House debates
Monday, 10 February 2025
Parliamentary Representation
Valedictory
3:50 pm
Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source
on indulgence—In his first speech in this place the member for Moreton promised to bring some poetry and literature back to the chamber, and in his final speech he's done both; Graham has certainly held to that commitment. I'm sure all members would agree that, whatever the issue is before the House, it's always worth listening to the member for Moreton's contributions to debate both for their substance and the way they are presented with humour, insight and, importantly, heart.
Graham has been an extraordinary colleague for a long period of time. He has friendships, quite clearly, across the chamber. Some, as we've learned today with Darren Chester, are closer than we know about; I'll leave that to those two to deal with!
Whenever you visit Graham's electorate of Moreton, two things come across. One is his pride in his community and everything he's worked to deliver over 18 years as an MP. I reckon my visits to Moreton are probably up to around 30 or 40 at least! Everything from multicultural events to Mains and Kessels—which is the most expensive overpass anywhere in Australia, it's got to be said; more than $300 million on an intersection! Graham was absolutely determined to do that, and it has unclogged that part of Brisbane. It was a real investment. We went through the processes and found that, bizarrely, it did stack up in terms of productivity and the difference it would make. That was just one of the many projects Graham advocated, from level crossings to a range of infrastructure projects to community infrastructure projects as well, in the electorate.
The other thing that you notice about Graham—I'm not sure of the name of the shopping centre in Sunnybank—
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