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Thursday, 10 May 2012
Page: 3156

Senator SINGH (Tasmania) (16:25): I rise to offer my sincere best wishes to Senator Nick Sherry, also to thank him for his many years of service in this place and to Tasmanians and to Australia. Like many of us in the ALP, Nick realised as a young person working in an industry that was principally of low-paid workers without any of the economic power of the larger companies they were working for, in his case the Wrest Point Casino, that unions and collective bargaining were essential to getting a fair deal. It is perhaps best seen, Nick, from your time as a night cashier at the casino when you became acutely aware of the importance of having some kind of savings left behind. This very much led to your involvement as a minister in economic portfolios and also as a shadow minister involved in reforming superannuation.

I took the liberty of reaching back into the Hansard of the 1990s when Nick gave his first speech in this place. There are a number of striking features of that speech but, most significantly, Nick's thorough-going commit­ment to the protection of individuals from the overwhelming power imbalance present in the workplace. The one thing that struck me was that the speech was punctuated by an understanding of the significance of the economic growth of Asia. Nick was part of the Labor government of the 1990s guided by visionaries like Gareth Evans and one of Australia's greatest Prime Ministers, Paul Keating—a government that comprised men and women who knew how important it was for Australia to recognise and leverage the geographic realities of our nation. Nick contributed to that cultural shift just as he contributed to the important reforms to superannuation. Now, after years of neglect during the coalition government's term, Labor is leading the nation in coming to terms with the Asian century, about which Nick was speaking when he first addressed this place.

I first met Nick at a state conference when I joined the Labor Party in the 1990s. His intellect and sense of fairness struck me then as someone who belonged in the Labor Party. He is someone from whom I have sought advice on occasion and I have enjoyed his wit, his charm and his knowledge on all things financial and the like. Nick ends his parliamentary career after so many years of service: service to the Australian Labor Party, to his Tasmanian neighbours and constituents, and to the nation, including future generations who will benefit from his knowledge, wisdom and dedication to reform. Thank you, Nick. We will miss you in this place but I have no doubt that your retirement from the Senate heralds an exciting new chapter in your life and one which I very much wish you all the best.

The PRESIDENT: I call Senator Faulkner. I have two speakers for two minutes.