George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

They never tried to stop Senator Lightfoot, and I am very sorry that we did not make that trip. Of course, Senator Lightfoot came back unscathed and, indeed, much publicised. It is one of the great things of knowing Ross Lightfoot that, as was evident in his valedictory speech tonight, he said some things that perhaps would not play very well in the Fairfax press and are unlikely to be publicised on Lateline or on the ABC, and that some people might be uncharitable enough to describe as perhaps even slightly eccentric. And yet, there are many people in Australia, more than politically correct opinion will acknowledge, who would find more in common with Ross Lightfoot’s points of view than they would find in the points of view evident in the editorial pages of the Age or the Sydney Morning Herald. I want to pay tribute to Ross Lightfoot for having the courage and the pure integrity to express his opinions, unfashionable in some quarters though they may be, with absolute sincerity and conviction. As was said of Robespierre, he is a sea-green incorruptible.

It has been one of the small pleasures but one of the charms of my life in the Senate in the last two or three years to have been a member of a very exclusive club—the G and T club—which would convene in Senator Lightfoot’s office once a week when the Senate was sitting, and we would enjoy a glass or two of gin and tonic. Senator Mason was a member of the club, as was Senator Calvert. And, Mr President, you were invited on occasions. I think we even extended the circle to Senator Bernardi once, in our more egalitarian days. That was a great pleasure. And the pleasure of Ross Lightfoot’s charming, enigmatic personality has lightened my days in this place.

To all of those who are departing on 30 June, may I humbly pay my tribute of regard to your immensely valued service to this parliament and to this country. It is a great thing to serve in this place; it is a great thing to leave a legacy; and each of the six coalition senators whom we celebrate tonight has done that.