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Ricky Muir uses maiden speech to lash Government over lack of consultation on key policies

Political novice Ricky Muir has delivered a confident and self-deprecating maiden speech, cementing his position as an advocate for the disadvantaged, taking a swipe at government policy and declaring he would be more comfortable addressing parliament in a pair of jeans.

The Motoring Enthusiast Party senator has given few interviews since being elected and has often held his policy positions close until casting his vote in the Upper House.

He said he had now thrown off the embarrassment of his tongue-tied debut television interview with Channel Seven that was broadcast before he took his seat in Parliament, though the appearance has so far led to a reclusive relationship with the Canberra press gallery.

The Victorian senator admitted to the chamber he "came up pretty bad" in the interview with Mike Willesee, when he had to walk out of the exchange briefly after failing to answer a question about the aftermarket industry for cars.

But Senator Muir said he was not going to let that experience bring him down and he had treated it as a learning exercise.

It has been difficult to pin down what the Motoring Enthusiast Party stands for, beyond motoring, but this speech has helped to provide an insight into how Senator Muir might approach the looming social welfare debates in parliament.

"I spent most of my time as a child growing up below the poverty line," he told the chamber.

"I can tell you as somebody who was not born into wealth, who has had to work my way up with absolute honesty, that working-class Australia is absolutely sick to death of working our lives away just to pay the bills.

"And having to struggle to spend the very money we work hard to earn on actually enjoying our existence rather than feeling like a slave to the dollar."

Ease pressures on working Australians, Muir says

Senator Muir's resume includes jobs in manufacturing, vegetable and dairy farms, a bakery, pine plantations, a tannery, gardening and most recently as a timber worker.

The senator maintains that while he does not have a political background, he has been on the receiving end of government policy, and used the speech as a chance to aim some barbs directly at the Prime Minister.

He said it was frustrating to discover after the 2013 election that the Government intended to fix the budget "by hurting the disadvantaged in a barrage of measures that were mute in the election campaign".

"I do not recall a mandate for education reform, for Medicare reform, or to completely damage confidence and investment in the renewable sector," he said.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg, and to add insult to injury this was done with little to no consultation.

"That doesn't sound like democracy to me."

He was also critical of Treasurer Joe Hockey for downplaying the impact on household budgets of a $7 GP co-payment (which was scrapped on Monday), and Mr Hockey's claim that parents should bear the cost because it was equivalent to the cost of two middies of beer or one-third of a packet of cigarettes.

"To everybody sitting in this chamber, if you think $20 a week is nothing, or just a pack of cigarettes or a few beers, you have never lived in the real world," Senator Muir said.

He affirmed his support for the benefits of penalty rates, again recalling his own workplace experience.

"I worked shift work and weekends not for the love of the job but because there was financial incentive to do so," he said.

He said his position would also be informed by his experience of unemployment.

"I also learnt and experienced how no work, knockbacks from job applications, struggling to put food on the table and keep on top of the bills at the same time can bring a feeling of low self-esteem and depression," he said.

Muir defends importance of holding the balance of power

Senator Muir defended his own place on the Senate crossbench, declaring the balance-of-power position did not make the Upper House "dysfunctional".

"Good ideas, well presented, will get support," he said.

"Bad ideas or ideas that are likely to hurt those who are worse off will not, or are highly unlikely to be supported."

Senator Muir listed among his achievements using his vote to help save the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), retain the schoolkids bonus and keep the low-income super contribution.

"But without a doubt, although one of the [most] emotionally challenging decisions I will ever have to make, the most proud moment of my short time in the Senate was having the ability to prevent 31 children and their families from returning to Nauru," he said.

He also revealed he would prefer if senators were representatives of their states rather than political agendas, and voted with their conscience on each individual issue.

At the same time there was also a pitch to the core constituency of the Motoring Enthusiast Party brand, with a plea against the stereotyping of car lovers.

"It is unfair to judge a whole community because of the actions of a few," he said.

"We are not environmental vandals tearing up the bitumen or destroying our bushland, we are responsible law-abiding citizens."

Senator Muir told the Upper House he would have preferred to deliver the speech in a T-shirt and jeans rather than the customary suit.

"The attire that represents a working-class background which I'm proud of. I would be more comfortable in that attire, because that is who I am," he said.

The ABC has been told that technically there are no rules preventing him from doing that, so long as there are no brand names on the clothing. But it would have been an unorthodox move.

Senator Muir is the final senator of those elected in 2013 to deliver the traditional first speech to parliament.

Curiously there was no mention of the Palmer United Party, despite his party's loose alliance with the PUP.

Senator Muir characterised his journey so far in terms reminiscent of an adrenalin-filled test drive, "exciting, fast, emotional and intriguing".