Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, wish to congratulate Graham Tuckwell on his extraordinary act of philanthropy. Fifty million dollars to fund scholarships for people who might otherwise be unable to attend one of our finest universities is a truly remarkable gift to our nation. I believe this would be the largest ever philanthropic donation in Australia's history—certainly in education—and an absolutely massive contribution. Let us hope that the extraordinary example of Mr Tuckwell and his family is contagious amongst other Australians with the means to be as generous as they can be to worthy causes.

It would be a very different press gallery without Michelle Grattan, but fortunately she is not leaving the press gallery. She may be leaving Fairfax—and I have to say that I think it will be Fairfax's loss to lose Michelle Grattan—but she is not leaving the press gallery. Instead, she will be bringing online journalism to the press gallery in a big way. I think Michelle's presence as the greatest online journalist of the press gallery will certainly enhance the standing of online journalism in the days and weeks and months ahead.

Michelle is rightly acclaimed as a legend. Everyone who has ever been in this place has come to know Michelle. She is the epitome of professionalism. She is an absolute stickler for accuracy. But the great thing about Michelle is that she is a terrific human being. She is the toughest journalist you will ever encounter, but, while she has a very tough mind, a mind like a steel trap, she has a warm and generous heart. Anyone who has children who comes across her knows of Michelle's affection for kids and the respect and the love that she has for families. So I think we can all be grateful that we are going to be seeing a lot of Michelle in the years ahead and that her departure from Fairfax certainly does not mean her departure from the press gallery or this building.

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