It is a great honour to have been elected to represent Queensland.

I know that my job will be to represent and serve all 4.5 million Queenslanders as best as I can. The Senate is the state's house and I fully intend to put Queensland first, second and third in everything I do.

I especially will seek to represent the interests of regional Queensland. In Queensland, just as many people live outside the capital city as inside the capital city, which is unique among Australian states. The Senate should counterbalance the geographic concentration of political representation that occurs in the House of Representatives.

Regional Queensland has so much opportunity, especially in agriculture, mining, manufacturing and tourism. To better support our wealth-producing industries we need to remove taxes, reduce energy prices and build better infrastructure. Our regions deserve the same level of public services as other parts of Australia. We should be a nation that removes discrimination based on income just as must as we remove discrimination based on geography.

I committ to work to deliver these results as part of a Coalition government, and in the Nationals party room.

It is a great honour to be elected to follow Senator Ron Boswell. Ron is the sixth longest serving Senator in our nation's history. I hope that I can serve with the honesty, integrity and dignity that he has.

I thank all for the support they have given me, especially the unpaid volunteers at the Liberal National Party. I am always incredibly humbled that people would work so hard for nothing to help me get a job. It is their efforts, and the volunteers of all parties, that make our democracy and our nation the best in the world.

2 October 2013