Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

They should be up there! People have mentioned the difficult committees that Trish has worked through, where there was passion and conflict and the need for a straight bat—sporting analogy there, Trish—to be able to move forward. I want to mention that Trish was aware that the secretariat of one of her committees was getting a hard time from some of the witnesses—important witnesses who felt strongly about issues and were overstepping the mark in how they were approaching the secretariat, demanding action and processes. Trish, as chair of that committee, stepped in immediately and ensured that her people were not going to be subject to bullying. She stood up and said, 'This is not the right way to behave' and did her job again.

So, Trish, I want to say thank you. You are the kind of person that we talk about when we tell people about the Senate. When we are asked, 'What does a senator do?' the kinds of things that we are going to hear this evening actually reflect what a senator does. Congratulations to you personally and to your family. Not only has it been a pleasure working with you—and we will continue working together; there is no doubt about that—it has been an honour to be a member of the Senate beside you.