SUBJECT: Chris Hayes not recontesting next Federal election.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Welcome. Today, Chris Hayes will make a very important statement to the assembled gathering here. And then I will make some comments after Chris. My friend and comrade, Chris Hayes. 

CHRIS HAYES, CHIEF OPPOSITION WHIP: Well, thanks very much, Anthony. Just very short and sweet that I indicate that I am not going to recontest the next election. I have been here now for 16 years. As you may recall, I was first elected at the by-election in 2005 when our former colleague, Mark Latham, imploded. In 2010, not that I was particularly happy about it, but I was transferred to the seat of Fowler. Werriwa was an area I spent a lot of time growing up. But working in the electorate, Werriwa was about sports, we had families, it was about making sure you cooked the barbecue at the under 10s grand final and all that sort of stuff. Fowler was pretty different. It was the most multicultural community in the country. And up to that point, I don't think I've ever even met a Vietnamese person. If I did, I probably wouldn't distinguish whether they were Vietnamese, Chinese, they were Asian. So I had a lot of learning to do. Since 2010, the Vietnamese community have been very patient with me as I learned the customs, the traditions, things that are important to the various diasporas that make up Fowler. The Vietnamese communities have been pretty central. It's the largest Vietnamese diaspora in the country. And something that always resonated with me is before 2005, which was the fall of Saigon in April 2005, we had very few Vietnamese in this country. And since then, we have had people come here as refugees who have certainly taken their place in this country. You'll find that their children are so well-represented right throughout our professions but have made a huge contribution. So I consider it an absolute honour to be associated with this community that has contributed so much in fundamentally such a short period of time. That is the strength of our multiculturalism. And I know issues about diversity have been in the public eye for a while. But in my community, it is something that is welcomed, it is something we celebrate. So whether it's the Vietnamese, the Chinese, the Cambodians, the Thais, or the more recent arrivals from the Middle East, our community has always been a welcoming community. But as I say, after 16 years, I think it's time to pull the pin. I unfortunately had a rather neglectful motorcycle accident a couple years ago and spent a lot of time in Canberra Hospital. And thank you for the doctors and nurses and orderlies and all those people who looked after me there. And I had a pretty well publicised incident in the Parliament last year. So I do have a couple of health issues and I do need to go back to hospital to have further corrections. I feel that I am slowing down. And I've always thought being a Member of Parliament is here for you making a contribution. If you start resting on the oars, I think if you truly believe why you're here in the first place to make a difference for the better, you know in yourself that it's time to call it a day. And in doing so, that's what I intend to do. I will, as I've indicated to the Leader, I'll serve out the rest of the term as Chief Whip, but I will not recontest the next election. 

Now, as Fowler is one of the most multicultural communities in the whole of Australia, it is certainly the largest Vietnamese diaspora in the nation, me leaving, or my departure, at least, I think will give the Party the opportunity to consider someone, not only who has the necessary commitment and drive and energy to perform the task of a Member of Parliament representing that community, but also represents the face, the aspirations, of what is one of the most diverse communities in the country. And while the Party will go through its normal selection processes in its normal way, I certainly have a young woman in mind who I think would be ideal to represent the community. Young lawyer, very competent in her own right, working in community law, so not out there to make a million dollars, but someone of Vietnamese heritage, and importantly, the daughter of refugees to this country. So someone who has grown up in our local area, has been the product of our education system, and has demonstrated now for a long period of time her ongoing commitment to advancing the interests of our area. Now, I don't intend to put a name out at the moment. But I would be encouraging her to nominate for preselection for the seat of Fowler. Now, I have invited a few of our friends from our Vietnamese diaspora, Quang Luu, who used to be the head of SBS, which we do a lot of work with him. But can I just say to the Vietnamese diaspora, (speaks in Vietnamese). If I can translate, the Vietnamese people have a very, very special place in my heart. Thank you.

ALBANESE: Well, before I pay tribute to Chris Hayes and to his contribution that he's made up to this point and the one he will continue to do, I welcome a few people here. The most special person in this room is Bernadette. And this is the day that she has been asking for. A motorbike accident, heart issues on the floor of the Parliament. She has been a rock beside Chris. And we welcome you here to our Party room. Can I welcome other members of Chris' family, particularly Gerard, the National Secretary of the HSU. And can I welcome our National President, Wayne Swan, and welcome former Leader, Bill Shorten, as well and other parliamentary colleagues who are here, and members of the Vietnamese diaspora who are here as well. Chris Hayes is one of the people in this building, it's a really small group, that don't have any enemies in the building. Not behind him or in front of him. He's someone who is respected across the board. He's respected because of who he is. His contribution has been quite extraordinary. The job of a Chief Whip is a difficult one. You have to be a confidante. You have to be completely trustworthy. And you have to not put your own interests first. It's a hard job. It's a tough job. And Chris Hayes has done it for a long period of time now both in Government and in Opposition. He came into the Parliament in 2005, in difficult circumstances to replace the former Leader who had resigned in quite a memorable press conference in that park that day in January. And Werriwa is not a lay down misere, certainly not in a by-election. Chris Hayes received the support from across the Party to be the candidate at a time where we needed it. Post-2004, the Party was traumatised. And we had re-elected Mark as leader. And then the circumstances happened with the tsunami in Indonesia. And then quite a difficult period. So Chris had to also restore faith with his local constituencies, going out there and making sure, in the best of Labor tradition, that he represented them and their views and their values and their interests, not his own. And he did that diligently. Which is why after a redistribution, as redistributions happen, Chris, of course, then moved to Fowler, which enabled us to have another fantastic member in Werriwa to follow Chris, in Anne Stanley. When Chris had the incident, we'll call it, last year in the Federation Chamber, a thing went around this building of concern, it's hard to describe. People were genuinely just distraught at the idea that this bloke had an extreme health issue, call it for what it is, that required, thank goodness his neighbour, Dr Mike Freelander, and others were present at the time. And I think it's fair to say that was across the entire Parliament, not just the Labor Party. And that is something that is extraordinary. I know that he served Julia Gillard in Government, he served Bill Shorten as Leader and he has served me as Leader very, very loyally indeed. Bill and I had a chat about it last night, indeed, about how you couldn't hope for someone better to run that office. So to Chris and Bernadette, on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, really simple, thank you. Thank you for what you have done. Thank you for the sacrifices that you have made, including to your health. Call it for what it is, there's a link between the sort of pressures that are in a job and health outcomes. Chris deserves a very happy and long retirement, not on the motorbike. Bernadette has asked me to say that. And it may well be that as a gesture for whoever replaces Chris as Government Whip after the next election that we hold on to Chris' motorbike jacket and helmet that are in his office just to make sure and that we build a little statue. That would be a shrine to Chris Hayes on behalf of Bernadette, who has consistently tried to keep Chris off the bike. I do note, when I read Chris's bio, you were born in Camperdown. Always a good start in life. Always a good beginning. So to Chris, we'll do something more formal for you. You hold a special place in our heart. Thank you. 

JOURNALIST: Congratulations on the decision. You just quite candidly endorsed someone you'd like to see replace you. Would you just like the Party to (inaudible) and get it over and done with?

HAYES: I'm quite confident that the person I have in mind could easily win a rank-and-file preselection. But that's up to the Party. And they'll follow the normal processes. We will cooperate with that.

JOURNALIST: And is her name Tu Le?

HAYES: I will let you do the research. Thank you. 

ALBANESE: Thanks, everyone.

ENDS