Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

I will not take long because I know that other members want to speak. There are three other things I want to touch on. The first is an update on the status of the drought buses. Again, it is not necessary for you to do it now, but I am keen to get an update on the status of the drought buses—whether they are still operating. They were very important, particularly in the remote communities, and particularly for the women in those communities because the men were often far too proud to raise the issue of needing help. The drought buses were reach-out facilities. They also had the capacity over the longer term to be emergency service providers. One of the challenges we had in Innisfail when the cyclone hit was getting information out and services up there in a timely fashion. So I am keen to find out about the status of the drought buses.

Finally, if I can indulge for a little bit, I would like to place on record my appreciation to Jeff Whalan for his outstanding work as chief executive of Centrelink. When I became the first Minister for Human Services and created the department, we had to make some changes. Moving Jeff from Medicare—as it was the HIC—into Centrelink was a significant task. But Jeff Whalan is one of the most outstanding professional public servants I have ever dealt with. He is a man of immense integrity. He is a genuinely hard-working, loyal and incredibly well-intentioned individual. He won the respect of everyone across the Public Service and I think it is to the loss of the Australian people that Jeff Whalan is retiring as chief executive of Centrelink. It is one of the most difficult jobs in the government.

Matt Miller in the Child Support Agency is doing a fantastic job. That is an incredibly difficult job. Cathy Argall had the position before him and did a very good job at that time as well—now the head of Medicare. I found the human services department itself to be a very good department. It is a very small department with limited resources, but the staff are doing a very good job in very difficult circumstances, particularly when they do not drive a lot of the change. The change comes out of the policy departments. The capacity of Human Services and the agencies to respond to changing policy and to give full and frank advice on the policy meant that the policy was delivered in a far more timely and professional manner. So I really do want to place on record my personal appreciation to Jeff Whalan, who is retiring, and also the appreciation of not just the opposition but also the government and everyone else who recognises that Jeff Whalan is one of the most outstanding public servants we have seen in Canberra for a very long period of time. We wish him and his family all the very best in the future.

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