Tasmania's future: What's worth fighting for?: A politician's perspective on community, values and the economy

I am a fifth-generation Tasmanian, a descendant of Irish convicts who arrived here in the 1850s. Most of my forebears lived a working class existence. My brother Michael was the first in our immediate family to obtain a university degree, followed by my sister Michelle, and then myself. My father was a 'swampy' from Invermay and a tradie painter. My mother raised three children before returning to the workforce as a cleaner. The values my parents gave me - compassion, equality, justice and a passion to work hard to make other people's lives better (because it's never enough just to feel sorry for someone, you must always find a way to help) - have guided my path through life. These values led me to work for the trade union movement and then on to representative politics in the Australian Labor Party.