I don't think it's dramatic to say that if it weren't for Gough Whitlam I would not be here today, because it was the Whitlam government, elected 50 years ago on 2 December, that opened the door of opportunity for my family—for the generations that came before me and that allowed the doors of opportunity to open for me and to bring me to this place.

I've told this story before, but it's one that I think about often because of how significant it is to my trajectory and to the trajectories of those who come from families like mine. After the Second World War decimated Italy and Europe, my grandparents, like many other Italians and Greeks at the time, made the decision to come to Australia to find a better future. When they arrived they found that things were tough. They worked gruelling hours in difficult jobs in factories, needing two incomes to raise their families, often sharing homes other families because they did not make enough to get by.

My grandfather, my nonno, had been a promising student in Italy, but his education was cut short by war and poverty. When Gough Whitlam became Prime Minister he opened the door for people like my nonno to go to university. My nonno became a teacher and not only was he able to realise his professional ambition, but he was able to realise his ambition for his family: to build a comfortable life and to ensure his kids had access to opportunity and a great education. There is no question that my life has been easier because of the way access to education has now been opened up for so many Australians. This is largely a legacy of the Whitlam years. This education has equipped me to make contributions to my community and I'm honoured to be able to do that as the member for Chisholm.

It is my greatest ambition that every single person in Australia is able to access the highest-quality education to pursue the path that they choose and for however long I am here and have the enormous, incredible honour of representing the people of Chisholm, I'll work hard towards this goal. The achievements of the Whitlam government are considerable, and they shaped the country we are today in profound ways. The first universal health system in Australia was instituted by the Whitlam government. And although those opposite have gotten rid of it before, and unfortunately consistently undermine it, Medicare and the idea that every single Australian should be able to get health care when they need it, is part of our psyche. It is part of the fair go we as Australians rightly and proudly champion. Labor will always, always defend it, and I know how important the legacy of universal health care is to our communities. My parents were both health workers and I was raised to believe in the idea that no matter your economic circumstances, the right to health care is one everyone should have.

My community in Chisholm is a vibrant, multicultural one. I cannot imagine an Australia that is not diverse. And Gough Whitlam's role in looking to the world and wanting our wonderful nation to be part of an international community and to embrace our neighbours is a terrific legacy. Establishing diplomatic relations with China is an important achievement from that time.

Gough Whitlam dismantled the White Australia Policy, something I'm sure we're all very pleased he did. I'm sure we can all recognise that this was a terrible and quite shameful policy for us to have had at all. It was the Whitlam government that established a policy of multiculturalism and we are all, in communities across Australia, grateful recipients of the legacy of this policy. I know my electorate is richer for the contributions of migrant communities and it is part of what makes our area such a wonderful place to live. It is impossible to celebrate the achievements of the Whitlam government in a short speech but, suffice to say, the Australia we know was shaped by Whitlam. Our national anthem and our sense of pride in a nation that can stand on its own were fostered by Gough Whitlam and his government. It was the Whitlam government that changed our anthem to Advance Australia Fair and launched construction of the National Gallery of Australia. We became a modern, proud nation that celebrated our diversity and extended opportunity, a fair go, to all under Prime Minister Whitlam.

We all benefit from the legacies of the Whitlam government, and I'm proud to be part of another Labor government. I hope in 50 years, after a long time in government, we can look back and know that Australia was made better, fairer and stronger for the decisions we made. I will try my hardest and I know that my colleagues in the Labor government will too, and for this to be the case every single day.