Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

Comrade Carr, I hope that you will have the opportunity to come back and make some valedictory remarks and that we will be able to pay proper tribute to your fantastic career then. Right now, though, in case we don't get that opportunity, I want to say that Kim's absolutely enormous intelligence, the traditional, very masculine senatorial type that he has displayed, and his loud booming voice in this chamber will certainly be missed. In areas such as local content, industry policy, the Australian Research Council, manufacturing, higher education, antidumping, different elements of human rights and the Scrutiny of Bills Committee, there is so much to have learned from, and admired in, Comrade Carr. He didn't always agree with everyone internally in the Labor Party, but that was actually a good thing because you would always learn from the robustness of that debate. He was never a shrinking violet about stepping up and having the debate, and we are better off for that fact. In that context, I feel like I've been able to learn a great deal from Senator Carr because of the visibility of the way that he has involved himself very publicly in those debates internally and, indeed, here in the parliament.

I pay tribute to my friend and comrade Kim, and I hope to see you back here after the election, should we have an opportunity to reconvene.