Senator CHAPMAN (6:18 PM) —by leave—I came to know Senator Murray extremely well through our shared experience on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services and the Senate Legislation Committee on Economics. I referred briefly to that in my own valedictory remarks last Thursday and again in the tabling of the final report, which both Andrew and I were involved in, of the joint committee earlier today. I simply want to extend those remarks a little with some comments about Senator Andrew Murray.

In my experience, he demonstrated high intellect, high integrity, as the President mentioned, diligence and thoughtfulness in the contributions that he made to both of those committees. They were applied when we were discussing the committee’s issues for investigation, and often Andrew came up with the issues that needed inquiry and investigation by those committees. It was again evident in the way he questioned witnesses and also evident in the work of those committees in finalising their reports and drafting the recommendations. I think that intellect, diligence and thoughtfulness were clearly evident in his valedictory speech tonight.

As I say, I came to know him extremely well through work on both of those committees but I valued very greatly his contribution to the work of the statutory Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, which we were both on for the 12 years that I was chairman of that committee. Apart from those qualities I have already mentioned, he was generally cooperative in the work of the committee and, while remaining firm to his own principles—and that has already been referred to tonight—always tried to find common ground when the committee was finalising its reports and drafting its recommendations. I certainly owe him a debt of gratitude for that and for the contribution he made in all of the work of this committee, which, as he said last week, has been very beneficial to the Australian business community over the last 12 years. Without a doubt, his contribution to those committees and to the Senate itself will be sorely missed in the years ahead. I certainly look forward, as we both leave on Monday, to keeping in touch with him over the years ahead. I wish him all the best.