I wanted to make a very brief contribution to this debate on behalf of my constituents, the people of the Redlands in Queensland, who, like all of us, have been shocked by what occurred last week and want to send our thoughts and prayers to Helen and her family as she undergoes what will be, I'm sure, a very long and difficult recovery. I won't pretend that I can make the points that have been made any more eloquently than what previous speakers have, but what I would say is that I think that the shock that we all experienced in seeing what occurred last week and what so many in the community also experienced was underscored by the fact that Helen was probably the least likely person that you would think this could possibly occur to. She's not someone who comes to this city and this parliament and tries to stoke controversy or tries to be a divisive figure. She is the exact opposite of that. I think all the reflections that we're hearing from speakers today reflect that fact. She was one of the most well-regarded members of this place, and certainly, in passing her in the corridor in the course of a normal parliamentary day, you would have an immediate sense of her kindness and her genuine interest in how you were going.

I had the pleasure of serving with Helen on the NACC committee over the first part of this term. I recently came off that committee, but her passion on that issue and her advocacy on that issue is obviously going to be one of the hallmarks of her time in parliament, and we hope that she will have many more years in the parliament as well. My experience with her on that committee demonstrated to me that she wasn't just a kind, generous and thoughtful contributor in this place but also genuinely interested in what other people's views were. It wasn't just a sense of 'I've got to pay a bit of lip service to hearing different views'; she genuinely wanted her own views tested against those of other committee members and to get a sense as to what they were thinking so she could refine the concepts that she was trying to push in terms of how we ensure that this new agency achieves what she was hoping it would.

It is very hard to make sense of what's occurred. Of course, we've got to allow the authorities to continue their investigation, and I'm sure that, over time, we will get a clearer picture as to what the twisted motivations were, but what I would say is that any attack on any member of this place or the other place is a direct attack on our democracy. I'm sure that what will be found in the fullness of time is that Helen's position in this place led to her being targeted, and I think that is absolutely horrendous, because it's not just—this attack on any member of the community would be horrendous, but the fact that it was done to someone who's representing 160,000 or 170,000-odd of her fellow Australians in this place and working so hard to represent them to the best of her ability is a direct attack on our democracy and something that we obviously have to stand against no matter what the motivation was.

This morning I had the absolute privilege with the member for Bean of hosting the National Prayer Breakfast, and I want to pass on the many prayers that were had over the course of that event on behalf of Helen and her family, along many prayers from events that were being hosted all around the country, lifting her up in prayer, lifting her family up in prayer, lifting Phil and the children up and for a speedy recovery. Can I just say, on behalf of my community and on behalf of all those who attended the breakfast this morning, I wish Helen and her family a very speedy recovery. We are all thinking of you and we cannot wait for your return. It will be a very bright day when you return to this chamber and can resume your duties.