in our community. To be poor in our society is no longer the result of being unemployed or on social security benefits. We are now witnessing families who have paid employment but not enough pay to sustain them and their children—the working poor.

As a former President of the ACTU, I was involved in the first living wage case that brought to the public's attention the growing numbers of working poor in our society. Recent research shows that this problem is growing. Under this government there has been a 40 per cent increase in the number of working poor, with an additional 46,000 children raised in these families. While the top end of town continues to benefit under this government from tax cuts and no restraint on their salary increases and remuneration packages, the battlers continue to struggle to make ends meet. They rely only on the small wage increases afforded through the award safety net, now a mere $417 gross per week. Imagine trying to raise a family on that! About 450,000 full-time workers in Australia today earn less than $507 gross per week, or $13 an hour. Many families in my electorate are struggling to make ends meet, to be aspirational, to look after their families on these ridiculously low wage levels. Yet this government, which talks so much and professes to be on the side of the battlers, continues to oppose the ACTU's claim for a $25 a week pay rise for the 1.7 million workers whose wage increases are set by awards and awards alone. This government is clearly out of touch if it does not realise that families are doing it tough through no fault of their own.

These trends in pay rates reflect wider movement in income inequality, which has been increasing since the mid-seventies and accelerating rapidly under this government. The top 20 per cent of income earners in this country now get 48 per cent of gross weekly income. At the other end of the scale—and this includes many of the people that I represent—the bottom 20 per cent of income earners are left with just four per cent of gross weekly income to take home to their families. If paid work in this country is no longer a guarantee of lifting your family above the poverty line, just imagine the plight of those not in the work force and the estimated 850,000 children growing up in families where neither parent works.

This government's belief that economic growth would see prosperity trickle down has clearly failed, and it has failed particularly for the long-term unemployed. Every church and welfare organisation in my electorate—and I have spent time with a number of them—knows the reality of poverty and inequality for they deal with it on a daily basis, providing assistance by way of emergency relief and, in some cases, food parcels and vouchers for the payment of electricity bills. Despite attempts to blame the victims, people know that poverty and unemployment are serious national issues requiring new policy approaches from this government. Failure to address growing inequality and unemployment puts at risk the social cohesion and egalitarianism that has helped shape this nation. It is time this government took heed of the words of Sir William Deane when he asked us all that we not forget:

From the time of Gough Whitlam's memorable policy speech of 1972 through to Kim Beazley's promotion of Knowledge Nation, education has always been central to Labor's vision. As Gough explained:

this is in 1972, but you can read it for today too—

It is in the area of educational opportunity that the disadvantages in my electorate are so clearly evident. Forty per cent of people left school aged 15 or under and 63 per cent of them have no post-school educational qualification. We take pride locally in the high proportion of people with trade qualifications and their enormous contribution to the growth of manufacturing industries but, when you look at recent data, attendance at university for these people is still at very low levels. Whitlam believed that the force and sincerity of a nation's commitment to equal opportunity is most clearly seen and readily tested in the field of education. Unlike this government, he actually applied his beliefs in practice. In the first year of his government, as we know, many bold, visionary and lasting initiatives were undertaken. Among these initiatives, federal spending on education was nearly doubled, an independent Schools Commission was established and tertiary fees were abolished from January 1974.

Even as late as the early 1980s, the majority of federal funds went to the public education system. Now there is widespread community concern at the fact that, under this government, the 70 per cent of students in public education now receive only about 36 per cent of federal government outlays. While schools in my electorate struggle with problems of overcrowding, demountable accommodation, lack of security and inadequate resources, the government committed an extra $57 million to the 61 wealthiest private schools. While parents in my electorate raise funds to provide the most basic necessities, such as toilets and shade areas, the exclusive King's School received an extra $4 million—a school with 15 cricket fields, five basketball courts, 12 tennis courts, a 50-metre pool, an indoor rifle range, 13 rugby fields, three soccer fields and a gym. How can this expenditure of taxpayer funds be justified? The injustice is so obvious when you consider that in one of my local primary schools one computer is shared between 14 students and they have no wet weather protection or gym facilities.

Under this government we continue to witness a redirection of funds to bolster the private education system at the expense of public schools—the propping up of privilege that Gough referred to—at the expense of educational opportunity. Historically, the public education system has played a very important role in helping to build the social capital that keeps our societies and communities together. Perhaps this role is best described in the words of one of our great statesmen, Sir Henry Parkes, who envisaged public schools as making:

The primary obligation of all governments, federal and state, must be to ensure that the public education system is properly resourced and funded. It is the system that caters for 70 per cent of our school students. It is open to all and provides the foundation of Australia's cohesive, democratic and multicultural society. I am a product of that system. I taught in it and continue to be one of its many champions. As a community we need also to show greater support for the work and worth of the teaching profession. Their task is extraordinarily demanding, and yet they continue to feel undervalued, often unappreciated and definitely underpaid.

As we begin this new century, it is timely to reflect on the first two centuries of European settlement and to see the process of reconciliation as providing the momentum for positive change. Sir William Deane articulated the central importance of indigenous and non-indigenous relationships in one of his many fine addresses. Back in May 2000, he said:

I am very pleased that a large proportion of Australians now accept that there is a need to address the historical injustices and the contemporary disadvantage of indigenous Australians. The numbers of active supporters involved in the people's movement for reconciliation is a step towards a better future and a healing of some of the injustices of the past. But there remains, in the words of Patrick Dodson, `unfinished business'. As he explained:

And they were:

As he said:

Indigenous Australians, as first peoples of the continent, are entitled to a distinct set of political, economic and cultural rights—a reality that has been recognised by the High Court of Australia and the United Nations but, regrettably, not by those who sit on the other side of this chamber. The challenge for us as Australians in the coming decades is, through negotiation, to create workable options for indigenous rights to co-exist with the rights of other Australians within Australian law.

Let me conclude with a quote from one of our revered leaders on the Labor side, Gough Whitlam. I think this quote really encapsulates what I believe in and what I have tried to express today. He said:

It is in pursuit of that vision that I will apply myself both in this chamber and in my efforts on behalf of the people of the Throsby electorate.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Jenkins)—Order! Before I call Mr King, I remind honourable members that this is his first speech. I therefore ask that the usual courtesies be extended to him.