Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Government in the Senate for his courtesy in allowing me to speak first. Whereas the Senate farewells another three senators in today's valedictories, the coalition farewells three genuine heroes in the cause of liberalism. I thank their friends and families for lending them to the service of our nation, their state and their party. Political life is often surreal and has aspects associated with it that we as participants find uncomfortable. Our close friends and family often suffer collateral damage, which makes their support all the more precious to us. I know that to be the case for the three coalition senators we salute tonight. Their three speeches, whilst distinctly different, showcased the quality that we will lose.

If the coalition were to salute Senator Minchin, it would need to be with a 21-gun salute. Senator Minchin, in his understated yet powerfully convincing way, has been a great Senate leader for the coalition, especially in the dark days of transitioning from government to opposition. His steady hand, his sense of purpose and his unwavering commitment to the cause of the nation have been just some of the qualities that endeared him to his colleagues and earned him the respect of his opponents. Relatively early in my time here, namely 1996, Senator Minchin and I worked together on trying to resolve native title issues after the High Court's adventurous decision in the Wik case, which unwittingly helped the rise of One Nation. I was the newly appointed chair of the Joint Native Title and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund Committee and Senator Minchin the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister assisting in matters native title. It was in these interactions that I first saw Senator Minchin's fine mind, principles and pragmatism at work. The ILUAs, or Indigenous land use agreements, paved the way to absorbing the heat from many of the potential disputes. The resolution of the issues and their passage through the parliament was a great victory for our country, for common sense and, above all, for Indigenous communities.

As Senator Minchin's deputy I got an apprenticeship for which I am extremely grateful. His cool thinking in difficult times was inspirational. Without revisiting in any detail the difficult days of November 2009, I can vouch that they will be etched in my memory forever—to the day both Senator Minchin and I resigned from the front bench, thinking we would both be on the back bench together. Instead, today, I find myself as Senator Minchin's successor after his heart-wrenching decision to retire in circumstances we as parents hope never to find ourselves in. In political terms, Senator Minchin and I were true philosophical soul mates, be it as federalists—or, as Bert Kelly liked, free traders—or as supporters of the family unit or voluntary voting.

The list goes on, and as it does the more I know I will miss Senator Minchin in this place. But just in case those listening in think Senator Minchin was ideologically pure at all times, let me remind them of his one blind spot in relation to economic rationalism, and that was the South Aust­ralian car industry. He also supports New South Wales in the rugby, and I recall one evening watching a game in Brisbane with our dear friend Santo Santoro. In this huge sea of maroon, there was this one blue rugby jumper, worn by Senator Minchin. It was only out of our deference to his leadership that we allowed him to walk out in front. We stayed well behind.

Senator Minchin also had this bizarre view—and he made mention of this in his first speech—that the Liberal Party somehow favours state presidents over state directors.