Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunawal people, and I acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. I would also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the boodja which I live and work on, Boorlo, Perth. Boorlo is located in the country of the Whadjuk Noongar people, who have been the traditional owners of the south-west of Western Australia for at least 45,000 years. Sovereignty of this land was never ceded. This land always was and always will be Aboriginal land. First Nations peoples continue to practise their culture and strengthen their communities, despite the policies and interventions of governments over the more than two centuries that white people have been here and that Australia has been colonised. Their culture is thriving and growing and their fight for justice is gaining momentum, despite the punitive and paternalistic policies of successive governments that have sought to deny First Nations peoples their rights and their proper place at the heart of our nation. Having the longest living history and culture still thriving on this ancient continent is what helps make us uniquely Australian. It has been a great pleasure to work with First Nations peoples and organisations around this country. Thank you to all of the First Nations organisations and groups I have worked with over these 16 years. Thank you for your support and your knowledge and wisdom that you have shared. There is still so much unfinished business with many injustices that need to be put right. We still have some of the worst First Nations health, education, employment and life expectancy outcomes in the world. We have by far the highest rates of overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in our child protection system. The numbers of Aboriginal youth within our justice systems are the worst of any developed nation in the world. I am so pleased there will be two strong and determined Aboriginal women as part of our Greens team in this place to drive change.

It has been a privilege to represent the people of Western Australia in the Senate. I have always been driven by achieving better outcomes for people and planet. Just to confirm, this is my formal farewell speech. However, as I will be here for another week, provided we are sitting, it won't be my very last word. You can't expect, surely, that I will sit here silently for a week. You're spot-on. In my first speech I said:

We need to remember that we live in a community, not an economy, that our economy is one means of sustaining that community—an important part, definitely, but only one. It is one we need to get right, but it is not the be-all and end-all. Ultimately, what we all want is the opportunity to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. If instead of striving to be richer we could strive to be more equal, everyone's wellbeing would improve and we would have healthier communities based on compassion, honesty, fairness, justice, respect and equality.

This statement is as true today as it was 16 years ago. We've seen over the last two decades what happens when we put the interests of the wealthy ahead of those of the broader community. Wealth doesn't trickle down and it doesn't float all those boats. Now more than ever it is critical that we put the people and the planet ahead of all else. The pandemic has laid bare how important a strong and inclusive community is and how important it is to look out for everyone in our community.

COVID showed us that poverty is a political choice. In a country as wealthy and prosperous as Australia, it is shameful and unacceptable that we have so many people living below the poverty line and that so many are homeless and struggle to have enough to eat. Early on in the pandemic crisis we had a small taste of what it could be like if our economy were truly designed to serve us. Briefly across the political spectrum we were all truly in it together and focused on the best community outcomes. For the first time in over two decades people on income support had enough to get by, those experiencing homelessness were given shelter and communities came together to support each other.

After having campaigned in this chamber and across the country for an increase in income support for well over a decade, I was in fact overjoyed when the government suddenly doubled the rate of the JobSeeker payment during COVID. After decades of community campaigning, we finally got to see firsthand the dramatic increase in the quality of life brought about because people who were being marginalised and excluded finally received an adequate living income. We heard firsthand the impact this made on people on income support, and I shared many of these accounts that were entrusted to me in this chamber.

The COVID crisis shone a light on how broken our social security net really is. Suddenly, a significant number of Australian householders needed to access income support for the first time in their lives. In doing so, many people discovered how complicated and punitive our social safety net has become. We saw the biggest shift in attitudes in decades everywhere across our communities, but it turns out unfortunately those attitudes towards the poor and the excluded did not shift very far in this place. For decades there has been an approach by successive governments, reinforced by our mainstream media, that seeks to undermine the character of those who are struggling to get by and seeks to blame them for the desperate circumstances they find themselves in. Our income support system seems designed to grind people down, to rob their lives of hope and meaning, rather than to assist them to find their purpose in their life, to make a contribution to society and to have a good life.

We are again seeing the government pursuing people for overpayment errors, many of them most likely by Centrelink. At the same time, our Treasurer and Prime Minister refuse to do anything to recover the hundreds of millions of dollars in JobKeeper subsidies made to billionaires and big corporations. Have we learned nothing from robodebt? Through this crisis the government has clearly shown that poverty is a political choice that we quite deliberately continue to choose to make. We have seen how they can provide our citizens who are out of work with a living wage and how effectively this stimulates local economies and improves outcomes for our community. Instead, they've chosen to entrench economic inequality by only increasing the JobSeeker payment by a mere $3 a day, keeping the payment below the poverty line. Remember, this includes single parents, people with a disability who can't get DSP, older workers being discriminated against and the ageing entering retirement in poverty. We could and should imagine a country where everyone has the opportunity to live their best life, to find and develop their talents, to follow their passions and build meaning and purpose in their lives, to be given the opportunity to make a contribution to our community and to be recognised for it.

Our role in this place should be to make these dreams possible, not to crush them. We are given a unique opportunity here to help create a better country. Now is the time for an unconditional liveable income so that nobody has to live in poverty in this country.

Now I would like to turn to the biggest crisis we all face, the one that threatens not just our health and wellbeing but the health and resilience and ongoing viability of all life on this planet. It is with a heavy heart and an immense sense of disappointment and frustration that I stand here and acknowledge that, after 16 years in this place, we as a parliament representing the Australian community have failed to achieve anything meaningful and constructive for them in the face of this existential threat of climate change. We had legislation, and it was starting to work. And it was torn up. Shame!

We are in a climate crisis. It is code red. The first duty of a government should be to keep people safe. We do have a duty of care to all our children and our future generations. In the last few years we have seen the start of a dreadful acceleration of the rate of catastrophic-climate extreme-weather events across Australia and around the world. We have faced fires on a scale and ferocity never seen before, knowing at the same time that the conditions will only get worse. Droughts, cyclones and floods continue to become more frequent and more severe. As we continue to cause more widespread damage, the resilience of our ecosystems and their ability to recover and to continue to sustain life is eroded. In turn, their degradation and loss contributes more greenhouse gases. It's a vicious cycle.

The climate crisis is damaging our vital ecosystems, all the life we share this planet with, our health, our water, our ability to grow food and the air we breathe. Climate change now threatens all species. If we fail to act quickly and comprehensively, many more species will be lost to extinction within our lifetimes. All the while, donations from fossil fuel industries continue to influence political decision-making. The latest IPCC report adds more detail to the science and more certainty to the predictions of temperature rises and habitat loss. But, fundamentally, we already knew and had known for a long time that we have to act with a sense of extreme urgency. This is a collective shame on this place, in my opinion. History will judge us very harshly because the evidence is there in black and white, in the Hansard, that we knew about this monumental threat to our community and our planet.

When the lives and livelihoods of Australians were threatened by the coronavirus, governments listened to the science and took action. It is beyond time to treat the climate crisis as the national emergency that it is and take urgent action. We are running out the clock on this crisis. We have very little time left to prevent catastrophic climate change. We already know that the last two decades of inaction have cost us and our children very dearly. Increasingly, there is a risk that things will get away from us and our effort will be too little, too late.

I would like to reflect on some of the important and often unrecognised work that we have achieved in this place. Unfortunately, parliamentarians agreeing and working together is not all that newsworthy. I think perhaps we all, including the media, should look at what we click on, and report, that reinforces conflict and controversy, and at failing to seek out and share stories of good processes delivering positive and good outcomes.

One of the ways that we can achieve outcomes is through the committee process—and it would come as no surprise to anyone in this chamber that I'm a big supporter of the committee process. I acknowledge that not all the inquiries we undertake through the committee process have us singing kumbaya and agreeing, but there have been some very good outcomes from committees and they drive change. It's been my privilege to be the chair of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee for a number of years. Working together in committees, and with communities, we've been able to shine a light on many, many issues. These include: past adoption practices; the experiences of former child migrants and forgotten Australians; hearing health; suicide prevention; violence and abuse and neglect of disabled people; indefinite detention of people with cognitive and psychiatric impairment in Australia; the aged-care workforce; out-of-home care; grandparent carers; income inequality; Lyme disease; robodebt; and so many more.

One inquiry that stands out for me is the 2012 inquiry into forced adoptions. I will never forget the trust and confidence people in the community had in the committee to share their very personal and often deeply traumatic experiences. Because of their courage, we exposed this dark chapter of our history and made immeasurable changes to the lives of those in our community who were so badly affected by this inhumane treatment. That is where this place shines. I remember so clearly the day we delivered the report: people spoke and we in this chamber all stood up and clapped for the mothers, the children and those affected by forced adoptions, who were all in the gallery. We clapped for them, and it was a day I think we can all be proud of.

During my time here, I've been supported by so many parliamentary staff. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Procedure Office, the Table Office, the Library, Hansard, the Comcar drivers and all the wonderful people who keep this place running. And where would we be without our fix from Aussies?

Thanks to the amazing and fantastic chamber attendants who keep us all on track: Stephen, Diane, Wally, Rosemary, Adrienne and Fiona. I would like to thank all the committee staff for their dedication and support during the many Senate inquiries I have chaired, referred and participated in. In particular, I'd like to thank the community affairs committee secretariat for their support and for always ensuring that we can hear the experiences and voices of the community in this place. One of the important things that I hope will continue is that we ensure that we hear the voices of the community in this place.

My work would have been greatly diminished if it had not been for the support and generosity of our deeply valued stakeholders and the community and not-for-profit sectors. I would not have been able to manage my portfolio responsibilities and campaigns without your expertise and the time you have spent over many, many years investing in various issues, campaigning and advocating for change in this place. I thank you for your invaluable help to help us raise pressure and bring the issues out here in this chamber. I think together we have made some changes to some key issues.

I would also like to thank all the staff who have worked within my office, the whip's office, the whip's clerks and the broader Greens teams over the last 16 years. I have received so much support from all of you over many years, and I could not have done the work that I've done without your dedication, expertise and patience. I would like to make a special shout-out to all my office staff over the years. It's a long list. Thanks to Rebecca, Bridget, Nicola, Scott, Fluffy, Tim, Chris, Dee, Donna, Tenille, Jo, Nadine, Georgia, Andrew, Jess, Eloise, Fernando, Claire, Harriet, Ryan, Tarek, Ogy, Elliott, Giz, Dave, Alan and my current amazing team: Rose, Lucy, Cana, Grace and Alison. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We have truly operated as a team at all times, and I will miss you so much. I note that a lot of those staff are currently working for other Greens senators, in the Australian Greens or in the leader's office, and many have gone on to other very exciting work.

As I said in my first speech, I stand here as the fourth in a line of strong Greens women from the west. I pay tribute to Jo Vallentine, Christabel Chamarette and Dee Margetts, and I thank them for the support they have given me over the years. I know that our next WA senator, Dorinda Cox, is also a force from the west, and she is very strongly to be reckoned with. Thank you to all our volunteers at Greens WA. Your commitment to our values and your passion for making our community better mean that I have been lucky enough to be able to represent you and our beautiful state for the last 16 years.

When I started out here we were a much smaller team. In fact, there were just four of us. I want to pay tribute to Bob Brown and Christine Milne, who both guided and mentored me during the beginnings of my political career. It did take me a long time to realise I was actually a politician. I would also like to thank Richard and Adam for their support, guidance and commitment to our Greens movement, and I thank all my party room colleagues. It's such a shame you can't be here. I'm sending my love to you all. Thank you very much. I have enjoyed working with all of you, It's been a great honour. I would also like to thank, again from the bottom of my heart, all the people who have sent me such lovely messages over the last couple of days. It's very much appreciated. Senator Keneally, I'm using your trick of the tongue in the top of the mouth!

Finally, importantly, I would like to thank my family. We all in this place have the same family issues as everybody else. We have our ups and downs. We have family crises, children being sick or simply young people being teenagers. We support our parents as they age. We cope with the loss of loved ones. So often, our families have to cope with these issues without us because we are in Canberra, on the road or in a meeting. We all have missed, I'm sure, so many family occasions. My son will really hate me saying this, but I missed his school ball and seeing him in his formal suit. That can never happen again, and so many people in here have had the same.

My family's love, support and understanding have seen me through many challenges, and I'm so lucky to have you by my side. During this journey, it's been up and down and bumpy sometimes, but overall I think that we have managed to make some change. Thank you all, to my family, for being there and being on my side. I thank everybody in this place also for the support that you have shown and given to me. Thank you.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] The departure of any of our colleagues from the Senate chamber is often an occasion for a little bit of reflection, and in the departure of Senator Siewert, of Rachel, as a senator from Western Australia, I look at the fact that Rachel is now the only Greens senator to have served in the Senate longer than I have served as a senator, and made such an incredible contribution with such conviction over such a prolonged period of time.

Rachel, I want to start by just expressing how much you will be missed, I think from right across the chamber, by colleagues who respect you from right across the chamber. As we saw in the remarks you made just then, and as we've seen right throughout your career, you're a person and have been a senator of passion and of compassion. You are someone with strong convictions but also just such a thoroughly decent person in the way in which you engage and conduct yourself in a principled and thoughtful manner at all times.

Sixteen years of service in the Senate is an incredible accomplishment in anyone's terms. It's a long way from working as an agricultural scientist, digging through the fields and studying soil and salinity in Jerramungup. It's a long way from the 14 years you spent as the coordinator of the Conservation Council of Western Australia. But in 16 years you've made a real imprint not just on the institution of the Senate but, I think probably far more importantly, on the lives of many people, and you touched on that in your remarks, through the committee work and the advocacy work that you've undertaken. There must be so many thousands of Australians who are grateful for the engagements they've had with Rachel Siewert and for the advocacy they've had from Rachel Siewert, and for the passion and thoughtfulness that you have brought to that.

You mentioned in your recollections the work on the inquiry into forced adoption as one of the many different areas that you made a mark as a senator, and particularly as chair and participant in the community affairs committee. Indeed, I remember that day, too. I remember the respect that was had across the participants in that inquiry for the senators who engaged in that inquiry, and between the senators for one another, and how strongly that extended from senators—coalition senators and Labor senators—to you and to the work that you had done as a champion and advocate in that area of such enormous sensitivity and such deep emotion for so many people, and the care that you had shown throughout.

Of course, that's not to say that you don't know how to make a point either. We've certainly all had to turn the volume down occasionally from the odd Rachel Siewert contribution in the chamber!

Sometimes, I think it's safe to say, senators come into the chamber or go into committees or elsewhere and raise their voices for perhaps a little bit of grandstanding, to get themselves noticed, to make sure that people turn and see what they're talking about, whereas I think we all know that when you decided to raise your voice to make sure we all turned around and listened and thought, 'God, what's Rachel getting so worked up about now?' it was because you really cared, it was because it was something that really mattered to you, not just because you were going after a headline or some attention at the time, and that's to your credit and it's a testament to the type of person that you are.

In your work across the committees, in your work as the Greens Whip and in all those different areas, it has been a demonstration of somebody truly committed to the service of the people of Western Australia and to the service of your supporters and those who share your convictions and your ideologies. Although we may have our points of difference, you have absolutely championed your values, your opinions and those who have elected you relentlessly, and for that you've got all of our respect. I want to thank, on behalf of the government, your family for the sacrifices they have made to lend you to the service of the nation in the Senate. They should be proud too of what you've achieved.

So, Rachel, I'm sorry that I'm not there today in person to wish you well, but we do wish you well. It's been a pleasure, for so many, to work with you. I know that's a sentiment that has been echoed, since your announcement, by government senators, by Labor senators and by others; you'll be missed. The Greens certainly need to think carefully in terms of your replacement as whip and making sure that it's someone who brings the same sense of how to get things done while standing up for your values at the same time, and getting that balance right, as you've done. Good luck, all the best, and I'm sure we'll keep hearing those passionate views of yours from outside the Senate chamber, as somebody of your beliefs will no doubt continue to do.

Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the opposition to acknowledge the valedictory remarks of Senator Rachel Siewert and to reflect on her contribution to the Senate. One of the longest serving current senators, first elected by Western Australia in 2004 and re-elected two further times, in 2010 and 2016, and taking her seat on 1 July 2005—at the same time as our current Senate colleagues Senator Polley and Senator Sterle—her tenure has extended beyond 16 years. At her heart an environmentalist, with a background in agriculture and conservation, as a senator she has made a particular impact in the area of social policy, where she has been a relentless advocate for some of Australia's most marginalised citizens, as well as in the management of this chamber as the Australian Greens Whip.

Now, when Senator Siewert arrived in the Senate, it wasn't the first time a Greens senator from Western Australia had occupied the benches in this place, as she noted in her first speech, and here in her almost last speech, 'as the fourth in a line of determined Green women from the west to take on the Senate and progress the Green vision'. Continuing this proud legacy of women from that state representing her party, Senator Siewert paid particular tribute to the support she'd received from Dee Margetts, who is present to witness her beginning the next chapter. It says something about the determination of Senator Siewert that she has now spent more days as a senator than her three predecessors combined, today reaching 5,900 days of service.

She joined the Senate, though, at one of the darkest times in its history, with the Howard government having secured a majority. Perhaps those on the other side don't think it was a dark time, but for those like Senator Siewert, and others, there was a frustration about the egregious exercise of power that included the abolition of half of the Senate's legislative and general purpose standing committees, the passage of the infamous Work Choices legislation and the sale of the remaining publicly owned component of Telstra among the policy missteps of the time. And it was a tough time for all non-government parties.

Senator Siewert joined three Greens colleagues—Senators Brown, Nettle and Milne—and immediately took up duties as the Australian Greens Whip in the Senate, and she has maintained her grip on the whip's role for the entirety of her 16 years as a senator—a length of time for which I'm not sure we would wish to commit anyone to the task of whipping, even a senator from the Greens! In all seriousness, we recognise the role of whips as a critical one in the management of the chamber. The Senate would not function effectively without the cooperation and the coordination between the senators who serve as whips, something that I thank Senator Siewert for her part in making happen. I will note the demands of her position have undoubtedly increased for her as the size of her party room has increased, but I'm pretty sure she's not complaining about that.

Senator Rachel Siewert really did take on the Senate, and no more so was this the case than in the area of social policy and social justice, where she has been a leader in advocating for those who are often discriminated against or on the margins of society. As she said in her first speech, she held a vision of community. She just now quoted one part of that speech, and I'd like to quote another. She said:

a community … extends beyond the borders of our neighbourhood, suburb or state; a community in which people care about each other and the future of our planet and act carefully and responsibly to ensure its ongoing success; and a community that embraces diversity and understands that people living creative, fulfilling lives are more innovative and productive and will make a greater contribution to society.

She identified the negative impact of government policies that were designed to undermine the ability of non-profit organisations, such as community advocates, to advocate and lobby. She decried cuts to government services that outsourced welfare and expected volunteers to pick up the slack. She lamented attacks on the rights of workers, especially the least advantaged in our society—young people, women, those in low-paid work, casuals and temporary workers. She promoted the work of Indigenous leaders and was disappointed in the lack of support for First Nations communities to build active cultures that foster safe and healthy family environments. It's a source of ongoing frustration and disappointment for all of us on this side of the chamber that many of these issues of social justice remain unresolved and that some of these attacks are even being reprosecuted today.

Senator Siewert has been most vocal in her advocacy for people on income support, especially with regard to the rate of Newstart and its successor payment, JobSeeker. Similarly, she has drawn the attention of the Senate time and again to the impact of social security policies on the everyday lives of many Australians, including in the areas of housing, homelessness and the cashless debit card. As Chair of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee since 2009—another substantial tenure—she has been involved in significant inquiries, such as those into past adoption practices, former child migrants, hearing health and suicide prevention. As we've heard in the Senate this week, she has joined with Labor senators in bringing to light the shame of robodebt and has continued to highlight the detrimental effect of this policy on so many Australians.

Senator Siewert similarly brought the needs of Australians with a disability to the parliament, especially through the parliamentary committees on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Just as she did in her first speech in this place, she has continued to be a consistent voice in support of First Nations people and has relentlessly called for reconciliation and for governments to address the causes of this disadvantage and empower them to improve their living conditions.

The Senate has benefited from Senator Siewert's tenacity and perseverance in always highlighting the impact of government policy on those in our community who are often battling to get a hearing or to get a fair go, and she has always been about proposing alternative pathways. Senator Siewert, you said tonight that you feel that you've made some change. I say you've made a significant change. You have given voice to the voiceless, you have given hope to many and you have made lasting change in this place.

On a personal note, when I first came to know Senator Siewert I thought of her as a firecracker—a burst of energy. She seems to have endless energy. As someone who along with Senator Siewert does frequent the gym, often very early in the morning—I won't reveal the names of the few other senators who we sometimes see there—I can say that she does have endless energy. From 6.15 am onwards, Senator Siewert never rests in order to bring a fair go to her fellow Australians. There has never been any doubt whose side Senator Siewert is on.

Senator Siewert has chosen the timing of her departure from this place. She does so having made a substantial contribution as an advocate for some of Australia's most vulnerable people. I hope she leaves satisfied with what she has been able to accomplish. I hope that, with energy and passion, she continues to advance the causes that she believes in for a fair and more just society. On behalf of the opposition, although I know many of my colleagues will wish to speak tonight as well, I acknowledge Senator Rachel Siewert's service in the Senate and wish her well for the future.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the Nationals, with great pleasure, to farewell Senator Siewert—not because she's a Green but because she has served our nation and her community in Western Australia for 16 years in this place, and that's no easy task. You have made an impressive contribution. You're well respected by all in this place, Senator Siewert, for your professionalism, for the consistency in the manner in which you conduct your politics and for the way you've represented your values, your views and your community across that time.

It should come as no surprise that the National Party and the Greens are rarely in agreement on anything. But I would like to commend Senator Siewert for bringing a particular focus and a lived experience of rural and regional Australia to this place and to all the conversations she's had inside and outside of this chamber. That passion shines through, not only for the regions—ensuring that agriculture should be rightly recognised—but also for getting yoga and strength training into the parliament gym, I recall, many, many years ago. We got that done as well!

Senator Siewert also recognises, unlike, unfortunately, some of her colleagues—obviously not another regional Australian there, Senator Hanson-Young, but on that side of the chamber—that regional Australia does deserve equitable access to health and education. You've been a champion of those issues as well because you understand that the regions are the engine room for the economy. In fact, Senator Siewert has had a long service of representing the regions in the Senate through committees. The list is a long one, but I have served alongside you in the Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs and the Rural and the Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport.

On 11 August 2005, Senator Siewert delivered her first speech and, with a Bachelor of Science in ag and a background as a research officer with the state Department of Agriculture, said, 'I am determined to ensure our rural communities can continue to survive and in fact thrive.' That is a message that the National Party obviously shares and wants to assist with. People from right across Australia have benefited from your efforts, Senator Siewert, not just those in WA, and we're grateful. There were occasions when Senator Siewert backed our farmers, and the backpacker tax was not the first time that the Nats and the Greens joined forces to support rural and regional Australia. On 13 November 2013, Senator Siewert said:

Then of course we get to GrainCorp. This is one area where I agree with the Nationals. I am very concerned about the takeover by ADM of GrainCorp and I agree with the Nationals—

I can't say it enough, but you said it first!

It does present problems for our farmers. We should restart the inquiry into this takeover. We are concerned that it will be anticompetitive, that it will have a negative impact on our farmers, and we urge the Nationals to continue their opposition to this takeover.

Well, guess what? The Nationals did, and the Treasurer at the time, Joe Hockey, made the right decision in blocking that takeover bid, so we thank you for the strong arm over there of the Greens on behalf of regional Australia. Senator Siewert, we're going to miss you, I think. That was a great example of party politics not getting in the way of doing the right thing.

As I said, I've served with Senator Siewert not only on RRAT but also on community affairs committees, and I came into that role when we were in opposition, with two other powerhouses—former Senator Susie Boyce and former Senator Claire Moore. That dynamic trio taught me a lot about this place. They focused on being collaborative, on driving consensus when possible without compromising your views and values—and I'm going to get emotional now. It was a great pleasure, as a new senator, someone who hadn't been in politics as a staffer, to come and learn from the three of you.

I do think, as you said, part of our work should be about finding common space, because that's where most Australians, who sent us all here, are. Rachel, you approached your work always seeking to find that where you could, and I think all of us could do better to find more of that space. Over the decade I've been here, that's something that I hope we're not losing. But you did. And the Senate provides us all with that unique opportunity.

The Commonwealth Contribution to Former Forced Adoption Policies and Practices inquiry was incredibly powerful and showed me what you can do from the Senate. You don't have to be in government; you don't have to be a minister; you just have to find consensus, like-minded individuals and go with the evidence. What we were all able to achieve out of that on behalf of those women and their children was quite incredible. It will stay with me my entire life as something very powerful.

I can never thank you enough for the pragmatic, grounded approach that you brought to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee as an ag scientist.

Wherever life after the Senate takes you, Senator, I know that you'll embrace it broadly, robustly, with both hands. You'll squeeze every bit of joy out of it. I wish you all the very best on behalf of my party, and also personally and on behalf of regional Australia. Thank you very much for your service. Go well.

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

[by video link] I rise to speak in awe of Senator Rachel Siewert. It's so sad that we can't all be there with you in person. Each of our senators will be making their own contribution, so I hope you've got enough tissues there, Rachel. Adam, of course, sends his love. I'm going to be sharing some words from him and a few of your other former colleagues in this contribution.

After 16 years of contribution to our polity, to our parliament and to society, we are going to miss you so very, very much. They are such big shoes to fill, even though you have really tiny feet and very pointy shoes! This place isn't going to be the same without you, Rach. You are held in the absolute highest regard by not only all of our party room and our party members but by everyone in this chamber, as you've just heard and as you will hear for hopefully a long while yet tonight.

Your work ethic is just phenomenal. Your integrity is unquestionable. Your honesty, the respect with which you treat others, your dedication, your tenacity and your relentlessness are legendary. The way you do politics, Rach, is a lesson in how we should all do politics, in my opinion. We are going to miss you so desperately.

You can be so proud of what you've achieved after a lifetime of service, not just in this role but in your previous careers as well in your service to the planet and service to its people. You have now well and truly earned the right to have some of your time and some of your life back. Your family needs you now and you need that time also. I think we know that you have a very exciting chapter coming up.

You're so well loved that we are going to share around some contributions, and some of your former colleagues have asked that I share some words from them to you. There are too many of them, so Senator McKim will be sharing some messages from Christine and Bob, and I've got messages from Adam, Richard and Scotty.

I will start off with Greens leader Adam Bandt who, of course, would be here, but he's in lockdown in Melbourne. Adam says: 'For 16 years Rachel has been a force of nature in the Senate and she has made an immeasurable contribution to the community, to the Greens movement and to Australian democracy. Rachel is recognised across the political spectrum as being one of the most hardworking and dedicated senators this place has seen. She is a tireless campaigner, and no matter what is thrown in her way she will keep fighting for justice for people and the planet. Her time in parliament has been shaped by her belief that when the people in parliament work for their community we can do powerful things together. Rachel has been instrumental in fighting for a fairer income support system and has humanised the experiences of people on income support, making sure their voices are heard. She has led the campaign to increase Newstart and JobSeeker in the parliament.'

He goes on: 'Rachel has been the leading voice in parliament fighting the punitive measures successive governments have imposed on some of the most vulnerable in our community, including cuts to single parenting payments, the Northern Territory Intervention, income management and the cashless debit card, Work for the Dole, the Community Development Program and the woefully low rates of income support. Rachel has campaigned alongside the community for justice for the victims of the illegal robodebt scheme and demanded the ministers responsible be held to account. Rachel chaired and referred the robodebt debacles to the Senate inquiry in 2017 and again in 2019.'

He continues: 'She has been the Chair of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee for 12 years, where she has chaired and referred issues such as past adoption practices—thank you for that—former child migrants, hearing health, suicide prevention, the violent abuse and neglect of disabled people, indefinite detention of people with cognitive and psychiatric impairment in Australia, the aged-care sector workforce, out-of-home care, grandparent carers, income inequality and robodebt. She was a driving force behind the forced adoptions inquiry and was instrumental in securing a national apology to mothers and their children—a day to be proud of indeed.'

Adam continues: 'Rachel is one of the first politicians to campaign for a royal commission into the violent abuse and neglect of disabled people, pursuing a royal commission since 2015, when it was a key recommendation of the Senate inquiry. In 2012 she made history by introducing a private member's bill into the Senate to help address petrol sniffing in the Northern Territory, which passed the parliament and became law. Rachel played a key role in the community campaign which stopped a major Woodside gas hub at James Price Point in north WA.' And he says, 'I'm sure her persistent presence at estimates will be missed by many, but perhaps not by the public servants that you have grilled over the years, Rach!'

I'll continue on with Adam's comments here: 'Rachel has been the only Greens Whip and Greens spokesperson on family and community services, First Nations issues, aging, mental health, health, healthy oceans, agriculture and industrial relations. Before being elected to the Senate in 2005, as the fourth in a long line of strong Greens women senators from the west, Rachel Siewert spent 16 years as the coordinator of the Conservation Council of WA and played a role in a number of national and state forums, tackling pressing environmental and social justice issues, including the World Heritage listing of Shark Bay.' He finishes, 'It goes without saying that Rachel's departure is a huge loss to the Senate and the Australian community.'

Another former leader of our wonderful party, dear Richard Di Natale, also wants to share this with you, Rach. Richard says: 'Rachel, a huge thankyou for fighting so hard for so long for people who don't have a voice. You will be remembered for your work to help people who are out of work live with some dignity, for your work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and for campaigns like James Price Point. I'll remember you as a friend. Good luck on the other side. I can highly recommend it!' He's doing well, as you know.

Lastly, from the senator to the senatrix, a message from Scotty, former senator Scott Ludlam. He says: 'This place has never known anyone as fierce, tenacious, smart and grounded as Senator Rachel Siewert. To say her voice will be missed in here would be an understatement because her voice has been raised for so many people sidelined and shut out of this place. From day one, for 16 years today, it's been Rach against the machine. Thank you for everything.'

Rach, your work will live on. Your 16 years in this chamber will live on for many years in the successes that you have driven and achieved. I've already detailed, through the words of our leaders and former leaders, the impact that you've had in so many policy areas. But I want to briefly reflect on how much I've valued you as a friend and a confidante in this place, and I want to remember to you some of the really wonderful experiences that we've shared in this bizarre and privileged role that we've had.

From the very early days, there was campaigning against the Traveston dam, before I had the honour of being a senator for Queensland, campaigning against that dam that was proposed for the Mary River, which we successfully stopped, Rach—in part, no doubt, because of you—and those beautiful places and the wonderful farmers that we spoke with in Gympie. To the tour throughout WA that we did opposing fracking, which sadly we will continue to have to fight for, and flying in that tiny plane out of Broome over the Canning Basin. You, Scott and I had inadvertently all worn exactly the same thing and looked somewhat like Mormons on the day. To the shared committee trips that we did on the Northern Australia committee out the back of Bourke and then some, our trips to Bundaberg and Hervey Bay opposing the cashless debit card and that beautiful, joyful day of your wedding that I was so blessed to share in the joy of with you, as did many of our colleagues. To standing with you at the press conference in Perth to support your re-election when I was actually secretly pregnant and for the first time was doing a press conference without coffee. I welcomed everyone to Cairns, and you kindly corrected me to say that no, we were in fact in Perth. To all of the wonderful chats that we've had in the chamber and on our walks home, over dinner or at coffee about terrible sci-fi, about food, about your family, about your skiing and your paddleboarding prowess and about the latest surfboard lighting design and shark-deterrent amazing paraphernalia. To your aspiration to ensure the protection of biodiversity, including the 'spiral shit fish', which I believe is incumbent upon us to have entered in the Hansard annals for history to recall.

For all of those times and more, Rach, we will miss you so very, very dearly. I actually can't imagine the place without you. Of course we'll do our best without you. The wonderful Dorinda Cox will soon be a senator for WA in your stead and fantastic Nick McKim will soon be our whip. But there's no-one like you, Rach, and our team will miss you so desperately much. We wish you all the very best and thank you so very much for everything that you've done for the wonderful party that you represent and for the values that we all share. Best of luck, and we'll miss you very much.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] Gee, Rach, while they're all going on about how hard you worked, I don't think they've called it right. Mate, let's be honest, you're like a bloody Trojan horse; I've never seen anything like it! Not even I can keep up with you—I'll be honest with you. You are going to leave a massive gap up there because having a person who knows social services right across the board like you do is absolutely amazing. You've either got to live through it or you've got to sit through a lot of committees and listen to a lot of people to get that knowledge. It is really hard to find people like you in that circle—and I don't mean to have a go at other people; I'm not doing that in a valedictory speech—but the bottom line is life experience is missing. Rachel seems to have a lot of it, whether that's because she's done her homework or because of her background or whatever, and she will be really sadly missed. You've been trying to get the voices of those millions of vulnerable Australians out there heard. I know you know that, but there are some in there that don't. There are a lot of them, and it's going to get worse, so I think your voice is going to be really deeply missed.

I'm not going to take up much time. I'm also in awe of you. It's been fabulous to have the opportunity to have you sit next to me since I've been in parliament. I have to say that I do blame Christine Milne for that. I don't want to blame myself or you, but I used to lean on her when she was there. I asked her when she left to put somebody in her seat that knows procedure. Unfortunately, you got that seat, right? So blame Christine—that's my first point. My second one is—and I ask you this before I let you go—that whoever you're going to put in that seat, can you please make sure that they know procedure? If you're expecting me to teach them procedure, I'm sure everything's going to get really ugly in there really quickly. Once again, I've worked with you on committees, and you have been fabulous. You take the politics out of politics, girlfriend. You are really going to be sadly missed and so is your knowledge. Thank you for all the help that you've given me over the years. My door's always open. You've got me on speed dial and you know that if you need anything, just call me. Thank you so much, thank you for everything.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sixteen years as a senator travelling back and forth from Western Australia, Rachel, is pretty phenomenal. I don't think those of us who live on this side of the country recognise the additional toll that that travel takes on you. You have done it for 16 years in representing your state, and you should be absolutely commended for it. I take my hat off. I get really tired flying all the way back to South Australia. I can't imagine what it's like when you fly back to Western Australia.

In this place you've been interested in a very broad range of things. In my time, first of all in rural and regional affairs and more recently as the minister for social services, I have seen your extraordinary passion in the areas of health and aged care. You care about Indigenous Australians. You have extraordinary compassion for more vulnerable Australians—those Australians who need a little more help than other Australians. You have always been a person who has stood up for those people who haven't been able to have a voice. You've been their voice. It is extraordinary that you can take away from this place the things that you have been able to do for Australians who haven't been able to do it for themselves. I don't think any of us can estimate how many Australians have benefited from your voice.

We don't always agree, but I have to say that many Australians would be surprised by how many times we do agree. The working relationship I've had with you, particularly in these last two years, has been absolutely phenomenal. I want to mention one area where we have worked together. I'm really pleased that the culmination of much of your effort will be realised before you go, and will continue afterwards, with the National Redress Scheme. Your constant voice of wisdom and your understanding of the issue have informed the development of the scheme, which we all admit wasn't perfect in the first place. Every day we have been able to work together to improve that scheme. We're introducing legislation tomorrow that will start the first tranche of reforms of the scheme. Very importantly, there will be advanced payments for people who are elderly or, sadly, likely to die sooner than the scheme may be able to respond to them. We know that the $10,000 is really not the important bit. The important bit is that by doing that we're saying, 'We listened to you and we believe you.' I'm really pleased we have been able to do that. Agree or disagree, nobody could ever question your motivation. Your motivation has always been pure. I am not sure all of us in this place can claim to have the kind of purity of motivation you do.

One of the hallmarks of your time here is that you have always been across your brief. Your understanding of the technical detail terrified me when I first became the minister for social services. I said, 'I don't care who I get a question from, just not Rachel, because Rachel is more likely to understand way more about my portfolio than I do.' I have to say that, in my first few months in my job, my office used to say: 'Watch Rachel. She's the canary in the coalmine. If Rachel is chasing something, there's sure to be something on the other end of it.' You have taught me an awful lot about chasing something to make sure we get to the salient issue that needs to be dealt with.

Another thing—and I think Senator Birmingham raised this—is you're not somebody for a media grab or a gotcha moment. You go into everything you do, whether in a committee, this chamber or estimates, prosecuting the issue. You never play the player; you always play the ball. I think that is an absolutely commendable attribute. As I said, you've always sought to represent and project the voices of your constituents and never your own. For you to have done that and your constant commitment to doing that, as I said earlier on, have meant that so many Australians have had a voice they otherwise wouldn't have had. You've been tireless and dedicated. I don't know that we will see in this place again your advocacy on behalf of the most vulnerable, although hopefully we do.

Also there is the respectful way in which you engage with everybody in this chamber, whether it be those you disagree with or those you agree with. The respect you show the attendants and everybody else you come in contact with in this building is an absolute testament to your character and personality. I think everybody here is going to miss that and also your cheeky way of dealing with things.

You've made a huge contribution. You can leave this place knowing that you have done a lot. If all of us could leave this place having achieved as much as you have, then I think we would all have every reason to hold our heads up high and be extremely proud.

Rachel, I wish you all the best. I hope that paddleboard is all shined up and ready to go when you get back to Western Australia. I'm also equally sure that this is not the last we'll hear of Rachel Siewert. I'm sure we'll see your head popping up frequently, advocating on behalf of the people that you believe need a voice. Go with our blessings. Thank you so much for the friendship you've shown me. It has been an absolute honour to work with you. Good luck.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have to wonder how Senator Siewert is feeling at the moment sitting there. After all the years of the slings and arrows that are part of this place, you finally hear that people think you're a pretty good person, Rachel. It must be a profoundly interesting moment to be sitting here experiencing that. I want to reflect briefly on your contribution, having heard your voice and the particular tenor of your review of your 16 years here. It was a voice thick with emotion, because you care about what you do, which has been reflected by everybody who has made a contribution so far. To have been serving in this place, about which people, sadly, have become increasingly cynical, with not a skerrick of cynicism in your voice is a testament to how resilient you are, how much integrity has been part of what you have brought to your role and what you've continued to model here for many senators and members of parliament who could well and truly take a leaf out of your book, in terms of a model of deep service to community, because that is exactly what you've given.

Of course, you did indulge yourself in a very brief record of your service, but that, again, just reveals the humility that you bring to the task that you have undertaken here. I also note that your comments tonight were somewhat tempered by a bit of a sorrowful statement about the things that were unable to be achieved—in particular, your passion for the challenge of our time: the red alert that is the climate change reality that is just so much a part of this time in which we live. I know that you care about that so much, as I do, for the next generation and about what the impact is. I also stand with you in knowing that there is capacity in this institution to make a change that is material, and you acknowledged that one period of time under the leadership of another great woman from a different party—my party, the Labor Party—the former Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

I have in my drawer the actual first document from when that legislation came in. I had it signed by the four ministers who introduced it, because, when that happened, I knew that was a day when we could make a change. It is heartbreaking sometimes to put all that effort in and get to the point of having it pulled apart. But, incrementally, even if we're sorrowful about not having achieved the goals as easily if we might have—if there wasn't such a miserly vision of that issue—you have been part of bringing to bear that pressure to move us towards a better place. I'm sure that the task will get done eventually, Rachel, and it'll be on the back of the efforts of people like you. In particular, the passion, energy and integrity you've brought to that issue is absolutely notable, and noted.

I will pick up on the remarks of Senator Waters about your work at estimates. In my entire time here in the Senate I have not seen public servants so aware that they were going to have to provide an A3 sheet profoundly densely printed with every single piece of detail about how many people had come or gone from a particular program. You've just got them so well trained—although that's probably a bit of a pejorative term. They're so well prepared for the degree of scrutiny and integrity that you're going to bring to the work that you do both in estimates and in the committee work that I've been so privileged to share with you. That is quite some achievement. It's probably not going to make the front page of a newspaper, but it's exactly the kind of thing that should, because that is the real work of the Senate—reviewing the work of government with care, kindness and compassion. Everything that you do is replete with that standard of professionalism.

I acknowledge your service to the great state of Western Australia. It is a beautiful state, and I spent quite some time there in the year that I took off with my husband. We travelled around the country before we were grey. We were nomads and we were very fit and healthy, and we had the most wonderful time in Western Australia. You've been a champion for that state and you've brought a very powerful perspective from the whole state—not just from Perth and the southern areas where you live but also from your roaming across that state. You've brought the real perspectives, and the longstanding relationships you have with people of First Nations communities across that country is absolutely known and acknowledged. You've done great work in that area.

A lot of people in this place draw attention to the points on which we disagree. Of course we disagree, but this is democracy in action. It's a choir of different voices. Sometimes we really get it right and we sound harmonious, but discord is part of our journey to understanding what that is. Where there's disagreement, that is a sign of a healthy democracy. I think that you have stood and had a strident voice when it's been required and, as many have reflected, you've found the harmonious points whenever you could. That's a remarkable character trait.

You bring to the debate in this place your passion, care, detail and information, but it's in the hearings that I've been in with you, whether you've been chairing or we've just been participants, that I've really seen who you are and how you lift and encourage into the place people so completely unfamiliar with the parliamentary processes. You have, as Senator Lambie said, a really rich and practical knowledge of the standing orders and how this place runs, but you are one of the few people who have never used that as a weapon against people who don't. In fact, your understanding of it makes you more respectful of those who don't, and that comes through in everything that you do. You're a person who lives your values, and I'm very pleased to have shared with you quite a few meals after hearings as we've been on the road in all sorts of places. To me the word 'integrity' applies to somebody who lives their values, and that is exactly what you do.

How the Greens are going to go with Senator McKim doing the job that you've been doing as whip—oh my gosh! He's going to find it incredibly difficult to do. I see you marshalling the troops over there. I'm always impressed. You do it discreetly, but you do it very powerfully. Everybody knows that they can trust your word, your direction and your insight, and that is a great tribute to you as well.

I want to reflect briefly on a mental health tour that we took. We did it in two ways. One part was in Australia, when we were looking at access to mental health services for the country. Like Senator Waters said, we were in small planes on a sort of milk run across the north of the country to see what we saw. I'm sure that you will remember some of the evidence where people had so little faith in being able to access any decent health care, because there were so many locums coming through, that they called all health professionals 'white Toyotas'. Once something like that washes over your experience, it's hard to forget. Discussing that and so many other things over dinner with you, getting to know one another—that is one of the great things about being in the Senate. Through the committee work that we do, we get to know each other's stories and find out about each other, and that helps us do our work more collegially.

I haven't checked with you, but I'm sure you won't mind me acknowledging, on behalf of the Australian people, how significant a trip our research tour was, with our colleague Andrew Wallace from the other place, who co-chairs the Parliamentary Friends of Mental Illness group. We worked together as Team Australia, and that's one of the things I'm always proud of when we get to travel overseas, as we did in the olden days and hopefully will again sometime in the near future. I have been very honoured to work with you as Team Australia—to really pick the eyes out of best practice in other contexts, to understand it, to bring it back, to try to bring it to bear in our committee work and to inform the government.

I want to acknowledge the drip-feeding of some of this pressure, particularly when I was in the role of assistant shadow minister for mental health. You and I, along with Mr Wallace, got to the point where we were able to firmly recommend that a minimum of 20 consultations was necessary to help with eating disorders. It actually did imprint, and Minister Hunt brought it in. With that as a floor, we have seen during COVID that capacity for people to access mental health services, with a minimum of 20 consultations. That was our work. It did take a minister to listen and implement, but it wouldn't have happened without the passion and energy you brought to the task. I'm so proud to have been able to help with that alongside you.

Of course, there was Centrelink compliance—a lovely name for what is really the robodebt debacle. It's been great giving a hit from the left and a hit from the right over here to the government to try to get them to pay attention to the fact that they inflicted this debt on their own people and we cannot let it continue. I've been so glad to stand with you and fight that fight. I've given you my word, and I give it here publicly, that I will not let that go. That deserves a much better response from the government than we've seen so far. Four rejections—that's just the beginning. We're going to keep pushing this, because the Australian people deserve to know. I will channel your determination and perseverance to make sure we get a good outcome on that matter.

I want to acknowledge what a family person you are and how much of a challenge it's been for your family to provide you in service of the nation—all the flights over 16 years, and everywhere you've been, and your service in the Senate of the country we're so proud to call our home. Your care and compassion for your family is absolutely reflected in what you do here. I don't know whether it is just the deep guilt of being a serving senator, or whether there is a gender dimension as well, but to be away—you talked about missing your son's end-of-school ball and seeing him in his finery. There are great sacrifices, but your family have enabled you and supported you. I acknowledge them for doing that and I acknowledge the sacrifice you have undertaken in what you've given to this place. I wish you a safe return to them after 16 years. I wish you very deep powdery snow when you resume your skiing career, and I hope it's for many more weeks than you've been able to do as you sandwiched it in between your service in this place. I wish you the very best of health into the future. Thank you.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What lovely comments and reflection on the contribution you've made in this place, Rach. It must be really weird sitting here and listening to everybody piling on their love and admiration and respect.

Firstly, I want to say that you've been a fierce whip. I've only missed three votes in the 13 years you've been whip. I want to put that on the record. I learnt very early that you don't mess up when Rachel is in charge. You have kept us running a tight ship. We are a much better party room and a much better green force in this place because of the leadership you've shown. It hasn't always been easy. We've had changes of leaders; you've had to train each one of them, and you've done it just beautifully. You've trained new senators who have come on board. Everybody's had the experience where they've shown up late to something or missed a vote or didn't jump to speak when they should have, and I think all of our colleagues know that you don't do it again. Rachel makes sure you learn your lesson—and you learn it once!

But your passion, your empathy, your strength—I think in politics we often get categorised as being either pragmatic and strong or emotional and bleeding heart. You have proven that that is utter rubbish and that you can be both empathetic and compassionate—that you can come to an issue with pure emotion and integrity but be ruthless and pragmatic about how you you're going to get it done. It's harder for women, too, to do that. You've proven time and time and time again that those stereotypes are just rubbish, so thank you. I think we have to pay testament to your leadership as a woman in this place. With the approach you bring to the debates, internally and externally, you've been an absolute role model. Over the years, when things have happened in this place—I remember you were here when Kora was thrown out of the chamber; that was a baptism of fire for me and you were right there, by my side, as a mum, and I'll never forget that. Thank you.

The testament of your approach is clearly reflected in this place tonight, with people of all sides respecting the way you engage and your commitment. We've heard the words 'honesty' and 'integrity', but you know what? I think that, more than all of those things, everyone knows you are the hardest worker in this place. Everyone knows that. You never miss. You're always across your brief. You've chaired the community affairs committee even though it has one of the biggest workloads, if not the biggest, in this place in terms of legislation coming forward. The issues that you deal with take such a toll. You have never wavered in your commitment to that work, and that is incredibly inspiring and a model for all of us.

I also want to say that we've now got Senator Thorpe as our first First Nations woman in our team and the first First Nations representative from Victoria. I don't think we would have Senator Thorpe—Lydia—in this team, necessarily, without your leadership internally in our party as well as in the chamber. The fact that you've committed so much of your life's work and your work in this place to giving First Nations a voice, and a voice for themselves, is just incredible. It's all summed up by the fact that Dorinda Cox is coming in to replace you. You were determined that a strong Aboriginal woman, a First Nations leader, would come in after you, and you've done it. Others may have aims and aspirations to do things like that, but you've actually delivered it. I think that is a wonderful testament to you, so thank you.

Others have already mentioned the adoptions inquiry. The emotion as that inquiry, which you led, did its work was incredible. The emotion in this place on the day was incredible, but, from talking to you over the months and years as the evidence was being gathered, I know the toll that that was taking—hearing people's stories, feeling them deeply and having that sense of responsibility that you had to do something with them. We can set up inquiries and have people come and tell their stories, and we can give them a sense of trust, but you took it on with the pure responsibility that you knew something had to come from it. This wasn't just about a tick-and-flick process, and I think many, many people are indebted to you because of that. On behalf of all of them, thank you.

We are going to miss you. Senator McKim has big shoes to fill, and I'll put it here first: I reckon it will be a bit rough in the beginning. I think there'll be a bit of mess as we muddle through, but that's because no-one can replace you. No-one is going to be able to do the job the way you do it. Good luck, Nick!

It's very hard to find anybody in this place who can match the care and the absolute understanding that you have for the dignity of people who are vulnerable, Rachel. You don't look down your nose, ever, at people. You've never made people feel less than they are because of the position that you hold. The parliament can be a pretty overwhelming place at times. In inviting people in to give evidence or offering support to them or saying that you're going to work in the parliament for them, you haven't just taken their stories and given them a voice; you've welcomed them into this institution with open arms. You have made that connection between us as a parliament, you as a legislator and them as the people that we are here for. This door might close, but, in your heart and your mind, it's never closed. I think that's the great service that you've brought to this place, to the people of Australia and to the most vulnerable in our community. I'm going to miss you a lot, Rachel. Thank you.

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Government Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, too, stand to pay tribute to my fellow Western Australian senator and colleague Senator Rachel Siewert. I associate myself with all of the comments that we've heard so far from right across this chamber, in what is a very fitting acknowledgement of your service to the Senate and to our nation.

I was genuinely very saddened to hear of your decision to leave after 16 years. But, conversely, I was really happy for you, after 16 years of crossing the Nullarbor. One of my first recollections of Senator Siewert was crossing the Nullarbor, time and time again, for committee hearings. You would do it twice in one day to attend a committee hearing, which is a sign not just of the dedication, compassion and commitment that you have but also of the sacrifices your family have made for everything that you've done.

Everyone in this place knows, and we've heard tonight, about your passion, your commitment and your respect for the dignity of humanity, whenever and whenever you find it. I've also greatly respected, and have sometimes been the beneficiary of, your very deep and loud honesty when holding us, now on this side of the chamber, to account. As everybody else here has said, it is absolutely clear that you have always been driven by your passion for justice and your commitment to people and what you believe in.

Like other people here, it took me about five minutes in this place to see your incredible knowledge and the width and the depth of your knowledge in social policy, whether it's in this chamber or at committees, including at estimates. I've sat, again, on the other side of the table, and I've also sat with officials who are suitably prepared because they know the level at which you always come to the table. Because of that, you speak with authority on the matters, and, when you speak, we all listen. Sometimes we have no choice but to listen, because of the passion and the volume, but we always listen to and respect you. As Minister Ruston has said, you always show us where to look, quite often before we even know that there is cause to look at particular issues.

I don't understand how you have not only the work ethic that you do but also the capacity to work, managing the multiple hearings, whipping and everything else that you do. As you've pointed out, one of the dirty secrets, which probably shouldn't be such a dirty secret, and one of the absolute joys and privileges of serving in this place is the collegiality between those on all sides of this chamber. While people wouldn't necessarily think that Senator Siewert and I have a lot in common, given our positions on things and our party positions, she really, along with the wonderful Claire Moore, showed me that we can work together and find common ground in our committee work to make a real difference for Australians, and that is one of the many powerful things about this place.

We did find, as we've heard from everyone else who's spoken, common ground on a number of issues, and I just want to highlight three. I'm incredibly grateful that you supported the very first inquiry I put forward, into young people in aged care. That inquiry made a huge difference to the lives of thousands of people with disabilities who had been consigned to life in an aged-care facility simply because they were disabled and there was nowhere else for them to go. I'm particularly proud now that I have carriage of that and I feel a great sense of responsibility for that, and I'd like to thank you for that.

We have some unfinished business in the interrupted inquiry into the plight of Australians with Lyme disease and the disgraceful way that I believe—and we share that belief—they are not heard, they are not seen and they are certainly not getting the treatment they deserve. That is still unfinished business for me, so I will be taking that forward.

Probably the one that bemused you the most—but I'm very grateful for your support as a senator for Western Australia—was the inquiry into Western Force. Again, you had faith and you said, 'Okay, we'll have a look into this.' While we couldn't change the outcome of the disgraceful behaviour from Rugby Australia that we discovered, we made a huge difference to tens of thousands of Western Australians and to the players by getting answers on what had happened to their much-beloved team.

Rachel, in conclusion, I've only ever experienced this chamber with you in it—not only with your leadership as the whip but also with your leadership in community affairs and on social policy. You have certainly inspired me and sometimes also made me want to be a better senator and a better person on a lot of these inquiries. The Senate will certainly be the lesser, and I think we'll all be the lesser, for not having you in the chamber. But, as so many people have said and I know will continue to say, you have made every single day of those 5,000-odd days that you've been serving in the Senate. I thank you very much for the dignity that you've brought to the Senate and for the contribution I think you've made to our democracy as well. So I wish you and your family well in whatever you decide to do next, on and off the paddleboard. I know you'll do it with great passion and with great commitment, and you'll do it so that everybody will hear. Rachel, thank you for everything you've done, thank you for what you've given to me in this place, and good luck.

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to add my contributions on your service, Rachel, and to echo everything that's been said about you today. I was thinking earlier today of when you and I first met. You won't remember this. I was at the United Workers Union, and there was some protest in Subiaco. I want to say it was on aged care, but it was outside the council chamber, so I don't know. Maybe it was child care. It was one or the other. We had a bunch of members there, and we were protesting, and you came along. You must have just seen us there, or maybe you'd heard about the strike, and you offered your support. You know me: I'm dyed-in-the-wool Labor. I thought, 'Hm,' but I was really impressed that you'd taken the time to come along and support the members. Whether it was aged care or child care, you were there supporting us.

The next time I met you was also while I was at the union. I was the person who had responsibility for getting the Living Longer Living Better reforms through, which Mark Butler did when he was minister. It was my job to take aged-care workers to meet you and to lobby you. I didn't know what your view was, but now, knowing you many years after that, I'm sure that you did support it. You probably always supported the reforms. Nevertheless, we had a job to do, and that was to harangue you to death with aged-care workers who came to tell you their stories—on more than one occasion, I'm sure. So thank you for that.

I want to echo the other things that have been said about you. You are a woman of great humanity. Your integrity comes through in everything that you do, as do your advocacy and passion and your drive and commitment that everyone has spoken about tonight. The two areas where our lives and paths tend to cross are First Nations issues. I'm sure that secretly you're quite pleased that the Labor Party finally got there on the cashless debit card—thank goodness! I know that we've often shared platforms at protest meetings outside of the Senate, but we've also shared a lot of work on Senate committees. Senator Reynolds has just reminded me of the Western Force one. I think I had to be there reluctantly, because there wasn't very much of that committee work I enjoyed at all, but the rest of it has been good.

I think I've got to know you better this year and last year on all the SPA flights that we shared. We usually sat together and had great chats about family and all sorts of things outside of the Senate. We were just a couple of women who had a lot of interests in common. I look forward to your journey of building your house. I know we had lots of chats about that. You will be missed in the Senate—your advocacy, particularly, and your passion—but I know that you've served Australians well, and you'll continue to do that, whatever you do next. I'm sure Chris will welcome having you home. It might take a bit of time to get used to it, because sometimes our partners get used to us coming and going, even though they miss us. So that'll be an adjustment. The FIFO worker is FIFO no longer.

All the best, and thank you for your absolute commitment to this place and to ordinary Australians who do it tough.

Slade Brockman (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I won't take up much of the chamber's time tonight. Rachel, I know you've got colleagues who are still waiting to speak, and I know that many people in this place have spent a lot more time here with you than I have, so I certainly want to give them the chance to speak tonight. However, I do rise to speak, because you have made such a contribution to this place, and I think it is really important that we acknowledge that.

I go back to 2006 or 2007, when I first started travelling to this place. I don't really believe you remember me, but I first met you, Senator Siewert, in my role as policy director for the Pastoralists and Graziers Association. I came to this place as a pretty green individual, in terms of the political process and politics, and I guess I had a rosy-eyed view that everyone sitting on this side—I'm not sure that it was this side; yes, it was the government side then—would be in favour of what I was advocating for and what the Pastoralists and Graziers Association was advocating for and that everybody on the other side would be opposed.

Senator Siewert, yours is one of my very clear memories of that period. You were someone who, because of your background—as a Western Australian, someone with experience in agricultural science, someone with experience out in the bush in Jerramungup in Western Australia and many other places—actually understood the issue. Not very many people in this place actually did. So my first experience of you was of completely turning on their head those green, inexperienced preconceptions about what people in this place would believe. Then I came to the point where I realised that some of the Nationals actually vigorously opposed what I was there to represent, and even many in the Liberal Party were pretty wishy-washy about it all, and that, of course, was the ending of the export monopoly of wheat—the single desk as it was called. But you had a very clear eyed view of the economics of that, and I recognised that maybe we shouldn't always come to this place with preconceptions about what people are going to think.

Then, on entering this place as a senator, on my first day on duty I was given the chair of the Community Affairs Legislation Committee and deputy chair of the Community Affairs References Committee. That says more about the lack of backbenchers in the coalition than it says about my talents and skills! But it was wonderful working with you for the year that I was on that committee. It wasn't a space I was particularly comfortable in. It wasn't a policy area where I had a great deal of knowledge. We dealt with things in the references committee such as the inquiry into transvaginal mesh and the inquiry into mitochondrial donation. Neither of those has been brought up here tonight; clearly, you've worked on a number of inquiries that had a great deal of import. But they were both inquiries where we managed, and you managed as chair of the references committee, to work through a process where we could highlight the issues, come to a unified position on a report and advance the interests of the two groups, in those two situations—and we've heard of many more tonight—who hadn't been heard, two groups whose issues needed to be much more widely ventilated. And, as a result of those two inquiries—two small things for us; two very big things for those people involved—those issues were ventilated, those people were heard and actions were taken.

So I honour you, Senator Siewert. I think you have done an amazing job in this place. I wish you, and your family, all the best for the future.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] Rach, it's so sad that so many of your colleagues can't be with you personally this evening to support you and to show you personally just how much we love you and how much we're going to miss you. I really wish we could all be there with you.

I'm going to begin by sharing some words for you from two friends of mine who are two really, really good friends of yours—firstly, these words:

Rachel is one of the most unsung heroes of progressive social action in our national parliament. She also had a big hand in freeing our Southern Hemisphere from the bloody scourge of whaling. Students of political botany looking for a flower in the swamp will do well to study the career of Greens Senator Rachel Siewert.

Those beautiful words are from former senator and former leader of the Australian Greens Bob Brown. And I'm sure you'll guess who the next words are from, pretty early on:

Rach, what can I add to all the accolades that you so deserve about your exemplary career in the Senate? We were elected together in 2004 and took up our seats when there were only four of us: Bob Brown, Kerry Nettle, you and I. You've been a relentless campaigner and a staunch, staunch advocate of the Greens and for our vision of a just world and a planet capable of sustaining life in the face of the global climate and biodiversity emergencies. Whether it's sharks or the forests or James Price Point, or the Aboriginal petroglyphs of the Burrup, you've been there advocating for protection. You've travelled the length and breadth of the country to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and secured an important milestone by addressing petrol sniffing and securing non-aromatic Opal fuel. You stood up courageously from day one against robodebt and the cashless welfare card, and you were right.

In your service to the parliament and the people of Australia, it has been so special. In an age when people are so cynical about parliamentarians, you have demonstrated what integrity, fairness and commitment mean in your role as chair of the community affairs committee and also in your role as Greens Whip. One of the moments I treasure is the day in 2013 when Prime Minister Gillard delivered the apology to the people who suffered so deeply because of forced adoption practices. Rach, you moved for and drove that inquiry and chaired it, and you were there in the Great Hall to witness how much it meant to so many people. Your compassion and commitment delivered for so many. Thank you for your service to the parliament, to the Greens and for your friendship and support during my time in the Senate.

Those words, of course, are from former senator and former leader of the Australian Greens Christine Milne. As usual, Christine and Bob are far more eloquent than I am able to be, so I will just add a few brief words of my own, Rach.

Rachel, you are genuinely one of my political heroes. I'm in awe of what you have achieved, and I'm also in awe of how you've achieved it and of how you've conducted yourself on your political journey. You've been a mighty, mighty voice and activist for First Nations people, for climate action and for nature, particularly for your beloved marine environment and even more particularly for your waters of Western Australia.

Your advocacy for people doing it tough, particularly those who have been left without work in our sometimes very brutal modern society, has been without equal in the political arena. Your participation in the campaign to increase the rate of JobKeeper helped to build a movement, and it helped give a voice to so many who at that time did not have a voice. Please be proud of what you've achieved, Rach; it's truly the most amazing record. If I have been or can be half as effective as you have been and half as passionate as you are about the issues that really matter and represent people and nature with half the integrity that you have, I will end my time in politics a very happy person.

As an aside, I know that I've got large shoes to fill as the whip for the Australian Greens, and I might say my shoes will be nowhere near as fashionable as yours have consistently been during my time in the Senate. If I can whip our colleagues, who can—I'll put it kindly—sometimes be slightly recalcitrant, half as hard and half as well as you did, Rach, I may have some small hope of keeping them in line as well as you did.

Rach, I know for you this is not retirement from active life. It's not retirement from activism. It is simply retirement from the Senate. I have no doubt there will be so many people—and, in fact, our planet—who will have cause to thank you for your relentless advocacy and your relentless activism into the future. Please take great care of yourself. Take great care of those that you love. You and yours are always welcome back to our rustic little shack in the bush down on the Tasman Peninsula. You are, Rachel, truly the most beautiful and amazing human. All the very best.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Siewert—Rachel—as whips I know that the brevity of my remarks won't be taken as disinterest, but as whips in this Senate, and no-one knows this more than you as a result of the length of service that you have given as the whip for the Australian Greens, our job is to make it work for everybody else. Often that means sacrificing the things that are important to us and sacrificing the contributions that we might like to make. I will make my comments brief in order to allow the many others that are still to make their contributions to have an opportunity.

In your contribution you talked about being disappointed and frustrated with the action on climate matters. But I think by any measure your contribution on so many issues leaves no space for disappointment, no space for frustration. I just want to reflect on one. I don't expect you to remember the time that you first met me, but I certainly remember the time that I first met you. We were in Alice Springs doing a committee inquiry into low-aromatic fuel. Your contribution in keeping young Indigenous people safe in remote communities across our country has not had the heraldry that I think it deserves. That private senator's bill that you brought to this place—and which was agreed to and which was sent to the other place and was agreed to—is one of just 30 private senators' bills or private members' bills that have made it into law in the history of this country since 1901. That is a remarkable achievement on an issue that has absolutely gone a long way to ensuring that young people, not just Indigenous but predominantly Indigenous, are kept from harm's way.

I have admired the way that you have worked and your conviction. Your integrity is a model that senators in this place and senators who are yet to come can style themselves on. You reflected quite accurately that there's not enough talk about all the things that we do agree on and all the things that we work so constructively on and that have changed the lived experience for so many people in our country. Our names will not be remembered in the future, but the legacy some of us have been able to deliver for other people will be felt. It's hard to imagine someone who has made a more lasting contribution to improving the lived experience of so many people. One of the things I have observed when working closely with you is how important it is for people to have a voice on issues and how empowering it is for those people when they get heard by senators, through the parliamentary committee process or through other means.

You drive a hard bargain as the whip, but I have always enjoyed that yesterday's challenges are not carried over to today or to tomorrow. That's a real testimony to your graciousness and your decency as a person. You mentioned that you came to this place having followed other Greens senators. As significant as their contributions were in their own way, your contribution is the force from the west. Your contribution is the one that I think many people should style themselves upon, because it has been so significant.

I've enjoyed working with you on grandparent carers. I've enjoyed working with you on the important issues around the National Redress Scheme. I've enjoyed hearing in the adjournment debates your contributions about the Kimberley, even though we might disagree on the right way to improve Indigenous disadvantage in this country and to preserve the Kimberley's wonderful environment.

Congratulations. It is a remarkable achievement. I'm sure there are more things for you to do. I look forward to supporting you in whatever way I can in the future. Congratulations to you. Best wishes to you and your family for the future.

Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] Rach, we're just going to miss you so much. The contributions that people have made this evening show just how loved you are and what a massive contribution and difference you have made to the people of Australia, to the other creatures that we share this planet with and to the people of the world. It is a huge contribution. You are such a role model. I have looked up to you in terms of working together collaboratively and what you can achieve by doing that. You're a combination that is so rare in this place. You're a mixture of absolutely steely determination, being on top of your game and determined to go for it, a heart of gold, love and care. I think that's at the core of what makes you and your contribution so special. It is grounded in love and care.

It's about treating genuinely everyone you have invited in and worked with. You genuinely respect them and want to see people able to achieve their best. You want everyone to have the opportunities that you know we all deserve. That's why you have achieved so much. That's why everyone respects you. You said in the beginning of your contribution tonight that you had to take a bit of time to work out whether you were really a politician. In fact, that makes you the best sort of politician. There are so few people in this place that have that genuineness, that care and that love for people, for humanity and for the planet that you bring. Every ounce of your being and every ounce of the work that you do is imbued with that love and care.

The thing that I really appreciate about you, having worked side by side with you, is that combination of being on top of your game, of having that knowledge and ability to know what has to happen, of having such determination and of having that collaborative approach. You work with people to achieve those outcomes. We know the amazing suite of work you have done in this place to make life better for people—on social services and on improving people's lot. But I know that your passion for nature is just as strong, particularly for the wonderful, beautiful environments of Western Australia—from the forests of south-west WA through to the Ningaloo Reef. You derive so much joy and support from being in nature, and that resonates so much with me as well.

The other reason it has been so wonderful to work alongside you is that we are women of a very similar age, having come through the environment movement and then the Senate, coping with the issues that go with being women of the age that we are—who aren't always treated seriously. Women in their 40s, 50s and 60s—the world can just look through you. They have to speak up and have attention paid to them. The way you have done that has been a lesson for everybody.

I agree with Senator Smith and others that your record has been understated. People don't know what you have contributed to the country and to the world, because you are so humble. I hope these valedictory speeches tonight will make people realise what a special contribution it is. It should be sung from the rooftops. It's the sort of thing people want to see in their politicians. People are cynical about their politicians because they think that they don't really care—that they're just in it for themselves—whereas your experience and your contribution has shown that that's not the case. You are here out of love. You are here out of care. You are here out of that determination to be doing good for people and the planet.

We're going to miss you. Your shoes are enormous. You absolutely are the hardest-working person in the place. It would take six senators to replace you. So we're all just going to have struggle along to get by without Rachel. I thank you for your contribution. I really wish you all the best. You'll have more time with your family and looking after your elderly mum. Juggling those family responsibilities is another thing we've got in common. You'll have a bit more time to enjoy yourself and to really enjoy the fruits of knowing that you've done what you were able to do in your time here. Thank you, Rach.

Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] Rach, I was thinking that you didn't deserve to be here tonight without your colleagues and a full Senate. But on reflection, I thought: there are a lot of battlers out there and a lot of Aussies doing it tough, and you've been such a champion for those people for so long that I'm sure you will be taking this in your stride. This is a time in history that it is what it is, and tonight is what it is, and we'd all love to be with you tonight and share in this moment but we can do that through this remarkable technology that we are seeing this through tonight.

There has been so much said already that I agree with. In this age of populism, the age of demagogues, which goes back to Roman days, where it's about getting short grabs on media, about getting attention and getting in the media frame, I reflect on the work you do. Kristina is absolutely right about you being an unsung hero—the amount of hours you put in. It's been talked about, your committee work and the work you've done in the Senate, but we also know the work you put into our party. To work across the states and across our national council—it's remarkable how you do that. One of the most common questions we get asked as senators is: how can you do this every day; how can you deal with the things that get thrown at you, with seeing people constantly undermining climate action, all the things we stand for? I think it takes a very remarkable person to be resilient in the face of that, to continue to chip away and never give up, to always remain optimistic and to take action. I think you are a siren song to that, as is your career.

Like me, I know you are a saltwater person. It took me a few years to wrestle the healthy oceans portfolio off you, but I just wanted to acknowledge tonight—it's been mentioned in a few contributions—your background, the work you've done for the oceans, all the work you put into the national marine parks campaign over many years before parliament and in parliament, the work you've done for Ningaloo, for sharks, for whales. You've been a great role model for me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the work you've done for the oceans.

It's an interesting reflection: people often frame the Greens as being either social justice Greens or environmental Greens, and the media love to have a field day with this, as do our detractors—but look at you as an example. You have an amazing history of working for the environment, on climate change, on oceans and on a range of issues, yet here you are with the accolades you received tonight for all the work you've done in tackling inequality and in standing up for the battlers of this country, for the underprivileged, for those doing it tough. In many ways you are the complete Green.

Watching all these speeches tonight, what a bloody great minister you would have made if the Greens had been in government. Seriously, who else has the talent pool that we have? You are a classic example. The country is missing out by not having people like you, Rachel, in ministerial positions. If you've been able to do what you've done without being a minister, imagine what this country could do with the Greens in government. I don't want to be political in this way but I really mean that. I really, really mean that.

I will be honest—I will finish up soon—I don't get intimidated by many people, being the person I am, but I've always been a little intimidated by you, Rachel. I've known my place around you. I might be one of those recalcitrant senators Nick McKim was referring to earlier, but I remember when I had my first weekend with you and Fluff down in Yallingup. Nan and I got there quite late. It was dark. You arranged for me to have a mini mal and you gave me a vest and said, 'Let's go and get some waves.' You and I and Fluff walked to the beach—Nat was reading a book. I thought to myself, 'Crikey, it's getting dark. What are we doing?' I paddled out. There was still some light. I could see a couple of waves—pretty big. I think we'd been informed there had been a white shark in the area just a few days before, and there were Fluff and I sitting out there. I got a few waves, took me maybe two or three attempts to get out, and I said to him, 'Mate, it's a bit dark. Don't you think we should be going in?' He's like, 'No, that's the whole point. The show starts when it gets dark.' He was going to turn on the lights on his board. I was out there as shark bait thinking, 'I'm caught between the devil and the deep blue sea here. I don't want to let down Rachel. I don't want to look weak but I will get eaten by a shark in the dark at Yallingup,' which is a pretty intimidating place to be. I'd also like to say that your wedding down at Yallingup was my happiest moment with the Greens party room. The way you pulled everyone together—it was such a beautiful night. In fact, it was an amazing weekend. Thank you for being a friend to me when I started. Thank you for being a mentor. Thank you for putting up with me as the whip. I look forward to working with you for many, many more years on oceans and on the issues that really matter. Good on you, Rach!

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For the information of senators: at 7.20, when the adjournment is scheduled to commence, I'll be seeking leave of the Senate to continue this until 7.55, when I have one adjournment speech to turn to. So I'm going to ask senators, particularly those not from the Greens, to be considerate of their Greens colleagues who are yet to speak, because I still have a dozen speakers on the speakers list. Senator Askew.

Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President; I will be brief. I simply wish to associate myself with the comments made around the chamber this evening in recognition of Rachel's service to this place. As we heard earlier, Rachel has been the chair of the Community Affairs References Committee for many years. Upon my arrival here, in 2019, I became her deputy chair and chair of the legislation committee. I have had the opportunity work very closely with you since then. I cannot express more sincerely my thanks to you for your support since that time. It has been amazing.

I've really enjoyed having the opportunity to work with you in committee hearings, especially when we had the opportunity to attend hearings around the country—when we were able to travel. It gave us the opportunity to work closely and to get to know each other better. I found that you are a very genuine person. You genuinely believe in what you do and you represent your constituency faithfully. As many people have discussed already this evening, your immense capability and your capacity for workload are beyond belief. Your passion for the portfolio areas encompassed by the community affairs committee is clear evidence of your commitment to the cause and the way you undertake your role. Well done, and thank you.

Although we don't always agree on policy, we've always been able to respect each other's differing opinions and work together in a professional and collegiate manner—and most people around the chamber have mentioned similar things today. Thank you for that. I'd like to take this opportunity to genuinely wish you all the best for the future, whatever comes next, and I look forward to crossing paths with you in the future. I wish you all the best with your family. I know they have been the driving force behind your decision. I hope everything goes well with your mum and your family and that you enjoy spending more time together. Thank you for your service to this place and your caring friendship.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] In talking with Rach about this speech tonight, I repeatedly promised that I wouldn't say anything embarrassing or that would make her cry. I will endeavour to keep that promise. I have also taken the unusual step of writing most of this down—in the knowledge that, at some point during this contribution, I'm likely to start crying myself. But here we go.

Senator Rachel Siewert—or 'Rach', as anybody who has met you calls you at all times apart from committees and question time—you are one of the most impressive people I have ever met. I have been in awe of you since the first time we ever interacted in the Greens WA. You generously share your experience, your wisdom and your ability as an authentic and fearless campaigner with anybody and everybody who asks you. You are truly a master of Senate procedure. After you, nobody will ever come anywhere near having your knowledge of how the chamber works. We will do our best to fumble on in your absence. But I thank the stars that you will, I'm sure, after a break be at the end of the phone so we can ask you some questions. Your commitment to our green movement runs so deep that I swear, if you banged yourself, you would literally bleed green. Your commitment to consensus and our four pillars and your loyalty to ensuring that our members and their needs and the needs of community are centred as well as the environment are absolutely incredible. You are a true custodian of our movement. You are determined, driven and deeply passionate. You possess, from those things, incredible frustration and indignity in the face of injustice, and I think that feeling echoes the feeling of so many in our community and gives all around you the energy to continue the fight.

In thinking about how to summarise such an incredible career and the experience of working with you over the last 3½ years, the words 'determination, passion and deep commitment' spring straight to the front of my mind. A defining thread that weaves through every aspect of your work is a soul-deep commitment to centring the needs of the community who are so often shut out of this place. This commitment has shone through a number of committees inquiries that you've established, chaired and participated in. I am absolutely sure that, if the Guinness World Records folk ever decide to name and test the record for the person that has spent the most hours in committee, it will easily be you, so I suggest you take some time in your retirement to send them an email, because you'll surely get the record in the post. My goodness, the outcomes that you have achieved for the community in your time in parliament are an incredible testament to the values and the hard work that you bring. I want to name just a few of them because, if I named them all, we would be here until tomorrow morning and, as whip, you'd probably be texting me halfway through, telling me to shut up.

Your work leading the campaign to increase income support is absolutely defining. You have fought tooth and nail for your entire career not only to support people across the spectrum that need income support but also on the specific issue of increasing income support and ensuring that the robodebt scandal was called out and called up immediately. I think that you deserve the lion's share of the congratulations, alongside the community, for the work that you did in revealing the absolute scandal of robodebt. Others may well have come on board, but they swam in the wake of your courage and your fearlessness. Because of your dedication to that issue and the community that was affected, there is now an opportunity for justice and redress for the people that were affected. The same is true for your opposition to the cashless debit card and the absolutely vital work that you led for the community. You led from the front and were always fearless. As a disabled person and a member of the disability community, I feel a great sense of debt and gratitude to you for your work in the inquiry into violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of disabled people. That was in itself a historic investigation into those issues that resulted in a recommendation which ended up in the realisation of a royal commission. Just today we have seen another opportunity to strengthen that investigation, and you played an incredible role in making the case for and bringing together that investigation.

On the subject of older Australians, I will never forget the first time we had a detailed conversation about aged care. I think you spent somewhere around 30 minutes explaining to me the ACFI, the Aged Care Funding Instrument. I have never forgotten that acronym, what it means and the fact that nobody else seems to know what it is, how it works or why it's listed at the levels that it is. It was this window into this incredible cache of knowledge that you hold. And, in reflecting on this yesterday, I was triggered to think about how many times in the last three years the sentences, 'Oh, I'll ask Rach,' or, 'Rach will know', or, 'I bet Rach was around for that; I'll give her a buzz,' have gone through my head. And the anxiety induced by the reality that you are ending your time formally with us is tempered only by the knowledge that after a very good rest you will be at the end of the telephone or the end of an email if we need to know what a committee did in 2005 in relation to a detailed piece of legislation, because you will still know, I'm absolutely sure.

On the environment, and on marine parks particularly, there is nobody that I've ever seen speak with such passion and intelligence in relation to not only the need to protect our precious places in the marine environment but also the knowledge of how to actually get it done. And the work that you did in establishing that system of marine parks still stands, I think, as the model that we should now be working to get back to and to improve on. You've been a fearless champion for the natural precious places of our state of WA, and there is some good that has come from your commitment, particularly to places like James Price Point, the Kimberley generally and, indeed, to Ningaloo as well. Through the highs and lows of the last 16 years, you have always been there for us as a movement, prepared to advocate for community and our planet, always offering a way forward.

I would, in talking tonight about your incredible contribution, be remiss not to acknowledge the fabulous team that you have had over the years. To all of 'Team Rach', I'd like to thank you for your energy and your commitment to our movement. You've supported, led, managed, rescheduled, drafted and campaigned like the best of them, and I want to thank you for that, as Rachel has done too.

To Rach, my very good friend and dearest Senate colleague: I hope that your days are filled with as many peanut M&Ms as you can eat, ocean paddleboards and sunny days in the South West. You are truly one of the great, powerful women from the west of the Greens movement. I look forward to continuing to see you on the floor at every Green event, showing us all absolutely how it's done. If you haven't seen Chris and Rach hit the floor at an event, you haven't seen two people hit the floor.

As we continue our fight for people and planet, I want to thank you sincerely from the depths of my heart for your wisdom, for your encouragement and for setting an example of what it means to be a Green who advocates for our community and for our planet in this place and at all times. I will miss you, mate. I will miss you dearly, although, as I keep having to remind myself—and everyone around me, it seems—you're not actually dying, you're just going for a good rest that is damn well deserved, and then you'll be on to your next big thing.

On behalf of everyone in WA, I want to thank you for all that you have done, every moment of service and devotion and dedication, all of the weekends, all of the long weekends, all of the calls taken even though you were on holiday, all of the committee meetings chaired at four o'clock in the morning, all of the times that you've had to grit your teeth and suppress what you might have said because we hadn't turned up to the vote or we didn't know what we were doing. For your forbearance and your fearlessness, I thank you from the depths of my heart and wish you the very, very best in the next chapter of your incredible life [inaudible] our Greens movement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind senators we have 35 minutes to go and a dozen speakers left, including a couple of Senator Siewert's colleagues.

Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Acknowledging the number of people still to speak, I will keep it brief, but I really did want to rise to say thank you to Senator Siewert. When I entered the Australian parliament in 2019, which is a very short time ago compared to Rachel, like Rachel I was thrown into the deep end, and on day one I became my party's whip in the Senate. I had no idea what the job entailed, where I needed to be or what I needed to do, and the only way I was able to learn was from my fellow cross-party whips, Senator Urquhart, Senator Dean Smith and Senator Siewert. I think together we've been a very good team. Senator Siewert has been a role model in this regard. She's been open, she's been very patient with me as I learn the ropes and she's shown a willingness to work across party lines on procedure and administrative operations in the best interests of this parliament. That allows us to focus our attention on what we are actually here to do, which is to represent our constituents. She does that to her fullest. She is proof that showing people respect does not compromise values or ideology. This reflects the kind of person she is. She is thoughtful, she is driven and she is highly, highly passionate. For that, I thank her.

One of the greatest things that any Australian can do is put their hand up for federal parliamentary office, and Senator Siewert did that in 2005. Many people before me tonight have spoken on all her achievements, and I want to let other people have a turn to say their thanks and say their piece, so I'll cut out half of what I was going to say, but I do want to highlight, Rachel, that you are one of the lucky ones in this house, in this chamber: you get to leave on your own terms, not those of the Australian voters, nor those of a party executive. That is to be commended, to be valued and to be cherished. Although most of our political views differ, one thing we do both agree on is that we both want to leave this place better than when we entered it. I certainly think that, through your work, you have achieved that over the 16 years. I congratulate you for all your efforts. I want to just say thank you, Senator Siewert. Thank you, Rachel. Thank you for your patience, your help and your support. Thank you for your kindness and for your contribution in this chamber on behalf of your constituents, your party, all of Australia and our parliament over the years. So, from whip to whip, senator to senator, person to person, I wish you all the very best in the future. Thank you.

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] Rach, before I joined this Greens dream team in the Senate, I had heard about a Senator Siewert from others who had met her. I had heard about her fierce advocacy for marginalised people, the environment and oceans. The forced adoptions inquiry is one in particular that so many people and so many women I met were so thankful to you for.

But, Rach, what I had heard pales in comparison with what I actually saw. Rachel is a powerhouse full of heart, passion, and compassion. But she also does know how to crack the whip—figuratively, of course. I tell you, keeping us unruly mob in line is no easy task, but in our party room we are all scared of not following Rachel's instructions as the whip. Weirdly enough, I will really miss your whip crack.

Rachel, you are also one of the hardest-working people that I have ever come across. You must surely have a few clones running around helping you out. The depth and breadth of work that you do in the party, in parliament, in committees and with communities seems humanly impossible, yet you do it every single day.

One of the things that I've appreciated most about you, Rach, is your total no-bullshit attitude inside and outside this chamber, in the party room and outside it. This is so refreshing in a place where politicians spend so many hours honing their message that the substance often gets totally lost. I can't tell you how inspired I've been when you've just jumped to your feet and blasted the government, not just once but again and again, for their punitive policies like the cashless debit card, or their lack of support for the disadvantaged, or when you spoke out about the illegal debacle that was robodebt, which harmed so many people, or when you called the abolition of motions an act of political bastardry. There are countless examples. You are never in doubt about where you stand, Senator Siewert. I cannot tell you how much I have respected your honesty and forthrightness even when, at times, it may have been something I didn't want to hear.

It has been an absolute privilege and an honour to work with you, Rach, over the last three years. You're such a formidable force; you stop at nothing in your fight for some of the most vulnerable people. I will sorely miss you in the Senate. Sixteen years is a bloody long time to serve your community and your party so diligently and with such integrity.

In your first speech, Rachel, to this chamber, in August 2005, you described yourself as the fourth in line of determined Green women from the west. You said:

At the heart of our Green values is a vision of community—a community that extends beyond the borders of our neighbourhood, suburb or state; a community in which people care about each other and the future of our planet and act carefully and responsibly to ensure its ongoing success.

Well, Senator Siewert, you have left no stone unturned to push for this vision to become a reality. You have made us all so proud to be part of the Greens movement to change the world to be a better place for all. From the bottom of my heart, Rach, thank you, and all the very best for this new phase in your life. We love you.

Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] Wow! I've learned so much just hearing these incredible yarns about an incredible woman. I haven't been as fortunate as others to have spent as much time working with Rachel, but I've certainly been watching from afar for a long time.

Being a part of the Aboriginal community, I'd certainly heard a lot about Rachel Siewert across the country. The respect and admiration that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across this country have for the work, the dedication, the genuine commitment and the genuine time that you've spent with so many blackfellas around the country will never be forgotten, Rachel. I've certainly learned a lot from you in the short time that I've been here, but I continue to hear stories from blackfellas across the country about what you did for them way back then. The first time I ever heard a whole community actually speak so strongly about their love for you was in the community that was fighting the Northern Territory intervention. I was inundated with calls of support at that time, but they were very clear in saying: 'We've got Rachel Siewert in our corner. She's got our back. She's fighting hard.' They were sending me your speeches at that time and showing me what an incredible ally we truly had working in our space, being respected in our space.

Also, which doesn't happen very often, you were welcomed into our communities and you were respected and trusted by so many communities. That in itself takes a very, very long time. Our people are so used to people saying they're going to do things and they're going to call them back and follow that up, but not one person have I ever had say to me, 'Rachel, didn't follow up,' or, 'Rachel didn't get back to us.' It is always, 'Rachel has done this or done that.' They say that Nick has big shoes to fill, but I also know that I have big shoes to fill. I'm a black woman going into that space and taking on the First Nations portfolio, but inside I'm thinking, 'Oh, my gosh! I've got to do justice to this space now,' given what you have done.

I just want to say on behalf of all blackfellas across the country that have shown their dedication and respect to you that we are all truly thankful for what you've done. As previous senators have said, it has meant that you've had to take time away from your family and away from your mum. You've done that because it is just the incredible person that you are. You want to please everybody, and you do. I have been in situations with you where we're having a hard meeting and then your mum calls and you run out and then you run back in and you're straight back on the ball.

Yes, I am one of those Green senators who is quite scared of you, too. I was always frightened of missing a vote or stuffing something up, and when I did stuff things up I would think, 'Oh, gosh; Rachel is going to kill me!' But you never did. You still mentored me and you still provided guidance. You didn't make me feel like I was dumb. You are just an incredible elder, in my view, because of your wisdom and because of the respect that you have from so many people. That, in my eyes, is true eldership that you've shown. Elders fight for their families, fight for their communities and fight for country. That's what you do, too. You also look after people. So I want to say thank you for that.

I also want to say thank you for paving the way and walking the talk. I think Sarah was right in what she said. Who would have thought that a black senator was going to come into this place through the Greens and be an activist at that? It is work like you've done over these years that has created these spaces and allowed for people to wake up and realise that we need black voices in every place where decisions are being made about us.

I also want to say thank you for creating the space for Dorinda Cox and your mentorship of her. Over years, I've been told by her, you've mentored her and now this space has been created and another black senator is coming in. You walk the talk, Rach. You always have. Someone said earlier that there is basically no bullshit that comes from you. You say it how it is. Sorry for swearing, Mr President. You're just real, and we need real people representing real people. The fight that you fought for the cashless debit card, for all of our people who have been ripped off through robodebt—you made my heart bleed through the contributions you made, because they were from the people's heart and they were from the people's mouths who were suffering from all of those bad decisions. You genuinely represent the grassroots people who are fighting for a voice in that space, and I truly thank you for that.

I know there are a lot of speakers and I've only been able to work with you for not quite a year, because I haven't been in the Senate for quite a year yet, but how you run that place—I think you'd give the President a run for his money most of the time. I'm sure you eyeball one another every now and again over a certain parliamentary procedure that I have no idea about. But I can see it all working because you hold everyone to account there also.

Finally, Rach, I just want to say that I was really honoured to have you walk with me into the chamber that day. I'm sorry that I frightened you just before we walked in and said, 'I'm about to put my fist up.' You went into a panic, like, 'Oh, my god, we haven't told the President that!' I was like, 'Oh, does that mean I can be kicked out?' Rach was just explaining everything really quickly and fixed it really quickly. It was an absolute honour to have you walk me into that Senate. I'll always be not just a colleague but a friend. Whenever you need anything, I'd love an excuse to go over there. Our mob love you and thank you for everything that you've done for us. Thank you.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm going to transact one item of business before I go to the next speaker.