Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to add my contributions on your service, Rachel, and to echo everything that's been said about you today. I was thinking earlier today of when you and I first met. You won't remember this. I was at the United Workers Union, and there was some protest in Subiaco. I want to say it was on aged care, but it was outside the council chamber, so I don't know. Maybe it was child care. It was one or the other. We had a bunch of members there, and we were protesting, and you came along. You must have just seen us there, or maybe you'd heard about the strike, and you offered your support. You know me: I'm dyed-in-the-wool Labor. I thought, 'Hm,' but I was really impressed that you'd taken the time to come along and support the members. Whether it was aged care or child care, you were there supporting us.

The next time I met you was also while I was at the union. I was the person who had responsibility for getting the Living Longer Living Better reforms through, which Mark Butler did when he was minister. It was my job to take aged-care workers to meet you and to lobby you. I didn't know what your view was, but now, knowing you many years after that, I'm sure that you did support it. You probably always supported the reforms. Nevertheless, we had a job to do, and that was to harangue you to death with aged-care workers who came to tell you their stories—on more than one occasion, I'm sure. So thank you for that.

I want to echo the other things that have been said about you. You are a woman of great humanity. Your integrity comes through in everything that you do, as do your advocacy and passion and your drive and commitment that everyone has spoken about tonight. The two areas where our lives and paths tend to cross are First Nations issues. I'm sure that secretly you're quite pleased that the Labor Party finally got there on the cashless debit card—thank goodness! I know that we've often shared platforms at protest meetings outside of the Senate, but we've also shared a lot of work on Senate committees. Senator Reynolds has just reminded me of the Western Force one. I think I had to be there reluctantly, because there wasn't very much of that committee work I enjoyed at all, but the rest of it has been good.

I think I've got to know you better this year and last year on all the SPA flights that we shared. We usually sat together and had great chats about family and all sorts of things outside of the Senate. We were just a couple of women who had a lot of interests in common. I look forward to your journey of building your house. I know we had lots of chats about that. You will be missed in the Senate—your advocacy, particularly, and your passion—but I know that you've served Australians well, and you'll continue to do that, whatever you do next. I'm sure Chris will welcome having you home. It might take a bit of time to get used to it, because sometimes our partners get used to us coming and going, even though they miss us. So that'll be an adjustment. The FIFO worker is FIFO no longer.

All the best, and thank you for your absolute commitment to this place and to ordinary Australians who do it tough.