Member for Cunningham, Alison Byrnes MP, delivered her inaugural speech to the Australian Parliament today declaring that she will never let the Illawarra be ignored.
Ms Byrnes said her experiences as a child and teenager in Wollongong were similar to so many others – her mother had migrated to Australia when she was young and her father worked in the mines.
“Dad was a sparky. Dad worked in the mines and he was in and out of work”, Ms Byrnes said.
“A common experience as the Illawarra suffered the harsh economic winds that blew through coal and steelmaking in the 1980’s.
“At times it was tough, really tough – an experience you don’t forget”, she said.
Ms Byrnes said what was thought of as the determination of a slightly rebellious teen that prompted her to take on causes at school and advocate for people throughout her working life, leading her to stand for election in May.
Among a long list of thank you’s she noted the influence of her former employers Sharon Bird and the Hon Professor Stephen Martin AO, current and former Parliamentarians, including friend and former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and people she had worked with and advocated for over the last three decades.
Special mention was reserved for former union activist Fred Moore who would have celebrated his 100th birthday today and the Illawarra union movement.
“The activism of the Illawarra’s union movement led directly to changes in policy in response to industrial accidents”, she said.
Ms Byrnes restated the commitments she had made during the election campaign including an Illawarra Medicare Urgent Care Centre, future energy skills training centres at the University of Wollongong and Wollongong TAFE, a community battery for Warrawong and commitments to improve the aged care system, NDIS and implement early childhood education reforms.
Ms Byrnes committed to work hard to deliver for the Illawarra, promising to kick goals for her community.
“I care about people, I care about their jobs, and I care about our environment”, she said.
“The Illawarra is innovative, tough and clever and I am optimistic about what we will achieve”, Ms Byrnes said.
“Wollongong has changed since I was born but our community values endure like hardened steel.
“They are founded on the need to trust your mates in dangerous workplaces, to understand your neighbour who was born in a different part of the world and to know that fairness should guide decision-making”, she said.
