Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Rachel, I too wanted to add some comments. It's fitting, given that we're of the class of 2004. I snuck in a bit before you all after that 2004 election, but, just looking at the order of seniority, there's me, there's Senator Polley, there's Senator Sterle and then there's you. So then there were three!

I just wanted to say that you've done a fabulous job here. People have mentioned you being the whip. Even though there were a small number of you, I think that at times it looked like it was a bit of an arduous task. You were a bit like the duck, paddling underneath but serene on top! Look, you and I worked very, very closely together on community affairs. I served on that committee. You chaired and you were involved in the committee. You chaired the references committee. I know that what a lot of people don't understand is that a lot of the work that we did on that committee was bipartisan. We produced some really good reports, reports that others have referred to. We always strived on that committee to ensure that what we produced was as bipartisan as it could be, as tripartisan as it could be, because we knew that that made the report stronger and that there was a greater chance that action would be taken in relation to it. When I was shadow minister for ageing and mental health, I know that for many years, 2009 to 2013, we worked very, very closely on that committee on so many different things, and also when I was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Services.

I know that there are things that we've shared in common, particularly in aged care. Can I thank you for the work that we were able to do in so many different areas, particularly in aged care. It doesn't surprise me, Rachel, now that you've got your commitment with your mum—I too share that. I know what it's like to have ageing parents and to feel that need to be with them at this particular time.

I've always respected the passion and commitment with which you have undertaken the work that you've done, in the belief that you were standing up for your values and beliefs. They were different to my values and beliefs at times, but I respected your passion that you were doing so because that was in the best interests of the people that you were representing. I wish you and your family all the very best. I know that you are not retiring from public life. I'm sure that you will continue, in your inimitable way, to ensure that your voice is heard. I congratulate you for your many years of service to the Senate and wish you and your family all the very best in the next phase of your life.

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Rachel, you are a woman of great conscience, discipline and influence, and it has been an honour to work with you in this place. Your in-depth knowledge of the Social Security Act is something that I can aspire to, but mostly that's come from the way you've listened to people and their experiences. I want to really acknowledge how you've been a good conscience in this place, calling people out. I hold you in the same esteem as I do my good friend Giz Watson. Creating a parallel between you and her for your influence and friendship is the best way, in as few words as possible, I can indicate the esteem with which I hold you and your contribution. With that, I wish you all the best. I know that you will continue to influence decisions in this place, just as the likes of Jo Vallentine, Dee Margetts and Christabel Chamarette have.

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would very much like to associate myself with the comments of so many across the chamber, not necessarily in respect of all the philosophy but to pay tribute to you, Senator Siewert—Rach—for the work that you've done. Like so many others, I crossed paths with you on and around community affairs, on the same side of the table at times but also on opposite sides. Some of the scarier moments for me, I have to say, were the number of times we were asking almost the identical question. I'm not sure whether it was from the same perspective or not, but it usually was. What we were both trying to achieve—and I think this is a hallmark of your service to the parliament and to the Australian people—was to make things better for people. We might not have always had the same solution, but we were certainly looking to achieve that.

That's something that I very much appreciate from you, in the context of our dealings through the portfolio work that I'm doing now and the things that I know that you are passionate about: the fact that I could sit down with you, and we could work through something and come to a solution. The fact that you have been able to get so many things done—which is something that's been reflected on during so many speeches tonight—is because of the way that you have gone about your business here in this place. I know that that's very much appreciated by people across the chamber, very much in the context of respect, trust and integrity. Those are really, I think, important values that you bring here. I know that I could sit down and work through a process with you and that could be seen to fruition.

Colleagues have always listened to you—perhaps not so much when you were shouting at us, but the reality is that you actually didn't need to, because you had built that respect, that trust and that integrity. You didn't have to shout at us, because, as has been said so many times, we knew you were across your stuff and we knew that you were looking for a genuine solution. I wasn't aware of the fact that, in the context of the operation of the parliament, one of 30 pieces of legislation that are private senators' bills have been passed through both houses of parliament in the history of this place. It is one of those things that, as a person who has served in this place, you can take with you as a point of moment. Because there are obviously so very few of them, it's a demonstration of the respect that you've earned and that has been expressed by so many here.

You now go on to play an important role in the family sense. That's part of your decision-making, as I understand from our private conversations, and I wish you all the very best for that. Thank you for the collegiate nature under which you've interacted with all of us in the chamber. I wish you all the very best for the family things and whatever else. Congratulations on the service that you provided not only to this place but also to Australia as part of what you came here to do, which is to make things better for people. You're certainly one of the people who has actually achieved a lot of that. Congratulations.

Rex Patrick (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] Rachel, I'll be very short. I actually don't have a personal relationship with you. I spent lots of the time talking to you, and the reason I don't have a personal relationship is that you're always working. You are a machine! I say that with an engineering background—it's a compliment. You're a machine that is running on renewable energy! The Senate will be a worse place without you.

One last thing: back in the day you were in a committee room asking for a document that Services Australia claimed was cabinet-in-confidence. The matter made it to the AAT, and the moment I get that document I'm going to be giving you a phone call.

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

I will bring the statements to a conclusion myself, if I may. Being a senator from Western Australia and other parts poses unique challenges. The distances travelled and the time spent away from home are so much greater than for those of us who happen to reside closer to Canberra. A number of senators, and you, Senator Siewert, have commented on the unique burdens in appreciation of your family and the challenges you have faced. Those of us whom you have spoken to about it particularly acknowledge that. The burdens of serving from Western Australia, particularly with your workload over such a period, are quite extraordinary.

I would like to associate myself with other colleagues' statements but particularly make some observations from my role as President. Through all my time here, you have had a unique standing amongst the stakeholders with whom you have worked. As Senator Birmingham outlined, your passion reflected your genuine concern for those lacking a voice, who felt like they lacked a voice or who lacked someone who spoke for them in this place. You sought to represent them. As President, I acknowledge your role and contribution in making this place work. A couple of people have commented that whips have a reputation outside this place that doesn't reflect all their work. As well as being disciplinarians—as your colleagues have so graciously outlined—the whips really do so much to facilitate the operation of the Senate, and we must remember that it's the Senate that effectively decides the passage of legislation in this country. It is a hard and not fairly acknowledged role, but it is utterly integral to the work we do here. I understand that not only are you the longest-serving whip in the building but also you are the longest-serving committee chair in the building—in this place and the other place. You have been an absolutely critical cog in the machinery of the Senate, and therefore the entire parliament.

Others have rightly acknowledged your enormous contribution and your work in social, community and health policy, but as President I'd like to acknowledge your critical work in making parliament work, and offer my personal thanks for the work you've done and all the effort you've made to assist me in my role. You have always been honest, clear, trustworthy and committed to ensuring all senators can be their best and seek to strive for people as much as they can. Congratulations, Senator Siewert.