Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a great honour, indeed, to take a few moments of the Senate's time to reflect on a great man—one of the greatest sons of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party and a really amazing supporter of other people—Senator Sinodinos. I know that this evening people have reflected, rightly, on Senator Sinodinos's professional career and his enormous contribution to our country as a patriot. I want to mainly spend this time on the personal side. Yes, Senator Sinodinos served for 10 years as John Howard's chief of staff. Yes, he was a cabinet minister. Yes, he will be a great ambassador. Yes, he's been a president of the New South Wales division. Perhaps the greatest thing he's achieved professionally has been to win the universal respect of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party—no mean feat!

Senator Sinodinos has a particular form of liberalism which I think is compelling, and it is, as he described it in his own words, 'Live and let live.' Very much I think that is a good approach. But it's more than just live and let live. Forged from his economic training as a brilliant Treasury economist, he knows that you can't do anything as a country unless you secure the economic footing, and I think that has been reflected in all of the contributions that the senator has made. Even in his valedictory speech, he was still making the case, still presenting new economic ideas, still seeing that as the foundation for the success of our nation.

I have done some digging around for these remarks, and I can reveal that, as a young boy in Newcastle, the senator was interested in playing war games and toy soldiers—there you go! Of course, he's also a very proud member of the Greek Australian community. His antecedents came from Cephalonia, and he's maintained a very strong link to the Sydney Greek community.

I just want to say, briefly, something on the personal side. It is sometimes a difficult thing to get into this business. As a new person in this place, I can say that no-one helped me more on the pastoral side than Senator Sinodinos. Whether it was writing a reference or giving me a call or seeing how I was going, he was always there for me. Every significant event I've held, as far as I can remember, Senator Sinodinos has been there for me, because he's always supported other people. It has been a selfless journey, and I think there is so much we can learn from his career of service at the Treasury, as chief of staff, as a minister and so much more to come. I'm so much looking forward to your contribution in Washington. Thank you very much.