John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too speak in support of this motion of condolence on the death of Senator Judith Adams. A condolence motion for a serving senator is, thankfully, a rare event in this chamber. I certainly understand that for those who shared a friendship or party allegiance or worked closely with Judith Adams this debate is a particularly difficult one. But this afternoon, as a former Minister for Defence, I wanted to acknowledge, as many speakers have in this condolence debate, Judith Adams's genuine interest in defence issues and her strong support for Australian Defence Force personnel.

One example I recall of Judith's involvement with Defence was the warm friendship she developed with the officers and crew of HMAS Arunta which stemmed from an official visit to the ship at Albany on Anzac Day 2009. A few months later Judith was a guest on board Arunta while the ship was conducting trials in Cockburn Sound. Judith had embarked on the ship's rigid hull inflatable boat—inevitably in Defence there is an acronym for that, and it is RHIB—and she had done so to witness the operations at closer hand. This was by no means her first experience on one of the Navy's RHIBs but on this occasion while the RHIB was operating in the vicinity of Arunta Judith fell heavily on the deck and hurt her arm. By the time as defence minister I was formally briefed about the incident it was clear in fact that Judith had broken her arm and was having a short stay in Rockingham Hospital. I gave her a call just to see how she was going, and I must say that she seemed very, very perplexed, if not amazed, that the minister would have been told about something she thought was such a minor mishap. But I was able to inform her that this was standard operating procedure in Defence and that of course defence people were all concerned about her wellbeing.

Needless to say, Judith was undeterred by all that. I am very pleased to say, as I think senators are well aware, that for the remainder of her life she maintained a close and genuine relationship with Defence and its people, and was actively involved in defence issues. It also goes without saying that Defence finds such interest and commit­ment from parliamentarians gratifying.

All this and so many more of Judith's Senate responsibilities were being fulfilled as she fought a very personal battle against cancer. We have heard today how she fought that battle with dignity and courage to the end. I join with other colleagues in express­ing my sincere condolences to Judith Adams's family, her friends and her colleagues. The Senate is poorer for her passing.