Senate debates

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Parliamentary Representation

Valedictory

6:05 pm

Photo of Penny WongPenny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise as Leader of the Opposition to regretfully farewell four of my colleagues, four of our Labor team who we will all miss greatly. It is not possible in the time frame to do justice to the length and quality of service that is departing at the conclusion this term, nor is it possible to follow up Senator Stephens's contribution and look reasonable so I shall just add a few notes of comment.

First to Senator Tillem. As others have said Senator Tillem was appointed to the Senate in August last year. I do want to say that he has made an extremely valuable contribution even in the short time he has served in this place. I was struck by Senator Tillem's first speech which I thought was both thoughtful and moving. He spoke very movingly of multiculturalism and diversity, a great contribution to this chamber but also to public debate. In a place like Parliament House, Canberra, which is not unknown for people having a bit of ego, he is also a senator who is often unassuming and quiet, and he has demonstrated a real professionalism and willingness to learn and apply himself in the time he has been here. He also has been an enrichment to the cultural diversity of this chamber and this parliament, which is always welcome.

As he said, he claims his place in history as the first person of Turkish origin to serve in the Australian parliament and the first Muslim member of the Senate. His is a story that should be at home in today's Australia—certainly at home in the Australian Labor Party—given his background of his family's migration from Turkey, his parents' working in factories and living in public accommodation in Melbourne. A man from such humble origins who has risen to become a member of the Australian Senate is a testament to the aspiration of egalitarianism in the Australian democracy. I hope he returns one day to this place, and I say to my colleagues in Victoria that, if the Victorian branch of the ALP and the Victorian people re-endorse him in any capacity, I certainly would look forward to welcoming him back to Labor's parliamentary team.

I turn now to Senator Thorp, who also has only been in this place a short time but has had a much longer career representing Tasmanians. She has, as she said in her speech, substantial prior service, having served in the Tasmanian Legislative Council from 1999 to 2011. This is a substantial period of service, both on the back bench and, of course, as a minister. She brought important experience to the Australian Senate from that work. But what I want to emphasise is that Senator Thorp's life experiences, coming from a working class family and as a high school teacher and a teacher of young women from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensured that she came to this chamber not only as an advocate for Tasmania—and we heard some of that in her speech—but also as someone who understands the role that poverty, disadvantage and family dysfunction play in preventing people from reaching their potential.

She spoke in her speech about those who are not blessed and about the need for government to do what we must do to ensure people can rise above their circumstances. She is a passionate advocate for social justice and a passionate advocate and worker against inequality, and she spoke in her contribution tonight about the effect of inequality on community, on society and, of course, on our economy. It is disappointing for us that we lose her experience at a time when we are fighting a budget which, I think, has inequality at its heart. We certainly thank her for her contribution to the Senate and we wish her well for the future.

I turn now to my friend and colleague Louise Pratt, who enjoys the distinction of having arrived here to find Labor in government. As she said, she took her place here from 1 July 2008, bringing with her her experience as a member of the Legislative Council in Western Australia. I understand—I did not know this until I looked in more detail at her career—that she was one of the youngest members of the Legislative Council in Western Australian history. She was 29 years old when she was elected. We have talked previously about how hard life is for Western Australian politicians, and you have to say that, given the travel and stresses and strains, some might look at Senator Pratt's decision to leave the Western Australian parliament to come to Canberra as being a pretty tough decision, but we are very glad that she did. In the term that Senator Pratt has served, she has made a deeply valued contribution to the work of the ALP and to the Senate. She currently serves on the front bench. She has performed valuable work in committees. Her reflections tonight on democracy, on the economy and on egalitarianism reflect her values.

But perhaps the most significant area of her advocacy has been in the area of discrimination, particularly where it concerns LGBTI Australians. She reminded us again tonight of the powerful principle of equality, and I want to say this in this place: we all know that being different is never easy, but being gay in this parliament and open about it is certainly not easy; it takes a degree of courage, and I thank her for that. As I said, she made an enormous contribution in her advocacy for equality. I would commend those who wish to to look at her contribution on the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Bill 2013 in this place last year where she spoke of the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex Australians and the fact that it was unbelievable that those Australians could still be legally discriminated against under Commonwealth law. She also spoke about the important reforms that the Labor government had introduced, in which she played a part. The achievements of Labor in removing inequality when it comes to LGBTI Australians would not have been possible without the advocacy, support and courage of Senator Pratt. We thank her for that, and we wish her well as she prepares for the new arrival. I am sure that in the months ahead she will not have time to think about us at all.

Finally, Senator Stephens and I came into this place together. We were probably a little thinner and less grey—yes? I suspect she actually looks a lot better than I do, compared to when we came in. It is quite difficult to farewell someone with whom you were elected. I was thinking as you were speaking, Senator Stephens, about the training day that we had. I think you probably had been here before and I had not. I was thinking about how overwhelming it felt to learn about what it meant to be a senator and to stand up and be given a little motion to read and to learn all about that. So we have certainly, some would say, come a long way in that time.

Senator Stephens, at the conclusion of her speech, spoke about loving her life in the country and feeling part of the Goulburn community. If you look at her first speech on the chamber, she reminded us then that she was the only member of the parliament formally elected under the banner of Country Labor and how determined she was to give a voice to the many regional and rural communities that had been abandoned by the National Party—forgive me, I am quoting of course! Senator Stephens certainly has provided a direct voice for her community. Labor is poorer for her departure, and so is the Senate.

There are a number of things about Senator Stephens that I would like to remark upon, some of which were referenced in her speech. First, there is the work she has done over so many years, and in such depth, in relation to the third sector, the voluntary sector, which I think she described as 'those who work in the deepest darkest places'. She has made a great contribution to the nation and to Labor. She is a woman of compassion, as was demonstrated again tonight in her discussion of the situation confronting so many of the world's refugees. Markedly, she chose to speak to young women in her speech and invite and encourage more young women to seek a career in politics.

Senator Stephens is known for her love of literature and poetry. Her speech tonight went from Pericles to Dame Mary Gilmore and many others—I do not know that there are many members of the Senate who could give such a speech—and she ended in song, which was a lovely touch. She is a woman of principle and a woman of belief. She has real generosity of spirit and has brought real graciousness to her service in the Senate. I thank her for a service.

In closing, I thank my departing colleagues for their contribution. With apologies to Senator Tillem, we are saying goodbye to three feisty Labor women and we are a party that takes very seriously the importance of ensuring that we reflect the community in our representation. It is sad to see three strong women leaving these seats. Every senator who spoke tonight talked about the enormous privilege they have been given in serving as a Labor senator in this place. I think that says something about our party and about all of you. Thank you.

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