Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I think the preselection of women did go down there for a while, but Senator Patterson, Senator Knowles and Senator Vanstone were all feisty. I have had pretty fair clashes with all three of them but have always maintained my respect for them. Senator Patterson and I in recent years have developed a better personal rapport, I think out of the fact that we had mutual friends who went through a difficult period. It reminded us all of a personal life and wider values than just the political contest. One of the contributions that Kay Patterson has made around this place, in addition to her very distinguished career and her time as a minister, is that she has always provided advice to senators about trying to keep a personal life, keep their friends and look after the people that are important to them in their lives. It has always been good advice to me, and I have always appreciated that from her.

That leads me to the point that no-one today in their farewell speech said that they regretted not spending enough time at work. I always find it a little sad when we repeatedly hear senators and others, in retiring from the parliament, talk about how little time they have had to contribute to their family and their home life. I think it is probably incumbent on us all to think about that before we retire. It is not a criticism of the other senators—it is one I share—but I think we do have to try and keep that in mind while we are in this place, not just as something we do after we leave. We ought to think about how our work and family balance is managed much more than we do.

The Liberal Party and the coalition are genuinely losing six very experienced senators. I think they will find that leaves a hole in their capability and experience for a while, but, as I said, it is probably a good time to go in the sense that, going back into opposition, there are hard yards. I think it would be harder to adjust to the new lifestyle that comes with being in opposition. I look at Senator Minchin—he looks like he has had a bit of trouble adjusting!