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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-12 Daily Xml
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Members

Valedictory

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide) (16:58): I seek your indulgence, sir.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: I am grateful to be in this parliament on this land, Kaurna Minyurna Yarta, Aboriginal land. Always was, always will be. I acknowledge the truth of their presence on this land for time that reaches back so far that always is a fitting way to describe it.

I acknowledge the truth of the harm done to Aboriginal people and Aboriginal culture, at times unwittingly, at times violently, through the settlement of this land by new peoples some 200 years ago. I acknowledge the truth that policies of successive governments saw Aboriginal children taken from their parents and their lands, saw those lands taken and given to strangers and has seen Aboriginal people to this day too often caught in the cycle of trauma, poverty and incarceration.

I also acknowledge that there are many Australians of non-Aboriginal backgrounds who wish to learn from Aboriginal culture and have deep respect for Aboriginal people. I acknowledge the wisdom, resilience and generosity of Aboriginal people and acknowledge with joy the many who are leaders in Aboriginal communities and leaders in our shared communities. It is not weakness in a nation to acknowledge that harm has been done in its founding. Indeed, it shows strength to face that truth, to offer restitution and to seek harmony through celebration of diversity, not in its eradication.

We are a remarkable state and nation because we are the home for time immemorial of the Aboriginal people, because we are among the most multicultural nations on earth and because we are a healthy and generous democracy that can admit error and demonstrate compassion to all.

My parents raised me to believe that the good life for one is meaningless if we do not offer the good life to all; that privilege is corrosive in society, and unearned, unacknowledged privilege the most harmful of all; that recognising our fundamental shared humanity is the only pathway to a healthy, functional society and that a healthy, functional society is essential to individual happiness; that the earth on which we live, the nature on which we depend, and our fellow creatures with whom we share this blue-green planet are as necessary to us as we are to each other. Everything I have done has been dedicated to these views: fairness in society, respect for all people and care for Mother Nature.

Throughout my career I have never acted alone. I have never been the sole creator of my political life. I have always been part of a team: in my childhood, in my immediate family, in my education, in my working life and in my political activism. I have many people and organisations to thank, many to acknowledge.

On my list of people to whom I am grateful, my parents, my dearly loved brother and my grandparents have earned pride of place in forming who I am. And my immediate family, my delightful children, now adults having grown up in my time here, my partner who gently parented in my absence are, without question, the most important people in my life. Wherever our paths take us we are an indissoluble family.

I also have my network of friends outside politics who have sustained me, or who have waited patiently for my return to their lives after the world of politics is over, and I am grateful to them all: Richard Beasley, Elisa Bell, Arnaud Benassy, Wendy Bevan, Claire and Mike Bossley, Annie Bucheker, Ian Creagh, Chris Daniels, Andrew Denton, Chris and Penny Gent, Adrian Graves, Joy and Dave Higgins, Allan Holmes, Liz Hounslow, Alison Kelty, Sean Kennihan, Haydon Manning, Clem Macintyre, Gunter May, Vicki McCoy, Mick Petrovski, Adrian Piccoli, Wendy Riemens, Tjangu Thomas, Pauly Vandenbergh, Tarnya Van Driel, John Williams and Roger Zubrinich. I will stop, but I fear I have left people out. Friendship is essential for all of us, and I hope to be as available and generous to you all as you have been to me.

In the list of institutions I wish to thank, those which educated me, the public schools I attended and Flinders University deserve special acknowledgement. The Labor Party, which I joined 42 years ago, the unions I joined from 1985, and the environment movement, which offered me friendship and purpose since 1987, similarly are owed my deep gratitude and respect.

In undertaking my job here I have been encouraged, educated, and supported by so many people, I risk offending many by naming only a few. Let me state categories of people and name at least some of those who have been significant to me. In the Labor Party I was fortunate in my early years to be welcomed into the astonishingly talented group of Mark Butler, Jay Weatherill and Penny Wong and they have remained friends, mentors and sources of inspiration.

I was befriended even earlier by Ian Hunter, who remains a dear and close friend. I learned from strong female leaders like Anne Levy, Carolyn Pickles, Gay Thompson and Steph Key. I worked with Gail Gago when she was environment minister, which was an absolute pleasure for she was one of the kindest bosses I have had.

I was a member, briefly, of the SDA, by virtue of working for the Pizza Hut, and then of the ASU for most of my career. I acknowledge the support in my political life from the United Workers Union which I persist in thinking of as the Missos. Convenors of the left faction Mark Butler, John Gazzola, Dave Gray and Karen Grogan have all left their impressions on me and were crucial in giving me the chance to represent Port Adelaide. I thank them all.

In the 14 years I have spent in this place I have made sincere friendships, and those closest to me in recent years have been my greatest supports in the complex roles of Deputy Premier and holder of two major portfolios. Kyam Maher (about whom I will speak more shortly), Blair Boyer and Joe Szakacs formed a group around me effortlessly combining humour, teasing and pastoral care. They will continue to offer much to our state and our government. Katrine Hildyard, always checking how I was going; Nat Cooke offering enthusiastic advice; Zoe Bettison, my 2012 by-election sibling, reminding me of how far we have walked on this path together; Tom Koutsantonis, my state convention sparring partner turned friend; and Stephen Mullighan, whom I knew when he was a student at the University of Adelaide and now unexpectedly joining me first on the backbench and then in departing this chamber.

To all of cabinet, each in their own way making this government the best it can be, I thank you. The stunningly talented backbenchers, some now on the front bench, I thank and admire you. I look forward to watching all of them rise over the next few years—Rhiannon Pearce and Lucy Hood already stepping into the ministry, and Nadia Clancy has become an assistant minister. You are brilliant and have much to offer the people of South Australia, and you will be joined in time by others in that long chain of talent in our party. As right as I know this decision to leave to be, I will miss each of you.

In a category of his own is the Premier. From the time we caught up in a cafe in 2018 to discuss possible leadership together, he has had my respect, my affection and my gratitude for simply being as good a person and a leader as he is. I know it was he above all others who secured sufficient trust from the people of South Australia to take us into government in 2022. We are a strong and talented team, but he was the ingredient that made everything work. I was touched that he so clearly did not want me to leave, and moved that he showed me the respect to allow me to do so with his blessing.

Members of the opposition, I have had a complex relationship with some of you. Many of you I like very much and feel some common cause with; others I respect despite our widely different views. I wish you all well. Democracy requires you to offer a clear alternative and play your role in holding those in power to account.

I regret that not one of you chose to speak in favour of the Voice to Parliament, as I am certain that there are members opposite who know well that no harm and only good can come from having a group of Aboriginal people elected to tell us what they think, and who know the power of bipartisan support to a marginalised community and the pain of it being withheld.

The Legislative Council, accurately yet hilariously called 'the other place' by convention, is, at times, a wild adventure for those of us used to the predictability of this place. Three members of the crossbench there I wish to acknowledge as friends and as people who I have found over many years to be reasonable and thoughtful: Connie Bonaros, Tammy Franks, and Rob Simms. I thank you for your friendship.

I thank the staff of parliament for their hard work, accompanied by unfailing politeness and good humour, and I acknowledge their patience with us all. We are probably fortunate that thus far none have chosen to write their memoirs.

My team of ministerial staff has been remarkable in knowledge, capacity and a sense of fun. Those who came and left were Con Babaniotis; James Johnson; Caitlin Munyard, who I am sure has a fine career in politics to come; James Roffee; Tim Ryan, who liked working with me so much he did it twice; and Josh Vines, one of the longest-serving members of the team. Those who stuck it out to the end were Jason Gillick; Emily Gore, the incredibly talented crafter of legislative amendments and consensus; Cameron Hurst; Ashley Natt; and Claire Woods. Smart, hardworking and dedicated, each one of them.

Thank you to the entire outstanding ministerial office team headed by the kind and thoughtful Tom Chladek, with a special shout-out to my extraordinary aide, Sarah Goodall, and to Michael, for the miles and the music. To my electorate office team, who have worked for the people of Port Adelaide over these 14 years—Ashton Charvetto, Ellen McLoughlin, Alex Overley, Ian Steel and Steve Vines, and the current team of Samantha Regione, Cameron Hurst, Parris Tsemtsidis, and Lysander Bastiras—I thank each of you for our time together.

The ALP sub-branch of Port Adelaide has similarly been a strong and reliable presence in the electorate, its members deeply engaged in the community and the common cause of the labour movement. Their willingness to volunteer to get the message of this government to the people and the voice of the people to be heard by the government has been remarkable.

The community of Port Adelaide deserve my particular gratitude. From the tough by-election where I was put to the test to see if I was worthy, I discovered what it means to have a relationship of trust and honesty with an entire community. One of the unexpected joys in recent weeks has been seeing that community with fresh eyes as I introduced the Labor candidate to the myriad community groups, sporting teams and schools. Every encounter has been marked by a warm welcome, the proud showcasing of the strength of each organisation, and then a thoughtful list of things that could be done to make our part of the world even better. We are a strong, generous and dynamic community. We are Port Adelaide.

I would also like to acknowledge the quality of the South Australian Public Service: principals and teachers making every dollar and every day work for the benefit of students, social workers dealing with the hardest situations families can face with kindness, industry specialists supporting economic diversification and skilling workers, and the dedicated and tireless staff in the environment portfolio at the frontline of climate and extinction crises.

The chairs and members of the committees and boards in that portfolio deserve special mention for not only taking administrative responsibility but also being a means of community connection that builds trust and adds to the diversity of advice and views that make government stronger. I hope many of you will remain friends now we are no longer colleagues.

Again, knowing this departure is the right decision will not protect me from missing working with you all. I am now going to single out two people who are seeking to replace me or already have. First is Cheyne Rich, the endorsed Labor candidate for Port Adelaide. Cheyne and I forged a tight partnership in the 2012 by-election, during which, as campaign manager, he criticised my clothes, my photographs and my refusal to put nonstop doorknocking ahead of having at least one meal a day. I am now returning the favour with relish. He will, should the people of Port Adelaide select him, be a dedicated MP who represents the best of Labor values.

My replacement as Deputy Premier requires a special mention: Kyam Maher. We have had a rare partnership in this job and an even more rare friendship in this place. I have been honoured to represent him in this chamber, particularly in undertaking the committee stage of the Voice to Parliament and managing the voluntary assisted dying legislation in this chamber, Kyam having done all the work to get it to us. His moral leadership and the pride the Aboriginal community feels in seeing him in these roles resonate far beyond this building, as does his dedication to finding the perfect sausage roll and his refusal to take me seriously.

I never imagined having a friend so close and yet who teases me so relentlessly. His social media is full of examples, my favourite of which was our picture in front of a Port Adelaide bakery with a sausage roll. It was similar to countless he took with candidates at the last election, only mine had the name of the bakery over my face. And yet I have the evidence still that he called me in public his 'actual factual best friend in politics'. Not working together seems unthinkable.

I do not wish to use this speech to talk about the record of the governments I have been part of, nor to claim my part in them. Not doing this, of course, does not imply there have not been significant projects and policies that have and will continue to make a difference. Both governments I have had the honour to serve have been bold and reformist and South Australians have benefited from their work and many important reforms will make a change for the long term. But self-praise, even masked by acknowledging a team effort, is no recommendation, and others will form their views, regardless of what I might assert.

I will not resist taking this opportunity to talk about the work not yet done, the challenges yet before all of us. Take this as my last message in this place about what I wish were different for our fellow South Australians. Our quest for fairness, our self-styled 'fair go' and egalitarian country, is under threat. Our social infrastructure is paper thin, at times a carapace masking a hollow core. Our sense of the collective is undermined by a tide of individualism without compassion, fuelled by so-called social media that is neither social nor ethically governed media.

For many people, our social infrastructure appears to be set up to benefit those who are already fortunate, with those who are born into disadvantage or misfortune left with barely adequate workarounds. This is perilous for our democracy, which holds the promise of a voice for all and fair outcomes for everyone.

My views are no criticism of this government nor that of the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. Indeed, if I were to allow myself to introduce party political analysis, I would lay much of the blame at the feet of the Howard government: the government that shifted the balance against those who struggled in favour of those who already succeeded, allowed antimigrant sentiment back into the heart of Australian politics for the first time since the abandonment of the White Australia policy, responded to the heartbreaking Bringing Them Home report with a heartless characterisation of truth as a black armband, and fundamentally undermined the structural soundness of the federal budget.

But set aside my views on the struggle between that side of politics and the constant effort of the few and all too short-lived federal governments to right the ship of Australia. I will resist listing the many reforms by this state government that have made a material difference. Look instead at the evidence that there is work to be done, regardless of who is in power.

We are fortunate in Australia to have safeguards for our version of representative democracy: fair and free elections overseen by genuinely independent electoral commissions and compulsory and preferential voting, to name a few. Yet deeper than those essential protections lies the contract with Australians that, by being part of this country, they are entitled to a fair chance at success in life, access to a home, a health system that will care for them regardless of their means, and confidence that their children will all have the education that prepares them for the future.

Australians are entitled to be in a country that keeps pace with international changes: modernising the economy so that well-paid and productive jobs are available and the workers' share of growing national wealth will at least match that of the owners; an economy not utterly dependent on raw commodities, with the wild variation in prices they attract, and less dependent on carbon intensity given the trajectory of the world economy decarbonising; an economy that does not miss the digital revolution and thereby relegates Australians to the role of consumer rather than producer; a country that is not caught in the grip of endless and accelerating climate disasters, causing immediate harm to life, wealth creation and property and distracting government from its normal responsibilities.

All of these promises that a meritocratic, egalitarian and democratic society should be able to offer are weakening. I fear alongside this that our grip on a sensible, moderate and thoughtful democracy is at risk in the medium term. If the social contract of a prosperous, tolerant and compassionate society is broken, democracy will not last long.

What changes would I like to see? I will pick only three. First, we need to be serious about addressing the climate crisis not only by decarbonising our economy but also by protecting and restoring nature. The current and near future experience of climate change will wreak havoc on our economy, particularly primary production; damage our infrastructure; and risk the lives of those without the means to protect themselves from heat, flood, fire and storms.

What has been seen as an environmental problem is rapidly being experienced as an economic and social catastrophe. The truth is there is no way through climate change without nature to take carbon out of the atmosphere, to achieve net emissions reduction while still growing the economy, and to help us absorb at least some of the impacts of a warming and increasingly chaotic climate through resilient ecosystems.

The fact that the algal bloom would have been significantly diminished or even avoided altogether if we still had the 1,500 linear kilometres of shellfish reefs along our coast that were present 200 years ago and deliberately eradicated should forever change our understanding of our utter dependence on the power of nature. It is time we understood nature as being the most important infrastructure underpinning our economy and a prosperous society, and protect and resource it accordingly. We cannot survive without it, and nature should be accorded commensurate respect and priority.

Second, our school system needs to desegregate if we are to be a prosperous and socially cohesive nation. We are at the extreme end amongst OECD nations in the segregation of our students into schools based on the socioeconomic status of their parents. Chile, Hungary and Mexico are the only nations in the OECD with a higher concentration of disadvantaged students in the same school. The consequence of this is that disadvantaged students are missing out on fellow students with different experiences, knowledge, behaviours and ambitions. They are also disproportionately and absurdly, given their greater needs, in underfunded schools without the performing arts facilities, swimming pools and wellness centres that some schools with both public funding and high parental fees can offer.

About 75 per cent of Australian students finish school, which is not enough, but only 40 per cent of disadvantaged students do so. That is not an education system of a country that is serious about enjoying a high standard of living, high productivity and high GDP in an age where wealth is generated by advanced manufacturing and harnessing the power of digitisation, automation and artificial intelligence. Most nations manage largely to have kids from all backgrounds at school together. It is a fundamental plank in a strong democracy that children of all cultures, abilities and backgrounds get access to quality education and, most importantly, spend time together, seeing each other as humans and as friends. We used to do this. Surely we can again.

Third, let's hold tight to kindness, respect and truth in public life. In South Australia, that is more the case than in most places, and decency remains the hallmark of our political discourse. But there is enough reason for concern in the trends overseas, in what we see here on social media and the kinds of demonstrations we occasionally see on our streets and on the steps of parliament to argue against complacency. Polarisation, rage and wild inaccuracies deliberately driven by the accelerant of so-called social media require an antidote. It is all of us talking to our fellow citizens as welcome equals. It is being yourself in public life, not a pre-programmed robot parroting lines written by others or worse, by AI. It is allowing doubt and debate, not seeking to dismiss others' views unconsidered and above all it is allowing truth to guide us, not self-serving invention.

Science is our ally in our democracy. All facts are friendly, even if they are not convenient. Evidence has weight where prejudice should not. Social media shaped by AI, driven by algorithms of companies that have no interest in us as humans, only as consumers, must not be allowed to compromise all that we have in this remarkable state, in this remarkable nation. As I leave, I am confident that you are all the keepers of decency, modesty and honesty for which South Australia is justly famed. With that, farewell.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier, Minister for Defence and Space Industries) (17:24): It gives me great pleasure—well, actually, that is not true; it is great disappointment—to rise and provide a few remarks in regard to the valedictory just provided by the member for Port Adelaide.

I thought I would start out by touching on some of the subjects that I had a suspicion the member for Port Adelaide would not touch on before providing a few remarks on my own reflections in terms of the special and important relationship I have been able to develop with the member for Port Adelaide over some period in time.

When you actually go back and look at the record of the amount of public policy achievements that in no small part are directly attributable to the member for Port Adelaide's efforts, it is quite impressive to say the least. For as long as I think all of us have known her, even well before her entry into the state parliament, the member for Port Adelaide has been a keen advocate for a range of different public policy areas, which even before her entry into the parliament were starting to yield results.

In 2005, there was the establishment of the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary, which covers 118 square kilometres of the Port River and surrounds. It is still the world's only city-based dolphin sanctuary, and that had the member for Port Adelaide's fingerprints all over it from the very outset. Of course, following her entry into the parliament in 2012, there has been a long list of positions and responsibilities that Susan has had. Having responsibilities and titles is one thing but actually translating them into active reform and an improvement of our society is another altogether.

In 2016, as Minister for Higher Education and Skills, Susan introduced the phonics test for year 1s, which has gone on to be expanded in different forms, but it was an incredibly important tool for teachers to be able to spot needs early on in terms of literacy. In the lead-up to the 2021 election, though, is where I guess I reflect most directly upon all of the efforts that the member for Port Adelaide contributed to that have had a massive impact. Her effort to see the passage of voluntary assisted dying laws in our state, along with the now Deputy Premier, was instrumental in the passing of those reforms which, in the eyes of many South Australians—and I voted for that legislation myself—actually allows a greater degree of dignity for people who are able to take up that option.

When we look at a number of efforts around policy that we took to the last election that have subsequently been implemented, they are principally because of Susan's advocacy and thoughtfulness: the amalgamation to create a new Adelaide University, Susan Close; the establishment of a new Animal Welfare Act in the state of South Australia, Susan Close; the passage of the Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act, which is fundamentally important for setting the course of South Australia's direction in net zero, amongst other climate targets and initiatives, Susan Close; legislation to ban large-scale puppy farms, which repeatedly appears on my social media and I suspect will continue to do so, Susan Close; the passage of the nation's first Biodiversity Act in setting a standard in Australia for that important cause, Susan Close.

I think the most important is the rollout of universal access to three-year-old preschool for thousands and thousands of young South Australians, setting them up for a better future starting next year—Susan Close. That is a remarkable record, and I know there are things that I have not listed. Each and every one of these reforms directly touch people's lives and the natural world that they depend upon. Anybody who comes into this parliament with an aspiration to ensure that their contribution makes a positive difference to the community around them would be pretty inspired by the fact that one person can have their name associated with such important reforms over that journey.

The fact that the member for Port Adelaide neglected to mention any of those things in her remarks is not surprising to anybody who knows her and has had the opportunity to be able to work with her. The member for Port Adelaide does not project humility for the sake of appearances, she is humble. She is a person who does not derive satisfaction out of recognition but, rather, out of impact. They are a set of characteristics that are exceptionally rare in this line of work, and that speaks to the integrity of the woman.

I have a different background to the member for Port Adelaide. In many respects, we have different interests and are different people, but we have a shared belief in the power of the Australian Labor Party to make a positive difference, a shared ideology and a common interest in using the power that is invested in those on the Treasury benches to make a difference.

Post the 2018 state election, when we went into opposition, it was a difficult period. Going from government, as relatively new ministers, into opposition was daunting. We faced the very real prospect to potentially spend the rest of our political lives in opposition. That was a pretty orthodox expectation. In those very early moments of going to opposition, when the party was going through a process to determine what the leadership make-up would be, I for one had a degree of anxiety and anxiousness about how all this would play out.

When the possibility of taking on the position of leadership became apparent, naturally, one's mind turned to who they would be serving with in executing the function of leadership because everybody appreciates, particularly in politics, that this is a team game. This is a team game. The question, of course, existed around who would be the deputy leader of the party. Susan's candidacy was obvious and was certainly where the winds were blowing.

Susan mentioned that we caught up in a cafe and that we had known each other a little bit, but not really well. I remember another discussion that we had when we were in a car together. I was driving down to Myponga for the member for Mawson's declaration of the poll. I asked if Susan wanted to take a bit of a drive together there and back, and whether or not we would take the opportunity to go together. I remember it clear as a bell. We talked about our common interests, our common concerns, our common hopes and aspirations, much of which were reflected in the remarks that you just provided in terms of the work that remains important and ongoing.

We also discussed what a healthy parliamentary party operation and outfit looks like. We spoke about the relationship between a leader and a deputy leader and the fact that it is unique. Neither of us had experienced it before. We had seen examples at a state and federal level of where it worked well, and we had also witnessed examples of where it had not, and spoke about what that looked like. I remember I said to Susan that from my perspective the best position to be in is not where trust is earned but where trust can only be lost. I spoke about the fact that I would rather just operate from a position of absolute trust from day one and have that unqualified faith in one another based on shared interests and shared beliefs, but absolute trust.

I can say without any qualification or hesitation that not for one second since then have I had anything but total trust and faith in the member for Port Adelaide. Her counsel has been consistent, it has been valued and, frankly, essential to the performance of the government. In roles of leadership, it is like drinking from a fire hose: there is so much happening all at the same time, and it is just an impossibility for any one individual to be across absolutely everything that is going on at the same time.

There might be a policy weakness that the government has, there might be a member of the caucus who deserves a bit more attention than what they are getting. Whether it be those causes, or more acute political ones, I have been able to depend, not rely but depend on the member for Port Adelaide to be a source of information I can trust and act upon, knowing it was in the best interests not just of the party but of the government.

To be able to have that type of relationship is something that I have valued very much indeed throughout the seven years that we worked together as leader and deputy leader. I cannot thank the member for Port Adelaide enough for that.

The member for Port Adelaide is a beautiful person. She has a heart of gold, a degree of compassion for everyone. In her thoughtfulness and deliberate consideration, she has a profound capacity for being objective, even in circumstances that are uncomfortable for her ideology, an ability to be able to respect the views of others, even if they are diametrically opposed to her own position. That is a characteristic that the world desperately needs more of now than ever before.

I for one, think that governance in any liberal democracy would be a lot better for a million more Susan Closes but, alas, there is only one of you. We have been privileged in our party to have you as a leader and a champion of our own. You are going to be sorely missed. You already are very much missed. I am disappointed that you are no longer by my side but I know I will still be able to pick up the phone and rely on your sage advice at any point into the future.

There is zero doubt in my mind that whatever the member for Port Adelaide chooses to take up into the future will have a good cause at its heart because you are not capable of anything else. We, and I, would like to wish you every success in the future path that you choose to take. The South Australian Labor Party, the Australian Labor Party, is better for the contribution that you have made. The people of South Australia are better for the contribution that you have made and I am a better person only because of the contribution that you have made.

We thank you, we love you and we wish you every success.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Energy and Mining) (17:37): We were sparring partners. Susan is in the Left, I am in the Right: natural-born enemies. When I first joined the Labor Party, my old boss used to say, 'If you can beat the Left, the Liberals will be easy.' I have to say the one thing the Premier is absolutely right about with Susan Close is that she is a wonderful person. She really is a compassionate, good-hearted person. I did not want her to leave. I did not want her to cease being Deputy Premier. I thought this team was a pretty good ticket and it was something that would have helped us do something quite momentous, and now we have to do it without her, which is a lot harder.

So for selfish reasons I am sad that you are leaving because you would have been a tremendous ally for us. I know you will be out there on the doors, helping us out and doing everything you can to get Cheyne elected. God knows he needs it and you will be there helping him. That is as big of an endorsement as you are going to get from me, mate. No, he is a good man. He will do an excellent job.

Susan made us all better. I considered her, in cabinet, the conscience of our party. If you could not convince Susan of what you wanted to do you probably should not be doing it because she is not the type of person who would have stopped something simply because she wanted to stop you. There would be a reason based on a piece of integrity behind it.

There are examples of legislation that I wanted passed in here but that Susan dug in on in cabinet. For the life of me I could not understand why she was doing it, but when she won (and she did win) and convinced me to do it—and it was not forced on me by the Premier; that is not how he operates—Susan convinced me it was the right thing to do. She won the argument because I knew that she was coming from a place of sincerity, not out of selfish ideology but for the good of the state and the good of the concept of what it was we were attempting to do. For that I say thank you.

Thank you for your service. Thank you for everything you have done. I wish you were not leaving. You should be sitting here. You should be going with us to the next election. But we cannot have it. I am very sad to see both you and Stephen leaving. It is not what we wanted, nevertheless it is occurring. You are a great loss, and Kyam has not shut up since you left.

Thank you for everything. I am happy to have been proven wrong. You have been an amazing contributor to the party, and you have made the state a lot better. I want to thank you for your personal kindness to me and to my family, and for your personal kindness to all of us and for making us all better ministers and a better government. Thank you very much.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER (Morialta) (17:40): I would like to wish a happy birthday to the member for Port Adelaide and to recognise her, potentially on behalf of the opposition, as somebody who was shadow minister, or minister to her shadow, for about six of the last nine years. I recognise the contribution the member for Port Adelaide has made to the state and the fact that her service to the state has been authentic, heartfelt and consistent with her values, which were very clearly articulated today. I, for one, am very much looking forward to hearing many of Susan's contributions in the years ahead as she articulates an analysis of the conservative agenda of the leadership of the South Australian Labor Party. I know that she will do that in a very true way.

What the Treasurer just said reminded me of a story that I actually spoke to the member for Port Adelaide about earlier today. I thought I would mention it today rather than tomorrow, because it very much fits in with that last category of advocacy that she made in her speech for the way that we operate in public life. People may remember—I know that members of the Labor cabinet remember it fondly, although Susan potentially less so—that in the lead-up to the 2018 state election there was a policy document rewritten within the education department that, if read literally and taken to its logical conclusion, would have banned nativities and Christmas carols from our public schools.

As a shadow minister there is only one pathway available in such a circumstance: Tim Williams brought a cartoon from Dr Seuss to the public light, there was some talk back and we launched our campaign to save Christmas. The good news is that we succeeded.

The legislation for the education act that began under Susan's ministerial time, and which was slightly adapted post election to reflect the differences in opinion that had delayed it prior to the election, now includes—presumably forevermore—a specific clause protecting Christmas carols forever, which gained the unanimous support of the parliament. I apologise for the inconvenience and the frustration. In fact, I said today that, of all the things I should definitely be ashamed of in my time in politics, this is the one that I am acknowledging—but still least ashamed of, because we had a lot of fun from opposition at that time.

In the subsequent year, the crossbench in the upper house, obviously having been persuaded by what the Treasurer described as an incredibly authentic and persuasive personality, took the Labor side on the three main issues of contention in relation to that bill. There was the Education Union's position on a number of committees, there was whether or not children's involvement in religious activities should be opt in or opt out, and there was a third key difference, which was an education ombudsman. That was a position that we had advocated for in opposition and rejected in government, switching what had happened a year earlier.

It is not public knowledge, I do not think, but Susan and Tammy Franks came to my office as the minister after this had been an impasse for about a year. I was not sure whether we would ever pass this bill, and we would keep rattling on with the 1972 legislation that was no longer fit for purpose, that did not have framework for prosecuting truancy that was workable, that did not have the education conferencing availability—there was a whole range of inadequacies. It did not have the ability for principals in the education department to bar people for dangerous and inappropriate behaviour from schools. All these things were denied the legislation because we could not resolve this impasse that had been going for three years.

That could have been something that the member for Port Adelaide held over us for a period of time, but she was focused on the outcomes at the end of the day, and she came with Tammy Franks to my office and we worked on compromises that eventually involved a bit of give and take, a lot of creativity, the Graham report amongst other things, and got the legislation through—50 years of an update. South Australia is served well by that.

The Minister for Education and I have spoken a number of times in the last two or three years about some of the significant benefits to our students, young people, families and, importantly, teachers and leaders in our schools who have arisen from that. It would not have happened without that willingness to set aside politics on occasion. The truth is that that legislation passing got a modest newspaper article; I think we managed to get on talkback radio a little bit. Compared to the Christmas story it was a blip in the radar.

Ultimately, in the years ahead we are not going to be able to judge ourselves in this place by the amount of media hits that we have or the funny memes that we have created. God help me, imagine that Christmas story being done now with the benefit of AI and the use of the word 'woke', which I do not remember existing in 2017. We are not going to be remembering our records as a result of the way in which we scored those media hits or the points off our opponents. Frankly, the only one that matters—how we understand ourselves to have performed—is going to be based on what we have achieved and the way that we have done it. I thank the member for Port Adelaide.

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills, Minister for Police) (17:47): I will make a very short contribution. There are a couple of things I would like to point out and I endorse, of course, the comments of everyone else who has spoken. They have shared some really touching memories as well of things that the member for Port Adelaide has been involved in in this place.

There is this prevailing view in politics that, to get ahead and to be successful and to be worthy of promotion to perhaps cabinet or elsewhere, you need to be the loudest voice in the room, you need to be capable of throwing the attacks out there, taking no prisoners—all those sorts of things that tend to make the headlines and the TV bulletins. If you are not in some way capable of doing those things, you are not worthy for promotion or a more senior position; or even short of that, perhaps, you will be unsuccessful in bringing about change or making an impact on debate in this place and outside of it. To all those people in this place, and those who might be listening who are considering a future in this parliament, I say to you that there is another way.

The member for Port Adelaide, Susan Close, is proof that there is another way, but that way involves incredible intellect and knowledge and hard work. If you are armed with enough of those things, in the kind of abundant levels that Susan Close has, you can achieve all those things in here. You can be worthy of promotion to almost the highest office, you can influence debate in this place and outside of it, you can leave a mark on the state in ways that you had planned before you were elected to this place, but it does take incredible intellect.

Susan has shown that in this place and outside of it time and time again that, by being so across her brief, being so true to her own values on everything, by sheer hard work, by treating people well and with respect, and building relationships instead of burning them down, there is a way that you can be a very successful member of parliament and legislator and minister without doing some of those more unsavoury things that all of us, including myself, I am sure are guilty of sometimes. I hope that message gets out to people who consider a future in this place, because we need more people like that.

The other thing I just want to mention is one of the things that has been observed about the South Australian Labor Party, and I think very correctly for a long time, and that is the discipline of our outfit, the discipline of our unit. The discipline of our political party in this state is actually not about rules—every political party the world over has rules—it is about the individuals who operate within those organisations and it is the actions they choose to take or not take. Susan Close at different times has put herself in the back seat and put herself second and put her own personal ambition second and put the interests of other people ahead of her own interests. That is leadership.

Susan has always been about seeking to make those people around her better—make the whole team better. What is the ultimate goal for our movement and our party and what is my role within that and how do I achieve that, and if that requires at different times for me to take a back seat then I will be prepared to do it.

So when anyone out there is ever interested in what it is that makes this side of the chamber, in the political sense, tick—and it has done for a long time—it is that our history has been characterised at different times by individuals within it who have been willing to make those sacrifices and none more so than Susan. I think the Premier put that best when he spoke about the total trust and faith that he had in Susan at every different moment.

I will finish by saying in that same vein that Susan is someone who, as she builds other people up, is always capable of sitting down for that really honest conversation that we do so rarely in this job, which is to tell people that you believe in them and what they are capable of. We are so bad at doing that. It is a huge failing of ours.

I have been the beneficiary of Susan sitting me down and telling me that she believes in my own ability. She has done it with so many other people who are sitting here today, and I am not too embarrassed to say that without that kind of acknowledgement and personal support and someone just saying, 'You can do this,' I am not sure I would have been able to step forward and I am sure that is true of other people here. I just wanted to acknowledge those maybe smaller, unheralded things that Susan has brought to this place that I am sure will live on for the rest of us as she goes on to do fantastic things.

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