Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

Six people on our side of politics have given their valedictory speeches tonight—they have 114 years of Senate experience between them, which is quite significant. There is an enormous blend of personalities and interests and, in my two years here, I consider myself very fortunate to have interacted with all of them in different ways and I have relied on their advice and guidance. One thing that strikes me in saying these words tonight is that all of them—my colleagues—have given an enormous commitment and very distinguished service not just to their political party and not just to this chamber but to their colleagues, to their party, to their states and their country. Our democracy is much richer for having had their contribution, and I know that many of them are going to go on and contribute a great deal more in their post-Senate lives.

Briefly, I would like to touch upon my interaction with each of them tonight, and I would start with my South Australian colleague Grant Chapman. I start with Grant because I have known Grant longer than any of the other senators. Grant is somewhat of a legend in South Australian politics. His notoriety spans all kinds of fields. Some of it, though, is widely unknown to the broader public—that is, Grant’s contribution to organisations well outside of the public field. Grant and I have the privilege of being former students of Prince Alfred College.