18.11.13 Doctor Who: 50th Anniversary

Mr HAWKE (Mitchell) (11:21): It is certainly worth this motion coming before the parliament just to hear the Clerk say 'the 50th anniversary of Dr Who'. I want to congratulate the member for Dawson on this worthwhile motion, which has a very serious aspect—that is in supporting the Australian film industry and bringing a great world-impacting TV show to Australia for filming. I do want to support the member for Moreton's remarks that this is a bipartisan motion. I am a fellow Whovian; I am from the Tom Baker vintage generation but I am a modern man. Like other members in this chamber, I have the Dalek app on our phones or our iPad, where you can have your voice appear like a Dalek. It is a great app; I highly recommend it to members in this place.

The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is a remarkable chance for us to reflect on the synergy between Australia and this great production. In his motion, the member for Dawson has gone through all of the iconic people who have appeared in Doctor Who, including Kylie—you cannot get more iconic than Kylie—and our recent Melbourne Cup winner, Gai Waterhouse. I do think, in a bipartisan spirit, that both the member for Dawson and the member for Moreton would have made good 12th doctors—they both look like a doctor. Certainly, the choice of Peter Capaldi, who played 'Malcolm Tucker', as the new Doctor shows that the producers were looking for someone political. So both of you would have had a really good chance for the role if you had put your names forward. The Labor Party would have a lot to learn from Dr Who. I am sure they would all like to hop into the Tardis, jump back a few years and have an episode centred around the leadership turnovers. Certainly they tried regeneration at the last election, which was a dismal failure.

This is a bipartisan motion. I want to take up the member for Moreton's reference to the educational aspect of Doctor Who. It has been pointed out to me that there was a very educational episode called 'The Sun Makers',where an evil little green creature called the 'Controller', controlled the government and the weather. He taxed the population very, very harshly just to make the sun come up. 'The Sun Makers' was an educational and inspirational episode and ahead of its time.

Great things in this show have come out of Australia, including its music. The iconic Doctor Who tune, which is known around the world, was composed by an Australian. We should be pretty proud of that. We should be proud of the fact that from the very first story, the very beginning of this worldwide phenomenon, there has been a great Australian influence.

In relation to the serious side of the member for Dawson's motion, the 11th doctor, Matt Smith, said that it would be a good idea to shoot an episode in Australia, with the story being set in the Outback. This takes up the member for Dawson's suggestion that our ancient culture and continent would be a perfect setting for Doctor Who in its 50th year and with a new Doctor. I am sure that we would all love to meet the character who played 'Malcolm Tucker'. There is something to learn from him.

As someone who has watched countless episodes of Doctor Who, I am very happy to be called a Whovian. The imagination of those episodes have had a big impact on me. The member for Moreton talked about the special effects. I think he referred to the 'dodgy special effects'. We all understand that it was never about the special effects. There is nothing like a good story. I guess I am old enough to understand the difference between a story well told and a special effect. I know that all of the generations below me—including the member for Longman—would not have any idea of what I am talking about. But a good story is better than every good special effect that you can put together—and we must uphold good storytelling in this country. We have got great stories to tell from our culture and they would make a great series for Doctor Who. A great set of episodes could be made in one of the oldest continents on the planet. I have no hesitation in recommending and endorsing the member for Dawson's motion. I think we should encourage the producers to look at Australian history and at the great contributions made by so many of our senior figures, including Kylie Minogue, who is world renowned. We could get all of the Australian actors who were involved in Doctor Who episodes to appear in a rehashed series. I am coming up with suggestions on the run! We could get all of the Australians who appeared in previous Doctor Who episodes to appear again. We could even get the member for Moreton and the member for Dawson to appear as extras! They might put the member in as an extra—especially with that scarf.

I have no hesitation in endorsing this motion. I hope that the producers, the BBC and the ABC take this motion seriously and for what it is intended to be—a great endorsement of Australian culture and history.