Paul Calvert (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. May I add my congratulations to your elevation and may I also ask that you give me the same protection from the chair that you gave the previous speaker, just in case someone decides to interject. At the outset may I offer my congratulations to Senator Cormann for a very impressive first speech. I wish him well at the beginning of his career. It was his first speech, and this is my last speech. C’est la vie. That is the Senate—some come and some go.

I certainly appreciate the opportunity that has been given to me to make some remarks today before I leave the Senate during the non-sitting period. The first debt of gratitude I have is to the Tasmanian division of the Liberal Party of Australia. Like most of us here—and as Senator Cormann referred to earlier—we owe our position in the Senate to the support of our party organisations, and my association with the men and women rank and file members of the party has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. These are people who do not themselves seek public office but toil behind the scenes on behalf of their political parties and, by extension, on behalf of our democracy. I recall 20 years ago being invited by the then Director of the Liberal Party, Clem Hoggett, to put my name forward in the double dissolution of 1987. I also remember former Senator Shirley Walters ringing my wife and telling her that I would spend only 20 weeks a year in Canberra.

The second debt of gratitude I have is to my colleagues in this place. In 20 years I have sat on these red benches—and those benches in the provisional Parliament House—with many fine senators and have been privileged when they have elected me to various positions, first as Deputy Opposition Whip, then as Government Whip and, finally, as a nominee for the presidency. I hope I have repaid their confidence.

I have been privileged to lead the Tasmanian Liberal Senate team. As many of you know, we meet every week whilst parliament is sitting and have made several joint representations on matters of vital concern to our state of Tasmania. We also have a joint newsletter. We regard imitation as the best form of flattery and note that some state colleagues, in both the government and the opposition, have started to follow our lead.

I have also been honoured to work with senators of all political parties, especially on committees and as whip. I am the first to say that not all wisdom resides in one particular point of view and I thoroughly enjoyed some of the debates and inquiries I worked on through our Senate committee system. As President, I have been fortunate to visit many other parliaments around the world. I have never found any legislature that matches the effectiveness of the Australian Senate, and I urge all senators to cherish what we have and not for one minute take it for granted.

I thank the officers of the Department of Parliamentary Services, led by Hilary Penfold, and the Parliamentary Librarian, Roxanne Missingham, and their staff for all their efforts in supporting me in my role. They have been first class. I regard it as a particular achievement of my time as President to have overseen the amalgamation of the three joint parliamentary departments into one. Certainly there have been some teething problems, but the reality today is that the services are delivered at less cost to the taxpayer and with fewer staff than before the amalgamation.

I have been fortunate enough to enjoy a very good working relationship with two Speakers. I refer of course to the Hon. Neil Andrew and my colleague in the gallery the Hon. David Hawker. They have always taken a parliament-wide view of the administration of this place, as well as being gentlemen and friends. Observers might think that the President and the Speaker only sit in the chair in this place and the rest of their time is spent idling. Those who understand the magnitude of the administration of this Parliament House know that chamber duties are only a very small part of our role. And, while I am talking about the Speaker, might I say that in my time as President I did appreciate—and I know my wife did—the wonderful friendship that he and his wife formed with us and particularly the support that Penny Hawker gave to my wife.

I was very pleased to institute as President the Richard Baker Senate Prize for writing about the Australian Senate. I think that has contributed to raising the profile of thoughtful commentary on our activities—at least I hope it has—and I hope that it will continue. Since my election in July 1987 I have been impressed by the support I have had from Senate staff. There is no finer body of parliamentary officers, and I have also appreciated their support for me in the five years I have been President. In the Senate I mention particularly the attendants, the transport officers, the Table Office, the Parliamentary Education Office and the Black Rod’s office. And special thanks to Kathy Eliopoulos, who has acted as my attendant in the chamber.

My thanks are to cover everyone, but I do single out the Clerk for his advice to me in the chair, and the Usher of the Black Rod for looking after so many things attaching to the President’s office, most of them unseen. I appreciate all that they have done for me.

I thank my electorate staff in Hobart, especially my long-serving office manager, Yvonne Murfet, and John Bowes, who is a friend and a great source of wise advice.

Many of you will know my media adviser, Vince Taskunas. Vince has given me loyal support not only as President but before that, when I was whip. He is also a very capable singer, as many of you may know!

I have had excellent staff—not too many, 29 in fact—over the 20 years, and every one of them has bettered themselves over their time. It is a statistic of which I am very proud. In my early days I was very well served by Les and Mary Glover, and I would like to make mention of them tonight. In my Canberra office, Margaret Pearson and Di Goodman—and, before her, Julie Meskell—are known to many honourable senators for the quiet and efficient way they have kept the President’s office running. I will miss them all as excellent staff and as friends

I cannot let the matter pass without giving a special mention to my former senior private secretary, Don Morris. As most of you would know, he is almost the font of all knowledge as far as the history of this parliament is concerned, and I would sometimes wonder whether something had actually happened if Don did not know about it. Don’s advice, humour and personal friendship have been a part of the many pleasures I have had as President.

Home on the farm would be in a much worse state without the loyal support I have received from my neighbours Kevin and Olga Balsley. I thank them for all their work—and I certainly thank them for closing the gates when I have forgotten to!

I have been pleased to have contributed in some small way to public policy in this country over the last 20 years. One of the initiatives I am particularly proud of is the travelling school which provides tuition for the children of showmen and others who follow the annual round of agricultural shows. I thank sincerely Senator Ellison for the support he gave me on that project. I think it is wonderful to see those pantechnicons travelling the country, educating children who never had the opportunity of an education before.

I was also very pleased to have a hand in the raising of the beautiful Bellerive Oval to international test cricket standard. I hope the support of the government continues for that project. More recently, I was delighted when my call to the states to move towards harmonised time zones led to some small steps in the right direction. I was also pleased to see the development of a $15 million wastewater recycling irrigation scheme in the Coal River Valley. I had a lot of help from former senator Robert Hill in that exercise, and I earnestly hope that water reuse is followed by local governments around Australia.

When I was warden of Clarence, I decided that the best way to run any meeting is to let everyone have a fair hearing. I have tried to apply the same standard to the Senate, and I have been pleased to have the cooperation of almost every senator. I have mentioned the support of my Deputy President over the past five years, Senator John Hogg. I reiterate what a great colleague he has been, and I will certainly miss our daily interaction.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the temporary chairmen of committees for their wise work. Often time in the chair is thankless, but I do believe that all of those people who take the opportunity to be temporary chairmen gain a unique perspective of the Senate from the vantage point that you, Mr President, hold at the moment.

Above all, of course, we are supported in this place by our families. In my maiden speech on 28 October 1987, I said:

There is no doubt, as other senators have said, that the support of one’s wife and family is so important. I appreciate them very much. Therefore, I take this opportunity of expressing publicly my gratitude to my wife Jill and to my children, Anna, Kate, Belinda and William.

As someone who knows more about me than anyone else looking down from the gallery, I echo those words tonight, 20 years on! In my time in the Senate, three of those four children have married and started their own families—and I use this public opportunity to tell my son to get a move on! They have been great. The joy they bring to Jill and me and the opportunity to see our five grandchildren grow up are good reasons for my decision to retire. Jill has been my best companion and fairest critic over the last 43 years—a typical wife, I might add—and she has been a particularly wonderful confidante and partner to me as a senator and particularly as President. She has stood shoulder to shoulder with me and represented this place and Australia magnificently. In fact, over the last 20 years she has not only been mother to the family but many times she has also been father.

When I am released from senatorial duties, Mr President, I am looking forward very much, as you would know, to joining several of my former colleagues in the Shearwater Health and Fitness Club—a more misleading name would be hard to find!

I wish all honourable senators well for the future. I know we will shortly be facing an election, which will be conducted freely and fairly. We do not realise how lucky we are to be able to take that fact for granted—it is a privilege many other countries are still to attain. We must never forget that we are the fourth longest lasting democracy in the world, and every Australian, young or old, not only should be proud of that but must realise that tradition must be maintained and nurtured. I thank the Senate.