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

I actually meant that I disagreed with the 'pretty effective' part, not the 'not pretty' part. Anyway, I am glad you took it that way.

There were a number of things that you said in your speech tonight, Senator Boswell, which really resonated. One of them was that you have been a strong voice in your party room. There is no doubting that. Sometimes, frankly, we have enjoyed that and sometimes it has been more difficult for us. You have really taken the maxim that one has to be a strong voice inside one's party as a core political creed.

Others have made more extensive contributions about Senator Boswell's service to the party and to the parliament, including his leadership of the Nationals in this place for some 17 years, which is an exceptional achievement, in itself. I want to focus my remarks on one aspect of Senator Boswell's career. He said tonight in his speech that politicians must have the courage of their convictions. I agree with this. Senator Boswell showed the courage of his convictions when he stood up against right-wing extremism. He deserves enormous credit for his stand against the far Right of the kind that was symbolised by Pauline Hanson.

Others have spoken—as has Senator Boswell—of the long fight against the far Right political movement, probably culminating in the 2001 federal election, which was the election when I was elected to this place. That was when Senator Boswell vindicated his position by refusing the preference One Nation. Senator Boswell competed directly with Pauline Hanson—the woman who famously said that Australia was being over-run by people who looked like me—and defeated her to retain his Queensland Senate seat, again relegating the far Right to the political wilderness.

That was a time when many in the then Howard government were countenancing accommodating these perspectives. Senator Boswell instead took a principled stand against what Ms Hanson stood for. As a senator who represented Ms Hanson's home state of Queensland, and as a national senator with a particular connection to many of the constituencies that Ms Hanson sought to influence, this really did take political courage. I can recall that there were backbenchers, and even some frontbenchers, in his coalition party at the time who did not rule out doing preference deals. Senator Boswell faced defeat at the hands of Pauline Hanson herself in the Senate race of 2001 but he said that he would refuse, point blank, to swap preferences with a One Nation leader.

I say to you, Senator Boswell, that for this principled stand you deserve not only my thanks but the thanks of the parliament and of the Australian people. At a time when debates about racism and freedom of speech are still present in this country I think all of us would do well to remember Senator Boswell's position. I wish him well in his retirement.

I again turn to my friend and colleague Mark Bishop. I wish you and your family all the very best for the future.