Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Hansard source

Tonight, I stand to pay a tribute to an outstanding member of parliament—one of the greatest orators of our time—and that is the Hon. Michael Hodgman QC, MP. Michael Hodgman has had an extraordinarily long parliamentary career. He was a member of the legislative council for the division of Huon in Tasmania from 1966 to 1974. He was a member of the House of Representatives for the federal division of Denison from 1975 to 1987, and a member of the House of Assembly for the state division of Denison from 1992 to 1998, and also since 2001.

Tonight is an opportunity for me to pay a tribute on behalf of many Tasmanians and certainly for me to speak for—and with the support of—the Tasmanian Liberal Senate team, and to note the tremendous tribute dinner to the Hon. Michael Hodgman QC, MP held last Friday in Hobart.

Michael Hodgman QC, MP was first elected on 14 May 1966 for the electorate of Huon as a legislative councillor. As an independent, he was re-elected unopposed in 1972. He resigned as a member for Huon in 1974 to contest the federal election of Denison. On 13 December 1975, he was elected as the Liberal member for Denison in the House of Representatives and re-elected as the Liberal federal member for Denison in 1977, 1980, 1983 and 1984. He was defeated on 11 July 1987, when the electoral boundaries dramatically changed under the Hawke Labor government.

On 1 February 1992, he was elected as the Liberal state member for Denison in the House of Assembly. He was re-elected as the Liberal member for Denison in the 1996 state election. He was defeated on 29 August 1998, when the House of Assembly was reduced from 35 to 25 seats. He was re-elected as the Liberal member for Denison in the House of Assembly by-election on 21 August 2001, re-elected again on 20 July 2002 and re-elected again on 18 March 2006.

He was certainly larger than life. The Mercury editorial on Friday, 20 November 2009 had this to say about Michael Hodgman:

He also became known for sticking up for the battler. He is at ease mingling with all types and often uses his die-hard support for Geelong in the AFL to start conversations.