John Hogg (President) Share this | Hansard source

This week a highly valued and very well respected member of the staff of the Parliamentary Library, Mr Andrew Chin, retires. Many senators will have benefited from Mr Chin’s advice on a wide range of issues and will recall the outstanding service he has provided. Andrew Chin has worked in the Parliamentary Library since 1973, starting as the foreign affairs and defence subject librarian in 1974. He has worked in the field of foreign affairs ever since.

In 1984, Andrew visited the South Pacific to examine how Australia could assist parliaments of the region to develop libraries of their own. The visit included Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, Tonga and Niue. The result was the establishment of measures to assist parliaments in the South Pacific, including a training program for staff providing library services to parliaments in the region. The Australian Parliamentary Library continues to assist libraries of parliaments in the South Pacific to this day.

In 1995, Andrew’s professionalism, knowledge and skill were recognised by the Embassy of the United States with an invitation to participate in a month-long visitors program. This included visits to the Library of Congress, the Brookings Institution and universities which were involved in the early internet and the world’s first virtual libraries.

In his long and successful career, Andrew has always been regarded as highly professional, courteous and charming. His colleagues in the library will miss him enormously, and I know senators will also miss his skills. I am sure all senators will join with me in wishing Andrew all the best in his retirement.