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Governor of New South Wales

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Speakers - Whelan Mr Paul; Martin Mr Gerard; Fraser Mr Andrew; Mills Mr John; Piccoli Mr Adrian; Nori Ms Sandra; Glachan Mr Ian; Lynch Mr Paul; Hodgkinson Ms Katrina; Ashton Mr Alan; George Mr Thomas; McBride Mr Grant; Allan Ms Pam; Merton Mr Wayne; Gibson Mr Paul; McGrane Mr Tony; Beamer Ms Diane; Collins The Hon Peter; Saliba Ms Marianne; O'Farrell Mr Barry; Collier Mr Barry; Armstrong Mr Ian; Megarrity Ms Alison
Business - Business of the House


    GOVERNOR OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Page: 13048
    Governor's Response to Presentation of Address

    Mr WHELAN (Strathfield—Minister for Police) [7.30 p.m.]: I move:
        That this House notes with pleasure Her Excellency the Governor’s answer to the Address of Congratulations adopted by the House on 7 March 2001, on the occasion of Her Excellency’s assumption of the administration of the government of the State.

    Mr MARTIN (Bathurst) [7.30 p.m.]: It is a pleasure to speak on the historic appointment by the New South Wales Government of the thirty-seventh Governor of New South Wales, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir, AO. Her Excellency is a trailblazer for many reasons, quite apart from being the first woman Governor of New South Wales, Australia's oldest State. I congratulate the Premier on his choice. New South Wales has a long list of well-credentialled Governors. I recall Sir Roden Cutler, Sir William McKell, Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair, Rear Admiral Sir David Martin and more recently Gordon Samuels. I echo the remarks of the Premier that the thirty-seventh Governor, Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir, arguably will be the best qualified of our Governors.

    There was a tradition of the States and Commonwealth of Australia appointing Governors and Governors-General from pensioned-off members of the English aristocracy. But Labor governments have a tradition of trailblazing, and it was a Labor Government that first appointed an Australian to such a position. The Scullin Government in the 1930s appointed Sir Isaac Isaacs Governor-General. We all know the controversy that that caused at the time. Since then Australia has matured as a nation, and many fine Australians have held those positions.

    Our thirty-seventh Governor has a proud ethnic background. She was raised in country New South Wales, initially at Narrandera. Professor Marie Bashir always speaks with great pride of her early days of country life and her humble Arabic heritage. Professor Bashir, a person of great intellect, a public health official and a medical professional highly qualified in psychiatry and particularly paediatrics, has a history of hands-on involvement in issues concerning indigenous Australians. The Governor, in her speech on being sworn in, told us that we can learn from our indigenous brothers and sisters who, for thousands of years, lived in rural communities in harmony with their environment.

    Our new Governor asks our community to take on board the lessons to be learned from our indigenous community. We all know that one matter that raises its head in this Parliament is our environment. We are seeking ways to right some of the wrongs of the past 200 years of white settlement. Professor Bashir rightly urges us to look to the history of our indigenous people and their harmony with the land. I am sure that this Parliament, as it deals with salinity and other land problems, will heed the words of our Governor and find that many solutions will come from the experiences of our indigenous people.

    The Governor's husband also is a well-credentialled Australian. Sir Nicholas Shehadie represented Australia in rugby union, is a former Lord Mayor of Sydney and Chairman of SBS. Sir Nicholas, who also had a rich public life, will be a great asset to our Governor as she moves about the State in the discharge of her role. I am delighted that the Governor has indicated to me that she will visit the electorate of Bathurst, which currently is working on a program with the Bathurst City Council. I think it appropriate that the Governor, having indicated her acceptance of the invitation to come to Bathurst, should make that visit early in her term of office. Bathurst is Australia's oldest and most important inland city. It was first settled in 1815 by Governor Macquarie. The first Christian service outside Sydney was held at Bathurst in May 1815. The Governor, through her husband, has a connection with Bathurst. The Shehadie family are well-known residents of the city.

    I have had brief discussions with both the Governor and Sir Nicholas, who are delighted to be coming to Bathurst, not only to renew that family connection but also to see an electorate that personifies what this beautiful State is all about. For that purpose, I cannot think of a better place than the electorate of Bathurst, whose 14,202 square kilometres contain some of the most magnificent scenery in New South Wales. The only thing we have not got is a beach. But we have magnificent national parks, including the Blue Mountains National Park in the east, the Gardens of Stone National Park, the Kanangra-Boyd National Park, and the Abercrombie Caves.

    During her stay the Governor will visit many such places as part of, we hope, a two-day or three-day program. In this year of the Centenary of Federation, Bathurst is recognised as one of the key cities that played a role in the Convention of Federation of 1896, got the Confederation issue back on the agenda and came up with a framework that eventually led to Federation. It is therefore appropriate that the Governor should visit Bathurst in the year of the Centenary of Federation. As soon as the appointment of Professor Marie Bashir as Governor was announced, Sister Pat Linane of the Sisters of Mercy in Bathurst was quick to approach me and ask whether we could invite the Governor to Bathurst. Sister Linane, who runs the social justice group within the Sisters of Mercy in Bathurst, through her pastoral and community work, has for some years had an association with the Governor. Whilst in Bathurst the Governor will participate in some of the social justice programs and celebrations that the Sisters of Mercy of Bathurst will hold at that time.

    I am pleased that the Governor is relaxed about this Government's decision, made in its previous term, that Government House should be a house of the people. We know about the controversy raised by the conservative members on the other side of this House, who suggested that it would be the end of civilisation as we knew it if Sir Gordon Samuels did not actually reside in Government House, just down the road from this parliamentary establishment. We heard the former Governor say what a wonderful decision it was that Government House was opened to the people. Hundreds of thousands of people have had access to that magnificent building. I am pleased that the thirty-seventh Governor reiterated that she is happy with those arrangements. She will continue to welcome people daily at that wonderful and historic setting. All those doubting Thomases in the Opposition thought that it was a terrible decision and that it would divide the community.

    As the new Governor is the second Governor to adopt that positive attitude we can lay to rest any fear that Government House will become a fortress for the vice-regal representative. I make these comments as a committed republican but I recognise the ceremonial role that the Governor plays. When Governors visit rural communities the respect that is shown to the office of Governor can vary, depending on the Governor. In my role as mayor of a country city I have encountered Governors such as Sir David Martin and Governor-General Sir William Dean. The strength of the person and his or her personality make those visits memorable. I am sure that Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir will further enhance that tradition.

    In my brief encounter with her today I found her to be a humble, warm and compassionate person—things which are obvious if we take into account the history of her public life. As a health professional she extended her hand to those in the community who were less fortunate than others, particularly young people with problems and indigenous Australians. I look forward to her forthcoming visit to Bathurst and I will view with interest her period in office. I am sure that she will bring a new dimension to the office of Governor. The decision of the Premier and the Government to appoint her to this position will be well and truly justified. I commend the motion to the House.

    Mr FRASER (Coffs Harbour) [7.43 p.m.]: It gives me great pleasure to extend to Governor Marie Bashir the warm welcome of the Coffs Harbour electorate. My wife and I have had great pleasure in welcoming to the Coffs Harbour electorate former Governors of this State. Governor Peter Sinclair, a unique man, visited the Coffs Harbour electorate on more than one occasion. I extend to our new Governor the same invitation that I extended to former Governors. I invite her to visit the Coffs Harbour electorate—the best electorate in regional New South Wales. All honourable members are well aware that Coffs Harbour electorate, Bellingen, Dorrigo and Raleigh are suffering badly as a result of recent floods. It would be nice if the Governor visited people in those areas and gave them some support.

    As the honourable member for Bathurst said earlier, politics is a funny game. People in regional and rural Australia—a conservative group of people—believe that the role of the Governor is to protect their interests. I draw the attention of honourable members to a book written by Clive Evatt, a great stalwart and patriarch of the Labor Party, entitled The King and his Dominion Governors. I have referred on other occasions in this House to the book that was written by Clive Evatt. I think he was given an instruction at the time by the then Labor Government or the Labor Opposition to investigate the dismissal by the Governor of Labor Premier Jack Lang. The basic idea behind his writing of that book was to debunk the role of Governor.

    In Todd's thesis, which Clive Evatt included in his book The King and his Dominion Governors, Todd concluded that it was the Governor's role to protect the welfare and wellbeing of all Australians. If a government is not being fair to all Australians it is the role of the Governor to take action to protect the welfare of the people. Today the honourable member for South Coast moved a motion for urgent consideration relating to the Government's announcement last week of its $433 million schools capital works package. The school funding package announced by the Premier and his Government was nothing other than a gloss. It was demonstrated quite clearly that $39,800 of that funding was allocated for the heating of country classrooms and over $900,000 was allocated for the heating of city classrooms. So there has been what I would suggest is political bias in that regard.

    Funding has been given to metropolitan New South Wales, or New South Wales as the Labor Party recognises it—Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong. I am sure that the Governor, with her great humanitarian record, would be interested in the fact that this Government has seen fit, once again, to allocate funds in a disproportionate manner. At the same time the Government sent out 40 media releases stating what a great job it and Country Labor have done for regional New South Wales. I note that the honourable member for Cessnock acknowledges that statement. As a spokesman for Country Labor I am sure that he is ashamed of this Government's disproportionate education funding.

    The honourable member for Cessnock acknowledges that this funding was made available only for maintenance. The honourable member for Wallsend knows that Newcastle is part and parcel of New South Wales, just as Wollongong and Sydney are part of New South Wales. The honourable member for Cessnock realises that as his electorate is on the fringe of those areas he does not receive the same consideration from this Government as do his city cousins. He is good at issuing media releases that criticise people. He puts his name on those press releases because he thinks it will give him some notoriety. He issues media releases criticising people who have bettered themselves—people who have obtained an education and who have a right to put initials after their names.

    The honourable member for Cessnock, in conjunction with people from the Premier's Office, decided to criticise someone for doing that. I am sure that he and all other honourable members aspire to a better education for future generations. Someone with an education should not be sneered at by a milkman from Cessnock. This Government's disproportionate level of funding in regional New South Wales is reflected in its funding of Coffs Harbour hospital and the Mid North Coast Area Health Service. I am sure that this humanitarian Governor, who has a history in health care in New South Wales, will feel embarrassed about the way in which this Government has allocated funds. I hope she will visit regional New South Wales and take back to the Government her views about its disproportionate funding. Coffs Harbour hospital, which was allocated funding under the previous Government was to be completed—on the words of by Dr Refshauge—by the end of 1999. However, I am sure that that hospital will only be completed in 2002.

    The budgetary allocation for Coffs Harbour hospital is well below what it requires to service the people of the North Coast as well as they would like to be serviced. Our waiting lists have blown out incredibly, and that is unacceptable. When this Government came to office it put a two-year freeze on capital works spending in regional New South Wales. Projects such as the Coffs Harbour hospital were delayed. It is now crowing about what a great job it has done, but we will get only 148 beds for general hospital care. We will get a 30-bed psychiatric unit, and that is fine except that it is a regional psychiatric unit. A rehabilitation unit is to be built there but, once again, it will be a regional unit.

    The hospital currently has 157 beds, down from 169 beds when this Government came to office, and the brand new hospital will have 148 beds, although an increasing number of people are moving to the Coffs Harbour area because it is such a magnificent area. We have a decreasing dollar value in health, an increasing waiting list and frustration for those who retired to the North Coast because they cannot have their elective surgery. If the Governor visits Coffs Harbour, and I am sure she will, she will see that disparity in funding and she will see that the action claimed by Country Labor in providing services to regional New South Wales is nothing more than window-dressing of the worst kind.

    It is interesting to note the comments of the honourable member for Bathurst concerning the dedication and use of Government House as a residence for the Governor. The Parliamentary Secretary assisting the Premier on matters concerning the Illawarra is known as the vice minister because he is a Parliamentary Secretary and because early in his career, when he was in China, he thought being the minister for vice or vice minister would give him further credence. He used that title for a number of weeks. I draw his attention to the fact that in 1917 the site of Government House was dedicated as the residence and office of the Governor.

    The Carr Government knows that it cannot do whatever it wants with it because it would have to change the dedication of this Parliament. That would result in demonstrations far larger than those we witnessed when the Government tried to do away with the office of Governor. At that time 15,000 people demonstrated loudly in Macquarie Street over the Premier's proposal. The conservative people of New South Wales, including those who vote for the Labor Party, know and believe that the Governor has a role to play in protecting their welfare, and this is confirmed by Dr Evatt in his book. I believe this Governor will fulfil that role.

    Only six or eight weeks ago I had the great pleasure of meeting with Sir Roden Cutler, who, I must admit, was a childhood hero of mine. He was a man larger than life—and he still is. He was a great humanitarian Governor and he continues to care about the people of New South Wales. When I saw him I was given an autographed copy of his biography. When one reads the hardships that he went through as a lad, and that his family went through, and the way he supported his family—Madam Acting-Speaker is claiming that this is tedious repetition.

    Madam ACTING-SPEAKER (Ms Beamer): Order! The honourable member for Coffs Harbour will not cast aspersions on the Chair. His claim is not correct. The member for Murrumbidgee described him as tediously repetitious and I merely said he was tedious.

    Mr FRASER: I accept your personal explanation, Madam Acting-Speaker. When I forward a copy of Hansard to Sir Roden Cutler I am sure he will understand the intent of the House this evening. I will defend that man until the end of my days for the job he has done for returned service personnel and the people of New South Wales. He is a magnificent man. The duty he performed for this State and Australia in several offices will never be forgotten. He was injured in the war and lost a leg. He still takes a great interest in this Parliament, especially in the National Party. He was related to Charles Cutler, who came from Bathurst. I believe that Dr Bashir will be cast in the same mould as Sir Roden Cutler and other Governors before her. Sir David Martin and Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair were also loved and revered by the people of New South Wales.

    It is fitting tonight that as the representative of the people in the Coffs Harbour electorate I should extend a formal invitation to the Governor to visit the best electorate in New South Wales. It has the most magnificent scenery and the most magnificent climate. Its climate has been recognised by the CSIRO as the most temperate climate in the world—not only Australia. I invite the Governor to see how hard it is for people in country areas, especially after the recent major disaster that we suffered. I invite her to attend the local shows, as Governor Peter Sinclair did. We would love to see her in Coffs Harbour filling her constitutional role as Governor, a role I trust and pray will be maintained in this democracy long after I have gone so that those who follow her will protect the rights and privileges of the citizens of New South Wales.

    Mr MILLS (Wallsend) [7.56 p.m.]: It is a pleasure to support the motion moved by the Leader of the House:
        That this House notes with pleasure Her Excellency the Governor's answer to the Address of Congratulations adopted by the House on 7 March 2001, on the occasion of Her Excellency's assumption to the administration of the government of the State.

    The Premier, in his speech at Government House on that day, referred to Governor Marie Bashir as the best qualified Governor in New South Wales history. I pay tribute to the extent of her professional and personal qualifications. Since 1993 she has been clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Sydney and a senior specialist in child, adolescent and family psychiatry. Since 1994 she has been area director of mental health services in the Central Sydney Area Health Service. Since 1996 she has been senior consultant to the Aboriginal Medical Service at Redfern and Kempsey.

    Since 1983 she has chaired a wide range of organisations including the Council of the Women's College at the University of Sydney, the New South Wales Juvenile Justice Advisory Council, the Metropolitan South-west Region Customer Service Council of the New South Wales Police Service, the New South Wales strategy for Aboriginal mental health, the third world health group in the University of New South Wales, the New South Wales task force on children's mental health, the review of northern Sydney child and adolescent services, the non-English-speaking background suicide prevention project, and New South Wales mental health implementation group. That is a very impressive professional record indeed.

    The Premier in his address at Government House referred to Dr Bashir's deep and continuing concern for indigenous health, prevention and early intervention in child and adolescent health, innovative health service delivery using new technologies, raising professional health standards in developing countries, and advancing reconciliation. I agree with the Premier that there has never been a more highly qualified Governor of New South Wales. Her interest has touched so many people in the community of New South Wales, it has touched individuals all over the State. In particular I refer to the way her interests have touched the indigenous people of New South Wales. I look forward to a strong contribution from the reflections of our Governor and the advice and considerations she will give to New South Wales governments on indigenous issues, because she has insights and deep understandings in that area and a lot of experience in dealing with the indigenous people of New South Wales.

    Dr Marie Bashir is the first woman to be appointed to the position of Governor of New South Wales. The Premier rightly said that the appointment of another woman to the position of Governor would no longer occasion special comment or surprise, and that is real progress for the women of New South Wales in all walks of life. The governorship of New South Wales should be open to the widest possible range of Australians. The office of Governor is at the apex of our system of constitutional government. The Premier described the office of Governor as the symbol of the legitimacy of parliamentary democracy. The Governor represents the Queen of England, who is the head of State of New South Wales.

    As a Republican, I know that one day the head of State will obtain legitimacy not from being the representative of the Queen of England but from the people of New South Wales, and that should be the constitutional position of the Governor—a proper Australian head of State in New South Wales, not the representative of a foreign monarch. Nevertheless, that constitutional position pertains, and in the meantime we respect that position, although we look forward eventually to change. Earlier the honourable member for Bathurst referred to the shameful attempt, a few years ago, of quite a few Coalition members to feed a media frenzy about Government House and its place—

    Mr Richardson: For a few months.

    Mr MILLS: For a couple of years. The honourable member for The Hills says a few months. It was certainly longer than that. Should the Coalition ever return to government in New South Wales, one wonders whether some Coalition members would not put a bayonet to the face of the Governor to force the Governor to live in the pile of sandstone at the northern end of Macquarie Street. The Governor's speech at the swearing in ceremony is worthy of congratulations and of note. She acknowledged in her speech that she was the first woman to undertake this role in New South Wales and appreciated the historical significance of the responsibility that that role invoked. I indicate to the Governor that her appointment has raised the expectations of the office of Governor among many people in New South Wales.

    I reported the Governor's appointment and Dr Bashir's acceptance of the position of Governor to the Wallsend branch of the Australian Labor Party. At a large meeting led by women the branch cheered and applauded Dr Bashir's appointment to the office of Governor. They were pleased that someone such as Dr Bashir had been offered and had accepted the role. I trust that Dr Bashir will accept those congratulations from the working people in the Hunter with the good intent that they were given. I trust also that Her Excellency will respect that the role of Governor is one of responsibility to all the people of New South Wales, not just the high-flyers who in many previous governorships have been those who surrounded the Governor. In the speech at Government House Dr Bashir said:
        My upbringing and working life have afforded me the privilege of continuing contact with a great many citizens of New South Wales of considerable social, ethnic, and cultural diversity—some great achievers, but also the vulnerable young, the indigenous, our refugee citizens, and people whose lives have been significantly marginalised—all individuals who have taught me much about courage, resilience and dignity.
    That Dr Bashir should say those things in her speech of acceptance of the position of Governor leads me to complement her for her courage, resilience and dignity in accepting the role. I know she will bring her lifetime of experiences as a healing professional and as a communicator to the job. Her position regarding Government House, on which the Coalition has been so divisive previously, is worth quoting. Dr Bashir said:
        Government House will continue to serve as the magnificent focal point for Vice-Regal receptions, State functions and other important ceremonial occasions such as investitures. The Historic Houses Trust will continue to supervise with their meticulous care the intricate restoration of this historic building which will remain open to the citizens of New South Wales and other visitors when not engaged in Vice Regal functions. In this way, our people will be able to share, in part, the historical legacy of their State.
    To give an example of Dr Bashir's insights, in the same speech she contrasted the present to colonial times. She said that we now live in a country where an expectation of harmony and peace is placed at the highest level by most citizens. She referred to inclusiveness, tolerance, the will to learn from one another and the stability of political structures not being dependent on military intervention. She commented that we live in a time of market pressures with unfortunate consequences, in some cases, for our sense of community. She said:
        For a State and a people to prosper in the longer term, I believe that there needs to be a climate of reciprocity, involving the ordinary citizens as well as the powerful.

    I commend those words of the incoming Governor for the careful consideration of honourable members of this House and of the people of New South Wales. Dr Bashir further said:

        Such a society rejects, as its highest aim, materialism …
    Once again I commend the Governor for her insights and her affinity with the ordinary people of New South Wales. She said that she expected to find an enormous reservoir of generosity not only amongst groups of health and welfare workers but amongst artistic and cultural people, performing and visual arts people, and the young and the old, both in rural areas and on the outskirts of the city. She was heartened and encouraged that more people were searching for a fuller and richer life extending beyond acquisitions to more intangible ethical and spiritual considerations, such as serving others. Once again I commend the words of the Governor to honourable members of this House and to the community. Finally, Dr Bashir said:
        In this, we can learn from our indigenous brothers and sisters, who for thousands of years lived in real community as well as in harmony with the environment.
    The Governor encouraged further development of our sense of community. She wished to see the State of New South Wales continue to prosper in harmony and strength. A wonderful woman has accepted the position of Governor of New South Wales. I wish her well. I wish her a peaceful and positive experience in that role, and trust that she will continue to contribute to public life in New South Wales as she has done for many years.

    Mr PICCOLI (Murrumbidgee) [8.08 p.m.]: I welcome the appointment of Marie Bashir as the thirty-seventh Governor of New South Wales, particularly as she was born and raised, at least in her early years, in Narrandera in my electorate of Murrumbidgee. It is a great privilege and honour for the people of Narrandera and, indeed, the people in my electorate that the new Governor is a resident of that fine town in my fine electorate.

    Ms NORI (Port Jackson—Minister for Small Business, and Minister for Tourism) [8.09 p.m.]: It is with great pleasure that I speak on the appointment of Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales. There is a long history of distinguished service to New South Wales by previous Governors, all of whom have been men. The nomination of a woman as Governor was not tokenistic. Few people, if any, in New South Wales would have the experience and character to fulfil the role of Governor of New South Wales at the start of the twenty-first century. She is a woman who has dedicated her life to serving people. Quietly and without fanfare she has built up a history of service that few people in this State could equal.

    Previously, in her role as Director of Mental Health Services for the Central Sydney Area Health Service, Her Excellency was located in my electorate of Port Jackson. Obviously, I had dealings with her in that capacity. In her office on the Rozelle Hospital site she delivered an excellence in service to New South Wales that few outside the health care system would have been aware of until the announcement of her appointment as Governor. Her Excellency was a healer. She did not have a job that gave her great fame or wealth. She dealt with people from diverse backgrounds and life experiences. On a number of occasions when I had meetings and dealings with her, her level of compassion towards people with mental illness and problems was really quite touching. In her swearing in speech Her Excellency paid homage to the people with whom she has had contact in her personal and professional life. Her Excellency described these people as having taught her much about courage, resilience and dignity.

    I am sure that the people of New South Wales will benefit from a Governor whose life has been enriched by her life experience and who has the humility to learn from people who have often been disregarded and marginalised by mainstream society. I would like to add my thanks to Her Excellency for her outstanding work for the people of New South Wales. My electorate of Port Jackson is very much a microcosm of the State of New South Wales: it is home to people who are great achievers as well the vulnerable and those who have been marginalised by society. I know that over the years Her Excellency has given a great deal of herself to helping these people. I assure the House that her hard work has not gone unnoticed.

    The appointment of a woman as Governor caused a great deal of discussion when the announcement was first made, but it is not surprising because it is quite an historic appointment. I am very pleased to note that in none of the discussions to which I have been privy has the appointment been described as controversial, nor should it have been. Her appointment is clearly historic, but it is not controversial and it is not tokenistic. As a woman who came into this Parliament when women were still very much a rarity in the Legislative Assembly—and we are still outnumbered—it is comforting to see the general acceptance by the public of women in important roles. I look forward to the day when the appointment of women to important and prestigious positions is so common that no member of Parliament would even consider mentioning her gender in this House.

    Mr GLACHAN (Albury) [8.13 p.m.]: I can remember a number of Governors who have served this State really well, going back to Sir William McKell, Sir Roden Cutler, Sir James Roland Sir David Martin, Admiral Peter Sinclair and the Hon. Gordon Samuels. Now, for the first time in this

    State, we have a woman as Governor and I welcome her appointment. She is a very special and outstanding individual, and a wonderful citizen of this State. Her Excellency Marie Bashir grew up in Narrandera in the Riverina of Lebanese descent. She learned all of the values that the Lebanese people hold dear—strong family values, honesty and integrity—and inherited them in great measure. When I was younger I saw Australia play rugby against Fiji. Her husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, was playing for Australia, and I remember thinking what an outstanding rugby player he was. He went on to be the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney. What a great family!

    I was introduced to Her Excellency at Government House. Honourable members can imagine my surprise when, on hearing my name, she said, "Mr Glachan, I knew your daughter when she was at Women's College." My daughter was there about 16 years ago. I know that my name is unusual, but it is remarkable that she would remember my daughter then connect the two of us. Although I had not previously met the Governor I had heard of her from my daughter. Some 16 or 17 years ago, when my daughter was senior student at Women's College, Professor Bashir was involved with the board. She was particularly kind, understanding and helpful to my daughter and to the other women at the college and was highly regarded by them. They thought that she was an outstanding and wonderful person, and she knew many of them very well. Even though it was a big college with many students, Dr Bashir took the time to get to know most of them. She always had a kind word for the students, and was always encouraging and helping them. Those who had any problems or difficulties could go directly to her and she was always ready to help and support them.

    Dr Marie Bashir is a wonderful woman. She is an outstanding choice for Governor of this State. She will set an example to everyone in the State. Previously I listed some outstanding people who have acted as Governor, but she will be as good as or better than most. She will be one of best Governors this State has ever had. The people of New South Wales will be thrilled to have her as Governor and they will be very proud of her. I look forward to the wonderful things that will happen in this State while this magnificent woman is Governor. I very much support her appointment. I wish both she and her husband well as she carries out her duties of Governor for the people of this State. I know that she will bring dignity, sincerity, kindness and consideration to the people she serves.

    Mr LYNCH (Liverpool) [8.17 p.m.]: On one level it is a tad ironic that I would participate in this debate. I regard the position of Governor, constitutionally, as one that is thoroughly and completely flawed. The position of Governor is representative of the British Crown. My constitutional position is that the most admirable Head of State of Britain ever was Oliver Cromwell. I certainly would not have any sympathy for the policies he pursued in Ireland, but his approach to decapitating Kings was probably a fairly sensible one; at least it moved away from a monarchical system of government. The problem with the monarchy and thus with the Governor's position is that it is fundamentally undemocratic. This powerful position is handed down on the basis of birth and heredity, not on the basis of democratic election. That must mean that the monarchy is fundamentally wrong, fundamentally flawed and fundamentally undemocratic. At least that is the theory of it.

    In practical historical terms the monarchy grew out of and represented an oppressive, elitist society in which one class ruled and other classes were made to serve them. It was fundamentally undemocratic and fundamentally wrong. When one looks at some of the people who have held the position of Governor, one would hardly expect an appointment of a fairly high calibre. We certainly hear of great things about the early Governors, like Phillip and Macquarie. They were at best, however, autocrats. Once you get past Macquarie in the nineteenth century there is not a lot to be said for most of them. Ralph Darling, for example, was one of the great autocrats. He is still talked about as someone whose actions ought to be considered when we look at the development of press freedom in New South Wales.

    Robert Pullen wrote a book about the subject not all that long ago. Despite the best efforts of historians, like Brian Fletcher, people such as Darling are reasonably unattractive individuals. We then move on to more unattractive Governors, like Philip Game, who dismissed a democratically elected Premier, Lang. On any view of it that was a wrong, appalling and undemocratic action. There was Bligh, who, despite the defence of people I greatly admire such as Doc Evatt, was a pretty unattractive character. The actions that Bligh took against Irish prisoners in Australia, as well as against Michael Dwyer and the other 1798 rebels, were quite appalling—although I certainly would not defend the awful people who removed him in the Rum Rebellion.

    Having said all of that, some interesting things can be said about the present Governor. The reason I wanted to participate in this debate is that she is so very different from all of that, and her choice as Governor and the qualities she brings to the position are against the tradition of Governor appointments. She is far more representative of Australia and New South Wales than other Governors have ever been. That is something that I think we should welcome. As a number of people have said—and it is totally appropriate to note here—she is the first woman to be appointed as Governor. It would be nice to have people appointed to the position of Governor without any comment being made about the person's gender. It is an indictment of what has happened until now that people get excited about the fact that a woman is being appointed, because it has taken so long for that to occur.

    Another aspect about Marie Bashir's appointment and her qualities that I would particularly like to point to is her non Anglo-Saxon background, the fact that she has a Lebanese and Arabic background. I think that is particularly significant, given that historically, in accordance with the repressive and undemocratic aspects of the Governor's position, all of her predecessors have been not only male but also Anglo-Saxon males. It is not surprising that an electorate such as mine—65 per cent of my constituents were either born overseas or have one parent who was born overseas—feels a little alienated from this continuous run of ex-military, middle-class, middle-aged blokes, all of whom are Anglos, being appointed to the position. It is particularly pleasing to an electorate such as mine to have a person with a Lebanese background appointed as Governor.

    Various people, such as the lunatic from Queensland and sometimes people in this House, argue against multiculturalism as a policy, saying it is a bad thing. What such stupid people fail to understand is that multiculturalism is not a policy that we should either oppose or support; it is a description of how a large part of Sydney lives and is. Multiculturalism is a description of how we are; it is not something to be supported or rejected. People who do not understand that do not understand the nature of our society and our community. The appointment of a person of Lebanese background to the position of Governor is an eloquent statement of that; it is a declaration that people of the highest level accept that that is precisely the sort of society in which we live.

    It is particularly significant not only that Marie Bashir has a non Anglo-Saxon background but that she has a Lebanese background. Periodically we have served up to us in the press racist stereotypes attacking the Lebanese community. On other occasions in this place I have spoken about how appalling that sort of nonsense is. Whether it be people describing Lebanese crime gangs or whatever, those sorts of attacks are fundamentally racist. They come from people whose view of the world is incredibly narrow and who have no understanding of the sort of society in which we live. The appointment of a person of Lebanese background to this position is a useful rebuttal of those sorts of approaches to our society. Marie Bashir is an excellent choice. My only regret is that she has been appointed as Governor and not as a State President or as a Republican Governor.

    Ms HODGKINSON (Burrinjuck) [8.23 p.m.]: I support the appointment of Dr Marie Bashir to the position of Governor of New South Wales. One of my first memories of this place is when I was a candidate the first time round to be a member of this House. I was unsuccessful on that occasion. I remember collecting many hundreds of signatures to support the retention of the position of Governor in New South Wales. At that time the Labor Party sought to have the position abolished. It struck very much at the hearts of the people whom I sought to represent, and it was very easy to collect their signatures. Indeed, it was wonderful to have the position of Governor retained within this State.

    As a woman in this place and as the only female member of the National Party in the lower House, I can totally identify with how Dr Marie Bashir must feel being the first female Governor of this State. It would not be an easy task. No matter how you go about your daily duties, it will never leave the minds of those who seek to work against you that you are a female; that will always be at the back of their minds. As other members have said, not only this evening in speaking to the motion but also on other occasions, it would be nice to reach the position where being female did not become an item in its own right; where it would be expected that men, as well as women, had the right to represent the State and to be a representative in Parliament, and it did not matter which political party we represented but we were all here to represent our electorates.

    Dr Marie Bashir is an outstanding person—she is an outstanding woman. I attended Government House at her swearing-in, and was quite astonished to hear the level of success that she has achieved in her own right, not only as a female but as a person. She is totally outstanding in all of her professional fields. Dr Marie Bashir grew up in a country area, as did I. I was probably at the end of that particular generation that was of the view that women were brought up not to have their own roles but to be there to serve the males of the same generation.

    Thank heavens for people such as you, Madam Acting-Speaker, other female members of this Chamber and I, who have sought to beat down that miserable role play and make names for ourselves, just as has the Governor of New South Wales has. Dr Marie Bashir is an absolutely outstanding woman, a person whom we could all aspire to in our lives. Dr Bashir holds all the decorum that a country woman should hold: she presents herself well, she looks immaculate, and she speaks in an outstanding manner. She is a very upstanding, refined, genteel country woman who has all the intellect, education and work experience that any citizen would hope to aspire to in his or her entire life.

    I may be contravening the rules of this House by doing so, but this evening I am wearing a Country Women's Association badge, and I am very proud to wear that badge. The motto of the Country Women's Association is: "Honour to God, Loyalty to the Throne, Service to the Country, Through Country Women, By Country Women, For Country Women". We represent country women, and that a person like Marie Bashir has achieved as much as she has is extremely satisfying to all country women, who now know that such goals are achievable. I hope that Dr Marie Bashir is now happy in her chosen career. I know that she will be a better Governor than many of her predecessors. I am very proud to be able to call her my Governor, and I trust that she will find comfort in knowing that the members of this place are giving her such sound support.

    Mr ASHTON (East Hills) [8.28 p.m.]: Dr Marie Bashir was an inspired choice for Governor of New South Wales. Her appointment has been welcomed by all sides of politics and the wider community. Of course, Dr Bashir becomes the first woman Governor of New South Wales. As other people have commented, it will be nice when we do not have to make that observation. We will no longer make an observation that we now have the first female Governor of the State of New South Wales. I am sure she will not be the last. Dr Bashir breaks the mould of Governors that so often represented the legal or military fraternity. I use the word "fraternity" in its true sense: the old boys network of generals, naval commanders, brigadiers and colonels, and people such as Sir Philip Game and others of true infamy. Dr Marie Bashir has had a long career in medicine, especially in the field of psychiatry and young people, and her innovation and creativity in that field resulted in her receiving the highest honour at Sydney University of clinical professor in psychiatry.

    That medical field, with a faculty comprising largely Anglo-Saxon men, was not an obvious choice for Dr Bashir as a woman with an ethnic background. Dr Bashir showed great courage and commitment in pursuing that field of medicine and medical research. That is to her credit. We are only now understanding fully the problems associated with mental illness, particularly how it affects young people. Australia has a horrifyingly poor record of youth suicide and mental illness, and it is to Her Excellency's great credit that she became involved in that field at an early stage. I remind honourable members that Dr Marie Bashir is of Lebanese descent, which is further proof of Australia's success as a multicultural society. Previous speakers have made that point, but one cannot avoid the fact that it is an observation of some note. When public appointments are made that break the traditional mould of white, Anglo-Saxon males, it behoves Parliament to place them in their historical context. We will have achieved a great deal when we no longer feel compelled to highlight that fact.

    Dr Bashir has shown great concern for Australia's indigenous people. While she represents those who came to Australia as migrants, her commitment to the health of Aboriginal people reflects great credit on her. Dr Bashir recognised the lifestyle, employment and health problems of our indigenous people long before the various State and Federal governments. Although I do not seek to introduce a note of disruption into the debate, let us be honest: the Federal Government pays no attention to such issues and hopes to divide Australia at the next Federal election over the issue of race. It comes as no surprise to learn that Dr Bashir feels acutely that the views of indigenous people must be represented. She has commented that she will be prepared to rock the boat and make statements that may not prove completely acceptable to the establishment—whether that is the New South Wales Government or any other government. That is a breath of fresh air. Our Governors must obviously play a ceremonial role, but they also have opinions about their spheres of influence that they should be prepared to voice. Perhaps that breaks protocol, but I think we should do it anyway.

    Mr George: You usually do.

    Mr ASHTON: Yes. Dr Bashir's husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie—whom I have had the privilege of meeting several times at cricket or football games—advised me that, despite his distinguished career in business and local government, his great ability as representative of Australia in rugby union and his more recent appointment as chairman of the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust, his role would be that of a handbag to the new Governor; that he would merely be an escort to the Governor. He is very aware that the New South Wales Government appointed Dr Marie Bashir to the position of Governor on the basis of her abilities, not her connection with Sir Nicholas. I approve strongly of that comment.

    I know that Dr Bashir will bring vigorous individuality and creativity to the role of Governor of New South Wales and she will do so with great pride as a person of the highest professional standing. She also has great personal qualities. The honourable member for Albury remarked on how Dr Bashir remembered his daughter from her university days 16 years previously. Dr Bashir also knows Daryl Melham—this may not be a good recommendation—the Federal member for Banks, who is also of Lebanese descent. She speaks highly of him, as he does of her. Her contacts cross political and ethnic divides, and she will bring much integrity and honesty to her position. She will also bring a degree of humility, as was obvious to those who had the privilege of meeting her at various functions over the past few weeks.

    Her Excellency will visit my electorate on 11 April—this is particularly interesting for me— to present a prestigious award to a local high school. I am proud to announce that that school, Picnic Point High School, is the high school that I attended from years 7 to 12 and where I was head history teacher between 1987 and 1999, before my election to this place. Dr Bashir is to present the school with a trophy for raising the most money for the refurbishment of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The students at Picnic Point High School sold badges and the like—many of them to me, I must admit—to raise money for the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. This is the second or perhaps the third time that the high school has received this award and on previous occasions the school captains visited the then Governor at Government House to accept the award.

    The school, which has 600 or 700 students, is not a wealthy private school from which the parent of one of the schoolchildren can donate $1,000 or make a similar commitment in order to win this prize. Governor Marie Bashir will visit this ordinary, average but very good government high school in my electorate to give teachers and students the recognition that they deserve. They will get nothing from this exercise—apart from the honour of having raised the most money—as the funds will go to the refurbishment of the Australian War Memorial . I am proud of that achievement because I was a head teacher at that school when a decision was made to raise money for that cause through our Anzac Day ceremonies. I further congratulate Dr Bashir on her decision not to live in Government House but to throw it open to the public as the previous Governor did, despite the pressure and intimidation from the previous Opposition. I note that this time Opposition members have not made the silly mistake of threatening to terminate the Governor's contract—it does not exist—

    Ms Allan: Michael Photios is not around any more.

    Mr ASHTON: The vertical corgi is no longer here—despite attempts to rope him into various seats. The Governor has made the commitment that Government House is for the people of New South Wales, not for her and Sir Nicholas, some servants and assistants. It will be used on ceremonial occasions when it is needed and the rest of the time will be open to the people. Many thousands of people—perhaps hundreds of thousands—have visited that building and it is most appropriate that the people of New South Wales should be able to visit their own Government House.

    Not all Labor members, such as the honourable member for Liverpool and my colleagues sitting behind me, are monarchists. Perhaps none of us are. We do not believe in the appointment of the monarchs of England, and the outcome of the republican debate was rather tragic for many on this side of the House. We now know that when informed of the 1975 sacking of the Whitlam Government the Queen said: "What is going on over there?" and "Why wasn't I told? It should never have happened." Perhaps someone would like to focus on that point. In conclusion, I make the point that the Government has chosen for the people of New South Wales a fine Governor and it is fortunate that honourable members on the Opposition side of the Chamber agree with the choice that has been made. But whether members opposite agree with the appointment, the candidature of Dr Marie Bashir cannot be denied. I commend the motion.

    Mr GEORGE (Lismore) [8.40 p.m.]: I support the appointment of Dr Marie Bashir as the Governor of New South Wales. On behalf of Lismore electorate, I congratulate her. In doing so, I am also proud, as a person of Lebanese descent, to speak on behalf of the Lebanese community, not only in this State but in this country in passing on congratulations. I have no doubt that each and every member of the Lebanese community would want his or her congratulations passed on to the Governor and to have recorded in this House that the Lebanese community is proud to have a Governor of this State who is of Lebanese descent. Dr Marie Bashir is an outstanding person. She is an outstanding woman. She is immaculate. She is also an intellectual. Dr Bashir represents what country women represent and she represents advancements in redressing mental health problems and the problems faced by Aboriginal people in this State.

    The Governor must be concerned about the problems that the Lebanese community has had foisted upon it in relation to Lebanese gangs. It would be remiss of me not to address this issue because it is my duty to defend the Lebanese community and I do so on this occasion. Many of the young people who are said to be members of these gangs are born in Australia; they were not born in Lebanon. I acknowledge that the Governor would be concerned about comments relating to the Lebanese community. Dr Marie Bashir is a caring, articulate and courteous person who will definitely advance the future of the people of New South Wales. In acknowledging Dr Bashir, I also acknowledge the contribution made to this nation by her husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie. In his inimitable style he will, I am sure, support Dr Bashir. In my mind Dr Marie Bashir will undoubtedly become the Lady Di of New South Wales and of Australia.

    Mr McBRIDE (The Entrance) [8.42 p.m.]: I support the motion moved by the Leader of the House. On behalf of the people of my electorate, it is my great honour to welcome Professor Marie Bashir as this State's thirty-seventh Governor. Professor Bashir's distinguished career and her contribution to a vast array of community groups are well known throughout the community. I also believe that she is best qualified to be the Governor of our State. Her work with children and young people with mental illness is especially deserving of praise. In the light of the fact that there is such a high suicide rate among young males in particular, that attribute is especially worthy of acknowledgement. I should mention that youth suicide and the suicide of young adults is a major problem on the Central Coast. It is a matter of great concern to the wider community and it is wonderful that our Governor has direct experience in the treatment of mental illness as well as extensive experience in dealing with young people.

    Professor Bashir was born in Narrandera. She is the first woman and the first person of Lebanese descent to be appointed as Governor of New South Wales. On completion of her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Sydney in 1956, she embarked upon a career in medicine and psychiatry. In 1994 Professor Bashir became the Area Director of Mental Health Services in the Central Sydney Area Health Service. In 1996 she was appointed as a senior consultant to the Aboriginal medical services at Redfern and Kempsey. Through her appointments to the mental health service in central Sydney and particularly as a consultant to Aboriginal health services in Redfern and Kempsey, Professor Bashir brings unique skills to her new position as Governor of New South Wales.

    Professor Bashir has chaired numerous bodies. Since 1983, those bodies have included the Council of the Women's College at the University of Sydney, the New South Wales Juvenile Justice Advisory Council, the New South Wales Strategy for Aboriginal Mental Health, the Third World Health Group of the University of New South Wales, the New South Wales Task Force on Children's Mental Health, the Non-English-Speaking Background Suicide Prevention Program, and the New South Wales Mental Health Implementation Group. Her involvement in so many groups represents hard work and many hours of her precious time. Professor Bashir has made a considerable contribution to her community over a long period. Her contribution was recognised by the award of the Order of Australia in 1998 for services to children and adolescent health, especially mental health. That was due recognition of her efforts for our community as well as of her skills and commitment as a professional.

    I have no doubt that as the first female Governor of the State of New South Wales and its first Governor of Lebanese descent, Marie Bashir's unique experience as a woman and as a first-generation Australian, which is an important factor in the cultural mix of Australia today, will bring to the office of Governor a new insight into the community. I foresee our new Governor, Professor Marie Bashir, becoming an outstanding public figure in the same way as Sir William Deane has done as Governor-General of Australia. Marie Bashir is a woman who is capable of achieving greatness and bringing great distinction to the position of Governor of New South Wales.

    Ms ALLAN (Wentworthville) [8.46 p.m.]: What a marvellous sense of achievement there is in the fact that at long last, after a couple of hundred years, New South Wales now has a woman as Governor. It has been interesting to listen to this debate and to note the varying views that have been presented by honourable members on both sides of the House. It is unusual for a debate in this Parliament to invoke so much unanimity and goodwill. I was most impressed that the honourable member for Albury perceived the Governor, Professor Marie Bashir, as a woman of gentility. Perhaps it was only a case of the honourable member for Albury, unlike the honourable member for Coffs Harbour, recognising a kindred spirit and a synergy in similarity between gentle people, qualities not shared by the honourable member for Coffs Harbour.

    Mr Fraser: There is nothing gentle about you.

    Ms ALLAN: It depends on the circumstances. The honourable member for Burrinjuck was impressed by the sense of womanhood surrounding the appointment of our new Governor. The fact that Marie Bashir is a woman has given even the honourable member for Burrinjuck a role model in this Parliament. She is also impressed by our colleague Madam Acting-Speaker, the honourable member for Mulgoa, but at the same time is particularly impressed by the fact that we now have Her Excellency in this State. I was a little disappointed by the contribution made by the honourable member for Liverpool. All members on the Government side of the Chamber are, of course, republicans but this is not the time to be churlish about the republicanism or monarchism of honourable members, whatever the case may be. The reality is that New South Wales now has a woman who is the Governor of this State and that is a significant achievement.

    I am pleased to note that as recently as during the last few weeks, New Zealand has begun to catch up to Australia's performance. Only two weeks ago Dame Sylvia Cartwright became New Zealand's first female Governor-General. The point must be made that in Australia we still have a little way to go before we begin to match New Zealand's profile. I say that because the appointment of Dame Sylvia Cartwright has completed an historic hat-trick for New Zealand. All three top constitutional positions in New Zealand below the Queen are currently held by women. I can hear a chorus of endorsement and support from members of the Coalition for the proposition that even more women should be appointed to high office! With Dame Sylvia Cartwright as Governor-General, Helen Clark as Prime Minister and Sian Elias as the Chief Justice, women control almost all the levers of constitutional power in New Zealand. That gives us yet another benchmark to match.

    The New Zealand Leader of the Opposition, Attorney General and Mayor of Auckland are also women. Frank Sartor, eat your heart out! Even the chief executive officer of Telstra is a woman. New South Wales, the premier State of Australia, now has a woman as Governor. That is a great achievement but we still have a way to go. Like Her Excellency Marie Bashir, who struggled through her life to achieve all the things she has achieved, whether professionally, educationally or in family life—it must say something about women who get to these positions in their life—the New Zealand Governor-General, Dame Silvia Cartwright, is the daughter of a shoe shop owner turned wool merchant. So she had a bit of Labor Party heritage and a bit of National Party heritage. She was the first female university student to study law and she became the first female judge.

    We cannot pay tribute to Her Excellency Marie Bashir without also paying tribute to her husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie. Many times we have read about and listened to the wonderful contributions that the partners of Governors have made, and I am sure that Sir Nicholas Shehadie, who has already made such an outstanding contribution—with commercial, local government and sporting achievements—will also make an outstanding contribution as the partner of the Governor. A number of speakers have noted that the National Party has already appropriated Her Excellency as a country woman. She grew up in the Riverina region of New South Wales and spent a large part of her life in Sydney. It is important that the Governor of this State has had a breadth of personal experience, having lived in both the country and the city and having a wide educational and professional background.

    Governors of New South Wales have not always made an outstanding contribution. I am speaking more as a former history teacher than as a commentator on the performances of recent Governors. The Governors I have met or had experience with have impressed me with their sheer dedication and professionalism in their civic duty. The honourable member for East Hills was a history teacher more recently than I and he has documented the performance of some of the State Governors. It is a refreshing experience to meet a Governor who is such a personable practitioner of public policy. Marie Bashir has an academic background as well as a medical background. She has had much community experience and she is obviously already sending signals to the people of New South Wales that she will maintain those strong links. I was particularly impressed that in her speech she used the words "with joyful anticipation to serving the people of New South Wales". The atmosphere in this House this evening is such that it is obvious that the joyful anticipation is being effectively reciprocated by the Parliament of New South Wales.

    Mr MERTON (Baulkham Hills) [8.53 p.m.]: I speak on the motion to note the answer to the address of congratulations on Her Excellency's assumption of the administration of the Government of New South Wales. My first meeting with Professor Marie Bashir was in 1992 when I was somewhat suddenly appointed to the office of Minister responsible for justice, juvenile justice and courts administration. I had been in office for about a day and my receptionist told me that there was someone to see me, Professor Marie Bashir. Immediately I met the professor I appreciated her commitment, dedication, sincerity and zeal to assist young people of New South Wales in her capacity as chair of the Juvenile Justice Council. She performed her duties in an utterly professional and committed way, which exemplifies her whole life and professional history and background.

    Previous speakers have said that Professor Bashir was born in Narrandera, rural New South Wales, and came from a rural background. She became a qualified medical practitioner, a high calling of itself. Her life became one of commitment to serve the community. To this role she devoted her every effort. I congratulate her on her appointment as the first woman Governor of New South Wales. She richly deserves the honour and she has attained it by many years of community service. I know that she will perform the functions of the office with distinction. She comes from an excellent and solid family background. Her husband is former Lord Mayor of Sydney Nick Shehadie, who in his own right has been an outstanding servant of the public. He served the people of Sydney and New South Wales in his role as Lord Mayor and in other distinguished roles he performed in the administration of New South Wales.

    I welcome Professor Marie Bashir to the role of Governor of New South Wales, a role that she will carry out with charm, sophistication and commitment. She has involved herself in so many aspects of service to young people, with compassion, concern and feeling. Her whole life and being were wrapped up in her innermost desire to help young people experiencing difficulties. That impressed me 10 years ago. Since then her commitment has been nurtured and has become more intense. Her appointment as Governor is not only a reward but an opportunity to serve the people of New South Wales in that elevated role as the Queen's representative in the wonderful State of New South Wales. Professor Bashir and her husband will carry out their roles with distinction, dignity, pride, achievement and commitment. Professor Bashir said in her response that she was looking forward with joyful anticipation to serving the people of New South Wales. On behalf of the Opposition I am pleased to congratulate Professor Marie Bashir on the distinction of becoming the Governor of New South Wales.

    Mr GIBSON (Blacktown) [8.58 p.m.]: On behalf of the people of Blacktown I welcome Professor Marie Bashir to the office of Governor. I recognise that she is the thirty-seventh Governor and the first female Governor of New South Wales. That is appropriate because over the last 40 or 50 years there has been a concerted effort to achieve female representation that is equal to male representation in most areas. Over the years there has been a push for equal pay for women. The Premier has pushed hard and often for equal representation in Parliament, not only on the back bench but also in Cabinet. It is appropriate that Professor Marie Bashir has taken up the mantle as the first female Governor of this great State. She is the best qualified governor we have had. I have no doubt that by the end of her term she will prove to have had by far the best reign of any Governor of this or any other State of Australia. She has reached the top in the fields of psychiatric medicine and health administration. She has worked closely with young people and Aboriginal communities in New South Wales. Her work with children and young people and mental illnesses is especially deserving.

    No matter whom you speak to, they will talk about this lady's great compassion, warmth and work with Aboriginal people and communities and the young people of this State. Many honourable members were born in country New South Wales and Professor Bashir was born in Narrandera. I was born in Young and can identify not so much with members of the National Party, who are all fine people, but with some of its policies. Professor Bashir has had the experience of living in the country and in urban areas of this State and knows the problems of living in both areas. She is the first Lebanese to have taken on the mantle of Governor of this State, which typifies the multicultural aspect of this great nation. I have often said that this nation is fortunate because we live under the big umbrella of multiculturalism.

    Mr Fraser: Louie Bayeh!

    Mr GIBSON: He was Lebanese as well. Australia is probably the envy of most of the world today because we live in peace and harmony under the big umbrella of multiculturalism, mainly because we have love and respect for each other. I am certain that Governor Professor Bashir will expand that during her term as Governor of this State. The experience of Her Excellency extends beyond her medical career; it includes working with the Council of Women's College at the University of Sydney, the New South Wales Juvenile Justice Advisory Council, the New South Wales Strategy for Aboriginal Mental Health, the Third World Health Group of the University of New South Wales, the New South Wales task force on children's mental health and the people of the Non-English Speaking Background Suicide Prevention Project and the New South Wales mental health implementation groups.

    Professor Bashir has had an important, long and distinguished career in the basic humanities. In her first speech as Governor, Professor Bashir said it is important to worry not only about wealthy people but about poor people, who are not as fortunate as others. I am certain that will be reflected throughout her time as Governor of this State. Professor Bashir identifies with, and gives hope to, all classes of people in our society. She has an affinity with the working class that, I am sure, no other Governor of this State has had. She has done great work for charity. She reflects, and has been part of, our great sporting nation. That is important because our greatest export is our sporting ability, and it is nothing short of remarkable for a nation as small as Australia to have developed the champions we have in most sports.

    I first met Professor Bashir probably 20 years ago with her husband, Nick Shehadie, who has not only done great work in public administration but played rugby union for Australia for a long time. I do not suppose there was ever a better or tougher rugby union player than Nick Shehadie. I attended many of his games. I am certain that Professor Bashir has picked up on the fact that being a spectator or participator in sport teaches people how to win and lose. I have spoken to many groups in Blacktown since Professor Bashir became Governor and have found that she has been accepted overwhelmingly.

    Aboriginal people in Blacktown are glad that at last they have a Governor who not only talks the talk but walks the walk, because this Governor has visited many Aboriginal communities and has developed many policies with Aboriginal people. They are ecstatic that they can identify with her and can go to her at any time with any problem or request for information. Professor Bashir has been warmly accepted by those people.

    The Country Women's Association at Blacktown was established a long time ago when Blacktown was part of country New South Wales. In those times it took half a day to get to Blacktown by horse, or, if you went by train, sometimes you did not arrive at all—some people might say that has not changed much today. The Country Women's Association at Blacktown was ecstatic that Professor Bashir was elected as Governor not only because she is a female but because she identifies with country people. It is important to have a Governor who knows the feelings of rural and urban people because a Governor governs not one class of people but the whole State.

    Friendly faces—a term that could apply to members in this Chamber—is a group at Blacktown that does community work and gives free advice to visitors at Blacktown railway station. For example, they give information to visitors on how to get to a tourist attraction at Blacktown or how to see the local member for Blacktown. Before being elected as Governor, Professor Bashir came in contact with that group, and they were ecstatic to find that she was a great lady who was prepared not only to talk with them but to spend some time with them. That is another instance of one group in the community that has totally accepted Professor Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales. One does not normally find the widespread acceptance that has been evident upon the appointment of Professor Bashir as Governor.

    The Blacktown show society is one of the oldest in New South Wales. The honourable member for Londonderry, having been mayor of Blacktown for many years, is nodding his head and knows that the Blacktown show society prides itself on running the best show possible for the people of Blacktown. Blacktown is now part of this great city, but it used to be regarded as a country area, and every year its show society tries to put on a show that epitomises both the country feeling and the city feeling in that part of western Sydney. They totally identify with the Governor because she has spent part of her life in rural New South Wales and part of it in the city. I have spoken to rugby union people in the Blacktown area and they all identify with her. They feel that they know the Governor of this State well because they have met her husband, Nick Shehadie, and that gives them a very warm feeling about her.

    The Shehadie family is very compassionate and shows great humility. Marie Bashir has set a high standard not only by what she has done in New South Wales but by the heights she has reached in her personal life. Often in a partnership or marriage one person is extremely successful and the other partner takes on a supportive role. However, in this case both Marie Bashir and Sir Nicholas have excelled in everything they have done. We are fortunate to have a Governor who is classy and well educated and can speak with the top end of town just as easily as she can speak with the battlers of New South Wales and feel equally at home. Her appointment is symbolic and supportive of what the Government has done in New South Wales.

    A few years ago the Government made a decision that the Governor should no longer reside at Government House. This led to considerable debate in this Chamber for many months. Until the appointment of Professor Marie Bashir, the Opposition consistently presented petitions to this House praying that the office of Governor not be downgraded. Millions of people have now been through Government House and most people throughout New South Wales would now realise the historic significance of the building, which should not just be the home of the Governor and his or her family but should belong to the people of New South Wales. Opening up Government House as a major tourist attraction has also had the effect of reclaiming some of the foreshores of this great nation.

    Governor Professor Marie Bashir has elected not to live at Government House. Without wishing to be political, that justifies the difficult decision that the Government took quite some time ago. The Government knew that it would receive a lot of flak because of that decision but that further down the track the decision would be justified. Previously, ordinary people did not have the opportunity to visit what is probably the prettiest and dearest piece of real estate in the nation. Only those invited to a cocktail party or to some other major function would have the opportunity to visit Government House—and that would never have been the ordinary people of Blacktown, Mount Druitt and other parts of New South Wales. It is significant that Government House has now been returned to the people of New South Wales. I am sure that Marie Bashir will turn out to be the greatest ever Governor of New South Wales and it gives me great pleasure to welcome her on behalf of the people of Blacktown.

    Mr McGRANE (Dubbo) [9.13 p.m.]: I endorse the sentiments expressed by previous speakers. I congratulate the Carr Government on its excellent choice of Governor of New South Wales. Professor Marie Bashir is the first lady to be Governor of this State, and the many attributes she brings to the office have been referred to. Her husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, is a household name in New South Wales in sport and business. He is a former Lord Mayor of Sydney. Both he and Marie Bashir have excelled in their individual fields. I first met Professor Marie Bashir at Government House but I have known her husband, Sir Nicholas, for a number of years. It says a great deal about Professor Marie Bashir and her husband that they both have had such distinguished success in different fields. She originally came from Narrandera.

    Many of the Lebanese immigrants to Australia migrated to regional New South Wales, in particular. Most towns in my area have Lebanese families. In the main they have not been recent arrivals; they came in the 1940s and earlier. They were business people, basically in the rag trade, but in other trades as well. The father of a former councillor of Dubbo Shire Council, Col Shibble, came out from Lebanon and subsequently earned his living by travelling by train from Dubbo to Bourke, Coonamble and Cobar selling his wares. The Lebanese people brought merchandise to regional New South Wales and Australia. They are extraordinarily hard workers and are successful tradespeople in regional New South Wales.

    When I met Professor Marie Bashir at Government House I spoke about my involvement at Gilgandra and particularly with the Shalhoub family. When I mentioned the Shalhoub family she said, "Tony Shalhoub was the person who gave me my black poodle. I will never ever forget him." That was a great statement from the heart. That night I rang Tony Shalhoub's daughter-in-law and spoke about my having met Marie Bashir. Tony is about 97 years of age. He has been in hospital for the past five years but still has most of his faculties. Judy Shalhoub said, "When the Governor's name was mentioned Tony told us this story about a dog and we could not make head nor tail of it."

    However, it made sense when coupled with what the Governor said to me. The Governor remembered it and Tony remembered it. It is pleasing that she can bring such a personal touch and sentiment to this office and display warmth to me because I knew Tony. That typifies Lebanese people in Australia. They are close and hardworking and have done a lot to open up regional New South Wales and Australia. I congratulate the Government on its appointment of Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales, because she is a person of the people for the people.

    Ms BEAMER (Mulgoa) [9.19 p.m.]: It is not often that a person in public office has so many of the wonderful qualities that Dr Bashir has. I refer not only to qualities that stem from her professional life but to her personal attributes as well. Often, some people—migrants, indigenous people, country people and indeed women—feel marginalised by their positions in our community. Anyone who knows Professor Bashir's past is at once astounded by the range of different duties she has taken on as chair of community bodies. The Premier listed quite a few of those in his speech. All of them relate to the chairing of organisations of marginalised people in our community. When we look for role models we find few who can represent so well the marginalised in our society. I refer not to white Anglo-Saxon males but to women and migrants.

    Our new Governor typifies a good role model for the marginalised. In her acceptance speech she spoke of her "continuing contact with a great many citizens of New South Wales," and of having met a number of great achievers "but also the vulnerable young, the indigenous, our refugee citizens, and people whose lives have been significantly marginalised—all individuals who have taught me much about courage, resilience and dignity." I think it is wonderful that a Governor of New South Wales, appointed in the year of the Centenary of Federation, a person looking for the best for the marginalised in our society, has those qualities of courage, resilience and dignity. She will bring those qualities and compassion for fellow human beings to her office.

    I often have sad reflections, when watching and listening to television and news programs, that our young have few women role models. All too often it is difficult for young women to see a place for themselves in public life. Many have reflected on the number of young women who may want to become involved in politics and the reasons that they decide not to do so. However, the role model provided by our new Governor will send a positive message to not only young women but migrant women and women from country New South Wales. It is excellent that country New South Wales has in the Governor an example of a person who has achieved such high office. I noted chortling and laughter when the honourable member for Blacktown mentioned the Blacktown Country Women's Association. I have attended many meetings of the Penrith Country Women's Association. The reasons that such organisations still exist is that historically they have been meeting places for women who have enjoyed that interaction. The Country Women's Association in Penrith is alive and well, though few outside Sydney would describe Penrith as country. That is just an aside.

    Mr R. H. L. Smith: It would have been country in 1788.

    Ms BEAMER: In 1788 Penrith would have been considered a long way from town. I return to the fact that our new Governor means so many things to so many different people. It has been mentioned that Dr Bashir is of Lebanese descent. At a time when some elements in our community are being attacked—and attacked unfairly—it is a wonderful and sensible message that we send to the people of New South Wales that in our Governor we have a woman who is not only highly intelligent and well educated but whose strong Australian identity has been, as she described, "woven as a rich tapestry into the Arabic heritage" of her forebears, whilst always retaining from her past a history and identity that is strongly Australian.

    It is wonderful that we can say such things about the Governor of New South Wales. To me, it is like a breath of fresh air—something really new and exciting! The honourable member for Liverpool made some strong comments about his belief about the role of the Governor of New South Wales, that is, whether we should have one. This breath of fresh air might put his cause back a great distance, because the people will enjoy having a woman of dignity, calm and great perception as their Governor. The fact that New South Wales has such a great appointment as Governor is a great reason to put back the honourable member's cause.

    I have mentioned the bodies that Dr Bashir has chaired over the past 17 years. Another body of people she has dealt with is those who suffer from mental illness. It is wonderful that a woman with a rural upbringing and such capacity has taken up the duties of Governor, but it is extraordinary that such a woman would have such a profound understanding of people who are so marginalised and discriminated against. We have in Dr Bashir a woman who brings to the role of Governor a depth of understanding that few of us could hope for in our lives. Dr Bashir spoke of the people she met who had courage, resilience and dignity. We have found as a Governor someone who has demonstrated that she has those trademarks. When I listened to Dr Bashir I heard a calm, quiet and dignified voice. But there was also great power in her words.

    Another aspect of the life of our new Governor is prevention of suicide. The rate of suicide is a real blight on our society. I must admit that my understanding of the issue is limited, having never confronted it within my family until recently. It is anathema to me, and remains so despite recently being touched by the suicide of a family member. The questions that he asked of his sister, relayed to me, was how we can help. Dr Bashir chaired the Non-English Speaking Background Suicide Prevention Project. This role gives great depth to the task of looking after those in our society who have difficulty looking after themselves. These are important ways in which we in public office carry out those roles. We do so as representatives of constituents and groups that approach us. But it is very important to have as Governor someone who can say, "I know about this issue because I have worked in the field, so tell me about your story." Her role will be that of a great communicator, of someone who will find the ear of the people of New South Wales.

    This will be very important for those who have never had such a contact. I can remember being quite struck by the message that Sir William Deane gave to the people of St Marys in his time as Governor. I look forward to the day when I will welcome Dr Bashir to the electorate of Mulgoa. She will find there a group of people who are willing to take to heart the issues that she herself holds so dear, and she will be able to give them so much. It is important that she intends to be so open to the public. Dr Bashir praised the fact that the building in which Governors, until Sir Gordon Samuels, had generally resided would remain open to the citizens of New South Wales. The symbolism in that gesture is in the opening up of the residence so that the people could see in that building part of the history of New South Wales and the residence of many of our former Governors.

    I believe that Marie Bashir will be an example to us of decency, fairness and ethical conduct. Some people face hardship and challenges and she is a person who has had a bountiful life. What I suppose I wish for the Governor is that she will get as much back as she will undoubtedly put into her role. Reference has been made to this being the Year of the Volunteer—I am not suggesting at all that her job is one of volunteerism, but I often find that those who put a lot into the things they do get so much back for their efforts. I hope that Dr Bashir will get as much out of this job as I am sure she will put into it, because that will be ample reward for her new position. I join with all of those who have welcomed her appointment. I look forward to a time when I will be able to chat with her at Government House or listen to her interesting asides as she speaks about various issues. I join with all my colleagues on both sides of the House in wishing her well during his tenure as Governor and I commend the motion to the House.

    Mr COLLINS (Willoughby) [9.30 p.m.]: This is an opportunity for this House to reflect not only on the individual who has been chosen to represent the people of New South Wales as Governor of this State but also on the role of Governor. I must say that it is one of the important decisions that government gets to make and it is equally important that we document it. I recall an afternoon in 1988 when Nick Greiner as Premier elect, Wal Murray as Deputy Premier elect and I as Deputy Liberal leader—the incoming Government—sat down in the office of the Leader of the Opposition on the 10th floor of this building. Nick Greiner looked at Wal Murray and said, "One of the first things we need to do is to fill the position about to be vacated by Sir James Rowland." Wal Murray and I looked at each other and said, simultaneously, "David Martin." That is when, where and how the decision was made to appoint David Martin as Governor.

    Rear Admiral David Martin, the very popular naval commander in eastern Australia, had recently retired or was about to retire from the Australia Navy. I believe it is important that we put these things on the record to demystify some of these institutions and to explain to the citizens of New South Wales how such decisions are made. I happen to believe that the decision made by the Carr Government to appoint Marie Bashir as Governor of this State is one of the most inspired decisions taken by the Carr Government. It was a surprisingly excellent decision; an atypical decision, in that—as so many members have said in contributing to this debate—Marie Bashir did not represent, if you like, the standard candidate for the position of Governor. She did not satisfy the criteria met by so many of her distinguished predecessors, but I have absolutely no doubt that she will carry out the role with distinction.

    I have had an opportunity, as someone who has spent almost 20 years in the New South Wales Parliament, to get to know five Governors of this State. We are exceptionally fortunate to have been continuously well served. In addition to Governor Marie Bashir, Governors that I have worked with in different capacities have included: Sir James Rowland, Sir David Martin, Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair and Sir Gordon Samuels. I consider that they served this State extremely well. Many in this Chamber have also had an opportunity to meet that iconic former Governor, Sir Roden Cutler, a great Australian who served in many capacities. The role of Governor is not dependent on pomp and circumstance; it is not dependent on uniforms and the trappings of office. Some in the Chamber may recall previous British appointees who also served the nation well in the role of Governor-General. To mind come people such as Viscount Dunrossil and Viscount De Lisle. They were British citizens who served Australia as Governor-General for a short time. During that time much was made of pomp and circumstance which, I suppose, we sought to have grafted on to our own culture through those appointments.

    The appointment of Marie Bashir is a uniquely Australian appointment. As Governor she will not depend on the trappings of office, uniform, or pomp and circumstance; she will shine through her humanity, her warmth, her personality and her intelligence. I was extremely fortunate when I became Minister for Health in the Greiner Government in 1988 to get to know Marie Bashir in a professional capacity. It was through bodies such as the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern that we met. Indeed, on one occasion Marie Bashir and I visited the Aboriginal Medical Service and, as a result of that visit, I was absolutely determined—and completely supported by her in my determination—to make sure that funds for Aboriginal medical services were not regarded as a hollow log by the rest of the Department of Health, as had been the case before then. In other words, we needed to quarantine funds for Aboriginal health. As so often happens, funds set aside for Aboriginal health would be dipped into for other health purposes and the money desperately needed by one of the most disadvantaged communities in this State would be depleted.

    Of course, it did not end there. Mental health was another area in which Marie Bashir excelled and she strongly encouraged me in my efforts to tie up the many loose ends in mental health with some extremely conflicting legislation on the books. That was done by the introduction of the Mental Health Act, which was passed by this Parliament in 1990. Marie Bashir also made a great contribution in the juvenile justice area. The theme that has been picked up by many members during this debate is that we are talking about human issues; some of the most difficult issues that confront our society today. They were the areas where she worked—quietly, confidently, authoritatively, day in, day out, throughout her professional career. Indeed, I would say that if it was a tough issue, an insurmountable issue, one of those really confrontational issues that we needed health and professional advice on, it was often the case that Marie Bashir would be the first person we turned to—as I am sure has been the case in the Carr Government in respect of those issues.

    Marie Bashir has served this State with enormous distinction, but this is only the beginning. Some members during the debate have sought to make comments about the role of Government House, as well as the role of Governor. I want to turn to that very briefly. Governor Bashir has decided not to live in Government House, as is her right and choice. But, let us not confuse the issue too much. We on this side of the House have never objected to the opening up of Government House—in the same way that Americans have never objected to the opening up of the White House. The White House remains a residence, a functional building in two senses: the ceremonial sense, which the people of the United States of America can participate in, can visit to see where their President works; and the private sense, the place where the President lives.

    It must be put on the record that that choice will remain open to future governments, regardless of their political complexion. As many Government members have said, the people of New South Wales enjoy visiting Government House. That is to be encouraged. That was a reform that was necessary. The right of the public to visit Government House was a desirable step forward that is not inconsistent with having a governor resident in Government House. Indeed, the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales has plans on its books that enable either a resident governor or a non-resident governor. They are both quite achievable. The Historic Houses Trust has probably worked out a more sensible and pragmatic solution than has been the case since Government House was vacated by Governors—that is, a building beside Government House which is far more habitable, as I understand it, than Government House.

    The Chalet, I believe it was called, which was the residence of one of the senior staff of the Governor—the private secretary to the Governor—would be quite suitable accommodation should that option be exercised by a future government. When that option is eventually exercised by a future government that will in no way prevent or diminish the public visits that have become so much a part of the life of Government House. It is a great symbol of our democracy which should be enjoyed by as many citizens as possible in as many ways as possible. It is entirely consistent to have large, frequent and daily public visits to Government House, to see Government House used for ceremonial and constitutional occasions, to see Government House used for cultural events and, at the same time, to have a Governor resident in Government House. The fact that the new Governor has not chosen that option does not preclude that possibility in future. That possibility, which remains on the books, is a possibility that I am sure will become a reality at some stage in the future.

    I go back to the contribution of Marie Bashir. Some of the obvious things have been stated. She is a woman of immigrant background. The fact that she is the first female Governor of this State has already been commented on by a number of honourable members. But the wonderful thing about the announcement of Marie Bashir as the State's new Governor was that she is so impeccably qualified in so many fields that being a woman of ethnic background was simply a bonus to an already illustrious career, which made her an ideal choice. I congratulate the Government on its recommendation. This is a home town decision. Let us be quite frank about the fact that the decision was made in Sydney—it was not made in London—by the Government of the day. It is a good decision, just as the appointment of the Chief Justice and Lieutenant-Governor, the Hon. Jim Spigelman, was an excellent appointment.

    Honourable members differ on many issues, but when we agree it is important that people understand those issues on which we agree. We agree on some fairly fundamental points. To get our constitutional framework right, to have honourable and distinguished Australians filling those positions is a point on which we should be proud to agree. We are fortunate indeed with those appointments. Finally, all of us in this Chamber have the utmost confidence in the appointment of Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales. We wish her well in what will be a distinguished and historic career. I was proud that my eldest son, Ben, who was able to be with me on the day of her swearing in, saw that historic occasion. We all wish Marie Bashir, the Governor of New South Wales, and her husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, the best of good luck in the years ahead.

    Ms SALIBA (Illawarra) [9.46 p.m.]: I add my congratulations to Professor Marie Bashir on her appointment as the thirty-seventh Governor of New South Wales—the first woman Governor of New South Wales. As has been stated, Dr Bashir is an Australian born child of Lebanese parents. She is not unlike many of my constituents, who either are migrants or are born of migrant families. I have said before in this House that I am a migrant. I came to Australia in 1964 with my family.

    Mr O'Farrell: You must have been young.

    Ms SALIBA: I was a babe in arms. It is great that a woman of ethnic background has now taken over the role of Governor. As I stated earlier, the Illawarra has a migrant population, many of whom come from non-English speaking backgrounds. It is pleasing to them to know that the Governor of New South Wales understands issues that affect immigrants and people from different ethnic backgrounds. Only a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a function hosted by the Australian Philippine Association Illawarra Welfare Service. The function was the first Filipino women's achievement awards to celebrate International Women's Day 2001. The awards recognise the outstanding achievements and significant contribution to the community of Filipino women in the Illawarra.

    This is the sense of community that Dr Bashir has spoken about—encouraging a community, though culturally diverse, to work together for the good of all. My family is a little like the community about which Dr Bashir has spoken. I migrated to Australia from Scotland. My husband, who is Maltese, migrated to Australia. Two of my children are migrants—they both come from Korea. One of my children is of Lao-Hungarian background and one of my children is Australian. We all choose to be Australians, to live here and to make Australia our home. We respect each other and we respect and appreciate one another's backgrounds. We try to foster our family's cultural diversity. Dr Bashir is also trying to encourage and foster a community, though diverse, to work together for the sake of a common goal—that is, for the sake of New South Wales.

    Dr Bashir dedicated much of her time to the issue of mental health—a problem that is continually escalating due to drug and alcohol abuse, and an issue which we, the community, have to face and with which we have to deal. Dr Bashir's credentials speak for themselves. She brings to her new role a wealth of experience that will be of great benefit to all in New South Wales. Take, for example, some of the committees that she has chaired. I see Dr Bashir as a woman of passion. Some of those committees include: the Council of the Women's College at the University of Sydney, the New South Wales Juvenile Justice Advisory Council, the Metropolitan South West Region Customer Service Council, the New South Wales strategy for Aboriginal mental health, the Third World health group of the University of New South Wales, the New South Wales task force on children's mental health, the review of Northern Sydney Child and Adolescent Services, the non-English speaking background suicide prevention project and the New South Wales mental health implementation group.

    Dr Bashir has shown great passion for those groups, which she has chaired. She is committed to the community and she obviously deals with issues of real concern to those who are not able to be understood and the disadvantaged who do not fully understand what is going on in the community. They really need the kind of help that Dr Bashir offers them. She has wide-ranging experience in a number of areas, including mental health, women's issues and Aboriginal issues. She will be a great asset to New South Wales. Her commitment to fairness and social justice is reflected in her participation on bodies such as the Juvenile Justice Advisory Council and the Aboriginal Mental Health Service.

    Dr Bashir has shown a real commitment to those in need and those socially discriminated against. I share her views in all those areas, which need our undivided attention. Unfortunately, people are discriminated against. She has been invited by some community groups to visit my electorate. I look forward to her visit and to her joining in with the community, which looks up to her. I am sure that they will benefit from her experiences and her input into New South Wales. As was stated earlier by the honourable member for Mulgoa, Dr Bashir is a role model for women. She comes from country New South Wales and is a role model for young women in school and people who want to contribute to the community but do not know how to go about it.

    Dr Bashir is a role model for migrants. She has demonstrated how migrants make a great contribution to the community and to the State. The Illawarra was built by migrants. From the 1950s to the 1980s people migrated to the Illawarra, mostly to work with BHP and Lysaghts. The Illawarra has a great cultural diversity and recently celebrated Viva la 'Gong—a great cultural festival. People from the Solomon Islands and Aboriginal communities were involved in many cultural activities, as were young gymnasts, artists and musicians. It was great to see so many communities coming together as one. It was like families coming together, and that is what we are about, and that is what I believe Dr Bashir is promoting in New South Wales in her role as our Governor. I congratulate her on her appointment. I look forward to working with her in State Parliament for the sake of the community.

    Mr O'FARRELL (Ku-ring-gai—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [9.54 p.m.]: The Office of Governor of New South Wales has existed for 213 years, and for 133 of those years our Head of State has been a female monarch—Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901 and Queen Elizabeth II from 1952 until the present. It has taken us only 213 years to appoint the first female Governor of New South Wales. Along with all honourable members, I welcome the appointment of Professor Marie Bashir. Professor Bashir is the thirty-seventh Governor of New South Wales and the seventh Australian-born person to occupy that office. It was not until 1946, under the Labor administration of Bill McKell, that New South Wales was able to make a decision on who it wanted as its Governor. Prior to that the choice had been made in London. It was not until 1946, when Sir John Northcott was appointed to that post, that an Australian-born person was appointed to that office.

    As the honourable member for Maitland and I have discussed previously, Dr Bashir is the third person from a non-military background to occupy the position of Governor. The debate between the honourable member for Maitland and me was that we might have overlooked that Sir Roden Cutler, who occupied that position, had been appointed from the foreign service, not directly from the military. Sir Roden Cutler, Gordon Samuels and now Professor Bashir are the only three people in 213 years to be appointed as Governor from outside the military. Much has been made during this debate of the contribution that Marie Bashir made in a number of areas, including Aborigines, mental health, children's services and suicide prevention—not areas normally associated with members of the establishment who have occupied Government House in the past. It is long overdue that people with that breadth and depth of experience in those areas should occupy the role.

    Dr Bashir, as well as being well credentialled for the post, is of Lebanese extraction. The Lebanese have a long history of settlement in this country, dating back to the nineteenth century. They have made a significant contribution to the development of the country. The Lebanese community welcomed the decision of the Carr Government to appoint Dr Bashir to the post. Last Sunday, along with my colleagues the honourable member for Epping and the honourable member for Hornsby, I attended the consecration and reopening of the St George Maronite Catholic Church at Thornleigh. Amongst those present were Bishop Joseph Hitti, Father El-Badaoui Habib and Mr Anthony Socari, who organised the ceremony. There was great joy that the Governor of New South Wales is of Lebanese descent.

    It says much about the multicultural nature of our community that Dr Bashir is as welcome to the post as a Scott or an Irishman—as someone from the mother country had been previously. A few weeks ago when I met Dr Bashir at Government House I thought I should present her with a uniquely Ku-ring-gai gift—but not one of my speeches, which are always unique! I am aware of Dr Bashir's great love of music so I presented her with a recently released CD of Australian music by a Ku-ring-gai resident Deborah de Graff. Ms de Graff is a clarinetist and is a founding member and artistic director of the chamber music ensemble, the Ku-ring-gai Virtuosi. The CD presented to the Governor and Premier on that occasion is of music composed in Australia.

    To my mind the gift was appropriate, not only because it reflected Ku-ring-gai's strong musical heritage but, as the pieces were by contemporary Australian composers, it also demonstrated the uniqueness of our community. Like Ku-ring-gai, the CD built on our past and embraced the future. I also note that the cover of the CD featured work by the late artist Shay Docking which was inspired by Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

    Fortunately the Carr Government has made an excellent decision in the appointment of Dr Bashir as Governor. It is an appointment I would have hoped a Liberal government had the wisdom and foresight to make. I am sure she will serve the community with distinction. I hope that she, like the Governor-General, seeks to use her role and her particular and peculiar background to push the envelope of the role of the office of Governor of New South Wales. At the present time in our community there is clearly a disconnectedness between many people and the political establishment. Dr Bashir, given her past, her concerns and her understanding, can do much to overcome that divide in New South Wales.

    Mr COLLIER (Miranda) [10.00 p.m.]: I am pleased to speak tonight on the appointment of Professor Marie Bashir, AO, as Governor of New South Wales. I was privileged to attend her investiture along with my colleagues at Government House on 1 March. Like others, I was impressed and captivated by her warmth and the compassion with which she spoke. Her dignity, her poise and her grace were obvious for all to see. Her Excellency spoke of history, the footsteps in which she follows, Governors from Phillip to Macquarie and to her predecessor, Sir Gordon Samuels. She is well aware of the importance of her role and is committed to fulfilling it. Her Excellency spoke about how important it is to nurture a sense of community. She spoke about her belief that the long-term prosperity of the State and its people depended on a climate of reciprocity, involving ordinary citizens as well as the powerful. Here we have a Governor for all the people.

    I was pleased to hear her comments about keeping Government House open for the people of New South Wales, continuing the tradition begun by Sir Gordon Samuels, choosing not to live in Government House but keeping that house as a people's house. Professor Marie Bashir is obviously well qualified both personally and professionally. As the Premier said, she is in a very real sense the best qualified Governor we have ever had. Professor Bashir completed a bachelor of medicine and a bachelor of surgery at the University of Sydney in 1956. Thereafter she embarked on a career of medicine and psychiatry. She joined the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1971 and received a fellowship in 1980. She was foundation director of the Rivendell Royal Prince Alfred Hospital child, adolescent and family services. In 1987 she became area director of community health services of the Central Sydney Area Health Service.

    In 1994 Professor Bashir became area director of mental health services in the Central Sydney Area Health Service and in 1996 she was appointed senior consultant to the Aboriginal medical service at Redfern and Kempsey. She has been a teacher, a lecturer and a mentor to students at the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales since 1972. Since 1993 she has been clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Sydney and senior specialist in child, adolescent and family psychiatry.

    I was interested in listening to and reading about Professor Bashir's work with children and young people in the areas of mental health and youth suicide. Clearly, suicide is a problem in all communities. It is a problem in the Sutherland shire. There we have a particular community-based non-partisan group formed in 1999—the Sutherland shire suicide safety network—with the key objective of reducing suicide in the Sutherland shire. The group is chaired by a former partner in a large law firm, Mr Paul Malliate. The group has both Liberal and Labor members of Parliament as patrons, as well as police, church leaders and community leaders in medicine, psychiatry and education. They all give their time freely and willingly in an effort to reduce suicide in the shire, with a view to providing information and contact points for those at risk and to helping those families and individuals touched by the tragedy of suicide.

    In July this year the Sutherland shire suicide safety network is holding a partnership day for some 80 people. It has not escaped the group that Her Excellency has a wonderful background and a wealth of experience in the field of suicide prevention. I know the group has invited Her Excellency to speak on that day. If she cannot, perhaps one day she will be able to attend the group and we would be delighted to have her share her invaluable experience with us. Her Excellency was born in Narrandera. She has experience in both the country and the city. She has worked with the young and no doubt the old. She has worked with those who have suffered mental illness. She is a Governor who has worked with our Aboriginal people and is committed to Aboriginal reconciliation.

    No doubt it has not escaped members in the Chamber that she is a person of Lebanese descent, and that is in keeping with our multicultural society. It will also not have escaped members in the Chamber and the general public that Professor Bashir is a female, the first female Governor in 203 years. She is a woman of exceptional talent and diverse experience and is clearly a woman of distinction. This is a sign that anything is possible—all things are possible—and gender is not and should never be a barrier to attaining the highest office in the State. We are fortunate to have such a person as Professor Marie Bashir, AO, as the thirty-seventh Governor of the first State—the State of New South Wales. I join in welcoming Governor Bashir to that office. I know her term as Governor of New South Wales will be a distinguished one.

    Mr ARMSTRONG (Lachlan) [10.06 p.m.]: It is with a great deal of pleasure that I participate in this debate tonight. We are recognising the appointment of our Governor, holder of the oldest and most continuous office in this nation. The Governor of New South Wales was the first office in this country. In its early days Western Australia was also governed from that office, as was New Zealand for a short time. It is an office for which throughout my life I have had absolute respect. The first Governor of New South Wales I met was Sir John Northcott in about 1948 or 1949. I still remember the day quite vividly. It was at the Young Agricultural Show. Sir John Northcott arrived with enormous dignity, moment and presence. He wore a homburg hat and a dark three-piece suit with a gold watch and chain. His entourage of very nervous local officials—the show president, mayor, shire president, et cetera—welcomed that very warm Governor of New South Wales. As a boy of 10 or 11 years of age I stood very rigidly to attention, my father demanding that I do so, to meet the Governor—it was one of those moments that one never forgets. It has been my very good fortune, one way or another, to have met every Governor since then.

    Tonight I welcome in particular the new Governor of New South Wales, her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir. I concur with the many speakers this evening who have had much to say about her commonsense and practical measures, and the great choice of Professor Bashir as the Governor of New South Wales. I agree it was an excellent choice and I look forward to being a constituent of this State with Professor Bashir as Governor. Her appointment has been most fortuitous but no more fortuitous than her capacity to understand the broad depth of our modern society. It has been said that Her Excellency has wide experience in health administration and in teaching, and she has considerable experience, assisted by her ethnicity, of the State and the nation. Her many talents, but primarily her high intelligence, her passion for Australia and her passion for people will stand us in good stead at this time in our history. If one were to watch the evening news, listen to the radio or read the newspapers in recent weeks or months, one would think that the greatest change occurring in this country is financial and economic change.

    The greatest change is cultural change: The culture of Australians, irrespective of where we come from, the colour of our skin or who our parents were, is changing. When we look back in 10 years time at how we communicate, and at what we expect from society and from each other and from government and its various officers and agents, including the governorship of New South Wales, we will recognise that since about 1996 we have gone through considerable and dramatic change. I do not know how long that change will continue , but I daresay it will be for a long while.

    The electronic communication revolution is new to us all . We relate to each other differently from the way in which we did 10 years ago. We will need Dr Bashir's wisdom to assist us through this changing culture. As a country member of the New South Wales Parliament I am aware that many people these days talk about the increasing division between city and country. I am not necessarily of that view. Certainly there is a gap between country and city in the economic structure. In the last 40 years there has been a reversal in wealth possession between country and city people, but I believe the communications gap between them is ever widening. That is one reason I look forward to a country-born person, such as Professor Bashir, a highly intelligent person and excellent communicator, being able to help, assist, cajole and guide the people of New South Wales through these changes.

    Change is, first, inevitable and, second, beneficial if we understand it. Of course, it is up to us to understand it. That is one reason Professor Bashir's appointment is so welcome. It is with considerable relish that I look forward to Professor Bashir visiting country areas. I will have great pleasure in offering my homage to her as the Governor of New South Wales. I indicate also my delight at having Sir Nicholas Shehadie, that great old rugby player, as the consort of the Governor of New South Wales. I look forward to welcoming him also in country areas. I am quite sure they will be warmly received and as often as they would like to visit they will always be welcomed. We look forward to a happy relationship for the duration of Professor Bashir's tenure as Governor of New South Wales.

    Ms MEGARRITY (Menai) [10.12 p.m.]: On behalf of my electorate I welcome Professor Bashir as the thirty-seventh Governor of New South Wales. A great deal has been made in the Chamber of the fact that Professor Bashir is the first woman and the first person of Lebanese descent to be appointed Governor of New South Wales. Mention has been made also of her professional qualifications of bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery from the University of Sydney in 1956 and, obviously, her subsequent career in medicine and psychiatry. Rather than gloss over such qualifications, we should pay attention to the fact that she received those qualifications in 1956—a significant achievement in itself. I do not imagine that in those days too many women achieved such results and took on roles that today we assume are open to women on a much wider scale.

    That she was able to achieve those qualifications back in the 1950s says a lot about Professor Bashir. Just like the good members of this place, I know also that whilst qualifications may be important, they sometimes are not as important as communication skills and the ability to work with others. I refer to the community backgrounds of members in this place, particularly those from local government or from one-on-one community work. In addition to Professor Bashir's qualifications, her valuable contribution to a vast array of community groups really shone through in her first speech and in my subsequent conversations with her. We all know she has chaired a number of bodies. Since 1983 they have included the Council of the Women's College of the University of Sydney, the New South Wales Juvenile Justice Advisory Council, the New South Wales strategy for Aboriginal mental health, the Third World health group of the University of New South Wales, the New South Wales task force on children's mental health, the non-English speaking background suicide prevention project and the New South Wales mental health implementation group. Indeed, the Premier summed it up best, as has been mentioned but perhaps not quoted absolutely by other members, as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, when he said:
        I venture on a bold but simply factual statement: in terms of direct experience, knowledge and understanding over a range of issues and problems of deep community concern, there has never been a more highly qualified governor of NSW.
    The Premier referred to a sense of community. Professor Bashir highlighted that sense of community in her speech. I should like to repeat a section of her speech that particularly impressed me:
        In contrast to colonial times, we now live in a country where an expectation of harmony and peace is placed at the highest level by the vast majority of citizens; where inclusiveness, tolerance and the will to learn from one another are enacted in daily transactions between many people; and where the stability of political structures is not dependent upon military interventions, as in so many other countries. However today we also live in a time of market pressures, with unfortunate consequences, in some cases, for our sense of community. For a state and a people to prosper into the longer term, I believe that there needs to be a climate of reciprocity, involving the ordinary citizens as well as the powerful.

        Such a society rejects, as its highest aim, materialism, but strives for the participation and contribution of all citizens in our common wealth. All too often it seems that we only glimpse such a genuine, widespread sense of community at times of bushfires, floods and other disasters, when our people and institutions give so selflessly of themselves. We may also see it at times of great national celebration. However, I do know that there is an enormous reservoir of generosity—not only to be found among the caring groups of health and welfare but also in our dynamic artistic and cultural endeavours where many groups within the performing and visual arts are reaching out in an inspired way to people, young and old, on the outskirts of our city and into the rural areas as never before.
    I was impressed because the sense of community comes through her words when you meet her in person. I certainly hope that her experience with young people in particular will benefit people in my electorate. The honourable member for Miranda mentioned the group operating in the southern end of my electorate, aimed at reducing the regrettably high rate of youth suicide. I have seen first hand the commendable efforts of our high schools helping to address the problem of a sense of hopelessness amongst young people that seems to pervade their activities and lead to such a tragic end. Federal and State members of Parliament, Sutherland council members and religious and community groups are working together on a strategy for political community action to prevent this tragedy.

    As the honourable member for Miranda said, we sincerely hope that Professor Bashir, the new Governor of New South Wales, has an opportunity to share her experience and give guidance as we try our best to deal with this problem. I hope also that her experience with indigenous communities may be incorporated into the work, hopes and aspirations of the Gangangarra Land Council in my electorate. In pursuing a significant land claim along Heathcote Road that council at the moment is trying to work out a way to finance the building of a cultural centre and to make the best use of the land for the purpose of cultural traditions. I certainly hope that, with Professor Bashir's experience in that field, we may have the opportunity to include her in some of those activities. Even after just a brief meeting, I look forward to seeing more of her.

    Professor Bashir was awarded an Order of Australia in 1988 for services to child and adolescent health, especially mental health. I was particularly impressed: How many governors of New South Wales have been involved in a national program on Triple J radio for young people suffering from depression and severe stress? Traditional barriers have not been barriers to Professor Bashir. She has used every medium available to get involved with helping young people. As I said, I sincerely look forward to seeing whether her talent and broadmindedness can play a part in my electorate, which has such a large youth population going through teenage years, finding outlets in perhaps ways that we would not like them to find outlets—whether it is the terrible scourge of drugs or simply adolescent behaviour that, as I said, can be disruptive and destructive to other parts of the population. Honourable members in this House need to work on that and do their best on youth policies.

    Other honourable members have commented on Professor Bashir's humility, which certainly impressed me when I met her. In her speech she referred to herself as bringing "a lifetime's experience as a healing professional, a communicator and an administrator" to the position of Governor. She said also that the Premier's "generous" words "touched her deeply", and she expressed her appreciation for the "considerable confidence" that had been placed in her. She also acknowledged the great historical significance and sense of responsibility that the position invoked.

    Professor Bashir talked extensively about contemplating the role of Governor before she took on that role. She said that it was "appropriate and awesome" to reflect upon the lives and contributions of her predecessors. That comment particularly struck me because I have had the opportunity to be involved in the small business mentor program implemented by the Minister for Small Business. Involved in that program are women in small business who take on the role of mentor. Although each group is different, the mentors have all said they sat down and seriously thought about what they had to offer. Indeed, they asked themselves whether they were good enough to give their time and expertise to take on the role of advising others. Inevitably they are good enough, of course, but it is a trait I notice more in women—I hope honourable members will forgive me for making one gender specific remark—than I notice at times with the confidence and brashness of some young men. When she talked about contemplating the role of Governor of New South Wales and reflecting on her predecessors, Professor Bashir said:
        I am filled with admiration at the lives of many of the early governors of New South Wales, whose role was, of course, much different from now. The wisdom, integrity and strength of character of governors such as Arthur Phillip and Lachlan Macquarie made enormous and lasting contributions to our very understanding of what it is to live in New South Wales and indeed to be Australians. Their examples of decency, fairness and ethical conduct, especially amidst hardship and relentless challenges, still resound.
    I mentioned Professor Bashir's humility. That aspect of her personality reminded me of Hazel Hawke, who has done a lot for me, in terms of helping me with my election campaign, and for Australia. When I met Marie Bashir I noticed a great similarity between the two women. Hazel Hawke talked about being a partner of a famous person and that she was only famous because she was the partner of a famous person. This is particularly relevant to Marie Bashir. Hazel said that in today's modern world more men are also the partners of women undertaking very important roles.

    In a speech Hazel made in the parliamentary dining room she spoke about my situation and how she helped me campaign in my electorate. She said that many young women were entering Parliament and politics in general, and that they needed strong partners to help them in that role. We see that sense of partnership with Professor Marie Bashir and her husband. I suppose she is fortunate that she has been appointed Governor at a time of her life when she has no young children, as do many of us in this place. I refer to the sense of partnership and how well Professor Bashir and her husband work together. Our good wishes go to both Marie and Nicholas. Professor Bashir said:
        My husband will bring his rich experience and skills in the public domain to his own unique role.
    While Professor Bashir's husband deserves to be acknowledged and deserves our good wishes, it is Professor Bashir who has the title and, therefore, the responsibilities that go with the role of Governor of New South Wales. She talked about the extraordinary coincidence that in the centenary year of Federation she will be surrounded by the furniture in the grand suite of Sir Henry Parkes. She also talked about Sir Henry Parkes' dream of "one people, one destiny, which reinvigorates us in this year of celebration." Once again she was reflecting on what it means to be the Governor of New South Wales. She appears to be cherishing every opportunity to communicate with people. Indeed, the Daily Telegraph of 2 March summed it up by stating:
        Her goal is to achieve what politicians so far have failed to do—to be the catalyst that unifies all cultures and ethnic divisions in the state.

        Born in Narrandera, Ms Bashir is well qualified through her work with indigenous people, refugees and the vulnerable in our society to realise her goal.

        Ms Bashir maintains that her work among these people has enhanced her sense of courage, resilience and dignity.
    That is an admirable goal for the thirty-seventh Governor of New South Wales. On behalf of my electorate, I offer Professor Bashir best wishes. I hope that her experience over these next few years will further enrich what she calls the "rich tapestry" of her life and the life of her husband.

    Debate adjourned on motion by Mr R. H. L. Smith.


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