Kay Patterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I can hardly believe it is 21 years that I have been here, and have spent a third of my life here. There are 14 of us leaving, and one valedictory after the other makes one feel that yet another one might be superfluous. However, I was reminded—and when you find out who it is you will realise it was quite forcefully—when I was speaking to our former colleague Ambassador Amanda Vanstone that not everyone has the chance of closing the chapter of one’s life here with the privilege of a final speech. I know she regrets having missed that opportunity and in particular that her thankyous were not able to be made publicly.

Our friend and colleague Jeannie Ferris, had she been with us, would have been giving her valedictory today—no doubt in her own inimitable style. I know she would have had a long list of those she wished to thank and the Comcar drivers would have been high on that list, as they are on mine. It is always dangerous to mention people individually. But I was in Melbourne and I had promised Jeannie I would get her home from hospital in Sydney. I pursued every option to no avail. I asked the drivers for help and Gordon Kirchner, on his day off, took Jeannie’s car to Sydney, collected her and drove her home. That mountain for Jeannie and me became a molehill. Jan Broughton also gave Jeannie tremendous support. Others have similar stories about the times drivers have gone that extra and very special mile.

Behind the senators and the House of Representatives members there is an army of people who work mostly behind the scenes to support us. A trip to the basement is enough for visitors to realise just how vast this army is. The electricians, the engineers, the sound and vision team, the caterers and a host of others beaver away down there. The attendants around Parliament House and the AUSPIC team deserve a mention as well. The staff caff and dining room staff do not always find the refuelling of sometimes overtired and overwrought members and staff easy and they deserve our thanks. Although only working part-time now, Kate Robertson has been a stalwart. The few of us left who served in the Old Parliament House know just how long and how dedicated her service has been. Thanks too ought to go to the Library staff who are tremendous and who respond to the oddest questions, complicated topics and impossible deadlines with infinite professionalism, patience and courtesy.

The long-suffering Senate staff, both current and former, have endured questions about procedures, standing orders and register of interests. As I have said before in this place they sometimes answer the same question over and over, when it has been asked innumerable times, as graciously the first time as the last. I have spoken before about the amazing service given to the Senate and to me personally by the former Deputy Clerk Anne Lynch. Her dedication to the Senate and her strength in dealing with the challenges she has faced are an example and inspiration to all of us. Thanks too to Cleaver Elliott. I thank him especially for his help with amendments when I was shadow minister and always wanting them done sooner, if not earlier, and for his valuable advice with private members’ bills I have introduced. My comments on the Senate staff would not be complete without acknowledging the enormous contribution Harry Evans, Rosemary Laing and Andrea Griffiths have made to my time in this place and to the Senate. The secretaries and staff of the various committees on which I have served deserve recognition for the important contribution they make quietly behind the scenes to the role of the Senate.

I would like also to acknowledge the Senate chamber staff. There are too many of them to name but all are dedicated to the Senate and its orderly conduct. Hansard, sticky notes and water—without gin or whisky, which I have sometimes asked for—are rustled up with the press of a button at a moment’s notice. They never complain—well, not to us at least! When we sat those horrendous hours many times after the sun had risen, they managed to keep their sanity in the Alice in Wonderland world of the Senate when Friday was really Thursday and when what to the outside world was two days was only one in this rarefied atmosphere. Thank heavens, and thanks very much to the former Senator John Herron, those mad times are over and sitting hours are now somewhat more sensible. There is also another hidden army in the parliament—the cleaners—and some have been here since Parliament House opened 20 years ago. There are a few I wish to mention in particular—Vivienne, Olga, Maria and Anna. Their cheery greetings, and sometimes hugs, have often lifted my spirits, especially on those days when everything seemed to be going awry. To the Senate transport officers, Ian and Michael: thank you for your help. We are not an easy lot to deal with and it must be harder than herding cats, especially on Wednesday nights when we are all out.

It would be remiss of me not to mention our Public Service. They are the backbone of our democracy. I have worked with many outstanding officers. I am not sure which role they preferred me in in estimates—as inquisitor or as their minister. The staff of the department of immigration were assiduous in assisting me to reform the student visa program and, with Defence, caring for the thousands of Kosovars and East Timorese who were given safe haven in Australia. During my short time with Foreign Affairs and AusAID, I was given enormous assistance. I was also exposed more closely to the demands that service in Foreign Affairs places on those officers and their families who are sent on postings overseas.

My time in the health portfolio saw us confronting a range of issues. To name a few, we increased the number of medical schools, addressed falling bulk-billing rates, dealt with the medical indemnity crisis, managed the very real threat of a SARS outbreak, coordinated the Health response to deal with the victims of the Bali bombing, negotiated the Commonwealth-state health agreement and, despite those opposite constantly saying that it was not the case that we increased it, delivered a 17 per cent increase over and above inflation in that healthcare agreement. We saw the establishment of the National Blood Authority and a greater public awareness of the PBS and the department worked tirelessly with me to promote prevention, which included measures such as funding to vaccinate Australia’s young people against meningococcal C and the initiation of the pilot bowel-screening program.

The staff of the Department of Family and Community Services worked to ensure we saw, for example, a record increase in family assistance through managing the rollout—and I refer to you here, Senator Kemp—of the $600 per child per annum increase—which you learnt from me when I repeated it over and over in the Senate—which the current Treasurer tried to claim was not real. The family payments were put on a firmer footing and overpayments were significantly reduced. The disability business sector was reformed and we saw the introduction of productivity based payments. We achieved increased assistance to carers and increases in respite for older carers, oversaw the signing of the reformed supported accommodation agreement with the states and, with the Attorney-General’s Department, established family relationship centres around Australia and a range of other measures focused on the importance of early childhood development. Many of the officers who worked with me went over and beyond the call of duty. I am indebted to them, and I wish I could thank them all individually. I acknowledge the professionalism and contribution of Todd Frew, Jane Halton and Jeff Harmer—they were outstanding.

I have had some of the best personal staff a senator or minister could ever wish for. I know they thought I was a tyrant about systems, the danger of thoughtless emails, the importance of proofreading and my hatred of split infinitives—but they all survived. With some, I have shared some memorable experiences. We have travelled throughout my home state of Victoria, been to the UN in New York and an OECD conference in Paris, seen aid projects in Cambodia and AusAID at work in Papua New Guinea and made many visits to remote Indigenous communities. We have shared the ups and downs and highs and lows of political life. To all of them go my thanks for their loyalty and friendship. It is not possible to mention them all but I know they will understand that I must acknowledge my personal assistant Lynne Barrow, who was with me in my previous job and who came with me to the Senate and remained with me until 2004. She is a great friend and can be very proud of the part she played in my role here in the Senate. Often when one announces one’s retirement, staff go off to greener pastures. I want to thank Barbara Richards, Cathy Hales and Rachael Forbes—Cathy and Rachael are here in the chamber—for their ongoing support and care and Merrilyn Johnston, Karen Browne and Rosemary Graham, who have only been with me a relatively short time but have been an important part of my team.

People say you do not make friends in politics, but I know this to be a myth. You can not be here for 20 years working with people like Margaret Reid, Jocelyn Newman, Amanda Vanstone and Sue Knowles and others like Fred Chaney and Robert Hill—I should note that, between us, the first four I mentioned and I chalked up over 100 years of Senate service—and not form lasting friendships. There are many others, both past and present, and in both chambers and on both sides, whom I can count as friends. I hope with modern technology I can maintain those friendships.

My 21 years in this place would not have been possible without the support of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party. Many branch members and members of the Women’s Council have encouraged and supported me since I first stood for preselection. It was Lorraine Elliott who was the one who first suggested I should think about standing for the Senate. She has been there with me through the highs and lows, and I thank her for her unconditional friendship.

I want to thank those battalions of branch members who have worked in fundraising, manning booths and information centres—people like Betty Johns, who in her 80s still believes so strongly in the principles of the Liberal Party that she continues to work tirelessly. It is to people like her, Lyn and Don Jewell and others in the party that I owe a great debt of gratitude. They do all the hard work, and I have been one of the beneficiaries of their selfless commitment.

As I said earlier, not everyone has the privilege of a valedictory speech, and I count myself blessed that I am leaving this place at a time of my choosing. Having said that one’s maiden speech and one’s valedictory are like bookends of one’s time in this place, I looked back at my first speech last week and it brought home the truth of that saying that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Things have changed. When I entered this place, I had a typewriter with a four-page memory, two IBM ball typewriters and no fax, and I shared a photocopier in Old Customs House with six others. I did, however, have my own Macintosh with cardboard covered floppy discs.

The demands of the job have increased exponentially over the 21 years—emails, mobile phones and 10 or more news cycles a day have increased the pressure on members of parliament. If I have a message for those staying here and those entering the Senate on 1 July—and I pay particular tribute here to Helen Kroger and Scott Ryan, who will be following Senator Kemp and me into this place—it is that it is important to work hard but it is also important not to neglect family and friends. Little was I to know that my father’s life would bookend my Senate term. I was sworn in on his birthday on 14 September 1987 and, just over a week ago, I gave what was my last speech in public as a senator when I gave the eulogy at his funeral. Nor was I to know in 1987 that my neither my mother nor my soul mate and confidant, Professor Eric Glasgow AO, would not be there to share in the excitement of my being sworn in as only the eighth woman ever to serve in cabinet.

The greatest legacy Eric could have left me was the host of friends and former students he taught and cared for, and they in turn have been my mainstay. My thanks go to them for their love and concern, especially the Gurney/Beale, Beattie, Atkins, Lindquist, Homewood, McArdle and Bare families. So many friends have included me in their families and have been great backstops during my time here. I cannot omit the wonderful extended Downing/Cumming family, and I cannot omit saying just how much all those Sunday dinners have meant to me. Friends like Heather Cathcart, Gillian Edwards, Nan Brogan and Sue and Rod Viney are rare. They have been there whenever I needed them, and they deserve a special mention.

I am looking forward to spending much more time with my family: my fantastic young brothers, Steven and Andrew, and their wives, Justine and Maria, and the little Pattersons—David and Isobel, who I think might be listening tonight, and William, who is in Thailand. Aunty Kay will not need to rush in and rush out when she visits Sydney as much anymore.

I mentioned in my maiden speech that I applied a number of tests to the Australian economy and compared it with other developed countries. We were not doing very well. One of my goals on entering this place was to work to ensure that young people had the sort of opportunities I had when I was starting out in life. I am proud of what we have been able to do through the limited opportunities of opposition and then through the past almost 12 years in government. Australia is in a much better position than it was in 1987. However, the job is never ending and we still need to improve our balance of payments, encourage the reduction of personal debt and keep downward pressure on inflation and interest rates.

As I said, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I mentioned in my maiden speech the challenge of an ageing population. I said ‘the baby boom was going through its corporate mid-life crisis’ and said that may have explained the pressure on superannuation issues. That same baby boom, the first of whom are entering their early 60s, will involve increased pressures, for example, on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. I have tried not to be too political up to this point, but it galls me to hear the current government say that we are not fiscally responsible. Where was the then opposition when I, as health minister, wanted to make the PBS more sustainable? I remember how they opposed an increase in the indexation of the PBS co-payment. We finally got it through, and it is now on a firmer footing and also there is greater intra- and intergenerational fairness, but it needs constant attention.

While I am letting off a little bit of steam, I have never forgiven the opposition for waging an unconscionable campaign against our policy of having an ingoing or bond for nursing homes. In opposition we supported that policy for hostels. I would remind my colleagues and the public that the challenges the current government now confronts, with difficulties being faced by nursing home providers, is partly of its own making. Also, I still do not understand why the Labor opposition opposed bills I introduced over two parliaments to eliminate the compulsory retirement age in the Public Service. I am so glad we were able to eliminate it in government. I have seen firsthand some women, in particular, well into their 60s, who have been able to go back and work in the Public Service. It will behove both government and opposition to keep their eyes on the benefits and challenges that increased longevity and an ageing population brings and will continue to bring—and I declare an interest in that at the moment.

I hope we will continue to see surplus budgets and I hope that emphasis on both sides of politics will be placed on ensuring that we continue to do more for people with disabilities. Former Senator Jocelyn Newman introduced, for the first time, a carers payment for people caring for a child or children under 16 with a profound disability. It was quite restricted, because at that time we were trying to pay back $96 billion of debt. I acknowledge that the current government plans to extend this measure. Despite needing tweaking—and I am sure the Senate inquiry will recommend appropriate changes—the Special Disability Trust measure has made a difference to a small number of people and, hopefully, there will be more. But for those it has assisted I know from personal contact I have had that it has been one of the most significant things that has happened to assist them in providing for their adult sons and daughters.

However, one of my greatest regrets is that, as yet, we do not have a scheme which assists people with a disability, irrespective of how their disability was acquired. It seems unfair that some are able to sue successfully and may have millions of dollars to assist them, while others, where there is no-one to blame, have less than adequate help. Both the Commonwealth and the states, especially, need to do more. Vigilance is required to ensure that the voices of those policymakers and others, promulgating fads and fashions, do not speak louder than the voices of those people with disabilities, their parents and carers who know better what is best for them and their loved ones.

Mr President, when this Parliament House was opened—I do not suppose you can call it the new Parliament House anymore—by Sir Ninian Stephen, he said, and I will paraphrase to save time: ‘Australia, Britain, USA, Canada and only two of all the nations of Europe can count an uninterrupted span of over 87’—now 107—‘years of democratic government, years of governments which have come to power by the free vote of people and which have at all times held themselves effectively accountable to the people.’ I hope you noticed that I did not split an infinitive! His comments remind all of us that democracy is fragile. When pressure is put on members of parties always to agree, and, when they do not, it is portrayed as division and disunity rather than healthy debate; when party discipline is so tight that one is expelled, as has occurred in the Labor Party; when, as has occurred in the Liberal Party, given the treatment in the press, people are now very unlikely to cross the floor—the examples that Senator Watson gave of the number of times people used to cross the floor highlights that; when, in the matter of a conscience vote, people’s preselection is threatened or indeed taken away if they do not vote a certain way; when politicians do not discern when the role of a politician and the role of a parliamentarian begins and ends; and when the behaviour of any of us is such that it diminishes the standing of the body corporate of politicians, then we increase the fragility of our longstanding and precious democratic process.

Before closing, may I wish all my colleagues who are leaving the Senate with me all the best. May your postparliamentary life be challenging and rewarding. And for those staying, I wish you all the best in your time in this place. It is a great honour and one of the most significant and important ways in which one can serve our nation and the people of Australia. Mr President, I said in my maiden speech:

I hope that the trust—

of the people of Victoria, whom I have had the great honour of representing—

… will be justified by my service to them and my performance in this chamber and in the various committees of this Parliament.

It is for others to judge.  I hope it has.