Mr VERMEY (Clark) - Thank you, honourable Speaker. In my first formal contribution to this place I would like to begin by formally congratulating you on your elected role as Speaker and extending my congratulations to all members of this place who have been elected to serve in the 52nd Parliament of Tasmania.

It is a great honour and a humbling privilege to stand in this Chamber today to deliver my inaugural address as the newly elected Liberal member for Clark. I acknowledge the Aboriginal people, the traditional owners of this land on which we meet, and pay my respects to elders past and present.

I told my wife I was only going to run for parliament once - 'One campaign, just five-and- a-half weeks, that's it' - a promise. It is the only promise I haven't kept. Three whirlwind campaigns later and here I am, proof, perhaps, that you can give something your all and you never quite know where you may end up.

I also stand here today as someone who has lived a full life before politics. I was born in Hobart on 18 December 1968, the son of Beth and Bill Vermey. My father was born in Amsterdam above the family butcher shop during the dark days of war. In 1950, with nothing but courage and a belief in a better future, my grandparents boarded the ship Johan Van Oldenbarnevelt with nine children. They arrived in Melbourne, no work was there and after time in settlement camps in New South Wales, made their way to Tasmania, where they were sponsored by Rex Mundy of Mundy & Sons - a great pleasure, them looking after the family - and slowly built a new life.

My grandfather's simple philosophy was, 'We are here in Australia now, we learn English, we join communities, we play sport and we embrace that new country'. That spirit of resilience shaped my family's story and it shapes me today.

I come from three generations of butchers and small business owners. My grandfather, father and I all worked behind the counter. For us, the shop was never just about what we sold, it was about serving the community, providing for families and building relationships that last across the decades.

My own journey began with an apprenticeship at Coles in 1986. It was meant to be a stopgap before finishing school, but I quickly realised I had found work I loved and also a bit of income, and that apprenticeship gave me a trade. It taught me to be resilient; it gave me an apprenticeship that set me up for hard work and discipline that has stayed with me ever since. From there, I built a career that took in my family's business. I won apprenticeship awards, the first one a national one for butchery which led me to doing some work in Tokyo on exchange. I then came back to Tasmania to run my own business and take over the family business.

Like many Tasmanians, I know both opportunity and adversity. I survived a few accidents - I have good surgeons who have put things back - that nearly ended my career and perhaps my life, but I carried on. I worked, I coached, I joined the Army Reserve, and raised the family and through it all, I worked behind the butcher's counter.

Now, some think that politics and butchery are strange companions, but I can tell you that a butcher's counter is one of the best places to learn about your community. Over the years, I have served thousands of customers. I have celebrated with families when they grieved, with them when loved ones were lost, as families grew and shared in their struggles when times were tough. Long before the Reserve Bank meets or the headlines break, when the cost-of- living pressure is squeezing families, where our local businesses are struggling, you can see it by what people purchase, what items they are putting on their tables. That experience has given me some rare insight, a front-row seat into the real lives of Tasmanians. Not policy on a page, not statistics in a report, but real-life experiences.

My story has also been shaped by my family's own challenges, particularly with ADHD and dyslexia. I have seen firsthand how important early diagnosis and support is to the development of the child and family's wellbeing. We need to pick it up early so we can help families and the children. That experience has made me deeply passionate about ensuring that every Tasmanian child, regardless of their circumstances, has access to timely assessment, quality treatment and the resources they need to thrive. For this reason, I thank the previous member for Clark, Simon Behrakis, for his work with the inquiry into assessment of ADHD and support services. I look forward to this committee being reinstated and its findings being used for better outcomes for communities.

In my days at school, I was in the cadet corps, I played rugby, and I rode. I love these activities, involvements in being part of the team. At the core of it all were my grandfather's words to join communities, play sport and embrace our country. Through my involvement, I understood the importance of community sporting clubs that provide opportunities for social engagement. They provide support, friendship and opportunities to express your emotions.

After school, I continued to engage in sport with rugby, rowing, scuba diving and, later, snow skiing. Diving in Tasmania is a wonderful opportunity. We have, in my opinion, some of the best places in the world to dive and explore, whether it be catching a cray or two or swimming in undersea gardens, or even coming face to face with a friendly orca. My boys now dive with me and it has taken our family to amazing places.

Rowing went from the school club to the Tasmanian university rowing club and back to school, where I had the pleasure of coaching my three boys, Hamish, Thomas and Angus, over a 14-year-journey at the Hutchins School. There were two of those years where I had no boys at school, but I just loved being with the boys, the coaches and staff, and having that chance of mentoring, where you can direct people and assist without being a parent, without being a coach, but just a good person, a good mentor.

I stand here today not only as a butcher or a small business owner or a rowing coach, or even a husband and father, although I am all these things. I stand here because I love this place we call home. I deeply care for this community. I want to use the lessons I have learnt through resilience, hard work, listening and lived experiences to shape a Tasmania that is strong, fair and full of opportunity.

My wife, Rachel, who is sitting here today, has been my anchor and great supporter. She knows this is not about ambition. This is about service - servicing the community that has given me so much and the people who every day inspire me with their grit, generosity and spirit. This is my purpose, this is my why: to give back to the community that has raised me, to fight for families doing it tough, to ensure that every Tasmanian, whether battling cost-of-living pressures, navigating health care or education, or chasing their dreams, know they have a voice here in this place.

My purpose is to build a strong community and a place to invest, to invest in people from the start to finish. I believe education is key. When Rachel and I managed to pick up some early potential problems our boys were facing in learning during their early childhood years, Lansdowne Crescent Primary was a school for our boys, a wonderful community with terrific caring staff. We embedded ourselves in school fairs, sporting events, camps, quiz nights and numerous activities. It was there at Lansdowne that our boys' superpowers were uncovered. ADHD has helped to drive our boys and has shaped them into the young men we have here today.

I am proud of them and proud of their achievements so far. We have come a long way since I - and Paul Taranto - were part of 41 boys in a classroom. Back then, those with characteristics of ADHD were considered to be disruptive and troublemakers. Education doesn't stop in primary schools. It's a lifelong journey and one for me that continued into Hutchins well after my schooling years had ended. I never expected in my journey to become a member of the Hutchins Old Boys. Thankfully, they still let me attend St Virgil's Old Virgilians events as well, a foot in each camp. Through my involvement in the boys' schooling and their sport, I invested not just in their future, but the wider school community. I am proud to have been involved in teaching boys and young men through the rowing club the concept of mateship, which has different forms.

Gavin - sorry, the honourable member for Braddon - talked about this from his perspective, which resonated with me. It was important for me that mateship extended to the parents and the wider rowing community, and I am going to use that sense of mateship in this parliament. I come from the Liberal tradition best put by John Howard as a broad church. I will work together with you all in this place. My phone is always on and I am an early riser. I still can't sleep in.

In my journey here I have been assisted by many friends and family who have chosen to place their faith in me, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Sadly, I lost my father to dementia just over three years ago, but I really lost him three years before that due to the effects of that horrid disease. He never had any idea of the journey my family and I were embarking on. I hope he's smiling down on me today.

My number-one supporter, my mother Beth, is not able to be here today as she suffered a major stroke three weeks ago. I thank Marg for being here and I would just like to say a huge thank you to the paramedics and the staff of the Royal Hobart Hospital for their care and support.

Members - Hear, hear.

Mr VERMEY - During the campaign, mum loved to have all the people buzzing around her house as it was a great spot for storage, and she loved seeing my face in her garden every morning, even though it was on a 2D corflute. To Beth, I love you, Mum, and I wouldn't be here without you.

To my wife Rachel, you've certainly put up with a lot, all the comings and goings, the not knowing what's going on in our diary and that the world can change very quickly in a moment. I do thank you for your support.

I have so many people to thank. There is our adopted nonna, Noline, who has helped bring up our family for around 20 years and has always been there for a comforting chat, and her partner, David.

To my team at Vermey's Quality Meats, who became my southern electorate office and who've had to put up with me running in and out, asking if my clothes matched, where are my keys, where's my phone, and all the other things. They have given me the confidence to do what I'm doing and I thank them all immensely.

To the Premier, Jeremy, thank you for supporting me to be part of this team. It's a real honour to get a call from a man you respect to ask you to run. Thank you. I almost didn't do it but I got another call to say, 'I will back you and support you', and he has.

To Peter Coulson, I know the rule was not to answer the phone when I didn't recognise the number, but anyone knows that I'll always answer it and that was the call from Jeremy to give me that encouragement.

To my great friend, Paul, of 49 years, thank you for approaching me with the idea that I should stand for parliament. I always thought deep in my mind that I wanted to have a go, so thank you for shining a light on that part of me and encouraging me. I truly thank you for pushing me to put my hand up, because even a short time in I now realise I'm really enjoying this challenge.

To Jake, Alex, Justin, Sam McQuestin, Tom, Ross, Jamie, Jason, Tony P, Moose, Libby, Kevin, Serg, all three Jesses in my life - if I asked Siri to 'Call Jess', I'd either get the Premier's Jess or another Jess or my Jess at work, so I didn't need the Premier to come down to make sausages.

To big Mike up there, I thank you for helping me. Although you may have come from another side a long time ago, you jumped in at the beginning to get me started and have been with me to the end to see it through. Thank you.

I apologise to those I've missed. The efforts have been vast and I deeply appreciate all. Over three elections we finally got here in around 17 months - a strategy well-executed.

Thank you, Lincoln. Thank you to my campaign manager who managed to get me elected. You know who you are. You may have been the vandal who helped to destroy my Collingwood memorabilia sign -

Mr O'Byrne - Shame.

Mr VERMEY - Absolute shame - that had been signed. You believed it needed to be in another spot, but you managed to get rid of those marks on it which you did not realise were signatures. Thank you. It hurts - not a good exercise.