Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I've just some brief remarks, as you've requested. Can I join with the fine words of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in wishing you well and thanking you for your service to this parliament and for the sacrifice that you've made in your service to this parliament.

Mr Speaker, wisely, you've delivered your words not as a ruling to the parliament but merely as a statement, because, although I've only been in this job a short period of time as Leader of the House, I would be otherwise inclined to move a dissent to your ruling. I'm sure there would be a unanimous position across the parliament to send whatever message we could to you to say that you will be sadly missed and that it is certainly the desire of this parliament, in any other circumstance, for you to continue on.

Mr Speaker, I consider you a dear friend. We were flatmates 20 years ago, having come into the parliament in 2001—a long time ago. The way in which you have conducted your affairs over that period of time has been reflected publicly over the course of the last six years but was obvious to all of us from the first day that we met you. It has been, in my experience, the case for this House that we have not had a better Speaker over the course of those two decades, and that is a great tribute to your intellect and skills and the capacity that you've brought to the position.

I think the obvious statement is: it's a tough job. There's no question about that. But the grace that you've demonstrated from that chair is recognised by us all. We'll have more comments to make in relation to your service to this parliament when we come back in a couple of weeks, as was pointed out before. But, if you had to script to the end to what has been a graceful period of your service as Speaker—a class act—you couldn't really script a closing chapter more perfectly than this. The desire for you to step down from that chair and to represent the interests, in a very genuine way, of the people who have elected you—and I know that you're someone who takes that very seriously, it's a solemn honour to be in this place as a member of parliament, as a parliamentarian, as the Leader of the Opposition pointed out—and that you would give the closing chapter to them, I think, says a lot about you and about the class that you've brought to the position of Speaker.

I can't embellish, Mr Speaker, because I know that it will have no influence on you at all in question time, which is almost upon us, or over your ensuing days in that chair. I wish you every success in the next stage of life and we'll make further comments in due course. Thank you.

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