Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] Rach, it's so sad that so many of your colleagues can't be with you personally this evening to support you and to show you personally just how much we love you and how much we're going to miss you. I really wish we could all be there with you.

I'm going to begin by sharing some words for you from two friends of mine who are two really, really good friends of yours—firstly, these words:

Rachel is one of the most unsung heroes of progressive social action in our national parliament. She also had a big hand in freeing our Southern Hemisphere from the bloody scourge of whaling. Students of political botany looking for a flower in the swamp will do well to study the career of Greens Senator Rachel Siewert.

Those beautiful words are from former senator and former leader of the Australian Greens Bob Brown. And I'm sure you'll guess who the next words are from, pretty early on:

Rach, what can I add to all the accolades that you so deserve about your exemplary career in the Senate? We were elected together in 2004 and took up our seats when there were only four of us: Bob Brown, Kerry Nettle, you and I. You've been a relentless campaigner and a staunch, staunch advocate of the Greens and for our vision of a just world and a planet capable of sustaining life in the face of the global climate and biodiversity emergencies. Whether it's sharks or the forests or James Price Point, or the Aboriginal petroglyphs of the Burrup, you've been there advocating for protection. You've travelled the length and breadth of the country to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and secured an important milestone by addressing petrol sniffing and securing non-aromatic Opal fuel. You stood up courageously from day one against robodebt and the cashless welfare card, and you were right.

In your service to the parliament and the people of Australia, it has been so special. In an age when people are so cynical about parliamentarians, you have demonstrated what integrity, fairness and commitment mean in your role as chair of the community affairs committee and also in your role as Greens Whip. One of the moments I treasure is the day in 2013 when Prime Minister Gillard delivered the apology to the people who suffered so deeply because of forced adoption practices. Rach, you moved for and drove that inquiry and chaired it, and you were there in the Great Hall to witness how much it meant to so many people. Your compassion and commitment delivered for so many. Thank you for your service to the parliament, to the Greens and for your friendship and support during my time in the Senate.

Those words, of course, are from former senator and former leader of the Australian Greens Christine Milne. As usual, Christine and Bob are far more eloquent than I am able to be, so I will just add a few brief words of my own, Rach.

Rachel, you are genuinely one of my political heroes. I'm in awe of what you have achieved, and I'm also in awe of how you've achieved it and of how you've conducted yourself on your political journey. You've been a mighty, mighty voice and activist for First Nations people, for climate action and for nature, particularly for your beloved marine environment and even more particularly for your waters of Western Australia.

Your advocacy for people doing it tough, particularly those who have been left without work in our sometimes very brutal modern society, has been without equal in the political arena. Your participation in the campaign to increase the rate of JobKeeper helped to build a movement, and it helped give a voice to so many who at that time did not have a voice. Please be proud of what you've achieved, Rach; it's truly the most amazing record. If I have been or can be half as effective as you have been and half as passionate as you are about the issues that really matter and represent people and nature with half the integrity that you have, I will end my time in politics a very happy person.

As an aside, I know that I've got large shoes to fill as the whip for the Australian Greens, and I might say my shoes will be nowhere near as fashionable as yours have consistently been during my time in the Senate. If I can whip our colleagues, who can—I'll put it kindly—sometimes be slightly recalcitrant, half as hard and half as well as you did, Rach, I may have some small hope of keeping them in line as well as you did.

Rach, I know for you this is not retirement from active life. It's not retirement from activism. It is simply retirement from the Senate. I have no doubt there will be so many people—and, in fact, our planet—who will have cause to thank you for your relentless advocacy and your relentless activism into the future. Please take great care of yourself. Take great care of those that you love. You and yours are always welcome back to our rustic little shack in the bush down on the Tasman Peninsula. You are, Rachel, truly the most beautiful and amazing human. All the very best.