Leichhardt MP Matt Smith delivers his maiden speech in Parliament on 28 July. Photo: Supplied.
Cape York, self-deprecating humour and raw honesty featured heavily when rookie Leichhardt MP Matt Smith delivered his maiden speech in Parliament on 28 July.
Mr Smith used part of his 20-minute allocation to praise the beauty and potential of Cape York and the Torres Strait, sharing the region’s history with his parliamentary colleagues and the nation.
“Leichhardt is a place of unfathomable beauty and diversity,” he said.
“It is the most Australian place in Australia.”
After admitting he was wearing a tie “that he had to buy four weeks ago because he only owned one”, Mr Smith spoke about Cape York’s rich characters and culture, before sharing the heartbreaking impact climate change is having on Torres Strait communities.
“In Aurukun, children speak to me first in Wik,” he said.
“Everyone else they know speaks Wik, so they figure I should also speak Wik, and that is beauty.
“The Cape is the great frontier; there, you will find mining, agriculture, fishing, tourism, small business and services; it is a place where people go to find themselves, lose themselves; [if] you head up to the Cape to live, you last either six months or 30 years – there is no in-between.
“I met a bloke in Weipa who told me he drifted up north on a fishing trip in the mid-80s, wet a line off the bridge, caught a barra and was like, ‘yep, I live here now’.
“Climate change is hurting the Torres Strait; on the island of Masig, the bodies of the ancestors and more recently departed family members, including babies, are washed out to sea when the cemetery gets inundated.”
The former Cairns Taipan, union organiser, and sport and recreation officer spoke openly about his mental health struggle after his basketball career, and used his maiden speech to challenge men across the country to take a stand against domestic and family violence.
“Without the structure and identity that basketball gave me, I quickly spiralled into depression,” he said.
“I will not pretend that it was fine.
“I lost five years of my life, wildly oscillating between a fight-or-flight response and numb blankness; I looked at every possible option to make it stop.”
In closing his speech, Mr Smith committed to doing what it took to better social and economic outcomes for the 150,000 square kilometre electorate, and paid homage to former Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch, who has played an unconventional mentoring role in recent months.
“Since the election, my transition has been made smoother, not because of my awesome knowledge of parliamentary procedure, but because former member Warren Entsch, despite coming from the opposite side of the aisle, has helped me navigate this large and diverse electorate,” he said.
“And this is a collaborative approach – I am drawn to teams, and with my staff, our volunteers, my fellow caucus members, my family, and my community, led by the Prime Minister, this is what I’m a part of.”
The Leichhardt MP spoke openly about his struggle with depression in his post-basketball life, and used his maiden speech to challenge all Australian men to do better in standing up against domestic and family violence. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
