Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

As a relatively new senator, I thought this would be the appropriate time to speak. We have had three fantastic speeches tonight which reflected brilliantly on all three senators not just professionally in their time in the Senate but also personally in terms of their values, their principles and the work they have achieved.

As a new senator, the first whip I encountered was Senator O'Brien. He and his office gave me support in learning the ropes in this place. It is not easy for new senators to learn the ropes, but Kerry was always there to provide me with the advice I needed in terms of debates and speaking. I truly appreciate that. I too acknowledge the work that Kerry did in his shadow portfolio. When I was not in this place but working in the party office with numerous shadow ministers, I saw the hard yards he did in terms of policy development and also in terms of building relationships with key stakeholders and lobby groups. A lot of the stakeholders in the area he was fighting were not traditionally Labor people. These were people who had a long-term distrust of the Labor Party. Kerry was able to turn that around and show that the Labor Party represents everybody—not just the people in the cities, but the people in the regions and in the country as well. Kerry, I thank you for the work you did in that portfolio; you set a very high standard. I agree with my other colleagues that you deserve to be a minister, and that will not be forgotten.

As sports minister, I also agree with you that Tasmania should get a team in the AFL, and I know that you will continue that work when you leave here.