State President's Address - 2009 Annual State Conference - Kalgoorlie
Author: Wendy Duncan
Published on: 04-April-2009
Today, as I deliver you my last conference address as State President, I just want to say – thank you for the wild ride! There certainly have been no dull moments, there have been plenty of challenges and I must say that I have had the most amazing experience. It is unlikely that anything in my life will match the elation coupled with the huge weight of responsibility that I felt in the week that Brendon and I negotiated on your behalf to form a government that would at last give regional WA a fair go. When I look back, I cannot believe how far we have come together since August 2004 when you entrusted me with the role of being your first woman State President.
I must confess that, when I took on the role I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. I had only been on State Executive for one year and a member of the Party for a couple of years prior to that. Since then we have had four elections, one boundary redistribution, the one-vote-one value legislation, and, of course, the tumultuous experience of deciding the shape of our new State government. We started with no staff; no office and no money and we now have an office, three staff and financial stability.
For me there was little choice but to take up the challenge. The Nationals held the only hope for regional West Australians. People in the regions were feeling increasingly alienated and disenfranchised in the face of chronic neglect of infrastructure and services coupled with the loss of voting power through one-vote-one value.
As they say in the classics, if you keep doing the same thing, don’t be surprised if you keep getting the same result. It was clear that it was time to take a different approach. It was time for change and there were members who were prepared to get in there and give it a go.
Martin Luther King said in his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
“Whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because man can’t ride your back unless it is bent.”
We straightened our backs up at the historic meeting in March 2006 at Wagin where we made the courageous decision to become an independent, stand-alone political party prepared to deal with either side of politics.
This decision gave your leadership team the mandate to go out and sell the message. The take up by the community was slow – they were understandably skeptical. I remember joking with Brendon when we were out on the road together saying “Don’t look back now, because there is no-one behind you!”
We had a great time traversing this amazing State meeting its inspiring people. I particularly remember a flight on a 42⁰ day from Kalgoorlie to Albany. Tony Crook, Barnaby Joyce and I were supposed to take a two hour flight in a swish light aircraft. But somehow we ended up in a single engine plane which was a rough as bags, took nearly four hours, and while Tony and I were feeling crook, Barnaby was busy holding down the undercarriage warning button because the sound of it was annoying the pilot. I later found out that the undercarriage of that plane collapsed the next day.
Then there was the time that Brendon and I were driving from Murchison Roadhouse to Woolleen and the roos were so thick that we had to slow down to a walking pace while the local pastoralists in their big four-wheel drives and bullbars bored past us showering us with dust and arriving at our meeting well ahead of us.
There was the amazing Thelma and Louise journey with Suzie Williams on the campaign trail. Getting lost somewhere between Marvel Loch and Hyden and changing a tyre in our good gear in Ravensthorpe.
The low point was a suspect case of food poisoning in Broome … perhaps the high point was being chatted up in the front bar of the Wiluna pub by the Shire grader driver. He told me that he had lived in Sydney, and he had lived in Bendigo, but Wiluna was the best place on earth and that is where he wanted to see out his life. As I have said many times before, this man is a precious Australian who deserves every help we can give him so that he can continue to provide essential services where he lives.
One of the most rewarding parts of my time as your President was seeing the lights go on in faces around the room as we talked about 48/11, Balance of Power and Royalties for Regions. They got it. Only yesterday one of our new members said to me that once she had heard the message there was no choice but to support The Nationals. Many of those people are with us today. They are the ones who decided to put their money (and large sums of it) where their mouth is and take up the fight for regional WA. These are the newcomers to our Party who are here because we are an independent political party willing to deal with either side of politics.
The key to our success was the unity of purpose of the supporters of the Party and the loyalty to Brendon and the team. For this I thank you. As John F Kennedy said in his inaugural speech of 20 January, 1961 –
“United there is little we cannot do in a host of co-operative ventures. Divided there is little we can do, for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.”
The other reason we succeeded is that we had a plan. Our plan was developed in late 2005 early 2006 and endorsed in Wagin. Professor Dean Jaensch, Barnaby Joyce, and Karlene Maywald mentored and supported us as we steadfastly moved forward to our goal of going into the 2008 election strong, united and determined to be the voice of regional WA.
I would urge the new State Executive and State Council to take the time to plan for the next election. That campaign should be starting this year. When you have limited resources, there is no point trying compete with the major political parties in the crowded media market in the month prior to the next election. If your message is not out there by then, you are wasting your time and money.
Be proud of your Party! Wear your heart on your sleeve! I remember early in my time as State President handing Nationals stickers to each of the Executive members and asking them to put them on their car. Some did not. They thought it might affect their relationships. What is it with Australians that they cannot display their political allegiance for fear it will be held against them. We live in a democracy for goodness sake! How can we expect others to campaign for us if we do not lead by example. I am pleased to say that we all have Nationals stickers on our cars now.
Our party has a strong and proud history and, I firmly believe that we have a purpose to fulfill in the Australian political landscape. The distribution of our population in Australia inevitably means that vast areas of our country have very little political representation. This is why we need The Nationals more than ever. Without The Nationals regional Australia would be sucked dry by the parasitic cities clinging to our coastline. Without The Nationals we would have a society that is short-sighted and city centric. Here is a classic example – Westpac this week sent out a letter to all its customers saying they have a great new system to make your on-line transactions safer. All you have to do is register your mobile phone number with them so that when you are on-line making your transaction, you will receive an SMS that you have to respond to confirming that the transaction is legit. If you do not register a mobile phone then your transaction limit would be reduced to $1,500. Great idea Westpac – but what about the people who have internet access in areas where there is no mobile phone coverage. What about the service stations on the Nullarbor Plain paying for their fuel purchases in $1500 tranches. What about the mine sites in remote areas with satellite internet connection but no mobile phones. We have our good friends from Telstra with us today. They will tell you that, in spite of their best endeavours, there are a significant number of Australians yet to receive reliable mobile phone coverage. This policy of Westpac is blatantly and probably unwittingly discriminatory and if it was not for the likes of Barnaby Joyce and others in The Nationals they would probably never know.
Valedictory speeches always have the mandatory thank yous. It might seem a bit corny, but my first thank you must go to Nelson Mandela. He was in jail on Robbin Island when I spent a year in South Africa in 1972. His struggle inspired me to drop out of medicine and study politics. He made me realize how precious our Australian democracy is. I have always admired his ability to put the past behind him and his talent for uniting a divided people to a common cause. Fortuitously, in July 2008, I read an article in Time magazine describing Mandela’s 8 principles of leadership and this is where I turned in September, 2008 when we were deciding which way to go in forming the State government.
He said “Courage is not the absence of fear – it is inspiring others to move beyond it.” He also said that nothing is ever black or white. Decisions are complex and sometimes as a leader you must decide to take a course of action and then lead your people with confidence along that path.
Brendon Grylls has those leadership qualities and it has been an immense honour to work alongside him. He had to courage to take the risky path, and he had the leadership to inspire others to move beyond their fears and follow him.
Nelson Mandela’s eighth principle of leadership is that quitting is leading too. I believe the time is right for me to step down as your State President. To be honest I would love to stay on as I have had the best time of my life doing this job. However, I now have other responsibilities that do not mix well with the role of State President and the Party is moving into a new phase that will need a different style of leadership. I wish the incoming President all the best in his endeavours. You will have a great team to work with – every nominee for the Executive positions brings a wealth of talent and experience to the table.
I thank Ian for his love, support and encouragement. You told me I could do it when I thought I could not. You talked me through some of the tough decisions. Without you I would be less than half the person I am now.
I would also like to acknowledge the hard work, loyalty and dedication of two retiring Executive members. They are Leigh Hardingham and Allan Marshall. You are inextricably woven into The Nationals we are today and we all thank you for your contribution.
When I started in this job our office had been closed down with many of the Party possessions dispersed and lost. We have been unable to find a gavel and plate anywhere, so I have commissioned a mulga gavel on a sandalwood plate to be made as a parting gift to the Party from me. Kalgoorlie is where I was born and it means a lot to me to have them made from local wood. Unfortunately they are not yet completed, so in the meantime I have a small gift of a set of egg timers – 1 minute, 2 minute and 3 minute. Keith Nix will never get away with overrunning his time again!
In closing I would like to call Brendon forward as I have a parting gift for you to remind you of what we achieved together.
