Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Government Services) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, stand to pay tribute to my fellow Western Australian senator and colleague Senator Rachel Siewert. I associate myself with all of the comments that we've heard so far from right across this chamber, in what is a very fitting acknowledgement of your service to the Senate and to our nation.

I was genuinely very saddened to hear of your decision to leave after 16 years. But, conversely, I was really happy for you, after 16 years of crossing the Nullarbor. One of my first recollections of Senator Siewert was crossing the Nullarbor, time and time again, for committee hearings. You would do it twice in one day to attend a committee hearing, which is a sign not just of the dedication, compassion and commitment that you have but also of the sacrifices your family have made for everything that you've done.

Everyone in this place knows, and we've heard tonight, about your passion, your commitment and your respect for the dignity of humanity, whenever and whenever you find it. I've also greatly respected, and have sometimes been the beneficiary of, your very deep and loud honesty when holding us, now on this side of the chamber, to account. As everybody else here has said, it is absolutely clear that you have always been driven by your passion for justice and your commitment to people and what you believe in.

Like other people here, it took me about five minutes in this place to see your incredible knowledge and the width and the depth of your knowledge in social policy, whether it's in this chamber or at committees, including at estimates. I've sat, again, on the other side of the table, and I've also sat with officials who are suitably prepared because they know the level at which you always come to the table. Because of that, you speak with authority on the matters, and, when you speak, we all listen. Sometimes we have no choice but to listen, because of the passion and the volume, but we always listen to and respect you. As Minister Ruston has said, you always show us where to look, quite often before we even know that there is cause to look at particular issues.

I don't understand how you have not only the work ethic that you do but also the capacity to work, managing the multiple hearings, whipping and everything else that you do. As you've pointed out, one of the dirty secrets, which probably shouldn't be such a dirty secret, and one of the absolute joys and privileges of serving in this place is the collegiality between those on all sides of this chamber. While people wouldn't necessarily think that Senator Siewert and I have a lot in common, given our positions on things and our party positions, she really, along with the wonderful Claire Moore, showed me that we can work together and find common ground in our committee work to make a real difference for Australians, and that is one of the many powerful things about this place.

We did find, as we've heard from everyone else who's spoken, common ground on a number of issues, and I just want to highlight three. I'm incredibly grateful that you supported the very first inquiry I put forward, into young people in aged care. That inquiry made a huge difference to the lives of thousands of people with disabilities who had been consigned to life in an aged-care facility simply because they were disabled and there was nowhere else for them to go. I'm particularly proud now that I have carriage of that and I feel a great sense of responsibility for that, and I'd like to thank you for that.

We have some unfinished business in the interrupted inquiry into the plight of Australians with Lyme disease and the disgraceful way that I believe—and we share that belief—they are not heard, they are not seen and they are certainly not getting the treatment they deserve. That is still unfinished business for me, so I will be taking that forward.

Probably the one that bemused you the most—but I'm very grateful for your support as a senator for Western Australia—was the inquiry into Western Force. Again, you had faith and you said, 'Okay, we'll have a look into this.' While we couldn't change the outcome of the disgraceful behaviour from Rugby Australia that we discovered, we made a huge difference to tens of thousands of Western Australians and to the players by getting answers on what had happened to their much-beloved team.

Rachel, in conclusion, I've only ever experienced this chamber with you in it—not only with your leadership as the whip but also with your leadership in community affairs and on social policy. You have certainly inspired me and sometimes also made me want to be a better senator and a better person on a lot of these inquiries. The Senate will certainly be the lesser, and I think we'll all be the lesser, for not having you in the chamber. But, as so many people have said and I know will continue to say, you have made every single day of those 5,000-odd days that you've been serving in the Senate. I thank you very much for the dignity that you've brought to the Senate and for the contribution I think you've made to our democracy as well. So I wish you and your family well in whatever you decide to do next, on and off the paddleboard. I know you'll do it with great passion and with great commitment, and you'll do it so that everybody will hear. Rachel, thank you for everything you've done, thank you for what you've given to me in this place, and good luck.