Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Welcome to all of Senator Rhiannon's family and friends who have come to join her today. It's terrific to see you all here. Senator Birmingham did wonder, Senator Rhiannon, whether your reference to a Labor figure who wanted to gather in all those left-wing votes so that right-wingers could be elected to parliament was a reference to me, but I can assure him—and I'm sure you can verify this—it wasn't me. I think I know who did make that statement, and he featured prominently in the New South Wales newspapers last weekend. No? All right. It must have been somebody else.

Senator Rhiannon interjecting—

I've got the state right, anyway. It gives me very great pleasure, on behalf of the opposition, to speak on your valedictory today. Your contributions to this place, Senator Rhiannon, are many. In reflecting on your farewell to this place, I look to the words that you delivered when you were first welcomed here. In your first speech, you said:

History demonstrates that, while parliaments make the laws, people are the driving force for social change. I believe one of the great strengths of the Greens is our constructive parliamentary work, combined with our commitment to amplify in this place the voice of progressive people's movements.

I am passionate about working with people—helping to improve their everyday lives, learning about their good experiences and how they cope with tough times.

In this chamber, while there is a divide on some fundamental issues critical to the future of the planet, I still believe that our shared humanity means that on many causes—often more than we realise—we do agree. I look forward to working with all senators to find common ground wherever we can.

I have to admit, Senator Rhiannon, that, on social issues and foreign policies, I suspect there wouldn't be much that we would find to agree upon. But the fact of the matter is you came to this place with a clear set of principles, a set of guiding values and an unwavering commitment to improve Australia's democratic institutions, and for that the Labor Party salutes you.

You were focused on achieving real outcomes for people you represented and indeed those that you did not. Your commitment to your own personal guiding principles was demonstrated in the recent schools funding debate, which ultimately saw you suspended for a time from the Greens party room. In your own words, Senator Rhiannon, you came to this place committed to 'working with all senators to find common ground wherever we can'. In my personal experience, that's exactly what you have done, and you've done it through a real and considered dialogue, talking and listening to the often divergent views that exist in this place and within the communities we represent.

In my capacity as the shadow special minister of state, I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to you for your work on the important issues, particularly in relation to political donations. While we've not always agreed on some of the issues that you have raised, your engagement in this has been an important part of the reform, and I'm very hopeful that in the weeks and months ahead the work that you have particularly done in JSCEM on the most recent government bill in respect of political donations comes to fruition and that in this country we finally ban foreign donations from our political process. When that happens, you will be able to take credit for that change, because you've contributed significantly to it.

Now, I want to talk a bit about your early life. I'm sure that the young and determined activist who first visited Canberra, aged 16, would never have dreamed that she would be standing in this place 43 years later to deliver her first speech as a Greens senator. Indeed, on that visit to the nation's parliament, as a teenager, I'm sure you could not have imagined what you would have achieved and what you would be leaving us with today.

Of course, your contribution in this place does not define your contribution to the people of New South Wales or, indeed, the nation. Prior to joining the Senate in 2010, you served as a Greens member in the Legislative Council of New South Wales parliament. In the New South Wales parliament you led campaigns concerned with electoral funding reform, environmental protection, improvements to public transport, the protection of workers' rights, the promotion of animal rights and better funding for public schools. These were causes that saw you continue your activism and advocacy upon your election to the Senate in 2010. You've experienced a life framed by political activism, ever since before you were elected to the New South Wales parliament.

Your youth and upbringing had many similarities to my own, albeit with a slightly different ambition. Family influences saw the beginnings of political activism and you have never known a life not imbued with the values of left-wing political activism. Born in 1951 in Sydney, you grew up as the only child of what you described as a communist family, where the driving concerns were working for a more equitable and peaceful world. Your parents, Bill and Freda, were members of the Communist Party of Australia, the CPA, including as members of the central committee, but they resigned from the CPA in 1972 and joined the then Soviet-aligned Socialist Party.

While your youth instilled in you a drive to defend the virtues of communism, my youth instilled in me the commitment to end it. Over time, in my second period in the Senate, we've had long discussions, you may recall, about the postwar conflict between communism and anticommunism. I have to confess, I have failed to convince you of the merits of the anti-communist cause, but they were terrific discussions. Some people stick with their lifelong principles.

Your political principles eventually brought you to Canberra and a seat in parliament. Your contributions in this place are many. You have been a formidable voice, most recently holding the important role of the Greens spokesman on housing, animal welfare, industry, democracy, gun control and local government. You have been a fierce advocate for change. During your time in the Senate, you have introduced 16 private senator's bills, addressing issues from reforming democracy to animal welfare. This breadth and depth of legislative reform is impressive, and so too is your contribution to the adjournment debate. In total, you have made 134 contributions on adjournments over the course of your career. These contributions demonstrate your passion and desire to give a voice to many issues, ranging from complex foreign policy matters to social housing in Sydney. In particular, you have been a specialist in utilising the previous 20-minute time limit on Tuesday nights to make speeches covering a wide variety of subjects.

I'm sure that your valedictory will not be the last we hear from you and that you'll continue to make a wide variety of contributions to public debate outside this place. When you announced your resignation from this place—and I think you referred to this earlier in your own speech—it was a sign of the technological advancements during your career that you did it via a live Facebook video. You warmly declared that you were not resigning from politics and that your political life is to continue. I've no doubt that your contribution to political debate will not end with your departure from this place. Your determination to drive change, your kindness and your willingness to engage across the political divide and to do so with a smile will be missed. On behalf of the opposition, I wish you all the very best for the future.