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

Well, I think no-one would deny that. It is important on behalf of the Labor Party to indicate our best wishes for all those who are leaving. It is the case that we are much more generous in your last days than we were during your whole career. That is one of the things we all note here—that no-one ever says anything nice about you until you are finished and on your way out the door. But I think it is true in the Senate that we do develop personal relations across the chamber and learn about people’s capabilities and contributions, perhaps in a more fundamental way than you do in other chambers. The committee work and those things help build those sorts of relationships. So the Labor Party wishes to express its best wishes to all the retiring coalition senators, acknowledge their contribution and hope that their post-Senate life is productive and rewarding.