Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

A lot has been said about your fairness in applying rulings. Can I say, as a member of the crossbench, I certainly felt at every stage that applied to us as well and it applied to me. I hope you'll take this in the spirit in which it's intended: I felt that, when you did me over, I always understood why. And, if I didn't, you'd explain it to me. There certainly has been a strong sense, speaking on my own behalf, that we could rely on you acting predictably and following the rules. In the context of a growing crossbench and tied votes and votes that have gone against the way that governments have wanted—and that might happen more often from time to time—being able to rely on that was critical.

I think, if I can say it in this speech, perhaps not enough has been said of your wit, and it has certainly made time go faster here on those days when it has dragged. I've seen some speakers before, and we've had some speakers that were funny. I'm not sure they were trying to be. But I think you have always managed to make the debate more robust through your humour and through your wit, and I just wanted to acknowledge that.

One other matter that certainly made a difference to me as a local member has been your commitment to education and parliamentary education, especially amongst schools. I know that a couple of schools in my electorate have benefited greatly from your intervention and your office's willingness to come and help and support them while they were up here or to get them up here. If you've done that for me, I suspect you've done that for many others across the chamber as well. I think there are a lot of people across this country who are very, very grateful for you extending your support on that.

Lastly, if I could ask a final question of you, Mr Speaker, I ask you to convey to your staff, certainly on behalf of me and, I expect, on behalf of many members of the crossbench as well, thanks for their willingness and openness to engage with us, especially in the context, as I said, where parliaments are used to operating in a certain way. With a growing crossbench, I know that throws up questions that speakers in particular and others have to deal with. They've always been open and willing to engage and they've allowed us to have access to you, and that has, I think, made this place operate far better and far more democratically. So could I ask you to convey to your staff our sincere thanks for all their work over the years.

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