To stand in this place as the member for Northern Tablelands I think will always be the greatest privilege of my life. To be able to stand up in Parliament and fearlessly represent the people of my electorate is an honour and incredibly humbling. Around 250 metres from where we are today is the Hyde Park Barracks. As we all know, those barracks were originally accommodation for male convicts who were transported to the fledgling colony of New South Wales for all manner of offences. In 1833 a young, cranky 24 year old Irish rebel by the name of James Moylan spent his first night in the colony in a hammock in the barracks. He would have been hot. He would have been uncomfortable. He would have been short, because he was a Moylan. I imagine that he certainly would not have thought as he lay there that, in less than 200 years, his third great grandson would be standing just next door as an elected member of State Parliament making his inaugural speech.
Mum and Dad have got the best seats in the House, in the Speaker’s gallery. They are fundamental to my being here today. Mum and Dad are a quiet, unassuming, hardworking couple who gave me, my brother Paddy and my sister Felicity the very best start in life. Like most country kids, my memories of childhood all revolve around the family farm. Like all farm kids, I grew up driving utes, operating machinery, farming paddocks, shooting pigs and working cattle. It was a great way to grow up. My first awareness of politics occurred while sitting on a tractor in December 1991. I was with Dad, listening to the ABC coverage of Paul Keating’s successful challenge on Bob Hawke. I still remember watching Dad. On the one hand he looked quite happy that Hawkie was gone, yet on the other hand he looked terrified that Paul Keating was about to become Prime Minister. I asked Dad how he voted. He said, “I vote for the Country Party.” I asked him why and he said, “Because they’re the only ones that look after us in the bush.” I have remembered that to this day.
Mum is the one of the hardest working people I have ever met. I like to think and hope that in some way I have inherited some of her grit and determination. Mum was a registered nurse and her work ethic is consistent with all nurses, particularly those in the bush. I have said it on a number of occasions in the last few weeks, but our nurses really are the backbone of our healthcare system in the regions. Personally, I think it is time that we started paying them properly. Growing up, I was also incredibly fortunate to have an older brother, Paddy, who is in the gallery today, to look up to—because he is somehow a lot taller than me—and a younger and much smarter sister, Felicity, to be constantly in awe of. I thank you guys for coming today. Mum, Dad, Paddy and Flea, it is undoubtedly the case that without growing up with you and our background, I would not be here today.
I grew up on a farm to the west of Gunnedah. Gunnedah—or “Funnedah”, as locals like to call it—is a cracking town with a rich political pedigree. My colleague the Hon. Sarah Mitchell is a Gunnedah girl. Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson is a Gunnedah boy. The new Nats candidate for the seat of Parkes, Jamie Chaffey, is a Gunnedah boy. Of course, the former member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall is yet another Gunnedah boy. I will talk about Adam later. At the age of 12 I packed up a brand-new suitcase that Mum had bought from Treloars of Tamworth. Where is Kev?
Mr Kevin Anderson: Right here, buddy. I’m listening.
I followed the family tradition of becoming a boarder at St Joseph’s at Hunters Hill. Joeys is a school with a deep history and has educated many members of my family. I made lifelong friends at school; I am pleased to see a few Joe boys in the gallery today. Thank you for coming. Jack Freeman sends his apologies. He does not like leaving the Narrabri shire. He also said that he would prefer to change the oil in his spray rig, which is fair enough. Joeys taught me the value of hard work and never giving up, lessons I hope will stand me in good stead in this place. I was fortunate to be taught and influenced by some incredible people at school, including John Reading, Brother Ernest, Magdy Habib, Mark Halsted, Mark Williams, and my year 12 history teacher, Michael Burns.
After I finished year 12 at Joeys I was keen to get out of Sydney and back to the country. I followed my brother and enrolled in a combined law degree at the University of New England. Today I proudly wear a UNE tie in the Chamber. During my five years at UNE I was a St Albert’s College kid. Like so many people across my electorate of Northern Tablelands, I say that I am ex Albies with a lot of pride. Albies was a great way to learn. What better way to undertake your tertiary education than living with some the best people you will ever meet. Those have been lifelong connections, to the extent that everyone who featured in my campaign material was ex Albies. Some of my memories from Albies are a little hazy. For that, I blame in particular Messrs Brennan, Martin and Stephen. I am pleased to see Tom Brennan in the gallery with that dashing moustache. Thank you for coming.
My five years at university were by far some of the best of my life. The University of New England is a world class organisation that for over 70 years has provided a tertiary education to kids from right across the world. More importantly, in my opinion, it has provided a tertiary education to kids from the regions who otherwise would not be able to afford to go to uni. I am honoured that Professor Chris Moran, Vice Chancellor and CEO of UNE, is in the gallery today. Thank you so much for coming, Chris. I look forward to working with you, doing whatever I can from this place to help UNE in the future.
Miraculously, by 2003 I had finished my law degree. I packed up my Armidale life and moved to Moree. I had spent a lot of time in Moree over the holidays and knew there was a lot of opportunity out there. Mark Houlahan and Basil Downes from Webb and Boland took a chance on me and I landed a litigation job as a junior solicitor. I was incredibly fortunate to get a job at Webb and Boland. It is a stand out amongst regional firms. When you tell people that you are a solicitor from Moree they automatically think you do criminal law, but we actually did not do much criminal law at all. My old firm has a client base that would be the envy of most city firms. The size of the work that we did was absolutely fantastic, as were the people I did that work with. I will miss them all.
I spent 21 years at Webb and Boland, during which time I worked with and against some incredibly gifted and honest lawyers. At times, though, the work was tough, particularly between 2017 and 2022, when there appeared to be what is best described as a legal war of attrition against our farmers in the north of the State. During those times the work was awful. As a solicitor in the bush, your clients become your friends. You feel the lows and celebrate the wins with them. To all my clients, especially those with whom I went through the trenches in the Land and Environment Court, thank you for mostly taking my advice. Thank you for not giving voluntary interviews. I hope you realise how many sleepless nights you gave me during those tough years.
Ultimately, though, it was those tough years that steered me towards politics. I saw firsthand how the laws that are made in this place can have fantastic results for country people but can also have devastating results. I look forward to doing what I can in this place for the short time that I will be here to look after those of us in the regions. To everyone I have worked with over the years at Webb and Boland, thank you. To Mark Houlahan and Basil Downes, thank you for taking a chance on an untested graduate and thank you for giving me a job. I see some very decent lawyers sitting in the gallery today. I have been fortunate to meet and learn a lot from the likes of Matthew Puleo, David Carroll, Christopher Taylor, Cliff Ireland, Nick Kirby and Callan O’Neill. Thank you for coming.
In 2005, chance played her biggest card on me when the mighty Bulls first XI, for which I was the opening batsman, was rolled for about 150 runs less than what we were chasing. I scored a very impressive duck. As I had the afternoon to spare, I jumped in a car with a few old Albies mates and we headed west to a fundraiser for Teddy Horsbourough at a little place called Carinda, west of Walgett. At that fundraiser I met a Bingara girl by the name of Catherine Young, and we were married roughly two years later. Cath, you know what you mean to me. You are the kindest, most supportive and funniest person that I have ever met, and you are so patient with this new job. Thank you for everything.
To our kids, Lucy, Rory and Milly, I know you’re all very excited to be here and have a day off school. Hopefully one day you will appreciate the significance of this. I will just go off script for a minute. On my election night when we won the by-election, Andrew Fraser came up to me and he said, “Right, Brendan, get Cath and the kids and we’ll do your entrance.” To which Lucy said to me and to Andrew Fraser, “Why bother? It’s only State Parliament. It’s not Federal. No-one cares.” To which Andrew Fraser responded, of course, “Rah, rah, rah, rah, rah.” To Catherine’s family, the Young family of Bingara, thank you for all of the help that you have given Catherine and I over the years for our little family.
I have come to this place as a by-election baby, as they say, and I am here today because of the resignation of the former member Adam Marshall. I am proud to call Adam a mate. He has set the benchmark in this place for what it means to be an effective, hardworking local member. Adam has also set the benchmark for how to transition a seat. My seat has never been transitioned from party to party ever before. Adam was a successful local member because he always put the people of the electorate first; the politics came second, and that is the approach that I have already adopted. The people of our electorate expect and deserve an active, hardworking and accessible local member, and that is what I will be. Adam, thank you for setting the benchmark for the rest of us to aspire to. I value your friendship. I respect your guidance and wisdom. Thank you for everything that you did during my campaign to get me here today.
Many in this place will know that a by-election is tough. There is only a very brief window. As a candidate you have to be well supported and you have to work hard. The support that I had during my by-election was incredible. I see so many Nats members sitting in the gallery today. Our Nats members in those god-awful canary yellow shirts braved the cold throughout the campaign, and I cannot thank you all enough. To our State electorate council chair, Janetta Matchett, who is here, thank you for all of your hard work and your friendship over the years. I thank the Moree branch executive, former Australian cricketer Peter Taylor, Geoff Manchee, Peter Gall and Brad Cogan. I am particularly pleased that Peter Taylor is here today. PT, my brother and I grew up in the backyard pretending to try and get your bowling action, but we could never quite master it. Thank you for all of your help over the years and for your friendship.
In my opinion, the best decision that was made throughout the by-election was when Tory Mencshelyi decided that she would assist my campaign and run it. Tory is a truly brilliant campaigner but, more importantly, she is a thoroughly decent human being. Tory, thank you for everything that you have done for me and thank you for everything you are doing for our great party. I will be forever grateful that I had you in my corner. I value your friendship, and I am really proud to call you a mate. I look forward to watching, and hopefully in some way being involved in, all of the great things that you will do for our wonderful party.
To my Nats colleagues, thank you for the incredibly warm welcome you have all given me coming into this place. For all of your help during the by-election, thank you. As Nats, we all come from diverse backgrounds. We have farmers, physios, teachers, small business owners and even an ABC radio announcer, but our reason for being in this place is the same. At the end of the day, we are here to serve the people of regional, rural and remote New South Wales. Our role is to fight for the bush. We are at our best when we develop effective policy that will improve the lives of the people in our electorates and right across New South Wales. We need to develop good policy and fight hard for those policies to be implemented, and I look forward to helping in that process. Many years ago I joined the Nats because I loved the idea of a party that existed purely to serve the regions. I love the idea of a party that is based not on a political philosophy but rather on geography. Our sole purpose is to serve regional, remote and rural people. I think we do it well. We can always do it better, and I look forward to being part of that process.
Sitting down this morning upstairs at about 4.30 a.m. after I had finished chatting with the cleaner, I got to this point in my speech and I did not know where to go with it. I thought about what I would talk about and what my goals are in this place. At the end of the day, my goals are simple: I want to be a voice for my communities, I want to always put the interests of my electorate ahead of my own interests, and I want to be a fearless advocate for the people of the Northern Tablelands but also for all of the people in regional New South Wales. Those of us from the Northern Tablelands are a diverse bunch. The issues in Boggabilla are vastly different to the issues in Armidale. It is my job when I come to this place to make sure all of those issues are listened to and fought for. We are a geographically diverse electorate. Our electorate spans from the fertile plains of Boomi, or “Boomtown”, as the locals call it, to the gorges of Ebor. We span from the Celtic country of Glen Innes to the cotton fields of Mungindi. In my opinion, the electorate encapsulates the very best of New South Wales.
Our communities expect and demand that I will work hard and achieve results. I am not here for my own personal gain; rather—like most of us here, I think—I am here to improve the lives of the people in my electorate. To the farmer spraying his wheat at Moree this morning, I am here to work for you. To the nurse coming off a 12 hour shift at Armidale Hospital, again, I am here to work for you. I am here to work for everyone in my electorate, whether you voted for me or not. This is my job and this is what I will do. The Northern Tablelands has an amazing community spirit. That spirit is on display today, with every mayor from the seven councils that make up our electorate here today, together with the deputies and the general managers. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for coming down. It means a lot. This speech is not as good as the last one we saw from the member for Northern Tablelands, so I apologise. I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to improve the lives of everyone in our communities.
Mark Coulton once said to me that politics is the art of persuasion, and I agree with him. A good National Party member works hard in his or her electorate. Last month, my logbook said I did 7,400 kilometres. I told Adam Marshall that and he said, “Not enough, mate.” We work hard as Nats, because we have big electorates, but I think it is also important that while I am in this place I work with the Government, even from opposition, and that’s what I plan to do. I am not going to get anywhere in this place throwing mud for the sake of it. I want to achieve results for the communities in my electorate, and I want to go about that task with grim determination but also with grace and respect. At the end of the day, I am a servant of my communities and of the people who sent me to this place. I thank them for the incredible honour and privilege of standing here in the oldest Parliament in Australia. The promise I make to my electorate is simple: I promise to work hard and always do my best. Now it is time to get to work.
