Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to my coalition Senate colleagues who, Cinderella-like, will be transformed at the stroke of midnight on 30 June. I begin by acknowledging the service of Senator Sandy Macdonald, Senator Grant Chapman, Senator Ross Lightfoot and Senator John Watson. Between them, they have given an extraordinary 81 years of parliamentary service to the people of Australia. But I must single out Senator Watson, who holds the honour of being the father of the Senate, with his 30 years of dedicated service. He has been the very model of a legislator. I think in Senator Watson’s chest beats the heart of a United States senator, such is his commitment to hold governments to account—not least his own. Senator Watson is a grand and wise senator.

But I particularly want to pay tribute this evening to my close colleagues and friends, fellow Victorians, Senator Kemp and Senator Patterson. Senator Kemp comes from a great political family, a civic minded family—not a dynasty, but a family with a deep commitment to ideas and to public service. Rod has served the community in this place and outside in the same dedicated manner as his brother and father. The Australian of 27 March 1990 heralded the arrival of Rod Kemp and his brother David in Canberra as ‘what many people consider a new force in Australian politics’. The article went on to describe Rod, David and others, such as Peter Costello, as:

... the intellectually able, articulate, committed candidates the Liberals need in Canberra to win government ... they would blow into the national capital as a crackling dry wind of new rationale.

Rod came to the Senate after seven years at the Institute of Public Affairs, where his commitment to ideas was very much on display.

Rod, as he is known, also served as both a senior frontbencher in opposition and as an opposition staffer to former Senator Dame Margaret Guilfoyle and to the Hon. Andrew Sharp Peacock. Senator Kemp can list numerous achievements over his parliamentary and ministerial career, but I think he will be remembered best for two of his more prominent roles: firstly, as Assistant Treasurer and the part that he played in shepherding the GST through the Senate. I was working for a former treasurer at the time and took a very close interest in the work of Senator Kemp. Senator Kemp fronted up to question time each day and fielded a regular barrage of probes on the intricacies and obscurities of the new tax system. He acquitted himself magnificently. Indeed, he answered some 379 questions without notice on the GST and the new tax system. This amounted to a little under half of the 808 answers he gave to the Senate as Assistant Treasurer.

As a staffer I also used to delight in watching Rod answer questions—or not, as the case may be—from Senator Sherry in the context of the now defunct super surcharge. Time and again Senator Sherry would ask Rod what the difference was between a tax and a surcharge. Senator Kemp took great pleasure in assisting Senator Sherry understand the difference, going to great lengths. I think the answer which typifies Rod’s service as a minister and service to advancing the cause of providing answers to opposition senators was:

Senator Sherry, a tax is a tax; a surcharge is a surcharge.

You could not be clearer than that.