Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Clerk, I remind the Senate that the time has come when it is necessary for the Senate to choose one of its members to be President. I propose to the Senate for its President Senator Hogg, and I move:

That Senator Hogg take the chair of the Senate as President.

The Clerk:

Are there any further nominations?

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Clerk, I propose to the Senate as its President Senator Christine Milne, and I move:

That Senator Milne take the chair of the Senate as President.

The Clerk:

Are there any further nominations? There being no further nominations, I invite the candidates to address the chair.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I submit myself to the will of the Senate.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Clerk, I draw your attention to standing order No. 6 and seek your advice as to when I may speak to my motion nominating Senator Milne as a candidate.

The Clerk:

When the other candidate has addressed the Senate, Senator. Senator Milne, do you wish to speak?

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you. Fellow senators, I submit myself to the will of the Senate and, in so doing, say that it would be my great pleasure and honour to preside over the Senate, if that was the wish of the Senate. Senator Brown will speak to my credentials for this role, but I would certainly serve the Senate without fear or favour, if it was the will of the Senate that I do so.

The Clerk:

Do any senators wish to address the chamber?

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Milne is the clear choice for this position if we are to take seriously this role of President of the Senate, and I do. The role is constitutionally the most important that any parliamentarian in either house can hold. It requires a person with great experience, and that includes public experience and, if possible, national and international experience. And it requires somebody who is going to serve this Senate without fear or favour, and Senator Milne would certainly do that. She is a candidate of enormous integrity and has a fearless ability to be honest and to be fair—qualities which are essential to a chair of the Senate. Senator Milne, besides 10 years parliamentary experience in Tasmania where, amongst other things, she very successfully led the party in the balance of power in the late 1990s, has now been in this chamber for a year more than a term and knows very well how it works and knows more particularly how better it should work. I point out that she was also Vice-President of the World Conservation Union in Switzerland—a United Nations associated body—for some years. She has also been chair of the global council of the World Conservation Union and remains chair of the Oceania chapter of the council. She is also a United Nations Global 500 award recipient.

I ask senators of the government and the opposition to listen carefully to this. This job should not be a sinecure. The arrangement between the government and the opposition whereby one takes the chair and one takes the deputy chair does not serve this Senate properly. The best person should be appointed and voted to the chair, and this should be a free vote. It should not be corralled by a cosy arrangement between the two big parties in this place. It is time that ended. That does not serve this Senate fairly or well, and the Greens—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The interjections that I hear, Clerk, are an example of why we need a very strong President to ensure that the standing orders are adhered to by all, because the public gets a better outcome from the strict application of these rules—Senator Milne would do just that. She is the best candidate and I recommend her to all of you as voters with your own right to think individually rather than according to the dictate of party as to how you are going to appoint this chair.

The Clerk:

Do any other senators wish to address the question? There being two nominations, in accordance with the standing orders a ballot will be held. Before the Senate proceeds to ballot, the bells will be rung for four minutes.

The bells having been rung—

The Clerk:

The ballot will  now be held. Ballot papers will be distributed to all senators, who are requested to write upon the ballot paper the name of the candidate for whom they wish to vote. The candidates are Senator Hogg and Senator Milne.

A ballot having been taken—

The Clerk:

The result of the ballot is: Senator Hogg, 68 votes and Senator Milne, six votes. Senator Hogg is therefore elected as President of the Senate in accordance with the standing orders and will take the chair.

Senator Hogg having been conducted to the dais—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners on whose land we meet. I think that is so important. Then I would like to thank the senators who have just placed their trust in me and given their support. I am honest, I am fair, and I am sure that as time progresses those who might not believe that will find it to be true.

On the occasion of being elected to this very high office indeed, I think it is an opportunity to reflect on my path here. In particular, I think that one does not get here by one’s good looks, charm, personality, political skills, wit or any other devices. One really achieves office—whether it be as a senator, whether it be as the President or whether it be as any other officer in this place—by virtue of a wide range of support that has been lent to one over a long period of time.

I think that is something that we should never overlook in our successes in life—that we never get there solely by ourselves. So I want to firstly acknowledge my party and those loyal people in the party who have elected me through our state council process to be a candidate for the party over a long period of time. I have witnessed in this place a number of senators who have not been so successful in their preselection processes, and of course it is a sad occasion indeed. The people who put you here are important, to say the least.

I want to thank my caucus colleagues, and I notice, in particular, that some of the members of the House of Representatives have ventured here this afternoon. Again, without their support, I would not stand before you. From my own state, I want to recognise Anthony Chisholm, the state secretary, and I have enjoyed the support of a number of state secretaries over a long period of time. I owe my success in part to my party. But, next, I want to acknowledge the electors of Queensland. Rightly or wrongly, in the minds of some people, they have returned me now on three occasions to this place, a great honour indeed.

I next wish to acknowledge my union. I am a proud unionist and always have been. In particular, my union, the SDA, has a long and proud tradition which has been fostered in my time with the union particularly by Jim Maher, who unfortunately cannot be here today, and Joe de Bruyn, who is the national secretary. Without my union, without the opportunities that my union gave to me, coming from a very humble background indeed, I would not stand before you. I next want to thank Chris Ketter, who is the current Queensland branch secretary of the SDA, for his long-term friendship and support of me. Also, last but not least from my union, I want to acknowledge Wally Major. Wally is represented by his daughter Joan here today. Wally was the person who fatefully gave me the job with the SDA over 32 years ago.

Again, as I said, one does not get here by one’s own good looks, talents or whatever else, and an enduring friendship with the Australian Workers Union and Bill Ludwig, who represents them here today, has been of great assistance to me in my career over a long period of time. I want to mention ‘Sciaccas’. Con Sciacca, Sciaccas Lawyers and his former partner, the Hon. Brian Kilmartin, who is now a magistrate, have supported me and given me great counsel over a long period of time.

Now I want to mention a name that will not mean a great deal to people outside of the SDA—a person who has given me great strength and courage over a long period of time by the name of Jim Cosgrave of Cosgrave Management Consultants, who taught me how to be patient and how to think in a positive way in developing the skills that I may well have. I thank my staff, Julie Christensen and Hazel Hubbard—who have endured me for 12 years as their employer and without whom my office would not have run successfully over that period of time—Darrell Main and of course Julia Clifford and Meredith Horne in Canberra.

I now turn to my family, because in this game unless you have the support of your family you are not going to make it. I have been extremely blessed with my family and the support that they have given me. It would be a proud moment if my late parents were alive, but obviously they are long gone. But my sister, Mary, is here. I thank you, Mary, for your support. I thank my son, Stephen, my daughter Elizabeth and my daughter Louise. You have been wonderful. You have put up with me through all of my union career and political career. I thank you for that. But the really solid rock has been my wife, Sue. Sue, you are amazing. As I said, this speech is about the people who have supported me over a long period of time; you have been a tower of strength to me and you have enabled me to achieve what I have achieved. I salute you and love you.

It is not possible in a brief speech such as this to thank and encompass everyone. But I think I have made my point that it was not done by me alone and that it was done with the support and cooperation of a wide group of people. Having said that, I make special mention of the two former presidents that I have served under: Alan Ferguson and Paul Calvert. In my time as Deputy President of the Senate they extended a hand of friendship to me that broke down party barriers, not that there were any party barriers in this particular high office. In particular, thank you to you, Alan. This period has not been easy for Alan and me. We knew that there was going to be a transition, but it has worked wonderfully indeed for both of us. I thank you, Alan.

Last but not least, I want to remind people that I come from very humble circumstances. I am proud of my heritage. Those who dig into my background will find that I have a great-great-grandfather who was a politician. He was the subject of Steele Rudd’s notice in Dad in politics, which goes back to the turn of the century. I never thought that I had anyone of that character in my background, but obviously I do and obviously it is reincarnated here today.

I look forward to working with all senators in a cooperative manner in the future. I am sure that we can make this chamber work in spite of the changing dynamics within it. I look forward to the challenges. Thank you very much.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on behalf of all senators, and particularly on behalf of government senators, I congratulate you on your election to the very important office of President of the Senate. It is one of the most important offices in the Australian democracy. It is important that the person elected to that position takes their function and role very seriously. We know that you will. I think you are superbly qualified for the position. You have served an apprenticeship as Deputy President of the Senate, which I think will serve you well in the role.

More importantly, I think it is because you have a reputation as being a very honest operator, a person of integrity, a person of mature judgement and a person who is balanced and conscientious—all qualities that I think are important for the role of President—that the Senate has shown the good judgement in electing you to this position. Your reputation for those qualities is accepted across the chamber, despite political differences and arguments. I think people accept you as being a good choice for the position, not just as a reflection of party numbers or convention.

I do acknowledge the role of the opposition in supporting the convention of the President coming from the government party. I congratulate them on honouring that convention. I have yet to check whether Senator McGauran also honoured that convention, but when we go to the ballots later we will see.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There was one informal vote, I understand! That was not meant as any inappropriate remark in relation to Senator McGauran; it was just a reflection on an earlier event. But, Mr President, I congratulate you on your election. I look forward to you dealing with what I think will be a large challenge for you in the new Senate. It will place pressure on you. But I think your standing in the Senate will serve you well in that role. I am sure you will do the job admirably.

I would also briefly like to mention the service of Senator Ferguson as President. I think he did an excellent job. His humour and openness were a great credit to him. I acknowledge his integrity, in the face of being a member of the government that had the numbers in the Senate. It meant that he was able to do that job despite what I know would have been pressures for him to be more supportive of the government’s position. They are only natural pressures that occur in the job for any President, but I think the fact that he was able to maintain his reputation for impartiality despite those pressures is to his great credit.

So, Mr President, I congratulate you on your election. I think it was in part due to the shortness of your campaign speech! But there are other factors that served you well in this election, and we wish you all the best.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on behalf of opposition senators I warmly congratulate you on your election to this very high office. Your election, of course, for opposition senators, does reflect the disappointing reality that the Australian people decided to change the government at the last election. But it also reflects, as Senator Evans observed, the fact that our opposition does respect the convention that the government of the day should nominate the President of this chamber. We congratulate the Labor Party on nominating the best possible candidate that they could nominate, in you, Mr President, for this exalted position.

I must say that, for a Labor senator, you have done a remarkably good job as Deputy President of the Senate for the last six years. You have earned widespread respect from across the chamber. I and many others on our side have had the privilege of working closely with you—and, indeed, of voting with you on some of the more significant and difficult moral issues that come before this chamber. Many of us know and respect you personally from that experience. Your carriage of the office of Deputy President stands you in good stead and does reflect the fact that you are an outstanding candidate for President. I have no doubt you will do a great job. We do expect from you, and no doubt will get from you, the independence, the objectivity and the impartiality that is incumbent on the bearer of the great office of President. We do hope very much that you will enjoy this great office until August 2011—when, with great respect, we on this side look forward to you being succeeded by a Liberal senator! But enjoy the time until then. Thank you, Mr President.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, congratulations on your ascendancy to the presidency. We wish you the most rewarding and fulfilling years in that position and offer you every assistance that we can give you during this period. We look forward to working with you and, indeed, with all other members of the chamber in the coming three testing years.

I have one suggestion which you may consider—that is, to reflect the multipartisan nature of this chamber, the chair might recognise not just the government and the opposition but also the crossbench at the beginning of the sittings each day. That is something you may care to look at, Mr President. That said, congratulations. Enjoy the office. We offer you every support.

Steve Fielding (Victoria, Family First Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on behalf of Family First, I congratulate you on your new role as President of the Senate. I have no doubt that you will act without fear or favour and, obviously with the numbers now changed and now we have a Senate that is no longer a rubber stamp and there is a decent chance for decent debate to be held, that there will be a sense of a fair go in debates across the board. We do congratulate you on your position. I made some statements previously about the outgoing President, and I also thank him for the work that he did.

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, Mr President, I congratulate you on achieving this office. As the previous occupier of that chair, I could not have wished for a more loyal and supportive Deputy President than you were. As has been said before, we did comply with the convention that has been in place for some time, that the government should supply the President, but can I also say that you won it on merit. I look forward to working with you and I offer you my wholehearted support. We look forward to your time as President and I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate you on attaining that office, which I am sure you will find is a very enjoyable one.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to inform honourable senators that the Governor-General will be pleased to receive Mr President and such honourable senators as desire to accompany him in the Members Hall immediately.

The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. John Hogg) took the chair and read prayers.