First Speech

Mr GUY -- The Liberal philosophy is and always has been about reducing the
taxation burden -- reducing tax on families, on singles, on those on a fixed
income and on business. Victoria will not maintain a competitive position as a
desirable destination for migrants, for new business, for new investment or for
those who are already here if we continue to trundle along as a cool climate,
highly taxed and over-regulated economy.
Our state is facing significant long-term challenges as a desirable location for
business and migration, not just from our old sparring partner New South Wales
but now from Queensland and Western Australia as well. One view is that we should choose not to compete with other states in this
commonwealth for investment, jobs and new citizens, but unfortunately some other
states do not share this approach. I believe that as we start to move into the
21st century, Victoria should be aiming to be the lowest taxing state in
Australia and as such to use low taxation as a key weapon in maintaining an
economic edge over other states and indeed other economies in the Asia-Pacific
region.
If we were to provide future generations with just one tool for long-term social
and economic success, it would be an all-party agreement on keeping Victoria the
lowest taxing state in Australia -- an agreement that all Victorian governments
would whenever practicable maintain this competitive edge for Victoria. This
would provide a huge incentive for new investment, for new jobs, for new
research, for new migrants to come to Victoria and for us to continue to grow
our state.

I am an average suburban boy. I was raised in a typical three-bedroom house in
the suburbs of Melbourne. I went to the local high school, I rode my bike up and
down the hills of Montmorency and I played street cricket -- poorly -- with the
other kids in the court where we lived. Over the last few years some have begun
to assert that this way of life, the life of suburban or township Australia, is
somehow dated or totally unsustainable -- that our cities and towns are somehow
examples of indulgent excess. I believe otherwise. In the suburbs of our cities
-- Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo -- and in towns across Victoria lie
hundreds of thousands of success stories: Victorians who have found their patch
of land and built the dream on which they wish to raise their families. Suburban
life and town life is something that we should cherish. It is an endearing image
of Australia and a powerful image of why so many have come and others still want
to come to live in Australia.

Population and planning policy is not just about drawing lines on a map or the
arbitrary limitation of the growth of our cities and towns. While all growth
should be appropriate and sustainable, I believe that government should be
standing up for the way of life that so many Australians have and want to
continue to have, not seeking to limit it. There is no doubt that locking up a
lot of land around our cities has added to the recent massive rises in property
values. While this may be good for some -- for young families, young couples or
other people seeking to get a start in life -- it is making the great Australian
dream unaffordable for many.
In my time in this Parliament I hope to stand out as a staunch defender of the
suburban or town life that so many of us know. I hope to be able to provide new
opportunities for other Victorians to continue that style of family life and to
ensure that if people want to live the great Australian dream, they have the
opportunity to do so.

Further, I hope to be able to contribute to population and planning policy that
is not just about maps or numbers but is also about the preservation and
expansion of the Australian way of life and giving more Victorians the chance to
live the great Australian dream.
As a newly elected parliamentarian I want to state loudly and proudly to this
chamber that I am a Christian. My faith has always been something that has given
me personal strength and guidance, and it has always been a powerfully positive
force in my life. My newish local church, Scots Presbyterian in the city, is one
of the few places I can go and completely unwind -- and it is not just because I
can turn off my mobile phone for an hour on Sundays. The church engages in many
activities that help those less fortunate, preaching tolerance and respect and
working for good in our community.

But what has concerned me over a number of years is the growing acceptance of
ridicule and denigration of the Christian church in sections of the
entertainment industry, the media and even sections within government.
It astounds me that the desecration of the crucifix can be considered art. I am
dumbfounded that some contemporary movies scripted with no basis of evidence and
questioning the authenticity of the Bible can be painted off as reasoned fact.
Christianity, and indeed all religions, should be treated with reverence and
respect. In Australia our society has prospered and succeeded with the help of
others but particularly with the help of the church. Over many years churches
within Australia have provided a strong community focal point. They have been a
help to people who are less fortunate or in trouble and have helped to give many
thousands of kids a terrific upbringing through Sunday schools. As we approach
Christmas I would just remind this house and all Victorians that what we are
taking holidays to celebrate or to recognise is the birth of Jesus Christ.

While the chance to give presents and to be around family is a wonderful gift in
itself, I hope the teaching to our young of the true meaning of Christmas is
never lost or banned by overzealous, politically correct politicians or
bureaucrats. I for one will be most vocal against any moves to lessen the
significance of the church within our society.
I hope that as a member of this Parliament I will be part of an elected group of
people who always stand up for the three powerful things that unite our nation
and our state: democracy, the rule of law and having respect for all people. These three institutions are the principles of a decent society and
are principles which we should export with pride. Australia has accepted more
people from more parts of the world than almost any other nation on earth, many
of them settling here in Victoria -- and we have built a successful society from
many different peoples because of the institutions that underpin that society.
However, in our world today no-one can deny that there are new tensions emerging
which have profound ramifications, particularly for settler nations like
Australia.
As the son of a post-war migrant I would simply say to anyone coming to this
fabulous country, and more particularly to this wonderful state, that we believe
in democracy and the rule of law. Australia believes in tolerance and respect
for everyone's religion, for the total equality of both genders and for all our
people's freedoms and liberties.

I would like to draw to the end of my inaugural speech by expressing my deep
thanks to the people of the new Northern Metropolitan Region. While the sheer
size of the new upper house regions will undoubtedly present all of us as
Legislative Councillors with some challenges, given each new region has a
population of over 630 000 people, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to
represent an area of Melbourne that I was born in and still live in. Further, I
am honoured to be the first person to represent the Liberal Party in suburbs
that have never before had a local Liberal member of Parliament.
Democracy is a wonderful thing and being elected to serve as a representative of
the people is most humbling. So to all my new constituents I say thank you for
the chance to be one of your local members. I am also indebted to a number of my
good friends, many of whom are here tonight, for their help and advice.

While I cannot acknowledge them all, I would particularly like to mention Nick
McGowan, Scott Ryan, Stuart Eaton, Scott Pearce, Michael Brennan, Amanda Lean
and Sally Carrick.
I also acknowledge the tireless work done by all members of the Northern
Metropolitan Region Liberal campaign team led by Stuart McCraith, David Taylor,
Nick Bromhead and Tony Snell, and to the two other Liberal candidates for the
region, Dino De Marchi and Emilia Arnus for their hard work. Further, I would
like to pass on my thanks to Bill Forwood, Peter McKenna, Wayne Phillips, Peter
McWilliam and the member for South-West Coast in the other place, Denis
Napthine, for their many years of friendship, political advice and support.
Like many people who have been successful in being elected to public office I
have done so with the very strong support of my family.

I would like to place on record my deep gratitude to my parents, Vera and Chris,
and my brother, Darren, for the love and support they have shown me,
particularly over the 16 years that I have been active in the Liberal Party. My
parents gave my brother and me the best gift possible: a loving, caring, stable
family home in which to grow up. For the sacrifices they made so that they could
achieve this I am eternally grateful, as I am for their constant love, support
and tolerance.
On 31 March next year I will acquire another set of parents and a sister-in-law
in Steve, Lorraine and Chelsea Stoikos. I am sure there is some residual doubt
about their daughter and sister marrying a politician, but they have been
totally supportive over a period of time, for which I am very appreciative. Like
my parents, my soon-to-be in-laws, Steve and Lorraine, have worked hard in their
lives to raise their two daughters and, again like my parents, they are
exceptional role models in family life for me to follow.

I would also like to mention my grandparents who have always been very
supportive of everything I have done in life. I would like to pass on my thanks
to my paternal grandfather, Tom Guy, and also to my grandmother, Lola, who only
very recently passed away. My maternal grandparents, Ivan and Maree Naumenko,
have also been wonderful to me. They endured so much to come to this country
with a young family, to leave their lives behind and start all over again. It is
a common but amazing story for so many Australians who came here after World War
II. While my grandfather passed away some time ago, I know he would be proud of
the fact that one of his grandsons has been elected to Parliament and as such
has the chance to be the first person to utter some brief words in an Australian
Parliament in his native tongue, Ukrainian. So with your indulgence, President:

[Ukrainian
translation. Opens in new window]
And in English: I am exceptionally proud to be here as an Australian with
Ukrainian heritage. The Ukrainian community has contributed much to the culture
and development of Australia and today our two nations are great friends.Finally, but most importantly, I would like to acknowledge and thank my
soon-to-be wife, Renae. In the time she has known me I have stood for two
preselections, which I have won, and two elections, where I have lost one and
won one, and throughout these events and many others she has been there as an
unwavering support and strength. I love her very much and cannot wait to get
married in March next year.
I am proud to stand here as a Liberal member of Parliament. I am doubly proud
that the Liberal Party has never shifted from its founding ideology to achieve
electoral success or community acceptance. What Liberals believe in our heads is
what we believe in our hearts. The Liberal Party stands as a beacon of hope to
all those Victorians who know that we will not succeed by being a high-taxing,
overregulated, cool-climate economy near the bottom of the world, and that a
vibrant and dynamic community in the 21st century will not be sustained with
complacency in government.

During this past election I believe that many Victorians saw the Liberal Party
reclaim the title as the party of ideas. We reclaimed our vibrancy and the
hunger for government.
If I may conclude with a quote from a politician whom I regard with great
esteem, the former Quebec Premier, Rene Levesque. He said to the people under
similar circumstances:
If I understand you well, you're saying, 'Until the next time'.
Debate adjourned on motion of Mr BARBER (Northern Metropolitan).
Debate adjourned until next day.

Mr GUY (Northern Metropolitan) -- Mr President, I would like to begin by
congratulating you on your election as President of this house.

Election to this parliamentary chamber is a great privilege for any Victorian,
but the further election as Presiding Officer of the Legislative Council is a
great honour, one that I am sure you are most worthy of and will carry out with
great distinction.
It is a tremendous honour for me to stand here tonight and deliver this
inaugural speech to the Parliament of Victoria. Ever since I was a boy I have
loved state politics and had a deep desire to participate in it as a state parliamentarian. Indeed it is a tremendous honour for all of us here in
this Parliament because from almost 5.25 million Victorians, only 128 people are
elected to manage the affairs of this state.
I believe that state politics is by far the most representative level of
government in Australia and by far the most 'in-touch' level of government and
the most representative of our community. At the state political level you do
not just talk about facilitating a project or planning a project, you can do the
lot -- plan it, build it, open it and run it. State politics is about the full
governance of communities. It is a perfect example of how people can directly
govern their own affairs, including from tiny micro issues to major macro
affairs. As I said, it is a tremendous honour for me to be able to be in this
chamber tonight in this capacity.

I joined the Liberal Party in 1990 as an ordinary, suburban high school boy who
had a deep affection for his state and a great desire to better its position in
our country and in the world. I believed then and I believe now that Victorians
should not just accept that, like other first-world, cool-climate states or
provinces, we are bound to eventually be surpassed economically and in numbers
by sun-drenched states to our north and west. I have never believed that being
second best or just near the top is good enough for Victoria. Our state has a
proud history, and I believe it can have a dynamic future, too.
When I joined the Liberal Party in 1990 Victoria was a mess. One in eight people
were unemployed, and we had government debt of over $30 billion. Financial
collapses in Pyramid Building Society, the State Bank of Victoria, the Victorian
Economic Development Corporation, Tricontinental and others devastated our
economy and left a deep scar on the psyche and reputation of Victorian business.

Thousands of Victorian families were ruined, and I for one remember wondering in
year 12 how I would ever get a job. These events spurred me on to get active in
politics, as it was clear that if our state continued along the path it was
going, indeed Victoria's best days would be behind us for good.
The early 1990s had a profound political impact on many, particularly on me.
With total financial collapse of the state not an unrealistic situation it
became obvious that our state had learnt the hard way about the absolute
necessity for good financial management. Only through a successful economy can
government pay for better transport services, better health care and education
and emergency services, and have the capital to provide improved long-term
environmental outcomes. The responsible management of taxpayers' money must be
the primary goal of every government. Every politician must remember that
government money is indeed taxpayers' money and this money does not grow on a
magic cash tree.

I believed in 1990, and I still believe today, that only the Liberal philosophy
truly respects that any moneys spent by government are moneys attained through
taxes on a hardworking community. To treat taxpayers' money with frivolous
disregard is to treat Victorians with contempt. I am proud to say that my first
full-time job in politics was with former Premier Jeff Kennett. He and his
government worked exceptionally hard to restore the confidence of a beaten and
comatose economy.
Despite the Liberal-National government of the 1990s facing exceptionally
difficult circumstances, it dramatically turned around the condition of our
economy and, importantly, gave Victorians hope that our state's best days were
not behind us.
As Victorian governments of the 21st century approach the future, I believe the
acceptance as the norm of high taxation, both commercial and personal, must end.

A government that prides itself on maintaining huge budget surpluses without
making any real effort to reduce the taxation burden is engaging in the boast of
a thief. A simple, basic rule for every Victorian government should be that it
makes every effort not to tax the community more than is necessary to run the
affairs of the state -- that is the Liberal way.
Honourable members interjecting.

Mr GUY -- The Liberal philosophy is and always has been about reducing the
taxation burden, reducing taxes on families, on singles -- --