Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to contribute to this debate by associating myself with the remarks of colleagues who have commemorated the life and legacy of John Odin Wentworth Watson, a former senator from Tasmania. While I didn't have the opportunity to serve with him and missed that by quite a few years, I did have the great honour of observing the legendary John Watson, both as a member of our party in Tasmania and also as a staffer in this place. Seeing the man at work in the way that has been described by so many was truly a sight to behold. It was an amazing contribution he made over a period of time. As I said, having not worked with him as a senator but being able to see him at work in his home state of Tasmania on the ground, it was clear that he had quite the fire in his belly for community service. Much of that has been chronicled here. You talk to so many people, particularly in northern Tasmania, that have benefited from his work. You can see the mark that he left on his community, on his state, and why so many of the contributions today reflect on that so much.

As my Tasmanian colleagues would know, though, one thing that our party members will miss most and missed post 2008 was his publication of 'Dialogue', which was an immense document that came out at regular intervals for members. It's something that I know members of our party feel very let down by the current crop of Tasmanian Liberal senators not replicating, but that was an amazing piece of information that a senator who spent a lot of time away in Canberra was able to provide back to his membership, the people that sent him here, to Canberra, to be a senator from that state. Despite me only having an association with John Watson in the last decade of the three that he served in this place, he had no signs of slowing down. He was still going at full pace. As his daughter Rosemary said in some notes she provided to my colleagues and me and comments she'd made on her father's passing, 'He had two speeds, go and stop, and it was mostly go.' I think that's evidenced by the comments that have been made there.

In Tassie you'd see him at community events. You'd see him at school assemblies. He'd be representing his community and taking on issues on their behalf. He'd be doing the same for statewide issues here on a regular basis, threatening to cross the floor and often crossing the floor in the interests of our state—I think that is something that meant he was truly a senator in the traditional sense—but also on behalf of the individuals that would go to him and seek help. He would not turn his back or close his door on anyone who was seeking help. We saw that in his pre-Senate days, as has been outlined here, but it was certainly in his time as a senator.

In the notes that Rosemary, his daughter, provided to us, at the end of his time as a senator he was recognised by the Investment & Financial Services Association with an industry excellence award. When the award was presented the chair of that body, David Deverall, said: 'Former senator John Watson is readily acknowledged by all and sundry as the quintessential quiet achiever. John devoted many years to strengthening Australia's financial regulatory framework and superannuation system with his attention to detail and forensic analysis.' Because, as Senator Richard Colbeck said just a moment ago, three decades in the Senate wasn't enough, he went and ran for local government, which I would argue is a harder level of government to work in, particularly in Tasmania where you are in the sights of many. He did five years on the West Tamar Council.

John Watson's achievements in this place are many, and his legacy is immense, as you can hear today. Many Tasmanians and indeed Australians have benefitted from his hard work, his efforts and his commitment to public service. But his legacy for those of us in this chamber today and those who'll come beyond is to be reminded by this. It doesn't matter what seat you occupy in this chamber, whether you're in government or opposition, whether you're on the frontbench or the backbench, there's so much you can achieve. Senator Watson wasn't a frontbencher for long at all. Yes, he might have been in government for periods of time, but some of his greatest achievements, as we've talked about here today, came from his time as an opposition senator. I think that is truly something to reflect upon as we go about our jobs here; it's certainly something I will.

In closing, I do want to reflect on his time as a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Audit. I'm not a numbers person, and I never will be. John Watson was, can I tell you, and as was pointed out earlier, and as John's daughter, Rosemary, provided in some documentation to us here, presented with a certificate for his long service on that committee. In the certificate it says he was a member for 27 years, one month and nine days. I worked out, if my maths is not off, that that is 10,911 days. I did that committee for 79 days, and that was more than enough! So I say thank God for people like John Watson, who have made the contribution they have and made Australia a better place. Vale, John Watson.

Question agreed to, honourable senators joining in a moment of silence.