Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, can I convey my condolences, thoughts and prayers to Rod, Peta's family and friends, and also the entirety of the Australian Labor Party. You've lost a wonderful, warm, brilliant person, who made this place a better one with her endearing presence. I want to quote a part of Peta's maiden speech, which was one of many that I watched when we both came into this place in 2019. She said:

This parliament is the cauldron of Australia's national conversation, and politicians are not just participants in it; we are its custodians, and we must do better. Of course, not everyone in this place shares the same political philosophy and we don't always agree on the way forward. Politics is a place where ideas should be contested. They should be contested with a passion. They should be contested fiercely, robustly and forcefully. There will be times when the behaviour, motivations and policies of our opponents should rightly be called out and criticised. But how we do that matters. When the participants in our body politic get so caught up in beating their opposition—in winning the daily argument at all costs—that they stop listening and striving to understand what others are saying, we are not just dumbed down; we are diminished. We are diminished in the eyes of the Australian people and we are diminished in our capacity to tackle the difficult challenges— …

Well, Peta was true to her word. She was formidable, she was fierce, she was passionate—but never partisan. She spoke effortlessly without affectation on any topic, because she was speaking for her constituents. It was never about her; it was always about them. Her ability to just stand up with no notes and talk from the heart about things she believed would improve the lives of her constituents was admirable, inspiring and a testament to her intellect and character.

Peta and I worked closely together over the past 18 months on the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee, she as the chair and me as the deputy. We had worked on a number of other committees together, and I'd like to think I can say that we became friends, often having a joke and a chuckle together. She was certainly a woman who could give as good as she got, and her cheeky take-no-prisoners humour was a trait that I know was appreciated by all.

Peta and I also shared a commonality in our previous lives as criminal defence lawyers, and I think that's something that broke the political divide in the early days. I'm glad of one thing, and that is that I was never cross-examined by her in the witness box! She had an ability to round the witness up, put them through the gate and close it tightly before they knew what had happened—and all with a smile. I saw that on a number of occasions during committee hearings and inquiries, and it was an ability that I strongly admired. In fact, we would often text each other during an inquiry, and I remember on one particular occasion after Peta had cross-examined a very evasive witness I texted saying: 'Wow! That was harsh!'—with a smiley face. Her response was, 'I love a good cross-examination!' So, despite the combativeness of this place, Peta was universally liked, and not because she was one to try to please everyone—to the contrary: she fought harder than most—but because her advocacy was sound, because her arguments were reasonable and because she attacked the issue, not the person. She was respected because of that.

Peta was one of the good ones, taken way too soon by cancer. Far too many are. But she gave everything she had in the tank for this place and for her constituents, and we could all learn something from that. Farewell, Peta. You are and were the best-ever member for Dunkley.

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