Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I rise to acknowledge an important milestone that has been passed by none other than the Father of the House, the member for Berowra. Last week the member for Berowra became the third longest serving member of the House of Representatives in its history, with more than 36 years and five months continuous service. To think that the member for Berowra is still so enthusiastic and is still so revelling in service to his country and service to his constituents! The member for Berowra’s service is now only eclipsed by that of Sir Earle Page, who held the seat of Cowper for 42 years, and the unconquerable Billy Hughes, whose record of 51 years and seven months must surely stand for some time, depending upon the stamina which the member for Berowra wishes to display.

I should note that the member for Berowra was a highly effective minister in a highly effective government. As minister for immigration he helped to get our borders under control; as Attorney-General he helped to get our national security arrangements in good shape. Coalition MPs salute the member for Berowra. We acknowledge this latest milestone and we wish him many more years of successful service to our country.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for drawing to my attention this long service on the part of the member for Berowra. This indeed is a long piece of service in this House of Representatives. Members on this side of the House who have preceded us always advised us that they had been here ‘almost as long as Philip Ruddock’, and they are no longer here. So in terms of the number of years that you have put into service in the Australian parliament, that of itself is worthy of recognition. Could I also say, in drawing attention to the Leader of the Opposition’s parallel with the Hon. Billy Hughes, Billy as you know had a greater dexterity in terms of his political affiliations than the member for Berowra, and I assume the member for Berowra will remain with the party which he joined this parliament in. But I acknowledge the length of his service to this place.

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

May I thank the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister for their very generous comments. This is not a valedictory. I will leave others to speculate, but let me just say I thank the electors of Parramatta, Dundas and Berowra for their continuous support. I thought about this matter last week and I thought the person most deserving of thanks was my wife, Heather. We have been married for 39 years plus. She has spent most of her married life as the spouse of a member of parliament—a very considerable obligation, accepted very willingly but imposing a very significant cost.

I thank my two daughters, Kirsty and Caitlin, both of whom I am very proud of and who have succeeded in their own careers. They have nevertheless known nothing other than politics, and that imposes a very significant demand and sometimes a penalty upon them, but they have exceeded my every expectation as a doting father. They bring great credit not only to their family but also to the nation. If I can just spend a lighter moment, Kirsty was asked what her father did for a living when she was three and she said, ‘He sorts papers.’ Caitlin was asked whether she wanted to be a politician like her father when she grew up and she said, ‘No, no, I’m no good at telling stories.’