Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate the opportunity to make a brief contribution to this condolence motion honouring the life and service of Senator Jim Molan. I'd like to begin by acknowledging his family, friends and colleagues, who are feeling his loss so deeply. In the loss of Senator Molan we have lost a truly national figure, a national leader and, for me, as a senator for the ACT, a much-loved local from this Canberra region.

At Senator Molan's memorial service I learnt a lot more about the man who I served alongside in this place; a man who had dedicated his entire career to public service in the Defence Force, in the parliament, in the community and in the Liberal Party. He wore many hats, and at that funeral service I was also struck by what an interesting and exciting life he had led and how he was at so many pivotal moments in Australia's national history and, in fact, in global history.

Some have described Jim, even here today, as a giant of a man, and when we use that to describe Jim, it's never just meant referring to his physical presence. If Jim was in the room, you certainly knew about it, not just because you couldn't miss him, because he was often taller than everybody else in the room, but also because of his energy in that room. People have spoken of the smile and, I think at the funeral service, about the hand that reached out and said, 'Hello. Jim Molan,' with a big smile, and I certainly remember that and could relate to that as well.

But it wasn't just his energy; it was also his interest in whatever was going on. I think people who are interested in others have an underrated—or often unrecognised—quality. It showed the true character of a person with an open mind, prepared to learn, wanting to learn and also wanting to know other people who he worked with. That's something that I will always remember about Jim.

A couple of other things. I think, in this place, people often see publicly the arguments, the fights, the divisions. What they don't often reflect on is the amount of time we spend together getting to know each other. Even though our politics might be different, we in this chamber, with the small nature of it and the small number of us, get to spend time with each other even if it is only during those five-minute divisions that seem to go on and on some days. We spend time with each other. We get to know each other. And, again, others have spoken today about Senator Molan's deep love of his family. That was something that stood out for me. Often when we would sit together during a division, we would turn to talk about our families and what was going on, and you could not mistake the deep love he had for Anne and his children and in the stories of his grandchildren. And so, when people see us sometimes sitting side by side and laughing in this place, that's often what we are talking about. Again, it's not often a recognised part of this job.

The other thing I remember is always going out and being on the booths in Queanbeyan. I think every time I would go out there Jim Molan would be on the same booth. I would think: 'How could this possibly be? There are so many booths, and every one I turn up to, Jim is there on the stump, getting in the way of me trying to lobby voters!' Again, I think it was his energy and the fact that, once he committed to something, he was there in the work that he did. That's, again, a reason I will remember Jim forever: the fact that we did do some of that campaigning together in Queanbeyan, vying for the same voters often.

One of the final things I wanted to say is from Senator Birmingham and Senator Wong speaking about gratitude. Again, that is something that stands out to me in my dealings with Jim. I remember, after he was diagnosed with cancer and he'd gone through his first round of treatment, he reached out to me to express his gratitude for the services of the ACT health system. I thought that was a particularly generous thing to do, when he was going through his own illness and dealing with that and the consequences of that, that he took time to reach out to me to acknowledge the Canberra Region Cancer Centre, the staff at Canberra Hospital and others who had provided him with treatment. Again, that talks to the man that we all knew.

Since his passing, Senator Molan has been remembered as a loyal servant to the people of his community, the people of New South Wales, and our country more broadly, and today the Senate honours his service. Senator Molan dedicated his life to serving our nation through his many roles, in which he always served with distinction. I hope that this condolence motion today in the Senate offers his family some comfort, that the respect in which he was held offers some comfort as they mourn a life taken too soon.