Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I think Senator Pratt is still farewelling people, but if she doesn't mind I might just make some brief remarks. Louise is one of those people who leave this place with as much commitment to principle as they arrived with and with as much optimism as they arrived with, which is not always the case. Louise, your service has been marked by dedication to key causes and campaigns. Louise Pratt has always been an activist politician in the true sense of that term, pushing the boundaries for change. Through her service, she has sought to amplify the concerns of, address the needs of and, most importantly, bear witness to the perspective and experience of those who are marginalised. We saw that again tonight.

No tribute to Louise would be complete without emphasising her contribution to marriage equality in this country in 2017. It probably says something about our age that that is still something we remember really clearly. We talk to younger members of the LGBTIQ community, and not everybody knows all of the history, and it was a hard history. It was politically hard, it was hard internally, and it was really hard for us personally because it was about our families. And Louise knows, more than anyone else, the years—actually, I think it was over a decade—of work it involved, including community activism and political organising inside the party and with community. She was integral to that.

For some people from the outside looking in, they thought that the journey began in the mid-2010s and lasted for a couple of years before we came to the inevitable and obvious conclusion that equality wasn't something to be frightened of, but I think some of us—Louise and others—know differently. I want to say here, very clearly, that Louise Pratt was at the vanguard of that advocacy for equality, and she has been all her life, not only in here but also before she arrived here, as a student, in the Western Australian parliament and in her community activism. She pushed boundaries to get marriage equality on the agenda.

I had forgotten this but, with Trish Crossin, Gavin Marshall and Senator Brown, Louise introduced the bill in 2012. A few of us voted for it; it didn't get up. That's okay. We had to come back again. Louise and others set up the cross-party working group to advance the cause, and, of course, there was the campaign inside the Labor Party to change our position, which was critical to achieving the final outcome. The pivotal select committee that Louise spoke of, chaired by Senator Fawcett—and that, I think, Senator Smith was on—that considered the issue over the summer of 2016-17 laid the groundwork for the legislative success. I think you described it as 'guardrails', and I think that's a very accurate way of talking about it.

Over this journey, Louise and I played different roles at times, and that was important, but we were united when it came to the desired outcome. There's a great photo of us watching the announcements of the postal survey, and we're together in that. There's a great photo of us in here celebrating the bill being passed, and we were also together then. There are many thousands of Australians who, since that time—and there will be more into the future—have been able to make the decision to marry the person they love, as a result of the work of so many, and Louise was one of the torchbearers for a long time. At times, that was lonely. She kept the flame alight for many years.

I think we saw tonight, again, an example of her undisputed commitment to equality and to human rights. She never relents in her advocacy—including with me at times—on many issues far and wide. She has been quite active in parliamentary friends and has been a leader and supporter of Gavi, the worldwide vaccine alliance. She's been one of the two people who have been the driving force behind the World AIDS Day parliamentary breakfast. She's never changed her view about what matters.

She also doesn't shy away from a tough discussion about economic inequality. I think people may not see, all the time, the extent to which Louise is a policy head. She really is; she's somebody who looks at the detail of policy and comes to her views having thought through the policy issue very clearly. She's a vocal advocate for industry policy and, obviously, a member of the AMWU. She's a longstanding supporter of workers' rights, and her shadow portfolios reflected that over her career.

I was trying to think about how to talk about this, and I thought, really, the most honest way of saying this is that you're not a cookie-cutter politician. Whether it's the quirky Halloween outfits, which to me—I have looked at some of the photos Louise has sent me and thought, 'Oh, my goodness, I don't think I could ever wear that, ever.' You have so much fun! But, also, there's the way you think outside of the square in the way you approach this job and so much else.

I talked at the beginning about your optimism, and that's an inseparable part of who you are. It is a real tribute to you that, after years of being here, you still have that. We see people who leave this place or who come to this place who do not have that trait. You really do, and we are the better for both your optimism and your compassion. Senator Louise Pratt leaves this Senate articulating the same compassion that has been the hallmark of her career, and she leaves it with the same optimism which is the hallmark of who she is. I know that Louise has a desire to contribute elsewhere. I know she will bring the same energy and dedication to this next phase of her life that she has brought to so many areas of passion during her time as a senator.

To her family, particularly to Bek, I'm sure it will be good to have her back more. But I want to say to you, Jasper—I hope you know it now—I hope that in years to come you will come to understand even more how much your mum has contributed to a better world and community for you. You should be very proud, as we are.