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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-31 Daily Xml
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Motions

Parnell, Hon. M.C., Retirement

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (16:03): With some sadness, I move:

That this council—

1. Notes the upcoming retirement of the Hon. Mark Parnell MLC after 15 years of service to the people and Parliament of South Australia;

2. Recognises his role as the first member of the Greens to be elected to this parliament; and

3. Wishes him well in his retirement and the years ahead.

I shall use the privilege of being the mover of the motion to be the one who sums up, with concluding comments after the Hon. Mark Parnell has spoken.

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (16:03): I would like to begin by thanking my colleague of 11 years, the Hon. Tammy Franks, for moving the motion to allow me to make some final reflections on my time here in parliament before I officially retire at the end of next week. It was a great day back in 2010, when Tammy was first elected and I was no longer the Greens shadow minister for everything. Having only half the portfolios is a much more civilised arrangement. Tammy and I are very different people, but as a team I think our complementary skills mean that we have collectively been stronger and more effective in representing our party than either of us could have achieved individually, so thank you, Tammy.

Now, after 15 years as a member of state parliament, I have decided it is time for me to retire. As most people now know, former Senator and Adelaide City Councillor, Robert Simms, has been chosen by our party to replace me. It is my hope that Rob will be sworn in when parliament resumes in the first week of May.

To begin, I would like to reflect on some of the highlights and the lowlights of the last 15 years in state parliament from my perspective. When looking at political careers, people usually start with the official record. What important jobs did the member do? Were they a minister or a shadow minister? Did they chair important committees? Did they get a fancy white car and driver? Did they get lots of bills passed?

The public record will show that I do not tick too many of those boxes, but I reflect on my time here differently. My first job, as I saw it, after being elected back in 2006, was to normalise the Greens as legitimate and respected political players in this state. Our party was fairly new and I was determined that we would be taken seriously, both inside and outside parliament.

As the first Green elected in South Australia, I was aware that I was very much an unknown quantity and there were a number of stereotypes to dispel. I can tell you that as a lawyer, an economist and a planner I did not fit the stereotype very well of what people imagined a Greens MP would be like.

In the early days, I spent a lot of time chasing media and looking for opportunities to get the Greens message out to the community. Of course, the dilemma is that one can spend so much time chasing radio, TV and print opportunities that there is little time to do much else and you do not actually get much done. With the advent of social media, it also became apparent to us that a huge part of our support base never opened a newspaper, did not watch the TV news and only listened to the radio for music, so in more recent years we have tried to be more targeted in communicating with South Australians.

The second thing I was keen to do was to make a mark as a serious legislator. It is often not very exciting work, and it rarely makes headlines, but it really is so important to get our laws right. In my first speech back in 2006, I described how working as an environmental lawyer and advocate I was continually coming up against bad laws that stood in the way of good outcomes. That is why I was so keen to get into this place, where they made the laws, so I could try to make them better. Whilst Greens bills and amendments did not always find favour, enough of them did to convince me that it was worth the effort.

Also, in the four terms of parliament in which I have served, the Greens have shared the balance of power in the upper house in every one. I have worked through three terms of Labor government, as well as three-quarters of the current Liberal administration. As we all know, the government of the day has not controlled the Legislative Council for 50 years—not since the 1970s. This means that all our votes count, which in turn means that the Greens take legislation very seriously.

On those occasions where the opposition fudges their responsibility to properly scrutinise legislation, the Greens have been prepared to step in and do the job for them. This is the role that we played back in 2008 during the lengthy WorkCover debates. We undertook a massive amount of consultation with injured workers and their representatives, and then we put a lot of their experiences on the public record. Yes, it took a long time and it resulted in a record that I never aspired to, but it was important, so I make no apology, other than to the staff, whom we kept at their workstations until 5am one Friday morning.

In relation to the big issues facing this state, I think we have made important progress in some areas, but in others we are going backwards. With climate change, I am proud to have been part of this state's leadership in decarbonising our energy sector. I am encouraged that over the last 15 years the debate has shifted from, 'How will we ever survive without coal-fired power?' to 'What will we do with all the excess renewable energy that is now being generated?' Do we need to promote energy-intensive industry? Do we send excess power interstate over an interconnector, or do we convert it to hydrogen to use in vehicles, in industry or for export? I think the answer is all of the above, but how that debate has shifted over the last 15 years—it is remarkable.

Of course, the fossil fuel industry is still powerful and they are making a few last gasps at relevance, backed by some dinosaurs in Canberra, but the trajectory is clear: we will achieve zero net emissions, we will generate nearly all of our electricity from renewable sources, and we will be driving electric cars, trucks and utes in the not-too-distant future.

I am excited and encouraged by the direction we are taking. However, it is disappointing that so much of it has come not from good government policy but in spite of it. My main disappointment is how much faster we could get there if we had governments fully on board. That is the message that the schoolkids who are rallying and striking for climate action are giving us, and we need to listen carefully to them.

Personally, one of the things I am most proud of is securing the original 20-year feed-in tariff for rooftop solar power. A dozen years ago, solar panels were expensive and they were less efficient, so we knew we needed to give the industry a leg-up in its formative years. The result of the Greens using our balance of power and holding out for a better deal was that South Australia led the world in the uptake of solar energy. Now the subsidies are not needed, and the panels are paying for themselves, bringing down the cost of power for South Australian families.

In other policy areas the results have been less encouraging. The loss of biodiversity across this country is a national disgrace, species going extinct at an alarming rate is unacceptable and what remains of our intact native vegetation is still under increasing pressure. In terms of social justice and fairness, I think it is a mixed bag. There have been some important reforms, but the growing insecurity of work and the growing gap between the most wealthy and everyone else is still a blight on our society and our economy.

I am glad that now we acknowledge traditional owners at the start of each sitting day in parliament, but we still have a long way to go in addressing social and economic disadvantage for our First Nations people. The disproportionate incarceration rate and the tragedy of children as young as 10 in juvenile detention urgently needs to be addressed. We need to raise the age of criminal responsibility and develop alternatives to incarceration.

One area where I am proud of our reforms is in relation to our electoral system. The removal of the ironically misnamed fairness clause from the constitution recognises that there are now more than two parties in this democracy, and the system should be fair to all. The removal of the electoral lottery of group voting tickets and preference whispering in the upper house is another reform that the Greens achieved and which make our electoral system more democratic. All preferences are now in the hands of the voters, where they should be.

When I went back, Mr President, to my first speech in 2006, it was a sobering exercise to revisit what I said I wanted to achieve. Fifteen years ago I railed against the prevailing transport policy of successive governments, which sees road widening and freeway projects as solutions to congestion. They are not. Traffic expands to fill the available space.

I accept that I have had very little success on that front. Billions of dollars, in my view, are still being wasted on unnecessary new roads, whilst a modest new bicycle lane in the city is axed because it might interfere with the on-street parking outside a bingo hall.

In relation to major projects there are still plenty of examples of bad public policy where special treatment is given to special mates for their special projects. As I used to explain to my university classes back in the 1990s, if you are big, you get exemptions; if you are really big, you get to write your own laws. The legislation to facilitate the Olympic Dam mine expansion and to exempt that ill-fated project from most state laws is a case in point. The Greens asked dozens of questions and we moved dozens of amendments, every one of which failed.

I am not usually a person who revels in schadenfreude, but I will confess to one occasion. We were in the closing stages of the debate in committee on the Olympic Dam expansion bill. It was the evening session after dinner, and word came to me in the chamber that the top BHP Billiton executives from London were here in Parliament House with the Premier. They had bottles of expensive champagne on ice, and they were ready to pop them as soon as the bill passed. I was also told that they were under some time pressure to get flights back to London.

Whilst the final outcome of that bill was inevitable, I suddenly found that I had many more questions to ask than I had originally anticipated, and only once the executives had left the building did the bill finally pass. I confess to that now. But the rest, as they say, is history. The biggest hole in the ground ever to be dug on the face of the planet and the economic saviour of our state turned out to be a mirage.

In 15 years I have been happy to get behind the good projects and to call out the bad ones. In the last parliament we saw the ridiculous notion that South Australia would become rich beyond measure if only we would agree to host the world's most toxic and long-lived radioactive nuclear waste forever. That project failed every test: it was dangerous, hopelessly risky economically and a further insult to our First Nations peoples, who have suffered so much from dispossession and displacement, including as a consequence of the nuclear tests at Maralinga. Thank goodness the citizens' jury listened to the First Nations representatives and they helped kill off that ridiculous project.

I would now like to make a few reflections on my parliamentary colleagues. One thing that often surprises people outside politics is that genuine friendships and respect can exist across the political divide. Politics is not just the unedifying and quite often embarrassing spectacle of question time. Most of the time, debate is respectful and focuses on getting good policy outcomes, albeit from very different perspectives.

My experience is that I have genuinely enjoyed working with the vast majority of people here in parliament. I count many of you as friends and I have enjoyed our interactions in the chamber, in the corridors and in the never-ending meetings and committee hearings. I have appreciated the support, the decency and the humanity of my fellow MPs, the staff of the parliament and, in fact, most of the people I have had the pleasure to work with over the last 15 years. I am leaving this place with many more friends than foes.

For me, there are two particular times that have touched me profoundly. The first was the love, care and support that Penny and I received from so many of you when our son, Mungo, died 4½ years ago. That was the most awful time imaginable for us and we were both touched at the kindness of so many people in parliament, including those with whom we disagreed on almost every political issue. In our deepest despair, it was a comfort to be touched by genuine humanity, completely divorced from politics.

The second time was when I ended up in hospital two years ago with a heart condition that resulted in a quadruple heart bypass operation. Again, so many members and staff showed enormous kindness, so much so in fact that I genuinely felt that I might actually be missed if I did not make a full recovery and get back to work, so I did both. For the record, I can still run 10 kilometres in under an hour and another ultramarathon is still on my bucket list. So I thank you all for that. To my parliamentary colleagues and all those who worked here, thank you for your friendship and respect. I will miss working with you.

Whilst on the subject of thanks, I want to give special mention to my staff. In particular, to my loyal and long serving Chief of Staff, Cate Mussared. Cate has been with me from day one in 2006. She is probably the longest serving Greens staffer in the country and she is a consummate professional. Cate's diligence, her attention to detail and her commitment to the highest standards of service to constituents and to the parliament have been a feature of her time here. In many ways, Cate has been in large part responsible for the good reputation that our office has enjoyed both inside and outside parliament over the last 15 years. So thank you, Cate.

I would also like to thank some previous staff members who stuck with me for long periods. In particular, Craig Wilkins, who worked with us for seven years before becoming Chief Executive of the Conservation Council. Also, Emily Bird, who was with us for five years and is now the office manager for one of the Greens ministers—I love that sound—in the Greens Labor Coalition government in the ACT Legislative Assembly. For the record, being part of government is still on our agenda in this state and I predict it will happen faster than most people think. I would also like to thank the dozens of other administrative and research staff, casuals, interns and trainees who have committed themselves to what we like to call 'the Green project' over the last 15 years.

Outside our parliamentary office, however, we have also been supported by the broader Greens family of members, supporters and voters. Only a few of us aspire to or reach public office and it is important that we remember that we owe our positions to a legion of unsung volunteers. These are the Greens members and supporters who staff the polling booths, knock on doors, develop policies, raise money and keep the party organisation going. We could not do what we do without that support. I know that many Greens members would have liked to come in today, but thanks to COVID they are watching proceedings online instead. To my Greens colleagues, thank you for your support and the faith that you have placed in me over the last 15 years.

My final thankyous are to my family. For the last 38 years, Penny and I have embarked on countless adventures and joint projects. Back in 1995, one of those projects was helping to form a new Greens political party in South Australia. From 10 people in our suburban lounge room, to getting candidates elected at every state and federal election since 2006, Penny and I have shared our love of service and our commitment to making the world a better place through parliamentary democracy. For 38 years, we have been each other's sounding boards, kept each other honest and called out BS where appropriate. Penny, I would not be here without your love and support and I could not have done this work for 15 years without you, so thank you.

A political life is rewarding, but it also comes at a cost. Families often miss out because the time and emotional commitment of the job can be overwhelming. To our grown-up kids, Ellie and Felix, thank you for hanging in there with us. You were schoolkids when mum and I got into this political caper and now you have made wonderful, independent lives for yourselves. Thank you for your love and support and thank you for coming along today. You were here at the start, so it is only fitting that you are here at the end as well.

As to the future, the most common question I have been asked recently is what am I going to do next? Before parliament, I spent 16 years working for non-profit conservation groups. It is a wonderful sector full of passionate community-minded people, nearly all of whom are volunteers, so I am looking forward to returning to my roots.

One project, though, that my Chief of Staff, Cate Mussared, and I will be working on over coming months is to prepare some civics training material. With 32 years of parliamentary experience between us, and another 25 or so years in the community sector, we reckon we have learned a few things that we can usefully share. The object of this project will be to help community groups and campaigners more effectively engage with parliament and with other arms of government.

I expect most members of parliament would agree how little most of our constituents know about the business of government and lawmaking. This is an observation rather than a criticism. Most normal people are busy making a living, raising their families and being part of their community. The business of politics and the workings of government appear remote and irrelevant to many until it impacts you or the things that you care about. It is then that people realise they have no idea how the system works. I hope to help fill that void with practical advice for campaigners on how to be more effective in dealing with politicians and public servants. So if your constituents start demanding more of you in the future, I hope that you will be able to in part blame me.

I will finish by saying a few words about my replacement. Late last year, Robert Simms was successful in a ballot of all Greens members to be our lead upper house candidate at the election next March and for any casual vacancy that arose. Many of you will know of Rob's work on the Adelaide City Council. He has been a voice of common sense in a very fractious council and he has served the community well.

Rob also spent a brief period in the Senate, so he has rare experience at the national and the local level and will now bring that experience to the state level. He is smart, he is committed, he is young (at 36) and he is ready to work hard for all South Australians. I wish Rob well and I can retire with confidence knowing that Rob and Tammy will represent our party with distinction in coming months and years.

The final thing, Mr President, is I thought I might finish this valedictory with a limerick. It is one of my own composition and it refers to the very first piece of office equipment I bought when I was elected back in 2006, a battery-powered public address system. It goes like this:

They rally on the steps outside parliament,

But inside, an announcement profound has meant,

That his microphone loud,

Won't gee up the crowd,

Now Parnell has announced his retirement.

Thank you.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (16:23): Mr President, I rise, unusually, to sum up comments, knowing that there will be an encore tomorrow of this debate due to one of the passions the Hon. Mark Parnell has, voluntary assisted dying, going to a second reading vote, hopefully later on this particular sitting day. I understand that tomorrow we shall hear more from many members in terms of the valedictories for my colleague.

It is well known that the Hon. Mark Parnell is Wikipedia famous for setting a record filibuster in our parliament's history, with an eight-hour contribution to voice his opposition, then as the sole Greens member, to the changes to WorkCover and the reduction to injured workers' payments.

He also, though, has achieved many things in this parliament. He secured a quarter of a million dollars for consumer advocacy in the setting of water pricing and protection for tenants when their landlord does not pay their water bill. He has also, as I have noted, championed voluntary euthanasia many times over many years. His expertise and knowledge in planning law I think are second to none in this place and the other. He has used that expertise to great effect in making outstanding and positive contributions to our legislation.

In over 15 years in parliament, the Hon. Mark Parnell's continued advocacy for equality and human rights and pushing for changes that protect the Greens shared values of promoting unity within our democracy—and our four pillars of environmental sustainability, social justice, peace and non-violence and, very importantly, grassroots democracy—has enhanced our democracy. As he noted, he changed the upper house voting system to provide that option for preferential voting, putting preferences in the hands of punters rather than the backroom preference deals of the preference whisperers and the backroom boys, promoting power to the people.

He has also had the deepest respect for the environment, for promoting cleaner industries and, notably, supporting solar power in South Australia. He has helped make South Australia a renewable energy powerhouse. He stood very much at the forefront of the campaign against building an international nuclear waste dump in South Australia—a proposal well and truly I hope now very much dumped itself.

For a long time the Hon. Mark Parnell has supported renters in their rights to have safety in their homes and security in their tenure while also ensuring that landlords meet the minimum property standards and ensuring that housing is for people and not for profiteering. He successfully passed a climate emergency motion, a declaration of this upper house. He promoted recognition from climate scientists and the voice of the community in that debate here in this council. He has pushed for legislation to protect cyclists by implementing the legislated distance of one metre or more when overtaking on roads up to 60 km/h.

He has done so many things in his 15 years here. That filibuster I think is probably one of the most well-known parts of Mark's work. Other than being the bloke with the beard from the Greens, he is well known for his ability to speak and be good on his feet. Our state party director has reflected on that WorkCover filibuster and, in the words of Dominic Mugavin, I would like to share with the council just how our Greens members feel about the wonderful leadership of Mark Parnell:

There are lots of good stories I could tell about Mark and his time in parliament and in the party but here's a good one.

Famously, Mark spoke for over 8 hours in opposition to a Labor Government bill that cut payments to injured workers. When people ask him about his speech he denies it was a filibuster. He maintains to this day that he was relaying important information to the parliament. He told parliament stories of injured workers. He gave them a voice in the debate.

I like this story because it shows a few of Mark's great qualities. It shows he takes principled stands and has a firm commitment to justice. It shows he's not afraid of hard work. It shows he is committed to being a voice to those often without a voice. It shows his humility.

Commitment to justice, hard work, being a voice to those without one, humility. What more could you ask from an elected representative?

What more could the Greens have asked from our first elected representative in this state? Well, I for one could have done with less dad jokes and a few less limericks. I also have a limerick. We did not compare notes prior to this but I was moved for the first time in possibly my entire life, or at least four decades, to pen a limerick for That Pollie Parnell, which goes:

There once was a Pollie who cycled,

He liked speaking and he recycled,

His name Mark Parnell,

Though here we say farewell,

His contribution is still far from final.

Indeed, it is far from final in terms of his contribution to the public life of this state and I wish him well in future years. I also note that, while he may still be up for running a marathon in real life, he has run a marathon in parliamentary terms for the Greens. He is currently the longest continuing serving Greens MP in the country as of last month. So I congratulate him for running that particular marathon. It must have been very lonely to be here as the sole Greens member of this parliament.

I thank him for his warm welcome and his support over the 11 years that I have joined him. He has been a very hard act to follow, and will be a very difficult act to follow, but I am sure that he will offer every support to our party and to our future parliamentarians for us to continue to prosper. With that, I commend the motion.

Motion carried.

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