Zhenya Wang, the Palmer United Party senator from Western Australia, has delivered his first speech to the Senate.
Wang, 33, was chosen at the re-run Senate election in April, after the original poll at the federal election of September 7, 2013 was declared void.
His term began on July 1, 2014 and will expire on June 30, 2020. [Read more…]
Jacqui Lambie, the Tasmanian Palmer United Party senator, has given her maiden speech to the Senate.
Lambie, 43, was elected at the 2013 federal election. PUP polled 6.58% of the primary vote and she was elected on preferences. Her term began on July 1, 2014 and will expire on June 30, 2020.
Lambie spent ten years in the Australian Army, rising to the rank of Corporal. Following injuries she suffered in a field exercise, she engaged in a long-running dispute with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In her maiden speech, she called for a judicial inquiry into the Defence Force and the Department of Veterans Affairs. She alleged a “cover-up of appallingly high levels of abuse”. She spoke angrily and at length of the treatment of Marcus Saltmarsh, a soldier who was exonerated by a military court following the accidental shooting and death of another solider in East Timor in 2000. [Read more…]
Bob Day, the Family First senator from South Australia, has delivered his maiden speech to the Senate.
Day, 62, is a former Liberal Party member and candidate. He joined Family First after failing to win Liberal pre-selection for Mayo in 2008. He contested the Senate for Family First in 2010 and again in 2013 when he was successful
After polling just 3.76% of the primary vote, Day won his seat through a series of preference deals with minor parties and independents. His term began on July 1 and will expire on June 30, 2020. [Read more…]
Senator Glenn Lazarus has delivered his official first speech to the upper house.
Having spoken numerous times on legislation over the past month, each time stating that it wasn’t his first speech, the Queensland Palmer United Party senator joked at the outset that it “is now my first speech”.
Senator Lazarus was elected as a Queensland representative at last year’s federal election. His term began on July 1 this year and will expire on June 30, 2020. He is the Senate leader of the Palmer United Party. [Read more…]
Janet Rice, the Australian Greens senator from Victoria, has delivered her first speech to the Senate.
Senator Rice was elected at last year’s election. Her term began on July 1 and will end on June 30, 2020.
Rice is the tenth member of the Greens Senate team. She won her seat at the expense of the ALP in Victoria.
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Hansard transcript of Senator Janet Rice’s maiden speech.
The PRESIDENT (16:59): Order! Before I call Senator Rice to give her first speech, I remind honourable senators of the custom of allowing the speech to be given without interruption. [Read more…]
