Inaugural Speeches

The PRESIDENT:

Before calling the Hon. Aileen MacDonald, I welcome to my gallery some of her very special guests, including her parents, Graham and Patricia Birch; Scot MacDonald, her husband and a former member of this place—members might remember him; her beautiful children, Alex, Nicola and James; Chloe, her gorgeous granddaughter; Gillian, her sister‑in‑law; Andrew, her brother‑in‑law; and Alasdair, her nephew. I also acknowledge a range of members from the other place and welcome the Premier, who has just joined us, to the Legislative Council. Welcome, everybody, to this important moment. It is an historic moment for all of us and, indeed, most particularly for the Hon. Aileen MacDonald. I now call the Hon. Aileen MacDonald for her inaugural speech.

The Hon. AILEEN MacDONALD (18:01:26):

I would first like to acknowledge that we meet on the homelands of the Gadigal people, who are the traditional custodians of this land. I pay respect to Elders, past and present, of the Eora nation and extend that respect to other First Nations people here today. I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the recent passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I was the last member of Parliament in New South Wales to be sworn in under Her Late Majesty's reign and I am honoured to have made an oath to such a remarkable female leader. In a time when everything seems so fleeting, her 70‑year reign is an extraordinary achievement and I have great admiration for her dedication and service to the Commonwealth. May I also join with recent sentiments expressed by my colleagues in this place and say God Save The King. I wish His Majesty, King Charles III, and the Queen Consort all the best as they begin their new lives.

I am humbled to accept this opportunity to serve as a member of the Legislative Council, humbled to be in this place—one of our nation's great halls of power—and humbled to be surrounded by such history. As is only fitting for an inaugural speech, I have been reflecting quite a lot on my path to this point and the two questions I intend to answer today: Who am I, and how will I serve? I am a first-generation Australian, a daughter of a coalminer. My parents, Graham and Patricia Birch, immigrated to Australia from the East Midlands of England in 1963. Escaping the dreariness of the United Kingdom appealed to my father, especially as he did not want to spend any more time down the pit. So when they spotted an advertisement encouraging workers to Australia, they jumped at the chance for a warmer climate and a new adventure. Fast forward five years and they had three children—my two brothers, David and Danny, and me. Unfortunately, my brothers could not be here tonight.

My father worked in labouring roles in New South Wales and then in Queensland, and my mother supplemented the family income by taking on part‑time cleaning roles to ensure we never went without. In 1980 my parents purchased a corner store. It was my first job before attending TAFE. I learnt a lot from watching my parents run their small business, and that experience served me well later in life. My parents taught us how to be aspirational and how to make those aspirations happen: step by step; small actions matter. They worked hard and did not have it easy. My mother was a quiet but firm advocate for her family, and the glue that kept us together—someone who always focused on others instead of herself, even when she stared down cancer. And while she is all of five feet tall, she is a giant in my eyes. My mother is the person I admire most in this world.

Whilst my mother holds that title, my husband, Scot, is also a strong contender. He is certainly the love of my life—he must be, because this Friday we will be celebrating 33 years of marriage—and probably the most honourable person I know. If it was not for his support and encouragement, I would not be standing here in front of you today. Scot taught me to believe in myself. At times, he has pushed me beyond my comfort zone, but I have always known it is because he could see something greater in me. I can speak to many achievements in my life on a personal, professional and community level, but my greatest, without doubt, are my three children, Alex, James and Nicola. All three have a strong sense of justice and a readiness to do the hard yards, and always go that extra mile. I admire the choices they have made in their lives. I am incredibly proud of them and hope to make them proud of me.

Joining our great party and the NSW Liberal Women's Council has been nothing short of life changing. From the minute I first became involved with the Liberal Women's Council and could see the difference that it is possible to make, I was hooked. The NSW Liberal Women's Council has been a place where I took on roles I had never imagined. Of course, it has been a place where I have met wonderful people, many of whom have helped me on my journey—people such as Robyn Parker, Patricia Forsythe, Peta Seaton, Felicity Wilson, Robyn Preston, Gabrielle Upton, the late Linde Jobling, and one of the people who I most admire in the Liberal Party, Marise Payne. I have found incredible mentors. In working alongside Mary‑Lou Jarvis in supporting women and encouraging them to put their best self forward, I found not only my inspiration but my path, and I am eternally grateful.

I have honestly taken every bit of the inspiration I have found, the skills I have gained, and the connections I have made and applied them to my work in the community—to my local preschool, the school P&F association, the chamber of commerce, Rotary, Country Women's Association, Renew Armidale, the New England Rail Trail and, of course, the regional advisory council of Business NSW. I have every intention of continuing in this vein for the community of New South Wales. Today, as I pledge to serve my community and my party in these halls, I do so with small business very close to my heart. I know small business. I understand the rewards and the pitfalls. Yes, there are hurdles and sometimes tears, but there is also great joy. Small business deserves the support of our community and the Government, as it is the unsung hero of our economy. In this new role, I will continue to work with business chambers and tap into their experience and expertise to find solutions and innovations in the way we do business in the regions. I will also continue to advocate for New South Wales regional communities, because I genuinely believe there is no better place to live, work and raise a family.

Whilst I am committed to working for and representing everyone in my community and across New South Wales, I make a special commitment to women and First Nations people. In my most recent role as a community corrections officer at Armidale Community Corrections, I became painfully aware of the over‑representation of First Nations people in the corrective services environment. According to the 2021 census, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in the Armidale local government area was 8 per cent of the total population, yet they often represent more than 50 per cent of the caseload in the Armidale community corrective services environment. Over the past 10 years there, the Coalition Government has invested in the corrective services model to enable behaviour change to occur. However, I believe we must provide better support and initiatives for change that will directly address those figures and provide better opportunities for First Nations peoples.

Likewise, there is work to be done to ensure women continue to be able to access greater opportunities and lead fulfilling lives. The Perrottet Government, with its NSW Women's Strategy and reforming budget, is already answering that call, providing much‑needed boosts to child care and creating opportunities across our regions. Initiatives aimed at increasing resilience, wellbeing and participation in the workforce are firmly on the Coalition's agenda, as well as providing support for female entrepreneurs. The landmark $5 billion Childcare and Economic Opportunity Fund will also answer that call. I hope this House approves it. Those initiatives will assist in that journey, and I will be able to represent regional women in those important discussions.

I am also committed to seeing changes made in my new workplace. As a woman, I am motivated to support increased female representation in Parliament and to ensure that this place is a safe place. When the Broderick review was released the day after I attended a joint sitting, I was motivated to continue to advocate, as have others before me, for a better future and a workplace that is safe, free from bullying and harassment. I will do so because I believe that if we insist on respect and implement change in our parliamentary environment, that change will be reflected in other workplaces and more women will take courage from our actions.

I take that personally, not only because I am a woman but because I am a mother and a grandmother, and I believe our children and grandchildren deserve better. I will fight for change in the way Parliament operates so that when my granddaughter, Chloe, is ready to make her mark on the world it will be a better place for her and all others. I am always reminded by what retired Lieutenant General David Morrison said: The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. It is incumbent on all of us to stop walking past, not accept the status quo but make change happen. We can all be agents of change.

I turn to northern New South Wales, which is an amazing place. Our community has been through so much: the crippling drought, the devastating Black Summer bushfires, a mouse plague, major flooding and, of course, like everywhere, the impacts of COVID‑19. I want to play a role in that region that I hold dear and has given me so much throughout my life, from childhood holidays at Harrington to taking my own family on holidays throughout the region, and as a newlywed moving to Guyra to commence a new business and start a family. I found community and purpose through Rotary, Quota, the Country Women's Association [CWA], chambers of commerce, my church parish, school associations and sporting clubs, all of which led me to travel all over New England, the north‑west and the North Coast. If I have learnt anything from my time in that great region, it is that people are resilient and will respond if we back them. I intend on doing exactly that.

My community has inspired me to put my hand up to represent it, but I would not have been here without the help of so many people. To all in the gallery, I thank you for coming and being here tonight. It means so much to me as you have been on this journey. I thank you for travelling to get here. I thank my friends who have encouraged me every step of the way. Forgive me if I read out all the names. It is too important to rely on my memory alone. Even then, I will probably still forget. I thank Diane Gray; Martha Weiderman; Dorothy Lockyer; Alan and Liz St Clair; Joe Townsend; Garry Slocombe; Kim Bransdon; Bronwyn Pearson; Catherine D'Angelo; Karen Newberry; Sherry Dorling and Tony Woodbridge; James and Jenni Jackson; Zahoor Ahmal; my friends in the Rotary Club of Guyra and the CWA Guyra Evening Branch; and my many friends in Guyra and Armidale. They gave me courage to make change.

I thank my work colleagues—I will only say their first names—Tina, Sharyn, Marco, Paul, Reece, Fiona, Lisa, Meron, Wendy, Jen, Josh and Sam, for their courage in the work they do every day to keep the community safe and change lives. Through our work on the Local Government Grants Commission, Allan Baptist, OAM, Grant Gleeson, Bruce Notley‑Smith, Helen Pearce and I travelled all over country New South Wales visiting small communities and larger regional centres, meeting local councillors and everywhere hearing stories of skills shortages and frustrations about how to make the funds they have spread further. Perhaps we need to change how the pie is divided up so that councils with the greatest relative need do not miss out.

I thank my extended Liberal Party family: Tom and Val Hellmann; Wendy Berkley; John Burrell; Derek Tink; Matthew and Marion Tierney; Terry McDermott; Jim Peters; Louise McKinnon; James Owen; Dr Harvey Ward; Shayne Miller; Dr Brian Pezzutti; and all members who live in the Country North Province. I also thank Les Wells; Kit Hale; Chris Rath, who used to be in State Executive but is now a member of this House; and Wade McInnerney. I make special mention of my predecessor, the Hon. Catherine Cusack, for her decades of service to the Liberal Party and her fierce representation for the Country North Province. I have big shoes to fill. I thank Jacqui Munro, our newly elected Women's Council president. I can see a bright future ahead for her. She will assist the Women's Council to continue doing its great work in assisting women to take their seats.

I thank the members of the small business professional branch; Troy Wilkie; and the members of the rural and regional committee—Sandra Blackmore, Sarah Lawrence, Pallavi Singh. I give special thanks to my friends who have helped me on this journey: Mitchell Cutting, Rob Assaf, Dylan Whitelaw, Christine Kay and the Young Liberals who stood as candidates in Armidale for the local government elections in 2012. I thank Sally Betts, who has been a great encouragement and took my calls any time of the day; the Hon. Philip Ruddock, AO; my colleagues on State Executive over the past four years; Chris Stone, the State director; and all the staff at the secretariat. I have enjoyed getting to know you and thank you for your guidance and support.

Hansard

I will not name all my parliamentary colleagues who are here. But I thank them for the warmth they have provided as I navigate my next chapter. Cloe Brown, who has joined my team, has the biggest, brightest smile. I know she will help me to keep it real. Lastly, I thank my family—my parents, Graham and Patricia Birch; my brothers, Danny and David; and David's wife, Natalie, and sons, Connor and Liam—for always motivating me to take action on things I care about. I thank my relatives in the United Kingdom. Obviously, is too far for them to travel here today. I thank my father‑in‑law, Jim MacDonald, and my late mother‑in‑law, Lilian MacDonald. If she had been here today, it would have been her birthday. I also thank Gillian, Roland, Andrew, Jennifer, Katrina, Alasdair, Ruairidh, Lara and Liam. Lara and Liam will be parents in April 2023. I took Roland up on his suggestion that they appear in ; now they will. They have always made me feel like I was part of the MacDonald clan. Of course, to my husband, Scot; children, Alex, James and Nicola; daughter-in-law, Shanice; and granddaughter, Chloe, words alone cannot express my thanks. They all keep me grounded. I do this for them.

If I had one goal for my first speech today, it was to leave everyone in no doubt about who I am: I am Aileen MacDonald, grateful daughter of loving ten‑pound Poms; wife to a husband that inspires and walks this path right alongside me; a fiercely proud mother to three incredible humans; a grandmother to a gorgeous granddaughter, Chloe; a hardworking and successful small business owner; a proud resident and determined advocate for the Guyra and Armidale community and for northern New South Wales; and a dedicated member of the Liberal Party of New South Wales. I believe in freedom of speech and that it is in the community halls and around kitchen tables where good ideas and policy is born. I will push for regional New South Wales, small business, and fair representation for women and First Nations people. I stand with our great party and Premier Perrottet, and I will give it my all for those I represent.

I may not be a natural public speaker. However, I will get the job done, as I am determined and a quiet achiever, step by step, knowing that small actions matter because, as the late Queen Elizabeth II herself has said, it is worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about lasting change. It is an honour and a privilege to be in this place and speak for the first time. As Madeleine Albright herself has said, it took me a long time to develop a voice and, now that I have it, I am not going to be silent. As I said at the beginning, I am humbled to have the opportunity to serve as a member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales. I do not take this for granted. I intend to serve with humility and courage. Thank you.

Members and officers stood in their places and applauded.

The PRESIDENT:

I will now leave the chair. The House will resume at 8.00 p.m.

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