Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute, as did the member for Adelaide, to all those Labor senators who will be leaving this place on 30 June. All have made significant contributions to the Labor cause. However, tonight I want to pay particular tribute to Senator Don Farrell. It was very sad that Don did not get re-elected in 2013 and was not given the chance to serve in the South Australian parliament. This parliament has lost a great statesman, a great negotiator and a great legislator, who has made a huge contribution to South Australia and, indeed, to Australia. He will be sorely missed by our side of parliament and, I do believe, by the other side as well. Far from being a faceless man, Don Farrell is a decent human being who always puts others before himself. Having known Don for over 15 years and having worked for and with him for many of those years, I have seen first-hand his passion for social justice and his commitment to standing up for some of our lowest paid workers.

I will never forget when Don, while he was secretary of the SDA, announced to all his staff that he had a goal in the South Australian branch to organise and improve the working conditions of McDonald's workers. No-one thought it could be done; McDonald's workers were not organised in Australia. But, through his persistence, Don achieved what was a first in Australia and, indeed, was among the first in the world: the South Australian branch of the SDA successfully organised McDonald's workers and negotiated an EBA that improved the wages and conditions for those workers. Whether it is advocacy on shop trading hours or on superannuation, Don has always worked to ensure that some of our lowest paid workers have had a better quality of life. This relentless effort has continued in his work as a senator in this place.

There is no better advocate for South Australia than Senator Don Farrell. Some might argue he is a better ambassador for the Crows, but he has been a better senator for South Australia who has always fought to ensure that South Australia is not forgotten here in the Australian parliament. His determination in fighting for investment and jobs in our great state has been relentless, most recently with his private member's motion for the Defence Legislation Amendment (Woomera Prohibited Area) Bill 2013. While the Liberal government was elected and said they were all for jobs, of course they sat on their hands and did nothing. It took Don to put forward a private member's motion that had the potential to unlock $35 billion worth of potential mining investment in South Australia.

Don's contribution in government has also been significant. He has served as Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water as well as Minister for Science and Research, Minister Assisting for Tourism and Minister for Sport. I particularly want to highlight his work—and this might not be the sexiest piece of work—in bringing in the landmark Product Stewardship Act 2011 in which retailers and manufacturers were encouraged to take responsibility for their products at their end of life. This legislation ushered in the television and computer recycling co-regulatory arrangements, leading to extensive free recycling services across Australia helping families easily dispose hazardous waste and preventing lead, mercury and zinc from entering the environment through landfill. As I said, it may not be the sexiest policy, but it was a world first, it was smart and innovative legislation and it was an example of how Don brings people together. He brought together the industry, which heralded this piece of legislation as a great success, and environment groups. That does not often happen, but Don was able to bring people together. And in opposition Don has lead the charge to successfully overturn the government's cruel financial cuts to the children and orphans of veterans who have been injured or killed.

I have outlined the contribution that Don has made to our state and country, but I would also like to place on record my personal thanks to Don for his support, advice and mentoring, which he has so generously offered to me over many years. I have learnt so much from Don Farrell over the years about leadership, patience, courage, diligence and honour. I wish Don and his wife, Nimfa—who has also served the Labor Party for many years in her own right—the very best for the future, especially as they become grandparents for the first time. It is good to know that they always be on the other end of the phone.