Fifield departs with a flourish, urges all to keep the political faith

Liberal senator and former communications minister Mitch Fifield yesterday said goodbye to 15 years in federal politics.

Mitch Fifield during his farewell speech in the Senate. Picture: Gary Ramage

The political system is not broken, outgoing Liberal senator Mitch Fifield declared yesterday as he bid goodbye to 15 years in federal parliament.

The former communications minister, who played a key role in the implementation of the NBN, said he couldn’t disagree more with those who said significant reform was no longer possible and argued that, at its core, the ­essence of politics remained the same. “There are some commentators whose thesis is that the system of politics is broken in Australia,” Senator Fifield said. “That it’s not possible to achieve significant reform anymore. That the press, the 24/7 media cycle, hung chambers and new quasi-political groups make it all too hard. I couldn’t disagree more.”

He called on politicians to ­return to a “core business” of advocacy and persuasion.

“The extent to which political practitioners fail to achieve their objectives is a failure of persuasion and advocacy,” he said. “So I encourage all my colleagues to reject the thesis that the system is broken and embrace core business.”

He also thanked Bill Shorten and Tony Abbott for embracing the NDIS “beyond bipartisanship”.

Several fresh faces delivered maiden speeches yesterday. They included NSW Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, WA Liberal senator Matt O’Sullivan, NSW Labor senator Tim Ayres, Labor MP Fiona Phillips and Liberal MP James Stevens.

Senator Hughes was forced to ad lib parts of her maiden speech after she realised half of the pages were missing.

New Liberal senator Hollie Hughes delivers her maiden speech yesterday. Picture Gary Ramage

But she seemed unfazed by the disruption and, after asking her staff to collect the stray section, launched into a passionate speech about the NDIS, a subject close to her heart. Her son, Fred, has ­autism. “I am a huge believer in the NDIS. It has given us a significant infrastructure and building block on which all in the disability community rely,” she said. “But there is a lot more work to be done to make it truly fit for purpose.”

Senator Hughes said the NDIS was “here for all of us at any given moment”.

On being handed the missing pages, the Senate chamber erupted in applause that grew louder as she continued where she left off.

Mr Stevens, who replaced Christopher Pyne in the Adelaide seat of Sturt, took the opportunity to slam the union movement and encourage “sensible boundaries” to limit their powers.

After making his “antipathy” towards unions “abundantly clear”, Mr Stevens said he looked forward to Britain’s impending departure from the European Union as it would open up “new economic opportunities” for Australia.

New Liberal MP James Stevens. Picture: Gary Ramage

He also threw his support behind the Murray-Darling plan, describing attempts by some South Australian Labor, Green and Centre Alliance politicians to “undermine” the scheme as “mischievous attention-seeking at the expense of the long-term national interest”.

Ms Phillips, the new member for Gilmore, used her first speech to speak out against nuclear ­energy, saying her community would fight against it every day. “Accidents happen, natural disasters happen, the risks it poses to human health are profound, let alone the risks to the reputations of our primary producers, hospitality and tourism industries that thrive on our environment,” she said. Ms Phillips, who beat Liberal candidate Warren Mundine, also called for a rise in Newstart.