Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Mr Deputy President, and I thank the Senate. There are some people who believe that senators cannot communicate with the public—that they are very poor retail politicians. Many of my friends in the lower house belief that, but then along came Senator Barnaby Joyce, one of the greatest retail politicians of our age. He touched and gave voice to Queenslanders that most of us could never, ever reach. He gave voice to the outsiders—those outside the cafes, those outside the cities, those outside the univer­sities, those outside the chattering classes—and gave voice to those conservative, often rural, blue-collar families that Labor has increasingly forsaken. He has always done that and done it so convincing­ly. He spoke to them and he spoke for them. There is another side, too: the well-read, the inquisitive, the passionate bloke who arrived in the Senate with something to say and then had the gall to say it.

Barnaby taught me about courage. He might easily have remained in the Senate, safe and secure forever, but he took on Mr Windsor with a majority of 72 per cent, and today, well, he is one step closer. Finally, Barnaby taught me all about conviction. Early on, he opposed the Rudd government's CPRS. That leadership was critical. We would never have come so close in 2010, and we certainly would not be in the position we are today, if Senator Joyce had not led us.

Barnaby, I know this is not goodbye, perhaps it is au revoir. We will see you again. Be gentle, mate, when you go to the lower house, because they do not know what is about to hit them.