Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the honourable member for Fisher do take the chair of this House as Speaker.

It's an honour and a privilege to speak in favour of my friend the member for Fisher, Andrew Wallace. The member for Fisher is the son of Ian and Fay Wallace, a motor mechanic and a fabric importer. He was a trainee priest who became a carpenter and then a builder for 10 years before going to the bar and becoming Queensland's leading construction lawyer, practising for 16 years at the bar. He is husband to Leonie and the father of four adult daughters: Emma, Caroline, Rebecca and Sarah. One of the many things that COVID has robbed us of is the opportunity for family to be present on an occasion such as this, but I know his family will be watching these proceedings with justifiable pride.

The member for Fisher is a great advocate for his electorate, bringing the concerns of veterans, businesspeople, commuters and retirees to the attention of this House. Since his election in 2016, the member for Fisher has been a significant contributor to the business of the House. In the 45th and 46th parliaments, he has been among the most frequent contributors to debates in this place. He has served on many committees and represented the parliament in interparliamentary fora. He is an experienced committee chair. He's served as Chair of the House Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities, Chair of the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, Chair of the Defence Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, and Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Mental Health, where he has been a significant thought leader and change agent. And he is the chair of so many international parliamentary friendship groups that I once asked him if it was true that he is the chair of the parliament friends of Burkina Faso. In his committee work, the member for Fisher has a reputation for being collegiate and very hardworking, with a good sense of humour and an almost endless supply of dad jokes. He has been a member of the Speaker's panel for the last two years, and in this role he has demonstrated a good knowledge of the standing orders and has developed a reputation for being firm but fair.

The speakership is an ancient office dating back at least to 1377—a once-dangerous role. Seven Speakers lost their heads between 1394 and 1535. I can assure the House that, with his innate humility, the member for Fisher will not let the office go to his head. The Practice suggests that a Speaker should be a 'person of the highest calibre' with 'a deep-seated reverence for the institution of parliament' and 'a faith in democratic government'. The member for Fisher's reverence for and faith in parliament is evident in his maiden speech, where he reflected:

It is testament to our Australian egalitarian way of life that a once-carpenter and the son of a motor mechanic and fabric importer can come to serve the community in this place. In Australia, there are no class structures; there are no hereditary entitlements to sit in this place; there are business people, farmers, bankers, tradesmen, unionists and labourers, among many others, who are privileged to take their seats in this chamber. That is a privilege I hope I will never take for granted during the time that the people of Fisher trust me to represent them.

Andrew Wallace is a thoroughly clean-living man. He doesn't drink and he's against gambling. I have once, perhaps unkindly, referred to him in this place as 'the wowser-in-chief'! He is good fun, though. Like the member for Casey, he's also a revhead, albeit of a different sort. He can be seen riding his motorbike around Canberra and has ridden with the member for Wide Bay on more than one occasion from the Sunshine Coast to Parliament House.

The member for Fisher is very much his own man. He is a deep thinker and a true parliamentarian. In my view, he is one of the most decent people ever to set foot in this place. He has never lost that pastoral concern for his colleagues, and he is known for randomly calling people to do a mental health check-in.

The member for Casey has set a very high standard as Speaker of the House. He is a tough act to follow, but I believe the member for Fisher will serve this House with dignity, with good humour and with distinction in accordance with the traditions fostered by the member for Casey. It is with great pleasure that I nominate Andrew Wallace, the member for Fisher, to be the 31st Speaker of the House.

The Clerk: Is the motion seconded?

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