Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

What do you say when your best buddy in the Senate leaves? Bye! No, not at all. Eight years ago Barnaby and I entered the Senate together and we now get on extremely well. It was not always the case. When we first came together it was actually for a Page Research Centre inquiry into regional telecommunications, where we both learnt a lot about telco and about each other. Barnaby describes our relationship then as being a bit like two cats in a cage that did not get on. When we were just about to release the report I can remember this absolutely screaming argument we had one day on the phone as I was driving between Boorowa and Yass. It was a very interesting start.

But along the way we did develop a very strong respect for each other. It was not all that long after the eight-year start that we really did develop a very close working relationship and a very strong friendship. There are not too many really strong friendships formed in this place. There are some, and it is always great to see. We are very fortunate to have one. In all this time we have watched each other's back. In a place where often you can have people watching your back one minute and not the next it has been a really extraordinary thing to have that sort of friendship where we know that we really will look out for each other.

He has certainly always been very colourful. Sometime early on after a very long and late passionate discussion dealing with deep policy challenges on all things rural with Dave Toller, Barnaby and Nigel were admiring the recently shaved hedge near the Senate entrance. While the details of why they fell into the hedge are sketchy at best, they both appeared in the Senate the following morning looking like they had been attacked by identical hedgehogs. The two body shapes imprinted in the hedge for several days soon grew back. The mystery of the hedge fairies was eventually solved. They do assure me that they have now both grown up.

The stories from Barnaby are just part of him. There was this one story that Barnaby was telling me that I will relate. He had been away from home—as he indicated earlier, he often was—for quite some time. He was out near Lightning Ridge and was driving home to see Nat. He picked up the phone and he called Nat and he said: 'Nat, I am so looking forward to getting home. I can't wait to see you.' That is the Hansard version. It was a little more colourful. The person on the other end of the phone said, 'Who is this?' Barnaby, of course, had neglected to put '07' in front of the number and rung some random woman and told her how much he was looking forward to 'seeing her' and that she should be looking forward to 'seeing him' too. The colour always associated with Barnaby is legendary. I have a long list of achievements that I was going to read out and I am not doing so. I am really conscious of other colleagues in this place.

Speaking of colleagues in this place, I want to associate myself with the remarks by the leader with regard to you, Senator Humphries. You know the regard in which I hold you. You will be very sorely missed in this place.

I also want to take the opportunity to make some remarks regarding Senator Trish Crossin, who I think has made an extraordinary contribution in this place and who is leaving under very, very cloudy circumstances. We will miss her contribution also.

The achievements that we have seen from Barnaby are long and lengthy. I will save those for another day, actually, and do a specific adjournment speech during which I can spend some time going through all of those things. He has not put them all on the record.