Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to thank Senator Forshaw for being one of my five favourite people to argue with in this place. I am not sure how I am going to replace you, but I will do my very best. I enjoyed serving on the committee under your chairmanship. I found it enormously frustrating, but that was your role. You did it to the best of anyone's ability. Kerry, I have not had the chance to argue with you as much as I would have liked, but that is because you have been very busy. You both have had very different roles in this place. It would not have functioned without you. The breadth of experience that you both have brought here has facilitated making this chamber something special and what it is—a real representation of the people. I think that is great.

I would like to confine my comments more specifically to Senator Wortley, because Senator Wortley and I go back quite some way. I can expose that Senator Wortley has very poor judgment in the sense that she told her colleagues when I came here that I was all right. Yes, I am all right in the sense that there is not much Left in me, but I am not sure they would say I am all right right now, Senator Wortley. I will explain how we came to that in a moment.

Senator Wortley also had the esteemed position of leading a union of which I was once a member. This will horrify those on that side, but in a very short-lived acting career I joined the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance for a week I think. I made it to the cutting room floor and I once saw myself on German television. That was the extent of my career there. I actually owned a pub next to where Senator Wortley worked. The Advertiser went on strike. The workers were out the back in the lane on strike boycotting everything. In true sympathy with the people who used to patronise my business I took out hot pizzas to ensure that they were happy and healthy while they were going about their strike, hoping that they would get thirsty and come in and buy a drink. A few of them did. One particularly militant Scottish Communist—that is the only way I can describe him, and it was not Doug Cameron—came in and started giving me a lecture about taking advantage of the workers and saying that I should close my pub in sympathy with them, and things like that. I took umbrage at this because I was only trying to help them and be a good humanitarian. I made sure that every pizza that went out after that had three times the amount of salt on it so they would get very thirsty. It was a very good day of business. Dana, thank you very much for your contribution to my business in that regard.

It has been a pleasure to be with Dana because not only is she a colleague who goes back a long way with me and my family but she has been very generous to my wife, and our kids have been at school together. I wish you, Russell and Che every success in whatever you choose to do. It has been a real honour and a pleasure to be one of your colleagues here.