Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

on indulgence—This is a speech I never wanted to make, because I wanted Chris Hayes to stay our whip and to stay in the parliament certainly for as long as I am here. I can't imagine the parliament without him.

Chris Hayes, our chief whip, described himself as just another middle aged white guy when he moved to his very multicultural electorate. I've got to say I am the first person to say that Chris Hayes is so much more than that. Chris Hayes is a completely decent person. You don't often meet that here in the parliament. You don't even often meet it in the outside world, but Chris Hayes is a completely decent man. When he moved into his electorate, he made fun of the fact he had to learn Vietnamese and Cantonese and that he was very entertaining for his constituents. Do you know what I've seen when I have worked with Chris in his electorate and visited his electorate? I have seen love and the deepest respect, because his community knows that he is a fighter for them, that he will stand up every time and make a case for better education services, better health care. He'll do the constituent work that is so necessary in a seat that is not only very multicultural but also has pockets of people who are really doing it tough. Everywhere you go with Chris Hayes he is welcomed with open arms and deep respect.

I'm very pleased that the leader of opposition business mentioned Chris's work against the death penalty. Quietly, relentlessly, at every opportunity, Chris Hayes has stood up against the death penalty. He has been extraordinarily brave in doing so in the Philippines, as the leader of opposition business mentioned. He's also quietly, at his own expense, with no fanfare, visited Australians on death row overseas not once but many times. Again and again he has been there for them and for their families, offering support and pastoral care literally to the very end. It takes a beautiful man to continue to do that.

The things that matter to Chris are family, faith and the Labor Party. I know that Bernadette will be so grateful to see more of him, as will his children, his beautiful grandchildren, his mum, who he is so very close to, and his brothers and others. Family matters to Chris. One of the things that is so beautiful about his family is that I think they influence his politics as much as he influences theirs. Chris, I think it's fair to say they have sometimes been on my side of the argument over the years! Chris is a man of deep Catholic faith. It is people like the new Pope and Chris Hayes who slowly draw me back towards the early years of the way I was raised. But Chris is not a man of ostentatious faith. He is a man who is guided every day by his deep Catholic faith to offer love, not judgement, to others.

And, of course, there is his deep love and loyalty to the Australian Labor Party. I know that not being in the parliament won't be a barrier to Chris's continued involvement in the Australian Labor Party. He'll be a Labor man until the day he dies, but we will miss him deeply.

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