The quality of speeches in the national parliament these days, generally speaking, is deplorable. Vision has been replaced by venom as MPs snipe at each other and speeches tend to be more about posturing than policy.
As the new parliament sat for the first time last week, there was a flurry of maiden speeches. Usually such speeches are in support or against a piece of legislation, but tradition was pushed aside to accommodate the egos of some who wanted to beat their own drum or be the first to ride home a favoured hobby-horse.
However, there was one speech that was significantly different. It was from CLP senator Jacinta Price, an Indigenous woman who spoke passionately against the proposed Voice to Parliament in favour of real efforts to lift her people out of a cycle of domestic violence, poverty, death and despair.
It was also unifying in spirit. In part, she said: "We must always remember that our nation is not simply black and white. We are rich with the contribution of Australians of many backgrounds, 30 per cent of whom were born overseas, and this is one of our greatest strengths as a nation. I would like to pay my respects to our nation's elders of all backgrounds, who came together through hard work and sheer determination to forge an Australia we can all be proud of." It is a speech well worth reading.
