Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I know you don't want us to make a fuss, so I will seek to respect that wish, as I'm sure others will. You are the longest serving Speaker of my generation, and I suspect we have seen the finest Speaker that this parliament has had the great opportunity to witness in action. That may be a contested proposition; I suspect it will be, but it's certainly my view. Mr Speaker, you have demonstrated that any member in this place can make a difference, and you have sought, through your carriage of that important chair, to do everything you can to facilitate members making that contribution. We all come here with hopes and aspirations. We all come here full of energy and belief and ambition for the things that we want to achieve for our country. In this place, there is an opportunity to give expression to that, both in what we say in this place but also in how we act and vote in this place. You have ensured at all times, as you said you would, that you would give a fair go to all on the floor of this chamber.

That's what you said when you were first coming into this role in August of 2015. You said, 'I'll bring to this place, to the best of my ability, a better parliament'. I believe you've achieved that, and I could not be prouder, as one of those, together with Christopher Pyne and many others many years ago, who came together and supported your candidacy in the way that that occurred. I'm sure they would join me in saying: we got that one absolutely right. It was well supported across the government party room, Mr Speaker. Ultimately, as history has gone on to prove, you are the only Speaker, other than Sir Frederick Holder, who was elected unopposed three times in a row. The last time that happened was 1909.

I think that says a lot, Mr Speaker, about the way that you have carried yourself in this place. It says a lot about your meticulous attention to detail. It says a lot about your understanding of the motivations and good faith that have been brought, I believe, into this chamber each day, as we each come in here and seek to discharge our duties as we best see fit. You've been a great servant and enabler of that. You've understood that role. This has not been a place from which you've sought to look down on this chamber and lord it over this chamber. You've engaged with this chamber as one of equals, coming here with all the same motivations, and seeking to ensure that other members of this place could realise what you've always hoped to achieve in your presence here and why you first put your hand up to be a member of this place.

So on behalf of all the members here I want to thank you for that. I want to thank you for the way you saw the role, for the way that you engaged with the role and for the way that you engaged with all of us in enabling that to be the outcome. I believe that's why you've been so successful, and that's why you have earnt the respect of not just the people in this chamber but also those who look on this chamber. In many ways, I think they've seen you as their advocate in this place and that you are acting on their behalf to ensure this chamber operates in the way that they would hope it would. So, while one of us, you've also been one with them, I think, over that period of time that you have been Speaker. So I want to thank you for that.

I also want to thank you and, through you, all of those who've assisted you—as you've named them and thanked them yourself personally. This has not been an ordinary time to be Speaker. And I look around this very table now, with the perspex here and the masked members of this place—and, thankfully, far more of them who have been here for most of the last two years are now back in this chamber. You have had to navigate that and lead that. I know how closely you've worked with the President of the Senate, the Chief Medical Officer of the ACT and the Chief Medical Officer and ensured that this place continued to function as best it possibly could while still respecting the very important principles of presence in this place. The parliament is a public place and should be a public place. With what we say, on what side of the aisle we cross and where we sit and where we vote, there is a transparency which is inherent in the Westminster system. You ensured that during this difficult period we retained all of that tradition and all of those principles while adapting to some very difficult circumstances, and I want to thank you on behalf of all members for achieving that.

Mr Speaker, I want to wish you and Pam and the boys all the very best. But the time for that will come a little later, because I'm looking forward to welcoming you back into the government party room tomorrow and to see you there sitting amongst us where you began. And I'm looking forward to you sharing your views on debates, as I know you're very keen to do, particularly as we go forward into next year's election, and working closely with the party in seeking to ensure that the seat you've so ably represented over all these years will continue to be represented by a Liberal member.

I want to thank you for your dedication to party. I want to thank you for your dedication to the parliament. I want to thank you for your dedication to each and every member of this House and for the way that you have engaged with us and the dedication and professionalism with which you've applied yourself to this task. You have set a very, very high bar, I think, for those who will follow you. I know they will look to that standard and will be challenged by it, but I think they will equally be encouraged by it. That's what we should all do: seek those high standards and ensure that we continue to work ably each and every day that we have the opportunity to achieve them. So well done on great service to our country. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

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