Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

What a brilliant valedictory speech—so full of grace and wisdom—from our dear friend Janet! And I'm so pleased that Greens leader, Adam Bandt, and our members in the lower house, Max and Libby, were able to hear the tail end of it, after the tragic passage of the bill to facilitate offshore gas. But more on that later. I and all of the team will dearly miss Janet's presence in this place. She is such a force in our movement. Before I share some personal memories, I want to emphasise a few of her incredible achievements. And it's so weird, because I've got my back to you, Janet—I'm sorry about all of this.

Janet fought hard for everyone to love who they want and to marry who they want. She was at the forefront of campaigning for marriage equality, and what an incredible win that was! I love that you've hinted at impending nuptials, and I look forward to the wedding invitation if and when that transpires. You'll have to sort out the dogs and the cats getting along, though! I know that's an ongoing issue. We're so grateful for her ongoing leadership in LGBTIQ+ communities and for her advocacy, in particular, for trans and gender diverse people.

Janet was also an integral part of the tampon tax campaign. In 2018, after I section-44ed myself, Janet introduced a bill to the Senate to scrap the GST on sanitary products, which passed with the support of some of the crossbench and Labor. Well done, Janet.

For over 40 years Janet has campaigned to end native forest logging. I'm not sure whether she'll be relieved or not, but there won't be any more questions about Leadbeater's possums in estimates. Perhaps we'll keep up the focus.