Senator Maria Kovacic delivered her first speech in the federal Senate this week, describing herself as the daughter of Croatian migrants, a small businessperson, and a progressive Liberal.
Kovacic, the former president of the NSW Liberal Party, spoke about the challenges of the housing market for young people, as well as her commitment to improving outcomes for women. She is the co-founder of Western Sydney Women and prior to politics, she ran her own financial services business. She comes to the Senate filling a seat vacated by the late senator, Jim Molan.
Kovacic described the journey her parents took coming to Australia as migrants from Croatia, her own experience of becoming a mother of three by the age of 25, and later becoming a single mother who faced eviction from her rental home.
“I was alone, had no money and was soon to have no roof over my and my children’s heads. It was a turning point in my life,” she said. “As I sat on our front steps of that rental home clutching that notice I wept, but I promised myself and my children that I would never find myself in that situation again.”
Kovacic said politicians have a duty as leaders to explore “innovative policy solutions” in housing, balancing the aspiration of the next generation with the realities of the market. She spoke about increasing supply, as well as considering tax changes like capping the number of properties that can be negatively geared, replacing stamp duty, and correcting bracket creep.
“A serious plan by this parliament has to deal with the housing crisis and would go a long way to restoring the electorate’s faith in political leadership solving big problems and delivering reform,” she said.
“I spent the better part of the last two decades working with people to help them buy their own homes, to realise the great Australian dream. This was my world before politics. I’ve seen firsthand how difficult it is for young Australians to buy their first home. Simply working hard does not appear to be enough anymore.
“Average property prices as a multiple of wages have more than doubled over the last 30 years. The task of saving for a deposit is even more challenging when rents are also on the rise. As a consequence, if you are under 40 you are less likely to own a home today than at any other time in the modern era. This has a financial and a human impact.
“Like my parents before me, I seized an opportunity in the most difficult of times. I worked hard. I worked long hours and on weekends, writing mortgages and small business loans all over Western Sydney, and I built a future for myself and my children. That is the transformative opportunity that small business provides.”
On the topic of gender equality, Kovacic spoke about the crisis of homelessness facing women over the age of 55, as well as the challenges facing working mothers and fathers, exorbitant child care fees, and a lack of support for women returning to work.
Kovacic also acknowledged the challenges facing women in politics – not mentioning the Liberal Party specfically – but talking more broadly about the Canberra environment.
“It is often felt that, while women were speaking up, Canberra was not listening, resulting in real frustration with politics. This is a longstanding problem that persists over multiple governments,” she said.
“I acknowledge the contributions of Charlotte Mortlock, Natalie Ward, Jacqui Munro, Sally Betts, Jane Buncle, Gisele Kapterian, Clare Batch, Rebecca Vonhoff and Alex Schuman for being the driving force that each of you are.”
In terms of her political philosophy, Kovacic said she was proud to be a “progressive Liberal”.
“At the heart of that liberalism is a belief in the inalienable rights of the individual’s personal and economic freedoms. I believe in the freedom of speech, religion and association. I believe in universal access to education and each person’s right to seek work and to start their own business,” she said.
“We must have the freedom to choose the way we live our own lives without fear of discrimination or exploitation; that every person must be treated equally before the law, irrespective of their gender, their culture, their religion, their sexuality, their wealth or their privilege.
“I say to my new colleagues that we must be vigilant against threats to Australian liberalism from both right-wing populism and left-wing preoccupations with an equality of outcomes. Modern challenges are changing the role of government: national security threats, climate change, unbridled big tech, inflation and economic uncertainty all require government action because it is only as a collective that we can address these problems.”