Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the outset, I associate myself with the remarks of all of my colleagues that I've had the pleasure of sitting and listening to over the course of today. Senator Canavan referred to a particular statistic which is quite unique; that is, that our good friend Senator Jim Molan received 137,325 votes under the line when he stood as a senator. That is an extraordinary figure. That sign of respect and regard from the people of New South Wales—tens and tens of thousands of them—reflects the honour and respect in which Senator Jim Molan was held better than anything we can articulate.

As my friend Senator McGrath did, I'd like to reflect on Jim's connection with my home state of Queensland. Jim was commanding officer of 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and served with great distinction. That battalion was raised at Alamein Barracks in Enoggera. I have spoken to members, veterans, of the Royal Australian Regiment and their respect and regard for Jim. I will speak further, in that respect, subsequently. The motto of that battalion is 'duty first'. Everything Senator Jim Molan did in his capacity as a senator in this place, as a soldier, as a pilot, as a linguist and as a commentator reflected that 'duty first'. But we do recognise, of course, that Jim was a husband, a father, a grandfather and a brother. That, perhaps, was the greatest duty he bore.

I reflect, firstly, on how Jim was a mate to us. He was a work colleague. He was something more than a senator or a general. He was a mate. I remember when I first met Jim: at an early morning meeting. Senators on the coalition side would have early morning meetings where we'd discuss notices of motion—at a quarter past eight or 8 o'clock in the morning. Quite often, these notices of motion were brought on at a day's notice. They dealt with many disparate topics. Sometimes they were pushing ideological agendas; other times, seeking wedge politics.

A group of us would always get together first thing in the morning and discuss these notices of motion. It was really in that context, each morning, first thing in the morning—we might have had a bit of a torrid day in politics the day before but as soon as Jim arrived, or when Jim was there, and you saw that big smile it meant so much to us. It was such a privilege to work with him.

Jim was also my buddy when we used to walk back to our offices from divisions. Senators here will know what that means. On the floor above, Jim's office was on the left side of the corridor and mine was on the right. Typically, we would walk up the stairs together and down the hallway, and we would linger for maybe five or 10 minutes at the fork in the hall as we discussed various things. I really cherish those moments and the times he spoke about his love for his family, his admiration for his daughter Erin—and how you were defending your honour and reputation through the court system and how important that was to him. There's also his intellectual curiosity. I would talk to him about what I was reading or books I'd read. He was always interested, always enthusiastic. He always had that sense of enthusiasm, which meant so much to us.

Jim used to laugh at my jokes.