Members

Weatherill, Hon. J.W., Retirement

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield) (16:42): I was talking about the place that educated the member for Chaffey and others whom I have mentioned. Did I get to the former member for Bright, who incidentally, I think, defeated his former schoolteacher from Henley High School to win the seat? Mr Derek Robertson. Anyway, that is a trip down memory lane we do not need to take. That is the context.

I also recall that the member for Cheltenham was obviously very keen on politics, and in fact he and I happened to be sitting in the chamber of the Old Parliament House in Canberra on the day that the 1984 election was called. It might have been 1987, actually. He was there visiting. Anyway, we were both sitting in the body of the parliament in that magnificent old building, which unfortunately is not used anymore for that purpose. It was quite an exciting event.

I want to say a few things about the member for Cheltenham's political career. Obviously, we entered this place on the same day and for nearly 20 minutes we sat almost next to each other. After that, our paths diverged somewhat. Courtesy of the member for West Torrens, I was introduced to the compactus in the basement of the library, which I basically mined for eight years. Meanwhile, the member for Cheltenham went on to many great achievements and was part of, obviously, the very successful Rann government.

As luck would have it, I was asked to leave the compactus at the beginning of 2010 and became a member of the cabinet, initially under Mike Rann and subsequently under the member for Cheltenham. I have to speak a little about that period in cabinet. I have great respect for both those men. Mike was a very different individual from the member for Cheltenham, but each of them had their own particular strengths.

I have to say that during all my time serving with the member for Cheltenham he has led an energetic government. He has always embraced a very collegial approach to the way in which the business of cabinet, and indeed the business of government, was conducted, and he had the great ability of being able to work out the strengths and weaknesses of the people with whom he was working and try to make sure that he brought out the bits that were the best bits those people had to contribute. That is a skill not everyone has.

In my case, I think, he realised that the best thing to do with me was to give me lots of work to do and let me get on with it. I have to say that he basically did that, which suited me just fine. Occasionally, it may have become annoying for him, and I certainly know that it annoyed a number of his staff. I will not mention them all here, but some of them know who I am talking about. The important thing was that most of the time, unless I started to get a little bit too edgy, I was able to rely on his continuing support for those projects—and, to be honest, some of those things were very, very hard.

The one that springs to mind is the reform of the WorkCover system. For a Labor government to be able to deal with the problems of the WorkCover system, and be able to reform it, successfully and in a way that makes everybody better off, is no small task. That is not just because of the complexity of getting the balances right and all that stuff; it is negotiating the internal complexities of these very, very sensitive matters within the Australian Labor Party. We did see, a few years before, an attempt made to do some rectification work there, and it became very unhappy.

It is absolutely true to say that but for the member for Cheltenham supporting those reforms they would not have been possible, and it has been demonstrated over time now that those reforms have remarkably changed that particular scheme for the better for everybody, actually. That is an example of where putting the head of cabinet's authority on the line to do difficult things produces a great outcome, but it requires that commitment, and that was forthcoming.

The member for Cheltenham always had a theme and a plan. I recall him saying, on many occasions to many of us, that it was better to have an average plan and stick to it than have a whole bunch of other plans and keep chopping and changing them all the time. He was certainly a person who would set his compass bearings at the beginning of a term and work to a plan. I think the record will show he did that very successfully.

He was a good chair of cabinet—not somebody who needed to hear his own voice all the time but somebody who was happy to listen to other voices—and in the many years I was in that room there was a range of different voices. All the same, he remained very calm and prepared to listen. I can scarcely recall a moment when he raised his voice in that environment. He is a clear thinker, and he is calm in a crisis. I know others have said this but, to me, the most emblematic instance of this was as we just commenced the 2014 election campaign.

A retiring member announced to a breathless media that he had picked his successor. This resulted in some concern. I received a phone call from the member for Cheltenham that morning, and we had a bit of a chat about how things might be going. I will not reveal the exact details of that, but I think we were both ad idem, as we say, that this was not going to be helpful if it were allowed to continue. He intimated to me the general way in which he would be approaching it. I remember that drive into work that morning, listening to the radio and thinking, 'My goodness, this is interesting.'

That was a point in time when the pressure on the member for Cheltenham must have been immense: the middle of an election campaign, and immediately it looks like from day one there is a derailment occurring on your side of the carriageway, not on the other side. But he went straight through it. It was a one-day story and we moved on. Of course, at the end of that, there was a very successful outcome as far as we were all concerned.

In conclusion, the member for Cheltenham has a great deal to look back on with pride from his period as a member of this place and as a very active and important participant in government. I am sure, as others have said, that in due course he will find other ways to apply his talents. But in the meantime, I think he is about to engage in a well-deserved rest and I wish him all the very best.

Mr BOYER (Wright) (16:50): It is an honour to have on indulgence this opportunity to place on record my thanks to the member for Cheltenham as a member of this place. Indeed, I am indebted to him in no small way for the fact that I am here at all. I would like to make a small contribution on behalf of all his staff, and I note the member for Lee has already mentioned it in his capacity as a former staffer to the member for Cheltenham, but I would like to add my remarks on behalf of those many staff who served the member for Cheltenham during his very long parliamentary career with distinction and pride.

We all know the member for Cheltenham's reputation for being quietly spoken, and before I moved to work in his office, the premier's office, I wondered if the public persona might be different from what I would see behind the scenes, which as many people in this place would know is so often the case in public life. I must say that when I saw that he was indeed the same softly spoken, considered kind of person behind the scenes as he was in front of the cameras it filled me with a huge sense of hope for the future of public discourse in South Australia—that we could have a premier and a leader who did not always have to be fire and brimstone but could in fact be quietly spoken and considered. As the member for Enfield said earlier, he was someone who could sit in a room and lead a group of women and men and not always be the person speaking but let other voices be louder in those meetings.

I know I echo the sentiments of many staff who came before me when I say that working for him was a privilege because your opinion was actually valued. I think it is a very rare thing in politics, but even rarer for a parliamentarian of some 13 years' standing with 13 years' ministerial experience and three years as a premier by the time I went to work in his office, to still so readily seek the counsel of others, particularly staff.

When I joined the premier's office, that is how it was and that is how it remained, and it was a genuine team environment. It was inspiring to see the member for Cheltenham practise in his office the participatory democracy that he longed for in our broader democracy and we made a lot of collective decision-making. For this reason, I think it was a place where people wanted to work. It was a place where I feel high-quality staff desired to be, which paid dividends for us more broadly as a government.

The other strongly held belief that the member for Cheltenham adhered to in his own office was encouraging staff to prioritise time with their families whenever they could. In the years leading up to the 2018 election, there was an astonishingly high number of staff with young children working in the office of the premier. I think the member for Cheltenham, who we know is a father with young kids himself, greatly enjoyed this. It energised him to hear stories from his own staff of their experiences in the children's centres that he championed, and in primary schools and high schools where we were building the STEM labs that he had fought for. That sense of change in early childhood development education was palpable and he could see his own staff living those changes and the benefits.

He spoke to us on many occasions at events we had and, as he said in his own remarks today, he felt quite flat between 2014 and 2018 and it was hard for him to find the gusto to keep going, which is something I do not find hard to imagine at all in such a demanding job. Indeed, it was the many new staff and fresh faces in his office that inspired him to push on, and we are all very grateful that he did.

I for one firmly believe that time will show his legacy to be the spotlight that he shone on early childhood development but, more specifically, early childhood education and a focus on investing in the early years of a child's life. I certainly hope that I am in this place long enough to do everything I can to make sure that very important legacy endures.

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (16:55): I rise to honour, to give and place on record my deepest thanks to our former premier, the member for Cheltenham. In doing so, I pay tribute to a friend of 26 or 27 years, a supporter, a wise and kind adviser, a remarkable, compassionate and visionary leader, a thoroughly decent person who understands the true meaning of progress and what it takes to achieve it, a person who lives and breathes the values of our Labor Party, a man who has made our communities, our state and the fabric of our democracy better, fairer, more inclusive and stronger.

My friend Ilka Walkley and I first met the member for Cheltenham when he was working as a lawyer at Duncan Hannon. I think he might have been slightly amused, or perhaps utterly shocked, by our taste in music, our ridiculous dancing, our choice of venues and some of our antics. But he saw us, he understood us and he knew that we had a burning desire to make our state a better place. He helped us get active and involved in the causes that we were passionate about in our party. At that time, he was deeply focused on people getting a fair go, on making sure that workers were treated fairly and that, through their unions, they had a genuine voice that was heard.

He was and remains deeply passionate about making sure that the most vulnerable South Australians are supported and empowered to live their best possible lives and that the most marginalised are recognised and included. At that time, and now, the member for Cheltenham had a firm belief he actively promoted that, no matter your starting point, no matter where you came from, you had the right to a voice, you had the right to represent your community and you had a place in politics and wherever else you wanted to be.

I learned much from the member for Cheltenham at that time about how you could play a role and about valuing your voice and taking it forward. I learned that speaking simple and quiet truth with honesty, dignity, intellect and respect was often the most persuasive and powerful of negotiating tools. He and others helped me to navigate the structures of our political system and how to get things done, how to put issues on the map and how to bring attention to them.

At that time, 26 or 27 years or so ago, he made me believe that my raw, unbridled and fervent sense of compassion and passion for fairness and equity had a place in our party, that my voice could be heard, that I belonged in our political world and that those values are always the most important things you can bring to the table, to the public discourse of our state.

I watched him set up his own law firm and bring his values to life in every aspect of that firm. I know many, many people who benefited from his wise counsel, from his fine values and from his willingness to fight for them, often quite ferociously. At that time, the member for Cheltenham was, and still is, earnest, compassionate, steadfast and clever beyond belief. He was and is deeply hopeful about the future of our state to the point that he was sometimes told he wore rose-coloured glasses, that he could not see all the negatives looming.

However, to me, this positivity, this hopefulness, this vision, this unshakeable belief in South Australians and South Australia was exactly what our Labor Movement, our parliament and our state needed, and it is what drew so many to the Labor cause. It is what helped us form sometimes the most unusual of alliances to get things done. It is what inspired many to stand up for our state and work together to achieve progress on social, economic and environmental fronts. It is why his remarkable leadership marked a truly transformative period in our state's journey.

It was the member for Cheltenham's leadership that meant we led the world in embracing renewable energy, fought tooth and nail for jobs for our state and created the jobs and industries of our future. It was the member for Cheltenham's leadership that saw us prioritise unprecedented funding for education and social inclusion and saw us think differently about what we could do collectively as a community to improve the lives of our youngest South Australians. It was the member for Cheltenham's leadership that meant we collectively welcomed, took on and met the challenges presented to us in the form of some of the most complex social issues, and it was his leadership that gave everyone a voice on them.

Thank you, Jay, for your belief in the capacity of our state and the place it should take on the world stage and your willingness to fight to put it there. Thank you for your belief in South Australians and for your work to include them in our state's conversation to genuinely ensure that they participate in every aspect of community life and in our decision-making. Thank you for making what sometimes seemed impossible possible and for bringing to life a vision for our state that will be remembered remarkably well and rightly celebrated and that has changed people's lives and the direction of our state for the better.

On a personal note, Jay, thank you for getting me and thank you for your kindness. Your small acts of reaching out made a significant impact on me. They lifted me up, often at just the right moment. Thank you for the privilege you gave me of being a minister in our Labor government and for the way in which you enabled me and every minister to lead. Thank you for getting one of the most important things about leadership—and that is that the best leaders engender leadership in others.

Thank you for our friendship. Thank you for everything, my friend. May you, Mel, your beautiful daughters and your broader family enjoy every moment together. May you have the opportunity to be present and to savour every moment ahead.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (17:01): I also rise to say a few words and put on the record my deep appreciation for the member for Cheltenham and the massive contribution he has made over so many years to our state in all the ministerial roles he has held, eventually culminating in becoming the premier of our great state.

Unlike some here, I do not have a long history with the member for Cheltenham, but the history that we do share has left a real mark on me. The first time I met him in a sustained way was when he was the minister for environment and came up to Whyalla. I was not on the political scene in any formal way at the time, apart from being a councillor on the Whyalla city council but, along with Lyn Breuer, I had the privilege of showing him around the Port Lowly peninsula.

The following morning there was a breakfast for some of the people who worked for his department or who were associated with the department. It was on that occasion that I got a sense of a real leader, someone who was highly intelligent and insightful and someone who talked about the need to involve members of our communities more fully in the decisions that ultimately affect us. He was incredibly genuine and engaging.

As time went on and I came into this place, I got a greater sense of the worth of the man. Even though those of us here would have liked to see him deliver a victory speech in March 2018, that was not to be, but the speech he did give showed the measure of the man. The sense of grace he expressed in that speech was incredibly touching. For a leader to have the humility, in some senses a steely humility, that the member for Cheltenham had is also incredibly admirable.

To be up-front, I did not expect that we would win government in 2014. I thought I would be a backbencher in opposition. Winning is always a collective effort, but the leadership that the member for Cheltenham provided in the lead-up to the election and during it was extraordinary. His calmness has been mentioned, and it is a massive attribute. He combined that calmness with a real tenacity.

Along came 2014, and not long afterwards my community of Whyalla faced an existential crisis. In the lead-up to administration, 1,000 direct jobs were lost in the community of Whyalla, and then we went into administration. It was a genuine crisis, and it became abundantly apparent that the then premier had our community's back. It was obvious that they would do what was needed in order to sustain the future of Whyalla. I have to say that, although it involved all the cabinet ministers, the partnership between the then premier and the member for West Torrens in that effort was something to behold.

As the local member facing that incredibly challenging time, I knew that the member for Cheltenham was there to back us all the way, ably assisted by the member for West Torrens. When it came to regional communities, we already had a sense of that through the work that was done with the member for Frome to secure Nyrstar. We knew that if an underwriting facility were not provided by the state government for that particular enterprise, it would be all over. It would be all over for that particular enterprise at Port Pirie, and it would have had a devastating impact on our community.

Not only did they come to the rescue in Port Pirie but they were there to assist the people of Whyalla in their hour of real need. So I would like to put on the record the deep appreciation that the people of Whyalla had for the then premier and for the state Labor government for providing that leadership at a state level, despite the fact that there were more people employed by Arrium interstate than in Whyalla itself. Real leadership was provided at that time, and I will never forget that.

I cannot imagine what it is like to be a premier and to experience the sustained pressure that one would be under. It is even more difficult when you have a young family. I do not know what the future holds for the member for Cheltenham, but whatever he turns his mind to he will do a fantastic job. However, there is more opportunity now to spend time with his young family, and those of us who have grown-up kids know that that time goes quickly. Jay, I wish you all the best for the future.

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL (Mawson) (17:08): I rise today to say a big thankyou not only personally and professionally to the member for Cheltenham but also on behalf of the constituents of Mawson and the wider community in South Australia. We owe you a great debt of gratitude for the amazing job you did over your ministerial career and also as premier of this state.

It was a huge honour to serve in the cabinet alongside the member for Cheltenham when he was premier. I like the fact that, when he took over, he said that everyone had to park their ego at the door when they walked into the cabinet room. It was one of the most collaborative groups of people I have ever worked with. We could have a joke together but, gee, we worked hard together, and that was because of the leadership of the member for Cheltenham.

When Holden closed and other adversity hit, we started every cabinet meeting looking at the unemployment figures, and not just the ABS data but every bit of data that we could get from within government agencies and also outside of them. We knew every job that was going to come with whatever projects that were coming on board. We knew every job that was going to be lost through the demise of Holden and related companies.

While we had Rob Lucas and others on the other side predicting double-digit unemployment for South Australia, we had a premier who said, 'That is totally unacceptable. It is not going to happen on my watch, and collectively we are going to work to make sure that as many jobs as possible can not only be saved in South Australia but be created as well.’ The member for Cheltenham is the bloke you do not want to be on the wrong side of in any sort of argument, and I think that was proven time and time again. When people said that something could not happen, the member for Cheltenham made it happen.

We had Tony Abbott, who was going to be happy for the submarines to be built in Japan. He suggested in a meeting with the member for Cheltenham, who was the then premier, that South Australia should be accepting of some crumbs that may fall off the table, that we should be satisfied with that. Jay came away from that meeting and said, 'No, I am not going to be satisfied with that. The people of South Australia are not going to be satisfied with that, and we are going to fight to make sure that those submarines are built right here in South Australia.'

He fought for our regions. As a minister who had responsibility for agriculture, food, fisheries, forests and other portfolios, such as tourism, that our regions are so dependent on, we had the Liberals of the day saying that they were going to accept a certain deal for the River Murray. Again, the member for Cheltenham said, 'That's unacceptable.' He went out and got $240 million for the Riverland and Murraylands in South Australia.

We pumped that money into the regions to make sure that not only could we preserve the water in the Murray but also make businesses more efficient and more profitable. Whyalla and Port Pirie were looking at bleak, bleak futures. We do not have to make any of this up. This was a horror story in the making. The premier of the day, the member for Cheltenham, took it on himself to make sure that he was in those cities and those regions as often as he could be and that he had all his relevant ministers out there as well doing whatever could be done to save those places.

I want to thank Mel and Lucy and Alice for giving up their husband and their dad for so much of those years when he was our premier. He spent a lot of time down in the electorate of Mawson. Sometimes he dragged his family along, and we would be out and about at various functions. They were just so totally accepting of what his role was in South Australia and the importance of his job, and so for that, Mel, Lucy and Alice, I say thank you again not only personally but also on behalf of the people of Mawson and the wider community in South Australia.

I want to say thanks from the Myponga Bowling Club. I know that Annie dropped a bowl on your toe and your toenail went black, but you still came up with that $180,000 so that they could have an artificial green. I want to thank you on behalf of the Myponga Residents Association for the $60,000 you gave them so that they could have a playground for the first time. I want to say thank you on behalf of the people of Kingscote, who for more than 20 years had fought to have a skatepark in that town. You found the money and made sure that the $30,000 they raised over 20 years could go to a skatepark that we officially opened in September this year.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The Hon. L.W.K. BIGNELL: There is a very memorable photo of the premier and a whole bunch of kids standing around, and I must have jumped a little bit early because I am there, with my arms up in the air, and I look like the only bloke in Kingscote that day who was happy about that funding. However, everyone was happy and they are still very happy, Jay. We talk about the big multimillion dollar things that we do in South Australia and that we do as governments, and premiers and ministers will do those things over the course of their time in the job, but it is so often those little projects that mean such a lot to communities.

The Fund My Neighbourhood idea, which was the brainchild of the member for Cheltenham, really struck a chord with local communities. It was a democratic decision on what projects would get funded. Around the state, we had towns versus towns, we had suburbs versus suburbs and we had street versus streets, but in Penneshaw we had mother versus daughter, putting up two proposals.

That is how good this project identifier was in getting things that the communities actually wanted, and I think it was a sad day when the new government got rid of that. It is really interesting to see them out there cutting the ribbons on all these things that we provided the money for. Not only have they cut the funding but they are cutting the ribbons as well. It is about priorities and I think community priorities were always at the centre of everything that the member for Cheltenham did in his time as a minister and in his time as premier.

I also want to say thanks from a young fellow named James Townsend. James was 12 years old when Elon Musk came to Adelaide last year. He has ambitions to be a rocket scientist and absolutely adores Elon Musk. Elon Musk is a hard guy to pin down. There was so much security around him, but the member for Cheltenham took it upon himself to make sure that James could be in the room and meet Elon Musk that day. That had a profound effect on that young man, and there were so many others during his time as premier of South Australia whom he touched and for whom he did amazing things on both the small scale and the grand scale. On behalf of all of those people and on behalf of the people of Mawson and myself, I say thank you to the member for Cheltenham.

Mr BROWN (Playford) (17:16): I rise to also express my appreciation of the hard work and service of the member for Cheltenham over the years. Those of us who have spent some time around politics as so-called backroom operators always think we know how it is supposed to be done and how you are supposed to deal with voters and the public, but it really hit home for me that you do not really appreciate what it is like until your name is on the ballot paper and you are actually out there on the hustings yourself, trying to get elected.

As a freshly minted candidate, I was very appreciative of the advice and guidance given to me by the member for Cheltenham when he was premier. During the campaign itself, you get a lot of advice from people. A lot of people tell you how you are going and all that sort of stuff. You think you are doing well until people say to you, 'Actually, you're in big, big trouble,' and, 'You know they are coming to get you,' and that sort of stuff. I fully admit that I was very stressed during the campaign.

One day, the member for Cheltenham, the then premier, came to visit the electorate of Playford, and he and I went and visited Parafield Gardens R-7 School together. I have to tell you that I felt so relaxed. This man was so passionate about the education of children in our state and so passionate about what was happening in the north that everyone could respond to it and immediately see what was going on.

In my campaign, I tried to express to the people of Playford my commitment and my passion for not only employment outcomes but also general outcomes for the people of the northern suburbs. I did my best to try to convince them of that, and maybe I succeeded, maybe I did not, or maybe I have more work to do, but one thing they were definitely all sure of, I am sure, was the commitment and the passion that the member for Cheltenham had for the northern suburbs of Adelaide.

Whether it was dealing with Holden's closure and the possible dramatic impact on employment in the north, whether it was working hard to create new defence jobs at Mawson Lakes and in other parts of my electorate, whether it was assisting Para Hills High School to get its long sought after money for a performing arts space, or whether it was assisting Parafield Gardens High School to get money for a community hall they had fought for years to achieve, the member for Cheltenham came up in spades for the northern suburbs. He has delivered over time, time and time again, for the north. I thank him on behalf of not only my electorate but also myself for his guidance, for his leadership and for delivering for the people of the northern suburbs.

Ms STINSON (Badcoe) (17:19): I have not known the member for Cheltenham for as long or as closely as many others in this house, but I have had the perspective of knowing him from different viewpoints. I first came to know Jay in his position as a media talent, or a talking head, in my news stories each evening. As a journalist, I first interviewed him as the minister for early childhood development and then environment minister—or maybe it was the other way around—among a wide range of other portfolios he has held.

Maybe unlike others in this house, I have hurled some pretty hard questions at him at times, and maybe raised my voice in the press pack to try to elicit a response or reaction. Sometimes I have also been outraged at the lack of response or types of responses I got in those press conferences and interviews. Sometimes I got what I was after and sometimes not, but I always admired his calmness under pressure, his incredible political acumen and strategy and his well-chosen words.

I have always found him to be courteous and informative, and it seemed to me that he would strive to inform the reporters of the facts of a situation—even if they were the facts as he saw them—and his views on matters, especially if those matters were complex or difficult. I always appreciated him taking the extra time to let me know about a situation and provide me with more context.

I always enjoyed a good guessing game with the other political reporters. Sometimes we would be in the press conference room with little idea about why we had been called in. I remember one particular occasion when the mood was heightened and there was a bit of energy and electricity in the air. No-one knew why we were there. I noticed a twinkle in Jay's eye as he strode into the room and, a mere moment later, was followed by Mr Martin Hamilton-Smith. That was a particularly memorable press conference and there was palpable shock in the room. Of course, certain experienced reporters clamoured to claim that they had known all along, and they knew this was going to happen—maybe not.

By far, the favourite story I have done with the member for Cheltenham was the Christmas story before the 2014 election. At that time, I was working for Network 10, and we had decided to do a series of stories on how the leaders were spending Christmas. Indeed, I did one with the member for Dunstan (then leader of the opposition) as well. It was a total joy to spend half a day with Jay and his family—Mel, Alice and Lucy. Not only was I treated to wrapping up socks and jocks for the Hutt St Centre but the girls also sang me a wonderful song about socks and jocks. I must say that it was rather an extensive tune and went on for some time.

I looked across and saw Jay beam at his beautiful daughters. He was so proud of the way they sang beautifully and also the way they spoke very articulately, at quite a young age, about helping other people who are less fortunate than us at Christmas. I could really see that he was very proud of his lovely daughters and what they are contributing to the world.

I was then treated to a slice of Christmas cake whipped from the Weatherill family fridge. As I wolfed it down rather unglamorously, starving as I was, Jay explained his friendship with Frank Blevins, who of course served as deputy premier, and revealed that I was eating one of Frank's famous Christmas cakes and the very last one he had made for the member for Cheltenham before he passed away in 2013. I felt very honoured to have a slice of that cake, and I have remembered that since. It was a special day, and it was also the first time I had an insight into the member for Cheltenham as a father and a human, not just as a politician who was standing in front of the camera.

I then got to know the member for Cheltenham very well from the day he announced my candidacy for preselection. Jay, I just want to tell you how incredibly grateful I am for every time you walked Castle Plaza with me, every time you visited a school with me and every time you knocked on a door in the boiling heat with me; I really appreciate it. Thank you for listening to the ideas that I was putting forward for my electorate. There were many of them and I appreciate you giving me the time of day. I want to particularly mention Goodwood Oval and the redevelopment of the grandstand. The plans have been drawn up—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: We didn't have much choice there, did we?

Ms STINSON: No, you didn't have much choice. I endlessly badgered you into that one. I really appreciate you and your wise counsel on how to go about things and how to get things done. Obviously, I take those lessons with me.

Going on to election day, mine was the very first electorate that you visited, the very first booths. Of course, I was pretty nervous, but the overwhelmingly warm reception that you had at that Black Forest booth and your encouraging words to me buoyed me for the day. Although it obviously, ultimately, was a day of sadness for our party, you set a really positive tone for me and my volunteers and you gave us the great joy of being able to relax on that day and enjoy the momentous occasion of being elected. I really thank you for that. It was incredibly motivating to have you by my side and to know that you and the party believed in me.

I would also like to thank you for another little pearl of wisdom that has stuck with me. After a few journalists got stuck into me, as they do, for falsely claiming that I had only scored preselection because of my gender, I asked you how you managed to handle those criticisms. I think I said to you, 'This must all be water off a duck's back now.' There must have been so many things said where you thought, 'Gee, that's not right,' or, 'That's not accurate,' or, That's not what happened.' I remember you telling me that it does not get easier; you do not just not feel the pain of someone saying something that is wrong about you. You told me that you do learn how to take it on, absorb it, process it and get on with doing what is important and forge forward and do what you are really there for. I really appreciate that. That has been very helpful to me as well.

I would also like to comment on the member for Cheltenham's policy contributions. There are, of course, so many and so many of my colleagues have already mentioned them, but I would like to point out two that are of particular importance to me. Firstly, I think the work that the member for Cheltenham did in his role advocating for children is quite remarkable and has really stood the test of time. He really raised the level of consciousness in our community about the importance of the first five years of a child's life.

Even for me at that time as a journalist, it was not probably something that I had given much thought to, but I heard Jay speak about this again and again in many different forums and it really sank in. It really makes sense to all of us now that we need to invest in those first five years of a child's life because of the huge transformative value that investing in a child at that age can have, not just for that child but for our society as a whole. People in my community still remark to me about Jay's work in the early childhood space and about the first five years, in particular. Sometimes these messages take a while to get through, but you definitely got that message through and people really talk about it and it has really influenced policy in this state.

Secondly, I want to thank you for your position on renewable energy, for pushing through some of the criticism because you just knew it was the right thing to do and the right thing to be advocating. Young people, but people from all walks of life as well, mention that to me all the time as something that really resonated with them, particularly at the last election. I think it is one of the key challenges of this generation and you have been a leader in that for quite some time. I appreciate that greatly.

You have left this state in a better place than you found it and you continue to be an inspiration to new players like me. I thank you very, very much and I wish you the very best in whatever you choose to do next.