Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to be able to stand here today in this chamber and pay tribute to Kevin Rudd, somebody who I believe is one of the finest prime ministers that Australia has ever had. From the perspective of a Labor member of this parliament, when he led Labor to victory in 2007 I would have to say that that was one of the most exciting moments of my political career. It felt as if a veil had been lifted from our society here in Australia and that as a nation we were regenerating. We were a country that had ideas, we were a country that had a hope and we were a country that was looking to the future. I think that great excitement, hope and joie de vivre was really generated to a large extent by Kevin Rudd and the victory that we enjoyed in 2007.

Following that, we had the apology to the stolen generation. I would without a doubt say that was the most moving time that I have had in this parliament. It made me proud to be a member of parliament. I was proud to stand there with members from both sides of this House as the apology was given to the stolen generation. I still remember very vividly looking up to the press gallery and seeing a young Indigenous journalist. As the apology was delivered, he jumped in the air. He cheered. He had tears running down his face. If you looked around the gallery you could see the raw emotion that existed in the House as that apology was delivered. It was something that was long overdue.

I know many members in this House and past members were involved with the Sorry Day. I walked across the bridge on Sorry Day. As I crossed the bridge, I spoke to three young girls who came from Taree. They were so excited. They said to me, 'This is the third time we have walked across the bridge and we are going back to do it again.' I think the apology was the culmination of that Sorry Day, something that had been building and building for a very long time. And it took a person like Kevin Rudd, a person who could grasp that momentum, to actually deliver that apology and bring us all with him.

The other thing that is quite often forgotten is the apology to the forgotten generation, the British children who were brought to Australia as migrants. I have met and spoken to many of them, some of them in my own electorate. They were so emotional about that apology, as were those people covered by that apology who grew up in orphanages and institutions. Those were two really significant apologies that changed the face of our country and changed the lives of those people that those apologies were directed to. That would not have happened when it did without Kevin Rudd.

Kevin has a unique ability to connect to people. Australians love and identify with Kevin Rudd. As a Prime Minister, he was able to listen to what people were saying to him and then actually move towards bringing that to a reality.

One of the first things that Labor caucus was given as a challenge after the 2007 election was that we were to visit a centre or organisation which worked with homeless people. We all went out and learnt of the issues that confronted the homeless on a daily basis. Then we had to come back to report to caucus. Once again, I think that showed the unique quality of Kevin. We were not just sitting down and reading books about homelessness; we were actually connecting with homeless people and understanding how it affected their lives.

The member for Fremantle spoke about foreign aid and the work Kevin did on foreign affairs. He was the person who started the push for a seat on the UN Security Council. While many on the other side may not agree with the action taken in the global financial crisis, I know that it made a real difference on the ground in my electorate. I have heard people on the other side criticise the money that was spent in schools and in the enormous infrastructure programs. On the other hand, I had employers coming to my office, employers who have always voted Liberal, who said to me that, but for the actions of Kevin Rudd and the Labor government in 2008-09, they would have lost everything. Providing that work in schools was their savour. Once again it was his forward thinking, his ability to look at a problem and develop a strategy, to work towards a resolution that really did save Australia. Despite what those on the other side might say, Australia did come through the global financial crisis better than any other country.

Under Kevin we have undergone enormous party reform. Since his election, we have changed the way we elect our leader. This has shown what a democratic party the Labor Party is. Members of the Labor Party now feel they can have a say in who should lead their party. It gives a new value to Labor Party membership. You are not just a member of the Labor Party handing out on election day. As a member of the Labor Party, you can vote to choose who leads your party federally. Once again, this would not have happened without Kevin Rudd. I think that is just the start of many more reforms which we will see in the Labor Party.

Every Australian should be proud to have had Kevin Rudd as prime minister. He delivered much to our nation. As has already been said, he will be studied throughout history and I am sure that the place reserved for him will be very special, one where all his attributes are touched on. Everybody has touched on something a little different. Kevin Rudd is a man of enormous empathy, a man who gives his all and a man who is now going to spend more time with his family, but at the same time a man who has established goals, with the establishment of the indigenous foundation, with continuing his involvement with homelessness and with organ donation. These are all very important to Kevin Rudd and really epitomise the person he is. Thank you, Kevin. I have appreciated being in parliament with you and I have appreciated all you have given to the Australian people and to the Labor Party.

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