 |
| Dawn Walker MLC |
Thank you Dawn for your passion, your sincerity, your honesty and your relentless efforts to make our world - and our movement- a better place...we hope to see you re-elected!
Dawn's Speech:
VALEDICTORY SPEECH
Ms DAWN WALKER (17:33):As I stand in this Chamber to give my final speech as an elected member of Parliament, I first acknowledge that this place is built on Aboriginal land. It always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I pay deep respect to Aboriginal people across this State, especially my Aboriginal friends on the North Coast who have supported me professionally and personally during my time in Parliament. I cannot think of a greater privilege than to have been sworn in as the fifty-fourth woman elected to the oldest parliamentary Chamber in Australia on International Women's Day. It was 2017 and I remember the Parliament being resplendent with an exhibition celebrating the past 100 years of women's contributions to State politics, as campaigners, protestors, voters, parliamentary officers, members, Ministers and leaders of government. It was a great honour to be part of that. I thank the parliamentary staff for going to considerable trouble to include me at such late notice in the exhibition and the commemorative book.
Since then, I have taken great pride in working with other women to encourage greater representation of women in Parliament, including visiting the Solomon Islands to talk with women there about running as candidates in their upcoming election. During our discussions many spoke about their fear for their villages and for island life because of rising seas and extreme weather events. Some described returning to their outlying island homes after a time away studying or working to find local landmarks and familiar spots permanently underwater. They feared for their children's future and they, like women across the world, were overcoming the multitude of barriers to enter public life and speak out for change. They are brave women who face challenges we could only contemplate, but they did not let that stop them. It was humbling being in their presence, seeing their passion and knowing the risks they took to pursue this course. That confirmed my strong belief that it is women who will step up in greater numbers as climate change continues unchecked and the planet continues to heat up. It gives me much hope for the future, and I send them great strength and solidarity.
I believe in democracy. I have seen democracy in action done well in this place but I have also seen areas that could do with some improvement. I worry that the public sees too much of the bad and not enough of the good. When I host community members in Parliament, it is not the grand foyer or the plush Chamber that I am keen for them to see. Rather, it is the back end. I love taking them up in the lift to my office, to stand cheek to jowl with members of Parliament of every political persuasion, and to stop at level 8 to let the Government members out before we get to where the real action is on level 11! I recently had the pleasure of giving that tour to Hayley and James Paddon. They are sweet potato farmers from the fertile red soils of Cudgen who are working tirelessly to protect State significant farmland from a hospital development. Hayley and James had flown to Parliament to deliver a petition calling on the Government to find a more suitable site for the new Tweed hospital than their red soils.
Hayley represents everything that inspires me to be an elected representative. She describes herself as "a farmer's wife". She has been thrust into public life and activism because she cannot stand by and see the Government concrete over the rich, red food-producing soils of her home. Through passion, courage, determination and just plain hard work, Hayley has stepped up to lead a very effective community campaign to protect Cudgen from this and future developments. Hayley believes in democracy. She has written to Ministers, local members and councillors. She has collected more than 8,000 signatures opposing the development site. She has faced the media, done television interviews, organised and spoken at large rallies, written to the local papers, and withstood trolls and threats. She is not afraid to use her democratic right to peaceful direct action to hold governments to account.
When I met Hayley at the stairs of Parliament to receive her petition, she had a small bag containing a handful of her red soil that she had flown down with. She told me of a dream she had had the night before coming. She dreamt that when she came down to this place no-one would agree to see her. She could not get a meeting with any elected representative to plead her case. So she left with her petition under her arm but as she did she sprinkled the red soil on the grand entry stairs of Parliament. All day unsuspecting members of Parliament walked her red soil throughout the building. Members can rest assured that that did not happen, nor do not I want parliamentary services to be worried—it was a dream. But it sent a powerful message to me about whose place this really is, why we are here and whom we are accountable to. I have tried to have this at the forefront of my mind in everything I have done in this place.
I have been fortunate to serve on two parliamentary inquiries during my term. One was the music and arts economy in New South Wales—I could not be believe my luck that I got on that one. The report was released last week. It looked into the State's night-time economy and made recommendations aimed at revitalising the New South Wales music and arts scene, recognising that it is an important industry both economically and culturally for this State. I thank Anthea Compton for her help on the inquiry and her insights into the music industry as a practising musician.
I am also currently on the National Disability Insurance Scheme inquiry that is looking at the implementation of the NDIS and the provision of disability services in New South Wales and identifying the gaps that people are falling through in the new disability funding system. Both committees have worked hard and collaboratively, respectfully hearing evidence from witnesses and reading hundreds of submissions to gain an understanding of how the sectors are impacted by the laws we make and how we could do better. The parliamentary staff provide great support and guidance to members in that work. I am really in awe of their skills and professionalism. I am going to miss committee work very much.
There is, of course, another way of contributing to making the State function better for the people of New South Wales. That is by passing better bills. That is why I am really proud of the legislation that I have introduced into this House. Building on the work of my colleague and friend Jan Barham, I introduced the Forestry Amendment (Public Enforcement Rights) Bill 2017 to restore the judicial rights of the community to bring legal proceedings against Forestry Corporation for breaches of environmental protection law. Until 1998 members of the public had the ability to take legal action to "restrain and remedy" breaches of environmental protection laws in publicly owned native forests. Those rights were taken away on the promise that the Environment Protection Authority would regulate and police the Forestry Corporation on behalf of the people of New South Wales. It just clearly does not have the resources to do so.
I thank Ian Cohen—the first Greens member elected to State Parliament—who stood in this place nearly 20 years ago and fought hard against the public having those right stripped from them. Jan Barham continued that good work, advocating strongly for those rights to be reinstated after they were stripped away. I introduced the bill to continue the legacy of genuine community representation. I have been out in the forests. I have seen the destruction for myself. I have clearly seen marked habitat trees knocked down and thrown into log dumps. I have seen logging tracks through endangered forests. I have seen ancient trees knocked by Forestry Corporation's logging equipment and damaged in a way that will take hundreds of years off their lives. I have walked through koala habitat. I have picked up koala scats around trees marked for logging. I have seen waterways clogged with debris and fallen logs as a result of noncompliance with stream buffers. I have sat with concerned locals who feel completely powerless as they watch illegal logging and are unable to do anything about it.
Restoring the rights of third parties to bring legal proceedings will not fix past failures, but it will ensure that we live in a State where the community can again protect public resources through access to the judicial system. I have also brought to the House a matter of public importance regarding private native forestry and its effect on the environment with the regulation of private native forestry suddenly and quietly taken away from the Environment Protection Authority and put in the hands of Local Land Services. I have moved 17 amendments to the Forestry Legislation Amendment Bill 2018. I know it took until 2.00 a.m. but I felt it was worth it to get it on the record that the legislation is a disaster for our native forests, for our biodiversity and for the bushland that makes our State unique.
My other great passion in this place is TAFE. I was proud to introduce the Defend TAFE Bill 2018 in an attempt to ensure that TAFE—our once world-class educational institution—is still standing at the end of this Government's term. I have seen how TAFE transforms lives. As a former Federal and State policy adviser in trade training and an advocate for TAFE in this place, I have been determined to defend that once world-renowned training institution. I continue to be opposed to replacing hands-on, face-to-face training with isolated and cheap computer-driven alternatives through the Government's Connected Learning Centres strategy.
I came to this place almost two years ago with such passion to represent my community and the environment. Parliament has not dampened that enthusiasm one bit. But the New South Wales branch of the party I have represented has at times been a terrible disappointment and an impediment to this work. Left Renewal, an anarchist faction in The Greens New South Wales, became public in late 2016.
[Interruption from the gallery.]
The PRESIDENT: Order! The member will resume her seat. Before we continue I will say a few words to the visitors in the President's gallery and public gallery who have come to watch the proceedings. On behalf of all members, I welcome you to the Legislative Council. For those of you who have not visited before I need to explain that we have rules that apply to visitors who watch the debate just as we have rules that apply to members in the House.
No matter what visitors may think about what is being said, they must watch the debate in silence. Applause, jeering and other gestures are not permitted. Visitors are not to attempt to talk to members. If they have something to say to the person next to them, I ask them to say it quietly. No audible conversations are to take place. No filming or photography is permitted by anyone apart from media photographers who have been authorised by the Chair. I ask visitors to please follow all instructions by officers of the Parliament. Ms Jan Barham has the call.
Ms DAWN WALKER: That's an oldie but a goodie.
The PRESIDENT: It's an oldie for which I continually apologise. I know how close you are to Jan. She is a good friend of mine too. Ms Dawn Walker has the call.
Ms DAWN WALKER: Nothing makes me prouder than to complete the term of my friend and colleague and great champion of the environment Jan Barham. I take it as a compliment. Left Renewal, an anarchist faction in The Greens New South Wales, became public in late 2016 when it formed to overthrow capitalism—and undermine my preselection for good measure. They harassed me, bullied me, slandered me and threatened me. I sought legal advice regarding defamation. While my legal counsel advised me that I had a strong case, they also suggested that rather than getting caught up in the courts I should spend my energy being the best member of Parliament I could be. That is what I have done.
During my term I have worked with so many good people in The Greens; hardworking volunteers and protectors of our planet. They are the heart and soul of the party. They want to make a difference. They know the urgency of climate change. They are prepared to act to ensure a future for their grandchildren. But the organisation itself clearly needs to do some serious soul searching. I joined The Greens because I was inspired by the work of Bob Brown. I first met The Greens member Jeremy Buckingham while he was travelling New South Wales on his "fracking tour" to share his experiences from his recent trip to the United States, where he had seen firsthand the devastating impact of coal seam gas on the people, their land and their water.
The Mullumbimby Civic Memorial Hall was packed and he moved every single person there with his stories, his passion and his drive to activate us. It was electric. In the ensuing years, he never dropped the ball once for our community in the fight against this toxic industry. I believe his work in Parliament and that of his staff—Max Phillips, Jack Gough, Adam Guise and now MLC Justin Field—was instrumental in making the Northern Rivers gas field free. And he not only sent the frackers packing, but also he and Graeme Williams delivered The Nationals a blow by taking the seat of Ballina at the 2015 State election—the first time in New South Wales history that a Nationals seat fell to The Greens.
He is a powerful activist and I have stood proudly with him on the fields of Bentley, on the front line of forest blockades and at the gates of Adani. Yet a small but effective cabal has relentlessly attacked and bullied him. They have used social media and smears against him over a number of years. He has withstood them but there has been a cost—a personal cost for him and a cost for The Greens movement. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. OnFour Corners earlier this year, Ian Cohen, our first MLC, describes these forces as pushing him to the brink. He said:
It is difficult. I was constantly at war. I went through times of acute depression because they were really pushing all the way along the line and often actively working against me.
Jan Barham in her valedictory speech right here last year—and many of you were in the Chamber—said:
As a long-term member of The Greens, I had never imagined the pressures I would feel from my party colleagues, and that the greatest source of conflict in this role would come from internal politics…
She went to say:
To this day, many members of our party would be unaware of the tensions and machinations that were operating to create pressure and turmoil for some of their elected members.
Unlike the Australian Greens, the New South Wales Greens regard their elected members as delegates. It is the central committee that approves policy and voting positions. To be a public representative in this situation requires trust—trust in both the party and your MP team. Recent events, culminating in the member for Newtown's use of parliamentary privilege to call for her fellow MP Jeremy Buckingham's resignation, has damaged that trust— perhaps irrevocably.
[Interruption from the gallery.]
The PRESIDENT: Order! I have given numerous warnings to people in the public gallery. The attendants will arrange for the public gallery to be cleared. I will leave the chair until the ringing of the long bell.
[The President left the chair at 17:52. The House resumed at 17:54.]
The PRESIDENT: Before I recall the member, I indicate to the Usher of the Black Rod and the attendants that under no circumstances are those people who were in the public gallery to return to this Chamber either today or tomorrow. They are excluded from the Chamber. I indicate to others in the public gallery and the President's gallery that I will not tolerate any such interjections or behaviour. If I receive one response from a person in the public gallery, they will also be removed immediately. Ms Walker has the call.
Ms DAWN WALKER: Before I close—and it is nearly over, everyone, so thank you for staying with me—I would like to thank the people who have worked alongside me. Clara Williams Roldan has been an absolute rock. Her policy skills are only outweighed by her poise, her emotional maturity and her professionalism. She has just published a book on quitting plastic, so have a look out for that. Graeme Williams, who got me into this mad game in the first place, has been with me throughout my entire time in politics. I could not have done any of this without his skills, judgement and patience. Thank you. You have supported me selflessly and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I also thank all the amazing staff in Parliament, with special thanks to Kate Cadell and the Clerk, David Blunt. I thank the Chamber, committee staff, the attendants and everyone who supports us and works with us to keep this Parliament operating.
I thank you, Mr President. You see me stand for a question before I actually do. I was determined to get the order sequence right before I left. I thank you for that. To all members, I thank you. You have exhibited the essence of good democracy and decency towards those with opposing views—never once have I seen you take a political stoush in the House any further than the lifts. And when we, on occasion, stand for a minute's silence for a deceased former MP, the Hon. Mick Veitch always turns to me and says, "We'll do that for you one day, you know." I think to myself, "I hope that day is not soon." But if it is, I could not think of a better group of people to have it done by. To the organisations and individuals who have assisted my office so generously with your time, advice and insight into issues, I thank you. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to serve the community and its precious environment in this place. I thank you all very much.
Members stood in their places and applauded.
No comments:
Post a Comment