Welcome back, welcome back to Government. Welcome back to three years of serving the Australian people.
[APPLAUSE]
We’ve all fought a long campaign. A very tough campaign in winter - eight weeks.
There has been a lot written about all of us but this election was not about us. It’s about 24 million Australians - their future.
It is the service we deliver as their Government, delivering on our commitments, on our programs, on the investments that we have promised - this is a term of delivery.
This is three years of strong, stable economic leadership delivering on the promises we made - on our massive Defence Investment plan, on our big infrastructure commitments, on our economic reforms - that is our commitment to deliver the economic security, the national security that Australians deserve and need and have elected us to do.
That is our commitment.
[APPLAUSE]
Our Government has been returned to a working majority in the House, the first Government to be re-elected with a majority since 2004.
We have faced a tough campaign; our opponents have been, as you know, unscrupulous. But we have succeeded because the Australian people have put their faith in us - all of us here in this room - to deliver them the leadership and the Government they deserve and we will work with every member of the House and the Senate. We will seek to ensure that this Parliament, every member and Senator, works together with us if they are prepared to do so, to ensure that we deliver the good government, the leadership that Australians expect from the Coalition, from the Liberal Party and the National Party, from all of us here.
We, in our hands, the Australian people have placed their future for the next three years - their destiny for the next three years. It is up to us and we will honour that pledge, we will honour that responsibility, we will deliver in the three years of this Government which begins here as we meet today, confirming our leaders, renewing our commitments, strengthening our promise to provide the leadership Australians deserve.
[APPLAUSE]
Every single election in every seat is a story unique to itself. We all know, all the members know that here and we’ll discuss more about some of our experiences and learnings as the meeting progresses and we’ve had a long discussion about that in the Liberal Party room too.
But I want to now, before our friends from the media leave us, I want to acknowledge and recognise our new members. We have 15 new members and one new senator, hopefully two new senators, there’s still some counting to go on in Victoria, but let me begin firstly with Julia Banks – Julia has returned the seat of Chisholm, held by Labor for almost two decades.
Ted O’Brien, from Queensland in the seat of Fairfax.
Nicolle Flint from South Australia won the seat of Boothby.
Chris Crewther who succeeded Bruce Billson in Dunkley.
Jason Falinski who succeeded Brownyn Bishop in Mackellar.
Julian Leeser who succeeded Philip Ruddock in Berowra.
Trevor Evans who succeeded Teresa Gambaro in the seat of Brisbane.
Andrew Wallace who succeeded in Fisher.
Tim Wilson in the seat of Goldstein.
John McVeigh in Groom.
Ben Morton in Tangney.
Andrew Gee from the Nationals in Calare.
Damian Drum in Murray.
David Littleproud succeeded Bruce Scott in Maranoa.
Llew O’Brien succeeding Warren Truss in Wide Bay.
And from the Senate, Jonathon Duniam from Tasmania and we are keeping our fingers crossed and scrutineers alert for Jane Hume for a Senate spot in Victoria.
Congratulations to all.
[APPLAUSE]
[ENDS]