Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great pleasure to rise to speak on the retirement of Joe Hockey. Joe Hockey first expressed his political ambitions at about the age of 14 years when he announced as a schoolboy that he could solve the American hostage crisis in Iran. That was Joe. He was not on top of each and every one of his classes, as an article in The Sydney Morning Herald indicated, but according to this particular article he grilled his history teachers. He liked debating. Election as a student councillor in year 10 transformed him. 'It had a very positive impact on my self-esteem,' Joe said later. 'I didn't think I was worthy of anyone's votes.'

He qualified to study arts at the University of Sydney. He said he did not like his initial year, likening it to going from a small fishbowl to the ocean, but he embraced university life after going into St John's College on campus. In his third year, after transferring to law, in a shock victory he was elected president of the students' representative council, campaigning with a speaker plonked on top of his Peugeot 504. He later led a protest against the Hawke government's introduction of HECS fees in Martin Place in the late 1980s, telling a crowd, 'This is the rebirth of student activism in this country.'

He cut his early political teeth as a staff member in the office of former Nationals state leader George Souris, the long-serving member for Upper Hunter. He certainly would have learned a lot under George Souris, who was an MP in state politics for more than a quarter of a century and justifiably earned life membership of the New South Wales National Party. So Joe, like so many other Liberals, worked alongside and for a senior National Party colleague. That is what the coalition are good at: we are good at being all-embracing for both rural and regional Australia as well as for capital cities. We get on with the job of fixing up the debt we usually get left with. When Joe Hockey became the Treasurer of this great nation he certainly had a big job to do, and he got on with it with aplomb.

I believe he had one of the most difficult roles to play in the Abbott government, if not the most difficult, and that was being Treasurer and being saddled with that huge debt legacy. Sure, some of the policies that were brought forward in last year's budget were not popular. They were rejected, and Joe was left to wear a lot of that criticism, including public criticism, but he always served with the nation's best interests at heart. As a National Party member I have to particularly reflect on his decision to reject the Archer Daniels Midland takeover of GrainCorp. It was vital to the people I serve in the Riverina, vital to the people who grow wheat. And it was a controversial decision; it really was. I see the member for Grayndler acknowledging that. It was highly contentious. It had been sitting idle, gathering dust on the Labor Treasurer's desk and was seen to be a bit of a booby trap when we won government in September 2013 because—as many would know—of the National Party's die-in-a-ditch attitude about the attempted ADM acquisition and the Liberals' free-market policy of 'let the market rip'. There was a clash of ideas, and Joe Hockey was left to carry the can. He knew that it was going to be controversial. He knew that the National Party, following a meeting in Rockhampton, were not going to cop ADM taking over GrainCorp—were not going to wear that—so it was a very difficult position. I was on an aeroplane on the way to an electorate appointment in Griffith. When I alighted at the airport—I can see the member for Grayndler here; I acknowledge that I was in the terminal which Labor funded and Warren Truss opened—

Mr Albanese interjecting—

That was one of the only ones—and I did acknowledge the member for Grayndler at the time. I got to the terminal and was greeted with the news that the ADM proposed takeover had been rejected by Joe Hockey, the member for North Sydney, the Treasurer. He said in his media release:

After long and careful deliberations, I have today made an order under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 … prohibiting the proposed acquisition by Archer Daniels Midland Company … of 100 per cent of the shareholding in GrainCorp Limited.

It was an important, brave, bold decision, because previously only two other attempted foreign acquisitions had been refused. One was Peter Costello's refusal of the Shell bid for Woodside Petroleum in 2001. The other was the attempted takeover by Singapore of the Australian Stock Exchange in 2011. So this was setting a new benchmark as far as agribusiness was concerned. It was a rather controversial start to the coalition's government. It received round condemnation from Labor and from many others besides. But it was the right decision, and I certainly compliment Joe Hockey on that. He was not a man frightened of taking brave, bold decisions in the national interest. That is what set him apart from the treasurers in the Labor government in those six sorry years before we took over.

At the time I was very outspoken in my praise of the fact that good sense had prevailed. As I said in a media release:

The Treasurer’s task was to apply the national interest test to this proposal and I am very pleased to see that having weighed the evidence, the Treasurer has quite rightly rejected this takeover.

I highlighted the benefits of the rejection for Riverina and eastern state growers. Riverina growers were provided with certainty at a time when they were coming to the end of that year's harvest. Our $9 billion a year grain harvest, along with up-country silos and storage sites, rail, ports and other critical infrastructure, would remain in Australian hands, and decisions would not be taken by a boardroom in far-off Illinois in the United States of America. Our farmers feed the nation and the world. We know that. This decision gave growers certainty.

You only have to see the benefits that that decision has realised. GrainCorp is now investing in up-country silo storage sites. They are doing it in large licks at Junee and Ardlethan in my electorate, and in other places as well. I am not quite sure whether GrainCorp would necessarily have made those investments had they been taken over by ADM. In fact the price of wheat, and indeed how much wheat would be grown, would be determined way off in the US, depending on the Canadian harvest and on the success of the American harvest. That would have determined how much wheat we grew here and what price our farmers would receive.

That stopped and certainty started with Joe Hockey's rebuttal of that particular takeover. The booby trap left by Labor was not a booby trap after all, because he showed moral courage, he showed fortitude and he stood up against what would have been a terrible outcome not just for Australian growers but also for the nation itself. I compliment Joe Hockey for that particular brave decision and I compliment him for his political career. He was a larger-than-life figure. It sounds like I am talking about him in the past tense. I am politically, but I know he has a lot more to give to this nation and to international diplomacy. I know that he will continue to be a great advocate both here and abroad for Australian markets, Australian business, Australian jobs and, indeed, Australia. I compliment him on his wonderful service to our nation as far as being a parliamentarian is concerned. I am a little sad that the only person in the lower house other than me whose birthday is on 2 August has left the stage, but I am sure that the arena will be much larger for Joe in the future. He has a lot more to give, and I look forward very much to seeing what he does in the future for the benefit of this great nation. Thank you, Joe Hockey, for your services.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to be able to add a contribution to the statements that have been made on the retirement of Joe Hockey, and I join with the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and others, who have acknowledged that Joe Hockey has been one of the most significant figures in the House of Representatives and in Australian politics over the last two decades.

Like me, Joe was elected on 2 March 1996, and immediately after his election he was appointed as chair of the Sydney Airport Community Forum. The Labor Party had made, in the latter years of the Hawke and Keating governments, what I regard as a very bad decision to defer the construction of a second airport for Sydney and to proceed with the third runway. It was the deferral of the construction of a piece of infrastructure that has remained necessary for Sydney; it is still necessary for Sydney and for the nation today. Sydney is Australia's global city, and when the third runway, the parallel runway running north-south at Sydney airport, was opened a decision was made to shut the east-west runway. That was a very bad decision indeed because not only did it lead to considerable insurrection amongst the residents to the north and south of the runway, who suffered from an absolute concentration of noise, it also led to people who had up to that point supported the second airport being at Badgerys Creek, such as the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils and all its member councils, to reassess their decision. It became a debate about aircraft noise rather than a debate about the economic future of Sydney, about jobs and about the nation.

Joe Hockey, in his position as the chair of the Sydney Airport Community Forum, had a series of public meetings around Sydney to develop the long-term operating plan for that airport. There was consultation and cooperation with me personally as a member of that community consultation committee. I had been member of the community consultation committee prior to my election to the national parliament, and I had been involved in what led to the acquisition of more than 150 homes and public buildings, including a church—the oldest Coptic Church in Australia—and other public facilities, in Sydenham. There was also the insulation of more than 10,000 homes, schools, hospitals, churches and other public buildings.

Joe Hockey, during that period, was prepared to come down to Sydenham in my electorate and to sit down in the lounge rooms and the kitchens without media, and we talked through some of the solutions. One of the problems that had occurred was that many of these homes were very much of working people. They were fibro homes. I remember sitting in a house in Tempe that was due to be insulated, yet the walls of the house literally did not meet the floor of the house; there was a gap. Therefore it was completely impossible to get adequate insulation into that home.

Joe Hockey, I think, from that period on showed himself to be someone who was concerned with people. At the end of the day we can have our ideological differences in this place, but the reason why we are here is to assist the lives of people. Joe Hockey and I have major ideological differences about the role of government and the way in which the state can have an impact compared with the free market. I probably am closer to Mr McCormack and some of the Nationals in that respect than either of us would be to Joe Hockey's free market approach.

Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are all close to Mr McCormack, I have to say.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Joe Hockey's statements, for example, about the age of entitlement are ones that I would have fundamental disagreement with, and from my perspective I think the people who feel entitled are quite often the big end of town and the corporate sector, who believe that their entitlements override the rights of working people over issues such as penalty rates, for example, that many people need simply to be able to survive. Notwithstanding that, Joe is someone with whom you could have an ideological or political discussion that was not personal but recognised that differences can be there but you can still have respect for people—and Joe Hockey is someone who has my respect.

Of course, eventually we got there in terms of the second airport. As did Joe and other members who had an interest, while I was the minister I certainly consulted with the process of searching for an appropriate site. In the end it is pretty clear that we came back to where we began, at Badgerys Creek, as the best site. I certainly think that I have played a role in making that decision a reality. Sometimes it needs oppositions, not just governments, to be a part of decision making.

I travelled very early on with Joe and his dad, Richard, to the Middle East—to Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Joe and I established the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, something that was not without controversy and is probably more controversial for the conservative side of politics. But I think that experience—when I sat with Joe and his dad, who was, of course, born in Bethlehem, in the beach camp at Gaza and looked at the humiliation which Palestinians were forced to undergo in queuing to try to get across to get work each and every day, and the ongoing extreme poverty and lack of rights that people were subjected to, and also the lack of rights for the Israelis when you saw very young people with guns bigger than they were standing on corners in Jerusalem—made it very clear that you cannot have security in those circumstances, where essentially Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Ramallah are really just suburbs of the one place. It is a very small place in terms of the distance. I was very privileged to have Joe's wonderful father, Richard, there as well. It was a visit on which we got quite close to each other on a personal level. We got to visit Petra as well, which was an amazing experience.

If there is one criticism that I would have of Joe Hockey, though—and I will finish my contribution with this—what is it with Nickelback and his music taste? It is a tragedy that he does not understand Nick Cave or the Smiths. Someone of his generation really has no excuse for having the taste in music which he does. He quite rightly has been criticised for it and I join in that condemnation today.

To Melissa and his children, I wish them all the best and thank them for the sacrifices they have made as his family. I certainly wish Joe all the best in terms of his appointment. I was asked about it publicly and made it clear that I do not believe that because someone is on the other side of politics they should be denigrated and we should say they should not make a contribution to public life in some other fashion. I think Joe, as a former Treasurer and senior minister, is someone who could, and no doubt will, make a further outstanding contribution to serving his nation. I thank him for it.

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Much has been said in this place about Joe Hockey and particularly about his career, his contribution to parliament, to politics and to our nation since his election to this place in 1996. It is really true that Joe's contribution to our nation and our national debate has been quite significant. His legacy is one of which he can justly be quite proud. His political CV alone is quite impressive: Treasurer of Australia in the Abbott coalition government; in the Howard government, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Human Services, Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Minister for Financial Services and Regulation; and in opposition in the intervening years, the shadow Minister for Health and Ageing and Manager of Opposition Business and shadow Minister for Finance as well as shadow Treasurer.

But as impressive as his public service record is—and it is indeed impressive—I believe that leaders often make their impact in other, more subtle ways. They leave in their wake another rich and potent, albeit often unseen, legacy that may never be publicly acknowledged but which nonetheless is equally significant, or at least it is to those who experience it. Often leaders, particularly in politics, act as mentors to those who aspire to similar goals to serve their community in public life. For me, Joe was certainly one of those people. Today I wish to acknowledge Joe in this way, because I know that the role he played in backing me and becoming somewhat of a mentor, particularly in the early years of my involvement in politics, reflects a story of many other Liberal Party members whose political careers and perspectives have been shaped and influenced by Joe Hockey.

Joe was the first federal member of parliament to really back my political ambitions quite a few years ago now when I was a member of the Young Liberals in New South Wales serving on the Young Liberals state executive as vice-president and seeking to one day run for president. After hearing a fairly impromptu speech given at a Young Liberal dinner function some 14 years ago now, Joe came up to me and told me in no uncertain terms that he had decided to back me to run for Young Liberal president for the next year.

True to his word, his met me for coffee, confirmed his support and then backed me all the way that year to stand for nomination for what at the time was considered to be the highly coveted position of president of the New South Wales Young Liberals. I have to say it is a position that remains fiercely contested to this day. I remember that year quite well. Joe would not back down. He would not hear of me backing down either that year. Joe has an indefatigable belief in people and I was certainly the beneficiary of his belief that year.

While I regret to inform the House that I lost my bid to become the New South Wales Young Liberals president that year against a formidable opponent and, may I say, rather young opponent at the time—Alex Hawke—I learnt a lot from that experience. I remain grateful for the opportunity that it provided me as it helped me create other new opportunities to serve the Liberal Party and to gain new skills in politics, campaigning, innovation and leadership. To this day, I have to say I now follow somewhat in Joe's footsteps as I actively seek to give back to other young political aspirants what Joe and others afforded to me. I seek to mentor, support and fiercely back our next generation of political leaders.

Some 10 years later, in 2012, I received another call from Joe. I had been seriously considering a request from senior party representatives to stand as a candidate for the seat of Robertson, and in fact I was on my way across the Harbour Bridge to discuss it further—perhaps somewhat aptly—when Joe called. Serving my community as the member for Robertson was a childhood dream, a dream I had held fiercely since I was 15 years of age, but life, as it does, got in the way and some 25 years later my husband and I had two very young children. Mollie-Joy had just turned one and Oscar was just about to start preschool that year. I had a fantastic job, and the opportunity to run, with all the associated challenges of juggling a family, particularly a young family, while on one income and campaigning full time in what was to be a very fiercely contested seat, made this childhood dream seem somewhat of a pipe dream. I had been involved in politics for long enough to know that public life even as a candidate involves tremendous personal sacrifice, and I think we can all say that.

As I was weighing this up in my mind, I answered Joe's phone call. He said: 'It's Joe here. I want to talk to you. I hear that you are considering running as the candidate. Don't get me wrong. I think you will make a great candidate.' Joe was always a great backer of people, but he said: 'I want you to consider the impact it will have on your family. I want you to understand how you will actually have to manage this and what you will have to do with two young children. This is what I do.' He proceeded to spend the next 10 or 15 minutes just sharing with me some very personal details of that struggle to balance the challenge of a young family with the demands of politics. I have to say I remain ever grateful for that very decisive phone call, because I got off that phone call and, far from deterring me, it actually spurred me on. It made me realise that if Joe could back me again then we could actually succeed. It made me realise that, if people could understand that this was a unique challenge and a difficult sacrifice that all of us make to one degree or another but that it can successfully be done, then we can actually do it.

I might say, though, that Joe was the only person who ever actually placed on record the fact that this is indeed a sacrifice and it does involve huge, tremendous and ongoing juggling, and I will be forever grateful to him for that, because it is this determination of Joe's to never lose sight of his most important calling as a husband and a father, and to exhort me to never lose sight of my most important calling as a wife and a mother, that I think is the mark of a great man indeed. It points towards something deeper: that Joe is an investor in people, as the member for Grayndler referred to earlier. He certainly invested in me and, I know, in many others who are similarly now in parliament or about to enter parliament. But, even more importantly, his legacy in this place, beyond his contribution to public discourse and national decision making, is his obvious investment in his family, and I know much has already been said about that. In associating myself with the remarks others have made, let me add my thanks for his very timely conversation and his words of wisdom that he gave me that day.

Let me close by acknowledging Joe Hockey's tremendous investment in Gosford, my home town. I want to place on record my thanks and appreciation for his strong backing for our plan for a better future on the Central Coast, for more local jobs and local job opportunities, starting with the coalition's commitment to deliver 250 to 300 new jobs to Gosford with the location of part of a Commonwealth agency that we were able to make in the lead-up to the 2013 election. I want to thank him for doubling that commitment as Treasurer in his first budget of 2014 and for boldly backing the city of Gosford by announcing 600 new jobs for Gosford in a purpose-built building. Joe told me many times of his determination to see cranes in the sky and economic activity thriving in a city that to date has been more known for its past than its future—but now, I believe, not for long.

So as we begin to see this vision become a reality, as the people of the Central Coast begin to think cranes in the sky over Gosford are the new normal, as we start to envisage construction of new buildings and restoration of older ones that have stood neglected for too many years, and as we see more new businesses in Gosford have a go and get ahead—to cite Joe—I will remember how Joe and many others in the coalition government backed our great city. When coffee shops start opening in tiny lanes and bigger streets; when after-work bars and restaurants are the norm and not the exception in Gosford; when not just 600 Commonwealth employees pour into Gosford city each day but hundreds more alongside them who now have a new local job opportunity thanks to the chemist, the accountant, the solicitor's firm, the Imperial Centre and the construction businesses; when all of this becomes the new normal for our city, I am sure it will be not only me but thousands of other coasties who will join me in saying, 'Thank you, Joe.' Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for believing in our potential future and in the fact that we can see a better tomorrow than what we have today in Gosford, on the Central Coast and beyond.

If I could raise a glass in parliament today, right now, I would ask you all to charge your glasses in a toast to Joe, a true believer in family, in people, in cities and in Australia. So thank you, Joe. I look forward to being able to invite you back to the Central Coast one day in the not-too-distant future for a cup of coffee in a thriving city that is the Gosford of tomorrow.

Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to talk about a great Aussie bloke, someone I am proud to—

An honourable member: Stand up!

I was not going to speak about myself! A great Aussie bloke, someone I am proud to say I can call a colleague, or at least now a former colleague, and someone, sadly, that I only got the opportunity to serve in this place for two years. Joseph Benedict Hockey entered service in this parliament some 19 years ago. He has served with remarkable distinction. Whilst it is sad to see him leave this place, I hope he will now have more time to spend with his beautiful family—his wife, Melissa, and his children, Xavier, Adelaide and Ignatius—as he embarks upon the next step in his professional life. The now former Prime Minister would often say that each and every one of us in this place is honoured not only to be here but also to be a volunteer in this cause—it is our families who are the conscripts. So to Melissa, to Xavier, to Adelaide and to Ignatius, I say thank you for offering your husband and father to national service.

Joe's story is that of so many Australians: his father was a migrant born in Bethlehem and his parents ran a small business. Joe's election in 1996 capped a promising career in finance and banking. In his first speech, Joe reflected on his personal principles. Unsurprisingly, they are principles that are fundamental to the Liberal Party and they are principles that he has stayed true to ever since his election: the inalienable rights of the individual, a belief in parliamentary democracy, a commitment to improve our society through reform, and equality of opportunity not equality of outcome. These were fundamental pillars for Joe, as they are for our party.

In 1996, Joe reflected on the importance of rebuilding the nation's accounts. Perhaps then he did not know that in 2013 he would be tasked with that role all anew, but as Treasurer. It was a theme he also reflected on, of course, in his valedictory speech some 19 years on. Joe has left an indelible mark on this nation's story, and, whilst he leaves a legacy, he also leaves us with much to do. We should seek to build on Joe's achievements and harness his legacy to propel this nation into a new era of prosperity. As Joe highlighted, we have some significant challenges ahead of us. There is still, as I have said, much to do. We must have the courage to reform and adapt our policies across all areas of government. We must respond to the new realities facing the Australia of today. As Joe continually raised throughout his career, a taxation system needs reform if it is to respond to a 21st century economy. We must seek to lower the income tax so that people and companies are given more incentive to take risks and garner rewards. In the globalised economy in which our high-tech manufacturing and service industries are competing, it is crucial that we do not forget or forgo the opportunity by having exorbitant income tax levels. It is crucial that we encourage the next wave of business and entrepreneurs to set up shop in our beautiful country. As Joe so wisely asserted, they will not do that in the face of unnecessarily high taxation.

Joe was faced, following his appointment as Treasurer in 2013, with the massive task of getting our nation's finances in order. It is crucial that we continue his fiscal reforms. Whilst we enjoy an excellent quality of life, we cannot continue to commit intergenerational theft. As we continue to overspend, we are taking resources from our children and, indeed, our grandchildren. The actions Joe Hockey took as Treasurer and, indeed, throughout his parliamentary career, worked towards rectifying this unconscionable state of affairs. Perhaps one of Joe's most important contributions was his articulation of the age of entitlement in which Australia finds itself. In his final speech he noted the steps we have already taken to remedy our financial position, which sees us taking money from our children tomorrow, borrowing to pay for consumption today. Joe strove to deliver a fair and sustainable distribution of resources that would insulate our quality of life without suffocating it for future generations. Whilst Joe's message was a difficult one, it was a necessary one.

To some extent, Joe, like he did when he played rugby, took the hits for the team. Joe's commitment, resolve and inspirational message continue to be relevant, and his legacy is clear. He faced a hard task: spending less is always much harder than spending more. Joe did not shirk his responsibility, and I think that should never be forgotten. There is a still a significant amount that we will have to do if we are going to wind back the unsustainable welfare system that we have allowed to develop in this country. The age of entitlement must end if we are to maintain our pursuit of prosperity. There is no doubt Joe Hockey articulated this challenge, and he should be lauded for his resolve. Even in his valedictory speech, Joe continued to make many full contributions to the national debate, and I am sure he will continue to do so in the future. His voice will be sorely missed in this place.

Not only did Joe make significant progress towards reducing spending, he also announced a historic small business package. His belief in Australian small business, no doubt informed by his parents' experiences, was absolutely infectious, and his optimism for the future was palpable. This year's budget was perhaps the best for small business in our nation's history. As Joe said, it was all about tax cuts, not more government spending. Joe exemplified the Liberal Party way. He backed small business to grow. Measures he introduced through our small business package saw small business regain confidence, the confidence it needs to grow. It was through these measures that small businesses across the country returned to employing young Australians in greater and greater numbers. It was measures introduced by Joe that delivered more choices for Aussie farmers. It was measures introduced by Joe that gave families chances, through better child care, to seize previously unachievable opportunities. By giving small business the space it needs to succeed, we grow and strengthen our economy. Joe knew that and everyone in this place does, too. We are now seeing those dividends from Joe's investment, and we will see them long into the future.

Not bad: from a family-run small business to Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia. Joe's journey is one which is an inspiration to all Australians. But I must say it is a massive disappointment, because I had always planned to have Joe Hockey in my electorate to call bingo at Murray Bridge. I just thought that the nation's leading bean counter calling bingo in a small country town would be a great thing. Maybe he will do that once he completes his obligations for the nation elsewhere. I suppose it is an open invitation to Joe. If he ever wants to join me in Murray Bridge to call bingo at the local hotel, I am sure they will have him.

Once the haze that permeates the often opaque realm of politics disperses, I know the Australian people will recognise Joe's industry and his achievements. In an interview shortly after his election as Treasurer, Joe was asked what he wanted to do as Treasurer. He took the opportunity to act on his first words in this place. He said that he wanted to make a contribution and that he wanted to repay the debt that he owed Australia. To Joe and his family: I think the debt is well and truly paid and paid with interest. I thank Joe for his service to this nation and I wish him every success in his future endeavours. He will certainly be missed, but I doubt that he will be forgotten.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While I was preparing this speech for the Hon. Joe Hockey, I thought, 'Should I get stuck into him and make it a roast, or should I pay tribute to some of the things that he achieved for our country?' I would like to mix it up, but I don't want to miss! Not many people will read these speeches, but I know when Joe finds some time in the future he will sit and read these speeches. So I will open my comments by saying: Joe Hockey, you are a good man—and I will explain why.

I, like many Australians, first met Joe Hockey on Sunrise where he would take his bat out for his weekly political sparring session with none other than Kevin Rudd. I thought to myself, 'Who is this bloke?' I was new to politics and not a member then. I thought, 'He is going somewhere. This fella is going to go all right.' Rudd and Joe impressed me equally with their political wit and banter. When I came to parliament I had the opportunity to sit, talk, drink and smoke with Joe Hockey. I got to see a side of him that many other Australians probably have not seen as yet, and it is one of the reasons I can testify that he is a very good man.

He can be lazy on a touch football paddock, though, and he became quite relaxed when playing on the Senate ovals. Religiously, on a Tuesday morning early in the piece, Joe would come out for his weekly fitness bout and play touch football. But towards the end he thought that he was above the game. In the touch football world you have to lean over and actually ground the ball. But not only was Joe's politics taking him around the globe; he was also watching far too much gridiron football. When he ran across the try line, he would just throw the ball on the ground. Everyone on both sides knew that Joe was not going to accept that it was anything other than a try!

He was a great fundraiser for me and many of my colleagues in Queensland and, I am sure, right around the country. When I brought him to Queensland I never had a problem selling tickets at a high-end table in our CBD or filling a hall somewhere in the electorate. The reason Joe could fill a hall or a high-end table at a fundraiser was that he got it. He could empathise with the small business groups. He had a couple of acres up in North Queensland and he used to give an 'I am a pastoralist' type speech. But everyone saw through it. He was not very good in that space. But he was really good in the small business space. Joe often shared his frustrations with the returns on the farm block that he had and still has in North Queensland, that the money was just not there and how he was always perplexed as to how the industry survived. But it bought him credibility and empathy, irrespective of how pathetic his stories sometimes were.

He once told me a story in the chamber during a division. He had just come from a weekend function at Peter FitzSimons's place. For those of you that do not know, Peter is that red-bandanna-wearing, staunch socialist type bloke. My question to Joe was: 'What are you doing going to his party?' He said, 'We're good mates.' Joe had just attended Peter's 50th birthday and had given a speech about Peter at the function. This was at a time when Joe was fairly large. In his speech, Joe said, 'Many of you would be surprised that I'm here tonight. But when Peter dies I will more than likely be one of his six pallbearers. That is how close we are.' In response, when it was Peter's time to get up he said, 'Yes, that's right. He will be one of my six pallbearers. And when Joe dies I will more than likely be one of the 16 pallbearers that takes him!' I think their passion and commitment was more around the love of rugby and the challenging of minds, because both of them were extremely articulate.

I have spoken about his investments in Queensland and how loved and revered he was by the small business sector. I want to briefly speak about his 'age of entitlement' speech—one of his finer speeches, I would dare say. I am still perplexed today as to why he had to go to London to address the Institute of Economic Affairs to do it. I am sure it was choreographed, in a way. Some of the things he ran with included:

Entitlement is a concept that corrodes the very heart of the process of free enterprise that drives our economies.

He had spent considerable time preparing for this speech, and it was truly going to be a speech for which he needed to have an unencumbered audience. That tyranny of distance, I think, helped project him and put him on that international platform. One of the comments I picked up on after reading the speech a number of times, which would have been very difficult for him to say—or very easy for the media to pull apart—and which I thought was a really strong sentence was:

The problem arises, however, when there is a belief that one person has a right to a good or service that someone else will pay for. It is this sense of entitlement that afflicts not only individuals but also entire societies.

In saying that, he was not saying that we did not have to look after those who could not look after themselves. It was about an ideology that the age of entitlement was over. No longer, as a society, if we were going to grow and if we were going to have that economic opportunity into the future, could we have the ideology that somebody else was going to pay for our prosperity. It is truly one of his more defining speeches.

Occasionally, in the latter part of his serving in this parliament, we would have to have conversations that were awkward, but he was always gracious. We had a function to mark the end of his service in this parliament, and I was humbled to be invited with a very small handful of members of this House who went and spent that evening with him.

Joe used to always say to me, irrespective of the 'come to Jesus' chats that we had occasionally, 'Scotty, you're a good man.' I opened this speech by saying, 'Joe, you're a good man.' I will close this speech with: when you find time, when you are sitting somewhere in this world trawling through Hansard, know that you are truly a good man, Joe Hockey. I thank you for your contribution to this parliament and to our nation. Thanks, brother.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to rise to speak on the topic of Joe Hockey the former member for North Sydney. It does seem very difficult, almost unreal, not to be able to refer to Joe as the Member for North Sydney but, of course, he has now officially resigned from the parliament after a distinguished parliamentary career of nearly 20 years.

Joe Hockey as a politician was a genuine and authentic personality, a powerful political brand, one of the most recognised politicians in the land and recognised as somebody who people could tell was in real life exactly the same as the man they saw on television. I say that having known Joe since I first met him at Sydney university when we were both at least 25 years—in fact closer to 30 years—younger than we are today. Joe was active in student politics. He was active in just about every aspect of university life. He threw himself into university life with great vigour and enthusiasm, as he has thrown himself into life and politics for many years with great vigour and enthusiasm.

There was always a sense about the young Joe that he had a vision for the possibilities of politics. This calling, which attracts all of us in this place, sometimes leaves us shaking our heads but at its best can deliver outcomes that can be achieved in no other walk of life. It is that sense of the possibilities of politics to improve the lives of the people you represent which animated and motivated Joe Hockey throughout his political career. From the first moment that I got to know Joe at Sydney university there was a very clear sense about him of the possibilities of politics. That, I think, is what the Australian people responded to and why he became one of the best known politicians in Australia—because people could sense an authenticity, a genuineness about this man. They could sense that in real life he was as funny, as caring, as decent, as compassionate as his public persona suggested.

Joe, of course, has enjoyed a long and distinguished parliamentary career. He has been one of the most successful federal politicians on either side of politics in the last two or three decades. He entered this parliament at a very young age—he was 30. Perhaps by the standards of the member for Longman that is not young, but by objective community standards that is young. His career in this place started and rose very quickly. He came in in 1996. He was quickly assigned a prominent role by the then Prime Minister, John Howard, in relation to Sydney airport—a topic of great political controversy at the time. The Sydney Airport Community Forum was a body which attracted a lot of scrutiny. Following the 1998 election, he was made a minister—remarkably young to be a minister—and for the rest of his political career, save just a few days in the last few weeks, he was on the frontbench. It is a record of very distinguished political achievement in a number of portfolios. It is a remarkable mix. He was Minister for Financial Services and Regulation, Minister for Small Business and Tourism, Minister for Human Services and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. When the coalition went into opposition, he was shadow minister for health, he was shadow minister for finance and of course for over four years he was shadow Treasurer, a role he discharged with great distinction before going on to serve as Treasurer of the nation for two years—also discharging that role with great distinction.

There is one other aspect of Joe that I would like to comment on because it is particularly of interest to me as a member representing an electorate on the North Shore of Sydney. It is not always easy to represent the North Shore. The North Shore can sometimes be misunderstood or the subject of attack. Sadly, when Julia Gillard was Prime Minister, she engaged in a disgraceful attack on the North Shore, describing its residents as 'cosseted' and suggesting that, in some way, people on the North Shore live a privileged life, protected from the daily exigencies and realities of life in a way that most Australians could only envy. That is a completely inaccurate description of an area of Sydney which is remarkably diverse and changing very fast, but an area whose residents are passionately proud of where they live.

If my electorate of Bradfield is one of the electorates representing the North Shore, Joe's electorate of North Sydney is another one. North Sydney covers the lower North Shore and Bradfield covers the upper North Shore. Those who have lived on the North Shore for some time will engage in lengthy discussions about precisely where the dividing line between the lower North Shore and the upper North Shore is to be found, but I think few would contest the proposition that the electorate of North Sydney principally represents the lower North Shore, as well as some other areas, and that the electorate of Bradfield principally represents the upper North Shore. The point I wish to make about Joe Hockey is that he has been a passionate supporter, defender and champion of the North Shore of Sydney not just because it is his political duty but also because it is an absolute passion for him. He has spent most of his life on the North Shore, he grew up on the lower North Shore and he went to school at St Aloysius on the lower North Shore. His family real estate business, Hockey's—the business established by his father—is a very well-known business on the lower North Shore.

When Joe Hockey entered the parliament in 1996, he did so at the same time as another then young newly elected member of parliament, also representing a North Shore seat, my predecessor in the seat of Bradfield, Brendan Nelson. Indeed, as history now records, for a number of years Brendan's accommodation, when in Canberra, including during his time as Minister for Defence, was the garage of Joe's house here in Canberra. When Brendan retired and a by-election was held in Bradfield on 5 December 2009, at one point during the by-election campaign I was out campaigning with Joe Hockey, who was incredibly supportive and helpful during the campaign. He said to me at one point, 'Of course, mate, if you want it, Brendan's spot in the garage is available for you.' I was touched beyond words but, nevertheless, it took me only a few seconds to decline that offer. Even so, I do want to put on record now my gratitude that Joe Hockey was prepared to offer me Brendan's spot in his garage! I also want to acknowledge the friendship between my predecessor Brendan Nelson and Joe Hockey. They came into the parliament at the same time, they worked closely together and they have both flown the Liberal flag with great distinction in those two adjoining electorates.

I want to conclude by expressing my thanks to Joe Hockey, firstly for the personal support that he has given me in my time in the parliament. Arriving many years after him, he was generous with his encouragement, advice, support and friendship. Whenever I called upon him he was always there to assist.

I also want to express my gratitude, and I am sure the gratitude of so many people in the electorate of North Sydney, for the service he provided to that electorate and for the work he did in standing up for and championing the North Shore of Sydney. I want to express my thanks on behalf of the people of Australia, because a parliamentary career of the length and distinction of Joe Hockey's is one that does not come along very often. It is a remarkable effort. He has contributed an enormous amount across the many portfolios in which he has worked. He has always worked to advance the interests of this nation and to advance the interests of Australians. Across the many diverse portfolios in which he has worked, Australians have good reason to be grateful for the effort and the contribution that he has made. Thank you, Joe Hockey. Good luck with what your career now holds. You are only 50; you have many years of contribution left and you have much to be proud of for your time in this parliament.

George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would very much like to associate myself with the comments made by the minister and to add to them. Until his recent retirement, Joe Hockey was one of those larger-than-life characters in this place. It is sad that he has left this place, and I do not know that we ever—when we leave here—leave the political arena for good. I am sure that there will be commentary from Joe in the future, probably regarding this government and no doubt regarding future governments of the other political persuasion, but Joe was one of those larger-than-life characters.

I have to say, without a doubt, I was a Joe Hockey fan before I came into this place and I remain a Joe Hockey fan. I can remember back in the 2010 election when I was running a campaign and we were not sure whether the LNP was going to win the seat. Apparently the polling showed that one day I was in front and the other day Labor was in front. Joe came into the seat to help bolster my chances and we did a bit of a walk around one of the shopping centres there and had a coffee and a bit of yarn with the locals. It was the first time I had seen Joe in the flesh. His ability to interact and engage with just everyday people was what I thought was remarkable. Here was this person whom I had seen only on Sunrise or when interviewed on news shows and the rest, and here he was walking around the local Kmart with me, pumping hands as we walked along and talked to people about all sorts of problems.

Obviously there are a lot of critics out there of Joe, in his role as Treasurer. In short, there were measures in Joe's 2013-14 budget that I did not particularly like, but I have to say that he was a very brave Treasurer. He was a Treasurer who tried to do a lot for this nation, particularly around the issue of debt control, and that is something that, as a nation, we have got to get to grips with. You cannot continue to spend more than you earn. If you do that forever and a day, you are headed off the fiscal cliff. Joe knew that—he saw it and he put measures in place to ensure we would not be careering off that cliff into the future. He started us on the path of moving away from this country, ultimately, going into sovereign default, because that is what ultimately happens if you continue to spend more than you earn. Eventually, the day of reckoning comes.

We find that when we look at countries like Argentina. Argentina had comparable living standards with Australia for many, many years, until their debt came to such a stage that they could not repay it, and so everything came a gutser for Argentina. Look at that country now and you will see the ramifications of debt that is out of control. You see broken-down infrastructure everywhere—people who torch buses and trains when they break down, because they are that frustrated with government services not working. That is the kind of thing that Joe probably foresaw if we did not do something here—a country that has First World living standards falling into the Third World because of debt that cannot be repaid. He put us on a path that will set us right into the future—a return to surplus but, more importantly, a return to money in the bank, as we had in the Howard era. Now, it is a long, long path, because, quite frankly, there are so many spending commitments out there, which sectors of the public are wedded to, that mean we cannot do this easily. Joe tried to do that in a way that was quick and that was going to get to that ultimate solution we need as a nation, but it was probably a bit too much for the public to swallow.

But he will really always be—in my books, and I am sure in many people's books—held up high as a Treasurer who attempted to do the right thing by this nation by getting us onto the path of fiscal credibility once again, and his legacy will live on past this parliament and past this era of politics. We will remember him as someone who was brave enough to call out the end of the age of entitlement. It is something that we need to get a grip on in this nation. The government is not there to dole out endless cheques. The government is there for basic functions that the private sector and the public cannot deal with themselves: things like defence, aged care—and even that probably pushes the boundaries a bit in some ways—and health services, the basic services that a society needs to function. It is not about $900 cheques, school halls and all these frivolous, pointless activities the government gets involved in basically in order to jag votes. Joe knew that, and he tried to be as pure as he could be as Treasurer along those lines. Ultimately, as I said, it was a bridge too far for some. But, because of his efforts, we are going to be indebted to him for a long time to come.

Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about Joe Hockey, who was probably one of the first politicians, apart from Joanna Gash, that I ever had the luxury to meet. The occurrence was in Batemans Bay back in 2007 or late 2006. He had been invited to open a temporary office down in Batemans Bay. He came down, duly cut the ribbon and did all the official things. Then he said, 'Come on. Let's walk around. Let's go and see some people here, have a little chitchat to them and see how they're going'—just the everyday, consummate politician.

We walked around the streets and met some young kids. They said, 'Mr Hockey, Mr Hockey!' He said, 'Yeah?' They said, 'You went to Kokoda. We just went to Kokoda.' It was a group of young Indigenous children in Batemans Bay who had saved hard, worked hard and done an amazing thing. They had been inspired to do the Kokoda Trail themselves. Those young people followed Mr Hockey around almost the whole of Batemans Bay as if he were the Pied Piper of Hamelin. They were asking him questions, and he was never resentful and never stopped answering them. He was just always there for them, and, once I was elected to parliament, I found Joe Hockey to be exactly the same in the House. He never gave me the brush-off. If I had a problem with an issue or if there was a policy decision I was not sure of, Joe would say: 'Come in and tell me how you feel. Let me know what your constituents are telling you. I am open to their suggestions.' He is just an all-round, everyday guy, and I found him very approachable and very easy to talk with, but he made sure I was on my mettle with certain policies. One of them was the universal access to education, which I considered to be an excellent initiative from the previous government, and he made me fight for that. He said, 'Are you sure this is the right thing to do?' I said, 'It absolutely is,' and he was flexible enough to say, 'Okay, well if we need to do that, then you need to see this minister and that minister and talk to them, advise them and work with them.' Ultimately, we had a very good outcome on that issue.

In the way that I have learnt from the openness of such an amazing politician, I think his presence and his humour will be sorely missed. Wherever Joe is going next, I hope every aspect of his life is as full of the fun, as full of the professionalism and as full of the compassion he has shown while he was working in this House. He was truly one of the big characters in the House of Representatives, and he really will be missed—I think every single one of us will miss him.

Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is my great pleasure to rise and pay tribute on this motion to the former member for North Sydney, the honourable Joe Hockey. Many wonderful words have been spoken today about Joe Hockey. He was a member of parliament like no other. He made an incredible contribution to his electorate, to this parliament and to the nation.

I actually resided in Joe Hockey's electorate before he was elected—from 1989. I moved to Sydney to work for the ABC. This was in the heady days of Ted Mack, when an independent held the seat. I lived in McMahons Point, in the heart of Joe Hockey's electorate of North Sydney. From the time that Joe was elected, in 1996, he very quickly consolidated the seat into the very strong Liberal seat that it is today, and we members of the Liberal Party would expect to hold the seat in the upcoming by-election.

Joe Hockey was—and I still find it difficult to think about Joe in the past tense, because it is still with great sadness, and also having resigned so quickly and left the parliament so suddenly. It is with great sadness that I record that Joe Hockey is no longer here in this parliament. He made an incredible contribution from the very early days when he was elected, holding many portfolios both in government and also in opposition, and, of course, in 2013 he became Treasurer. He was a person who never forgot from where came. He was a great family man. He was a great supporter of small business. He was a great adherent to strong Liberal values. If there is one speech that I commend to students of politics, it is Joe Hockey's valedictory speech. I thought it was a wonderful speech. Many of us in the chamber had tears our eyes. It was emotional. It was humble. It encapsulated the great contribution that he made, and it was also brave and courageous.

I want to read one part of Joe Hockey's valedictory speech that really made an impact on me. He said:

All my life I've subscribed to the principles of modern liberalism. In my maiden speech I defined them as protection of individual rights, defence of parliamentary democracy, a commitment to positive reform and equality of opportunity. It's true but it must be said, if you don't have core beliefs then you have no core. When you're asked to make very difficult decisions that have a huge impact on people's lives, without a guiding philosophy, you'll inevitably be indecisive, or worse, inconsistent.

There is no doubt that Joe Hockey was called upon to make some very difficult decisions, and some of those decisions in the 2014 budget did not resonate. But let us not forget—and I do not want to dwell too much on the politics of this—that he inherited an extremely difficult fiscal situation, one in which he knew that we as a nation could not continue to spend more than we earn. As unpopular as some measures were, he took that task to heart, he grappled with it, and he delivered. As we have heard today, most recently from the member for Dawson, some of those measures were difficult. But the former Treasurer of this great country understands that at the moment we are borrowing $100 million a day just to pay the interest, which is absolutely unsustainable. The former Treasurer made enormous inroads into cutting the debt and the deficit. Though there is still more of a journey and it is extremely difficult, he has set us on the path of fiscal repair, and for that we owe him a great debt.

The member for Robertson spoke about the former member for North Sydney as being a great investor in people. For me he was very much that sort of person—warm, gregarious, fun; a great people person. I remember he came to my electorate on one particular visit—in fact before I was elected he visited on four separate occasions—and I took him for a stroll down the main street in Torquay. He was so loved—people loved what he had to say, they admired him and they felt an enormous connection with him. That is one of Joe Hockey's great successes—he has a unique ability to connect with others. I particularly want to pay tribute to Joe Hockey for the many wonderful initiatives that he introduced in this year's budget: the enormous investment in small business; the enormous investment in child care; the difficult decisions that had to be made. As a man who grew up in a small business, who understands the value of hard work, who understands the value of family enterprise, Joe Hockey understands better than most that building small businesses right around the nation can transform us economically.

Joe Hockey, along with former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, was instrumental in making a number of very significant investments in my electorate: as the duplication of the Princes Highway—a commitment first made back in 2010—and the upgrade of the Great Ocean Road, for example. Joe Hockey made the decision to bring an Australian Bureau of Statistics centre of excellence to Geelong. It will open in early 2016, bringing with it 250 jobs. He was incredibly focused on the importance of investing in jobs and growth; that was his job every single day. I spent a lot of time with Joe. I felt he was someone who was a great mentor to me, and I am particularly sad as I felt there were many more years of mentoring to be done. I hope that perhaps, in another way and in another life, that that might continue. Joe was very supportive of establishing an Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre in Geelong to invest in the smart jobs, the jobs that drive innovation, the jobs of the future. In so many ways—underpinned by our free trade agreements, underpinned by agriculture and by food processing across my electorate—he recognised the big economic challenges for our nation. He can look back upon his 19 years here in this parliament, I think, with great pride.

I want to wish Joe's wife, Melissa, all the very best, along with his children, Xavier, Adelaide and Ignatius. Given that we are all going to live longer and work longer, Joe Hockey is obviously still a relatively young man. He has an enormous contribution to continue to make to this nation. I wish him all the very best. I thank him deeply and sincerely for his friendship, his guidance and his belief in me.