Prime Minister
Prime Minister: Thank you very much, Nicolle, it's great to be here with you. And thank you for that that wonderful welcome to country [inaudible]. That was, that was, that was really beautiful. And I couldn't agree more with the sentiment that you expressed, walking along together, [inaudible] together alongside one another. That's exactly, that's the Australian way, absolutely. So thank you.
I also acknowledge the Traditional Owners, their Elders past, present and emerging, and emerging, young and emerging, full of energy and vitality and a lot of hope for the future.
Can I acknowledge also any veterans who are here with us today, and our servicemen and women, and thank you for the tremendous work that you have done serving our country, which we can never lose sight of, while they're in the service and especially also after they’ve left that service. And we remain absolutely committed to that task.
To everyone who Nicolle has welcomed pretty much by name [inaudible]. I’m sure there was many more. But it's tremendous to be here with you, Nicolle. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working together. You are such a a burst of energy on every occasion and when I'm here, particularly with you in your community, I get that sense more than ever, even when we're in Canberra. But here you are in your element amongst your community, and you've been such a great community based Member of Parliament. And I know Rachel, given the opportunity by the people of Boothby, will carry on in that very fine tradition, from one outstanding woman from her community to another outstanding woman from community, representing our Party here. I couldn't be more proud. I couldn't be more proud of what you've achieved and and Rachel, you coming forward to step up as our candidate, I’m thrilled to bits to have Dr Swift joining our Liberal team.
I'm also very thankful that you've chosen for us to be here. This is a very familiar setting for me, as the Member for Cook back in Sydney along the beautiful Bate Bay, where they say the local surf clubs like to tell the story that as Captain Cook sailed up the east coast he looked at Bate Bay and said, ‘That would be a nice place for a surf club.’ And, so, they had four that were put there. And the surf club culture I've always enjoyed. You know, I look around, I love going to the club rooms of surf clubs as well, and I look around, I see the names on the boards, you know, going back a long way. I look at the names of the life members and and just the history and the heritage of community service, and as we were chatting before, the Seacliff, it brings together the great Australian traditions of healthy lifestyles and sport and competition, of service, of care for others. And that's why I always ask about Nippers, wherever I go I ask about Nippers, because I want to know how many young people are catching this great positive culture that exists in our surf clubs all around the country.
So I'm really pleased to be here. But to be in a place of community like this, Nicolle, and to hear the stories as you've introduced people to be here today [inaudible] Rachel, and many more who I’ll meet shortly, it just reinforces my belief in how is the best way to run this country. Australia has achieved something extraordinary in the last couple of years. At the outset of the pandemic, I remember standing in the courtyard with the Chief Medical Officer and said, ‘We like to think we're a strong people. We're about to find out just how strong we really are.’ And I never doubted what the answer to that question was going to be.
And almost two years’ on from that point, it has been confirmed once again about the strength and the character and resilience of the Australian people. As we’ve stared down the big challenges, we looked into that abyss of what COVID might be. I remember particularly those early months working very closely with Steven Marshall here in South Australia and the decisions we had to take and the unknowns and the uncertainties that were there. But our entire plan was based on backing the resilience and strength of the Australian people. It was all invested in you and in rooms like this, and people who meet together in rooms like this to plan what they're doing out there or in your own community groups and the work that you're doing, because that is our experience as a Government, as individuals of Australia.
Our members of my team come from our communities, like Rachel, like Nicolle. Their heads are not, frankly, in Canberra, and their hearts, they’re not in Canberra, and the political shenanigans and games and all the nonsense that can go on there. Their heads and their hearts and their minds are here, in the community. That's what my team focuses on. That's what they bring, and they bring it from such a diverse range of backgrounds. No, I haven’t got a team of bots, that sort of turn out, you know, warm bodies that are moved around the Parliamentary Chamber. I've got passionate, experienced, dedicated, community people, as you’ve known Nicolle to be, and as you will know Rachel, as you already know her, many of you, to be, who come and bring that to the table, and to do it in a way which strengthens our Government, and has that passionate belief that at the end of the day, Government is about enabling community, it is about enabling business, it is about enabling individuals. Not telling them what to do, not getting in their way, not thinking that Government is the answer to their question, but understanding that they are the answers to their question. And our job is to back them in.
That’s why I believe in lower taxes, because it means you keep more of what you earn so you can make choices about what you're doing with your resources back in your community. And if you want to put the gold coin in as you’re coming up the stairs or you’re, you want to put it in the plate on a Saturday or whatever it is, that's your choice. And we want to back that in, every single day. That's why Australia has the lowest, one of the lowest fatality rates in the world from COVID. That's why Australia has one of the strongest economies in the advanced world going through COVID. And that's why Australia now has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, and that sets us up now to secure this economic recovery.
350,000 jobs in the last five weeks. The Australian economy’s springing back, and I need Rachel as part of my team. Can I tell you, I need Rachel as part of my team, here in Boothby, as much as I’ve needed Nicolle to be there, alongside me and the rest of my team, to ensure that we can have the Government that believes in the Australian people, not have the Australian people dependent on the Government. That is the big difference at the end of the day with, I think, as we go forward with this next election and how we secure this economic recovery.
It's time for Government to step back. There has been a need for Australians to have the Government step forward in the past 18 months or so. Of course, there has been. But that time is coming to a very near end, I certainly hope, and we will see governments step back. That's certainly what our Government is doing, so you could step forward here in this club, on that beach, out there in environmental projects and community projects all over the electorate of Boothby, and the person who can lead you to do that is Rachel, going forward in the future, Dr Swift, as my Liberal candidate for Boothby. Your Liberal candidate for Boothby. And, on that, I think it’s time for me to handover to Rachel. Please welcome Rachel.