Alan Tudge: A thoughtful changemaker

The albanese government must continue to promote a positive view of our nation in the school curriculum, argues alan tudge as he delivers his valedictory speech.

The following is an edited extract of the valedictory speech to parliament given by retiring federal member Alan Tudge.

I would like to inform the House that I'll be resigning from parliament effective from next week. I informed the Prime Minister and the Speaker of my decision earlier today, and the Leader of the Opposition has known of my likely intent since early January, when my decision was cemented following the passing of my father.

It has not been an easy decision for me, but it is necessary for my health and for my family, amongst other reasons. I certainly have not taken this decision lightly. My daughters, who are 18 and 16, know nothing other than their dad being away. They've had to put up with things that no teenager should have to, including death threats, the most recent of which was last week. My son is a bit younger, but I equally want to be a good father to him.

While this profession can be unforgiving at times, serving as a member of parliament has been one of the greatest honours of my life. As a local member I've had opportunities to work with thousands of individuals and groups to advance our community, from Foothills Community Care to the Boronia football club. I've had the privilege of meeting and recognising volunteers who have done 20 or more years of quiet work just helping others—the true heroes of our nation. This alone makes a role as a representative not just worthwhile but immensely rewarding, and it's why I continue to encourage others to consider pursuing it. I thank the people of Aston for putting their faith in me and giving me that responsibility.

I've been fortunate to have been given ministerial responsibilities, and I was equally fortunate in my timing. I've had just one term in opposition and nine years on the front bench in government, including being in the Morrison cabinet. My passion has always been in social policy rather than economic or security policy, the traditional Liberal focal areas. I've always believed that, while the economy is the foundation of our society, social policies determine whether individuals are given the opportunity and responsibility to realise their potential. Both of these things are required: opportunity and responsibility. That's something that I learned deeply from working with Noel Pearson. That's why I've been passionate about working with colleagues in this House to lead policy reforms over the years, such as strengthening the sustainability of our social security systems, including through stronger job search obligations, which in part have led to the lowest welfare dependency ratio in decades.

We codesigned the cashless welfare card with Indigenous leaders, to be implemented in areas where welfare fuelled alcohol abuse was robbing women and children of their safety, let alone a reasonable life. There is still so much work to do in this area, as Alice Springs is showing. We implemented policies to support social cohesion and strengthen our successful model of integrated multiculturalism, including encouraging the learning of English and providing unlimited free tuition to do so as well as countering some of the CCP misinformation. We made reforms to online gambling, including banning lines of credit, and brought in other new consumer protections, some of which are still being implemented now.

My greatest passion, though, was and is education. I would have loved more time leading that portfolio, but I know that many of our initiatives are being supported by the Albanese government. For example, I'm pleased that legislation has been reintroduced to enact the research commercialisation agenda, which the Business Council of Australia described as 'crucial for our economic success for decades to come'. Equally so, the reforms to initial teacher education, which are absolutely fundamental to lifting school standards. Similarly, the expansion of Teach For Australia, the rolling out of explicit instruction in remote schools and the encouragement of high-fee independent schools to partner with Indigenous ones—all are important. I thank Minister Jason Clare for the constructive manner he has taken to these programs. I don't expect the Labor government to be quite as passionate as me about reforming the school curriculum to present a more positive, optimistic view of our nation, but I certainly encourage the government down that path.

Alan Tudge is the retiring Federal Member for Aston and a former Cabinet Minister. This is an edited extract of his valedictory speech.