Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

We have had a number of speeches and we are going to have a number more, as we have a real changing of the guard in the Senate in the lead-up to the end of June. Tonight I want first pay tribute to my Labor colleague Senator Mark Bishop from Western Australia. Senator Bishop was actually born in Adelaide. He completed his undergraduate degree there. I have forgiven him for leaving town and going to Western Australia.

I think those who represent Western Australia—and probably the Northern Territory, but I often think of WA—do deserve special thanks in this place because I think many people would think that if they had to do that sort of travel from Western Australia then they would rather go into state politics or do something different. Senator Bishop did reference that in his speech tonight and said that the reason he wanted to go into federal politics and not state politics was that he was interested in federal issues. I think everyone in this place does make a sacrifice for the honour of representing their state, but those from Western Australia really do pay a very big price in terms of time with family.

As has been said, Senator Bishop was first elected in 1996 and was re-elected in 2001 and 2007. He has made a comprehensive contribution to the Australian Labor Party and the Senate during his 18 years in the chamber, although I have to confess I was not aware of the Holy Grail evening prayers until tonight. I do note that his contribution has been extensive both as a frontbencher and in the context of an extraordinary amount of committee work.

There are four areas that I want to mark about Senator Bishop's contributions. Firstly, the enormously important work that he did in the areas of military justice and Defence procurement. He is a senator who understands Australia's place in the world and he has worked on the relevant committees. He is a senator who has a very good understanding of economics—and I want to come back to that—and he has been a passionate advocate for the state of Western Australia.

As Senator Bishop outlined in his speech, military justice and Defence procurement were areas that he had a great interest in. He certainly demonstrated that both as a frontbencher and in terms of his committee work. During the period in particular when he served on the front bench of the Labor Party—a time when Australia's military commitments were escalating—having someone like Senator Bishop to articulate Labor's support for our Defence personnel and for veterans was very important.

As has been said, he has given extensive service on those committees of the Senate and of the parliament. He is the Chair of the Senate Economics References Committee and previously the Economics Legislation Committee. Can I add a personal note here. As Minister for Finance and as the Minister representing the Treasurer, I was often grateful for Senator Bishop's intervention as chair when things might have got a little difficult in those committees. Certainly, I think as Chair of the Economics References Committee he made a very important contribution. As someone who has been involved in the economics portfolio for a number of years, I do want to say how much I valued the role that Senator Bishop played in this regard and the fact that he was one of the senators on Labor's side who I could turn to and say, 'We really need someone to speak on this issue and deal with this issue,' and he was able to do that.

In that context, it is also the case that Senator Bishop has been an advocate for economic reform. He again referenced that tonight in his contribution. There is a lot of merit in what he says. I am one who does believe that Labor must always be the party of reform, both social and economic, and that is not always an easy task. Sometimes we do better and sometimes we do less well, but maintaining that capacity and will to reform is an important part of what it means to be Labor. I thank him for his continued advocacy for that proposition and that fact.

As I said, Australia's place in the world has also been a focus of Senator Bishop's work here, particularly in the context of the Senate and joint standing committees on foreign affairs, defence and trade. I want to reference also, again, Senator Bishop's advocacy for his state. I was interested tonight to listen to Senator Bishop talk about times when he has voiced disapproval at his federal colleagues. He said it quite well. He said, 'When I did, it was always considered.' One of the barbs or interjections Senator Abetz often throws at me is that, unlike the Labor Party, the Liberal Party values differences of opinion. We do value different views; we just do not agree with demonstrating them on the floor of the Senate chamber in a vote. But whatever people's views, and whether or not they agreed with Senator Bishop, we could always count on Senator Bishop and others from Western Australia to put a view about the perspective of the people he represents—and has represented for 18 years in Western Australia. And that is enormously important for our party.

I was elected to this place in 2001. Over the period I have been here I have seen the shift in the voting patterns that Senator Bishop has described, and we do have a responsibility on this side of the parliament to address that. So I thank him for his willingness to engage respectfully on those issues.

In relation to Senator Boswell, Bozzie is one of the great characters of the Senate. I went up to Senator Boswell after his speech and said, 'The place really won't look the same without you.' I was reflecting, as Senator Boswell spoke, on his election in 1983 and I was trying to think where people might have been at that time. I think Senator Birmingham is one of the youngest; he was probably in primary school at that time. Would that be right? I was in high school and probably only just starting to understand something about politics in year 9 or year 10.

So it is an extraordinary period of service from that election in 1983 through to now. He faced the people, I think, seven times. It is meritorious service to this place and to our country. I assume also, given the dates, that Senator Boswell must be one of the last senators—if not the last senator—to have served in the Senate chamber of the Old Parliament House. Senator Boswell, that is, perhaps, a mark of the generational change that your leaving this place demonstrates.

There are many things that can be said about Senator Boswell. I think he had one of the best re-election slogans I have ever seen: not pretty, but pretty effective. I thought that was fantastic. I disagreed with it, obviously.