Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on indulgence. Today we note the retirement of 14 senators from the parliament: from the government, Senator George Campbell, Senator Linda Kirk and Senator Ruth Webber; from the coalition, Senator Grant Chapman, Senator Rod Kemp, Senator Ross Lightfoot, Senator Sandy Macdonald, Senator Kay Patterson and Senator John Watson; and from the Greens, Senator Kerry Nettle. We thank them for their services to the parliament, and we wish them well for the future.

Members will also be aware that this is an historic day, with the departure of the last four senators from the Australian Democrats: Senator Lyn Allison, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Senator Andrew Murray and Senator Andrew Bartlett. As the Leader of the Australian Democrats has acknowledged this week, this marks the passing of the Democrats from the Australian political scene. Only time will tell if they are able to return in some other form in the future, but for now at least we mark the end of an era in Australian politics.

The Australian Democrats have been part of the national political landscape for 31 years since Don Chipp resigned from the Liberal Party and established the Democrats as the third force in Australian politics. In marking their departure after three decades of representation in the parliament, we acknowledge that Australia’s political history over those years would have been quite different were it not for the Democrats. They made a significant contribution in successive parliaments. They had considerable success, with senators elected in successive elections through to 2001. They added colour and passion to the life of the parliament with such leaders as Don Chipp, and they worked successfully with governments of different political persuasions and were effective in influencing policy outcomes in many different areas.

The Democrats made a stand on important questions of values, including social justice, the protection of the environment, compassion, humanity, the rights of Indigenous Australians and the integrity and accountability of government. Their time as a party of the balance of power through the 1980s and 1990s and until 2004 was marked by a willingness to compromise in achieving their goals and to not simply be a party of obstruction. That involved difficult and often controversial decisions which affected all sides of politics. Sometimes they probably paid a political price for not being willing to simply adopt a ‘just say no’ attitude to government legislation. Nonetheless, they were also effective at times in joining with the opposition and blocking legislation, much to the chagrin of the government of the time.

Throughout these 30 years, successive Australian Democrat senators have earned respect from both sides of politics for their personal decency and sincerity. The legislative role that they played also put the Democrats under great pressure to master the detail of legislation without the resources afforded to major political parties, and we acknowledge the hard work of many Democrat senators over those years, even when those of us on this side had very different views on the economy, foreign policy and other matters of policy. The Democrats also contributed significantly to the work of the parliament through the committee system.

The Australian Democrats also made a landmark contribution to progress on the role of Australian women in the parliament. With Janine Haines, they were the first party to elect a woman as their leader. Following Janine Haines, they were also led by five other women: Janet Powell, Cheryl Kernot, Meg Lees, Natasha Stott Despoja and Lyn Allison.

Politics is all about making a difference and, as we farewell the last four Australian Democrat senators today, we thank them for their service to the Australian parliament, and through them say thank you to their predecessors as well, as they did make a difference in Australian political life. Just as in life, nothing is ever certain in politics. We must all use every waking moment we have as members of parliament to make a difference. On this occasion, the meeting of the Senate on this day, we acknowledge the contribution of Democrat senators past and present to Australia’s national democratic and political life.

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