Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) | Hansard source

I'd like to associate myself with all the comments made by my colleagues here today in relation to this special and important condolence for a woman of strength and honour that many of us worked very closely with. Firstly, I just want to say to her family who are here today: we're thinking of you. This is always a difficult time. Thank you for being here and thank you for giving so much of your time to us and our parliament through the work and dedication that Trish gave to this place. No-one would ever say that Trish Crossin wasn't a hard worker. She was dedicated to this job like no other. She was a genuine person, a deeply genuine person. You always knew where you stood with Trish. I want to say to her Labor colleagues she was definitely a Labor stalwart through and through. She loved your party like it was her family, but she was aware that, in this place, in order to get things done, you had to work across party lines. Particularly in this chamber, you have to work across lines, so Trish, while always being the strong advocate for Labor, was prepared to listen to other people's points of view and to find that commonality, whether that was in working out recommendations for various reports or working through some of the difficult issues that we have from time to time, not just on the floor of the chamber but in our committee process.

I was very lucky to be able to work with Trish during her time as chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. At the time, I had two issues that were really in my sights. They were marriage equality, and, of course, Australia's immigration system and the treatment of refugees. Trish was so fabulous to work with because, despite political differences, we always found a way to make sure that the witnesses we both wanted to hear from were heard, there was respect in how the committee would operate and that, if we could come to an agreement, an arrangement and a compromise on recommendations and committee reports, we would. Trish always treated everybody with respect, with care and with kindness. But I don't want to suggest that she was soft, because she was not soft. There were times when Trish and I had some barnies. She was a bit of a hard arse at times, but she was always honest about it, always direct and did it with empathy and compassion.

Her work helping young women in particular in this place be able to manage the job and our families was really important. Her work to help establish the childcare centre is a legacy that should not be forgotten and is one that is so important today. When I came to this place as a young mum, Kora couldn't even walk when I first arrived. Trish was so supportive and just so lovely. I remember the day that Kora was thrown out of the chamber. Trish was one of the first people to come up to me and see if I was okay, because she knew how important it was for working mums to be able to care for their kids and do their job and have respect for the institution. I will never forget that.

Sorry, I didn't mean to get upset. There were some times in this place that there are people you meet who do have a real impact on how we get our job done: whether we can do it properly, whether we can think differently about ideas and whether we can find ways to collaborate. In that moment, Trish showed me that it didn't matter about the political differences; there was humanity in this place and, for mums in particular, we had to stick together. That is what she taught me.

Kate, I can see you sitting up there. You spent a long time in this building. I'm not sure I want my daughter working in politics, but I know that Trish was very proud of what you do and very proud of the work that she has done. I know you are as well. I won't take up any more time. But, as I said, most people come to this place wanting to contribute to their communities, and it comes with huge sacrifices for family. Trish knew that. She knew everybody else did that. She was prepared to give grace where grace was warranted and to call you out when that was deserved, as well. She was a genuine person and somebody this chamber should be very proud to have had as one of our serving colleagues and senators.