Members

McLachlan, Hon. A.L.

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.I. Lucas:

That this council notes the resignation of the Hon. A.L. McLachlan as President of this council and recognises his meritorious service to the council and to the parliament.

(Continued from 18 February 2020.)

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:23): It gives me great pleasure to reflect on the service and contribution that the Hon. Andrew McLachlan rendered to the South Australian parliament and to the people of South Australia during his relatively short six years as an elected member. I first met Andrew upon my election two years ago. We have a friend in common and he gave me a glowing appraisal of what to expect. He was not far off the mark.

Apart from his very public and principled stand against rather draconian bikie association laws, in which he was prepared to cross the floor against his party colleagues, earning the tag of 'maverick', I must admit I had not heard much about him while in my previous profession. The definition of 'maverick' is 'a rebel; dissident, nonconformist, unconventional or controversial', and that is something that I can relate to.

I note that in his maiden speech to the Senate last week, Senator McLachlan makes light of this feisty reputation in the party room and suggests that perhaps some were happy to see the back end of him. Even though we are from the opposite ends of the political divide, I like to think that we do share some common ground with some of his lateral Liberal thinking: ideals that respect individual freedoms, which are the building blocks of a resilient and progressive society, and Andrew's firm belief that people should get a fair go and respect the rights of the individual.

He spoke quite passionately about this and other issues close to his Scots Gaelic heart in his eloquent maiden speech. One section that especially struck a chord with me and demonstrates his level of empathy about the rights of individuals, whether they be great or small, is this:

Too often, legislation is drafted to make life easier for the agents of the state rather than taking full account of the burden that the heavy hand of bureaucracy can have on the individual…that it is the state that should bear the burden to make its case…and that the administrative efficiency is not a god to be worshipped alone at the expense of the principles of fairness, decency and mercy.

I note that his origins are in proud working-class stock from the west coast of Alba (that is the Gaelic moniker for Scotland), and despite his now deep blue political heritage I can still detect the disciplined influence of that stoic upbringing in his early career in Port Augusta in a law firm he claims was run by communists and that paradoxically represented unionists, along with his firm beliefs on a range of social justice issues and jurisprudence.

From his hands-on experience in regional areas in times of economic decline and hardship, he is aware of the human cost when decisions affecting people are made at the opposite end of the continent. Therefore, we can be confident that Andrew will fight for the interests of South Australians. The River Murray and the survival of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan will be a core battleground that he promises to defend vigorously.

I trust he will do the same to protect 700 jobs in South Australia at ASC Osborne and advocate that full docking maintenance of our submarine fleet remains here and does not move to Western Australia. Also to be admired is Andrew's service as an Army reservist (with two tours of Afghanistan), his volunteer work with St John, and now Legacy, in assisting families of veterans who are facing enormous mental challenges.

As President of this chamber, I found him to be extremely knowledgeable of parliamentary procedure and protocols, firm in his control of proceedings and extremely fair to a fault, in that he certainly indulged me whenever I rose to give my elongated versions of brief explanations in question time. He also possesses a wicked and sharp sense of humour. Had he not been elevated to the Senate in such a decisive manner—not that I was surprised—I would have looked forward to seeing his swashbuckling, adversarial, maverick style of probing, dissection and vivisection, either of legislation or of his political opponents. We now await this style to be portrayed in his portrait, but I suspect it will have a Gaelic flavour, with perhaps a brush or two of maverick.

If I had to settle on a short and succinct characterisation of his persona, it would be that he is a class act. I am sure Senator McLachlan will be a loud, active and effective voice for South Australia in Canberra, and I wish him and his family well in his new endeavours on the national stage.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:29): I rise to make my contribution to this motion in recognition of the service and contribution made by the Hon. Andrew McLachlan MLC CSC to this place. Of course now he is known as Senator Andrew McLachlan, which is still hard to get your mind around properly.

I have known Andrew since his election to this parliament in 2014. During his six years in this place, Andrew was able to forge friendships with all members on all sides of the political divide, and I think he has done that perhaps better than most. He had friends from all angles of this chamber. I, too, considered Andrew not only a colleague but a friend, as I still do. Like many members before him, Andrew was eager to have a positive influence in this place and really threw himself into this job. He debated and contributed to bills in a way in which he believed would better the law and improve South Australians' lives, and he did so with an earnestness and a passion that I think was a sight to behold. He was exemplary.

Prior to his election as President, Andrew would often visit my office to discuss the merits of bills being considered at that time. I reflected on those off-the-cuff types of meetings, unscheduled meetings, which we had many of. We probably had 30-plus of those meetings over several years. Andrew would come down with a particular point that he wanted to make and he would always pursue it rigorously; he was like a dog with a bone. I got to a place of really enjoying those meetings and, in fact, looking forward to them. He was the sort of person who had a great deal of passion about this work, which I grew to admire. I enjoyed those in-depth discussions and he was very good at outlining the practical implications of specific pieces of legislation as he saw it.

Outside the chamber, Andrew has been of great assistance to many of my Liberal colleagues and me. He is an enthusiastic and effective campaigner and is always happy to assist a Liberal candidate. I remember standing on pre-poll at one of the Boothby polling sites prior to the federal election with Andrew. It was pouring with rain. It was probably all of 8° or 9°, something like that, and we were standing under an umbrella. There was almost nobody coming to that particular pre-poll and, after a period of silence, Andrew said to me, 'Sometimes you just have to do the hard yards.' It was a statement of such obviousness that we both could not help but burst into laughter because it was a pretty dreary sort of day.

He has also had a willingness to help all those right across the party, whether they be like-minded or not, and I think for that reason we saw Andrew's election to the Senate at the State Council because he is somebody who is valued right across the spectrum of the party, which is something he can be genuinely proud of. He has always been a support to me, whilst I have been in the party—something I am genuinely thankful for. I have particularly enjoyed his counsel and support with my preselection efforts. Andrew has been a real support to me in that regard and in many other ways.

Andrew's work within the party more generally has greatly contributed to a better party today, as I see it. I applaud his willingness to continue to contribute to the Liberal cause in Canberra. It is no easy task for a Legislative Councillor to decide to take the leap and the risk to venture to Canberra and start again in a sense. Of course, he was very well-established here, having been President for a couple of years, and a very vocal member of the party whilst in opposition for four years prior to that. Yet in going to the Senate, in a sense he starts over, so there is a certain amount of courage in doing that and I pay tribute to that.

The federal government itself is working hard for Australians and I am sure that Andrew will be a positive contributor to their team. He will be another advocate in Canberra of the Marshall Liberal government and, indeed, of South Australia in general. He will advance our government's goals to invest in the regions, create jobs such as those on Lot Fourteen, and continue to upgrade South Australia's infrastructure but, most importantly, he will be an advocate for South Australia.

Andrew has my best wishes for his new role as a senator for South Australia, as he is equipped with the skills and he understands the needs of South Australians as well as anybody could be expected to. Despite Andrew's theatrical departure from this place as a 'stranger on the floor', which he loves to recount in some specific detail at every opportunity, I am confident he will not be a stranger to this place or to the members of this place. I look forward to seeing his continued contribution to South Australia as a senator and I sincerely wish him well.

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:34): I also rise to acknowledge the contribution made by the Hon. Andrew McLachlan to this parliament as well as to South Australia. Other honourable members have already spoken about his life and achievements, so I will stick to talking about my friendship with the Hon. Andrew McLachlan.

The Hon. Andrew McLachlan and I were elected in 2014. We were the two new members in this house following that election, so we immediately became good friends. Andrew often said to me, 'We are the class of 2014, we are unique, we are a rarity.' He used those two words to describe the class of 2014. I am not sure about me, but I am sure other honourable members will agree that Andrew has a unique personality and is a unique person, and I am sure he is a rarity because not many honourable members from this house become a senator.

When I take community members on a Parliament House tour I often take them into the room where we display all our photographs. I point out Andrew and I, the two from 2014, and I often use the line Andrew used that we are a rarity and unique. Members of the public doing the tour often giggle and laugh, so I enjoy using that line when I do a Parliament House tour for members of the public.

As the Hon. Dennis Hood mentioned earlier, even though he was from a different party Andrew was willing to help out other members of parliament when needed. I travelled overseas to Taiwan with Andrew; we had a great time together and I got to know him a lot better. When I needed his assistance in terms of a few functions, when I needed his help to come out with me to support the community, he was always willing to help me out with that.

In winding up my speech I would like to thank Andrew for his contribution and his friendship throughout the years. I am sure he will do a great job representing South Australia in the Senate.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:37): I thank all honourable members who have made a contribution, on various days, to the debate. I am pleased to see there would appear to be unanimous support for the motion.

The PRESIDENT (15:37): Before I put the motion I would like to add a couple of remarks myself. I would like to thank the Hon. Dennis Hood, in particular, for his remarks; I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments of the Hon. Dennis Hood. I will not repeat many of the stories he relayed, but I concur.

I would also like to thank the honourable Tung Ngo for bringing up the words we can all use for now Senator McLachlan, that he is indeed rare and unique. He is our gift to the federal Senate, and I am sure he will have a substantial impact. With those few words, I put that the motion be agreed to.

Motion carried.