Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Senate. Colleagues, this week is the final sitting week for a staff member who is well known to many of you, Mr Anton van Bavel. I think he's well known to most people across the chamber. Anton loves the Sturt Football Club, he loves American political history and he loves Australian election statistics, but most of all he loves the Australian Senate—its procedures, its intricacies, its traditions. Anton respects this institution deeply. Like me, he understands what it brings to our democracy. And, while he might have been my adviser, his first instinct has always been to protect the dignity of the Senate, and partisanship comes second. He is an example to everyone in this place.

Anton's respect and passion for the Senate started early. He tells me that, as a child, he listened to Senate debates on what was then the ABC Parliamentary News Network. Anton has absorbed both the knowledge and the philosophy of the great Senate clerks Harry Evans and Rosemary Laing, and he knows more about both the character and the workings of the Senate than anyone I know—except perhaps Mr Pye. Senators, particularly Labor but also others, have benefited from this knowledge. I personally have benefited greatly from his knowledge and his loyalty over some, in total, 16 years of service.

So this is the end of an era. I want to thank, publicly and in this place that matters so much to him, Anton for the sacrifices it takes to do this work, for his dedication to his craft and for his commitment to serving our nation. Anton, you go with my affection and my best wishes for life beyond this place.