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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-11-27 Daily Xml
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Valedictories

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. K.J. Maher:

That this council acknowledges the contributions made by retiring members.

(Continued from 26 November 2025.)

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (16:03): I rise to make a valedictory speech. I had to look up what that was, particularly for parliament. A valedictory is an act of parting company, a speech made when parting company and designed or suitable for bidding farewell and parting company. While I think we will part company in some ways today, I am not sure that this will be the last you see of me.

I came into this place almost 16 years ago, back in 2010. On that occasion, Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister. In fact, Kevin Rudd was pretty much king. The Kevin 07 juggernaut had been quite successful. He was replaced by Julia Gillard that year, and I certainly remember the very long night in the members' bar as we awaited, like the rest of the country, the news of who our new prime minister was to be.

In 2010, Taylor Swift won four Grammys for Fearless—and she dropped one of them, but she caught it just before it hit the ground. Justin Bieber was top of the pops with Baby. I still had an active Myspace account. I do still have that Myspace account; I just do not know how to access it. Facebook was the heir apparent in social media; indeed, Facebook was huge. Instagram was launched. The iPad was released that year.

In this chamber, myself, the Hon. Jing Lee and the Hon. Kelly Vincent came in as the three new women members of this place, changing markedly the gender composition of this place. At one stage in my early years, there was only one woman on the benches of the Labor Party in this place, and that was of course the Hon. Gail Gago, a minister at the time, who did all the portfolios and all the work and was the sole woman on the front bench, or indeed in the government ranks. Myself and the Hon. Jing Lee came in together, and I think we very much feminised the place at the time.

I well remember my daughter, Millicent—who is not with us today because she does not actually really enjoy coming into parliament—being a toddler at the time and trying to push through that gate while I was doing my maiden speech. After that, I just kept this particular whole ground floor away from her knowledge because, as a young toddler, she would have run onto the floor anytime I was here. I am so glad now that yesterday the Hon. Laura Henderson was not only able to bring her infant child into this place but actually sat in the President's chair and was able to chair the meeting with her young son, because we have now facilitated that under our standing orders.

Another thing that Millicent did was to change the nature of this place in terms of family friendliness. In her first week in this place, we had the Hon. Kelly Vincent, and many amendments needed to be made. In fact, just right here, next to where I sit now, Kelly had her place in the chamber. It had to be retrofitted to suit her. At the time, my daughter was toilet training and she loved the bathroom. She was very proud that she could go to the toilet. She was about 18 months old.

Down in the Blue Room one day, she threw herself to the floor, screaming, 'I just want to go to the toilet.' It was in front of the then President, Bob Sneath, and the then Clerk, Jan Davis, both of whom were horrified that there might be more bad media about this parliament not being child friendly. They looked at me and said, 'Oh, do we need change tables?' I said, 'No—yes, yes we do.' Of course, my child did not need a change table; however, my child created change tables on every floor of this building, which were installed within the next week. Those Koala Kare change facilities that you now see are there because of my child and her tantrum on the floor of the Blue Room.

Constituents who thanked me for that in those early years included some of my favourite constituents, one of whom was a family: Terri and Joe and their daughter Maddie. My second bill in this place, which passed both houses of parliament, was to recognise same-sex parents on their birth certificates—and that could well have been called Maddie's Law. Maddie was well known in these corridors. That family lobbied on many rainbow family reforms as part of the Let's Get Equal campaign and others. Joe and Terri are now on Maddie's birth certificate because of our work back then in 2010 and 2011. Maddie enjoyed the change tables, and Joe and Terri thanked me because they had always had to change Maddie on the floor of the corridors prior to that. Also, we have made a small accommodation for people who come into this building, not just for those of us who work here.

I saw on Facebook this week that Maddie has graduated from high school and that she is 18. So these things happened quite a while ago but are still in her lifetime, and I cannot believe that we have to fight for what are small accommodations to include all of our community. But that is why we are here in parliament: we are here for a purpose, we are here for passion, and we are here to change the world and reflect our constituents.

We of course do not always agree, but I certainly do respect the views of others and note that this is a difficult workplace—that we are in a workplace where we are here to be adversarial and we are here to put a contest of ideas, and that the institutions of democracy must be upheld if we are to do that in a way that does not see our democracy fail.

Something that has changed since 2010 is the threat to democracy and the threat to our institutions. We are seeing post-truth politics. We are seeing the fall of media and their ability to ensure that we have transparency and proper accountability, not clickbait journalism but real journalism. Investigative journalism, of course, as we probably all well know in this building, is a thing of the past.

When I first started I was told that a bingo at a press conference was if you got every single news channel to turn up to your press conference. Back then it was ABC, SBS, 7, 9, 10 and 2, maybe Sky if you were lucky, and that was at the time Stacey Lee. Now a bingo can be one camera operator turning up and no journalist whatsoever. That is the poor state of the media, the fourth pillar we currently have in this new society, where social media is king and where media, in terms of mainstream and traditional legacy media, have definitely fallen on hard times as they try to find a way that they can make money out of the job that they do, and that job is incredibly important.

I do want to reflect on that, because I am not sure what the solution is, but our democracy will be much poorer unless we see those institutions also strengthened. Without them, it is also beholden on us to ensure that we act with truth and integrity in what we do to make sure what we bring to this place is well researched, is thoughtful and considered and does not rely on populist approaches without substance. We should hold ourselves to that account, where we cannot be held to that account currently by the media.

Over my time in this place I have had many wins with all sorts of people in terms of law reform. I was just making a note to myself. I have co-sponsored bills with the usual suspects. Certainly former Deputy Premier Susan Close, who is also my current local member, and I, unsurprisingly, as did the Hon. Ian Hunter, co-sponsored a marriage equality bill way back in the day. More surprisingly, I have co-sponsored same-sex parenting legislation with the member for Unley, David Pisoni, also honourable. Even more extraordinarily, I have co-sponsored a bill with Michael Pengilly, the former member for Finniss, on free-range eggs, because on Kangaroo Island there were only free-range egg providers.

Willingness to work across the aisle and eyes on the prize of the cause has always been something I have been able to achieve in this place. I certainly think that my legislative record of legislative reform, of getting motions up, of getting bills through both houses of the parliament—not just one, but both houses of the parliament—will stand the test of time. They have not been necessarily on the simple and easy issues. I am very proud that I was able to achieve reforms on cancer compensation for firefighters. I am very proud that I was able to see what will hopefully one day be the social work registration scheme. While it was controversial in some ways at the time, I am very proud of my role in instigating an inquiry into a Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme in this place.

I am going to share a little secret, which some of you know, but I will put it on the public record. I put up a bill, which was one of my very first bills in 2010, for a Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme. I had worked for Senator Natasha Stott Despoja in the 1990s in the Senate and I had been horrified when, after the heady days of the prime ministership of Paul Keating, we saw the Bringing Them Home report rejected under the Howard government. I was shocked and horrified that reconciliation took not just steps backward but turned right around. I remember a lack of awareness about what the stolen generations really were, and a complete denial that they even existed.

Mr President, you and I worked on an inquiry into the stolen generations through the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, and I was able to achieve that by referring my bill to that committee via a motion of this house. Under the standing orders, which you should all actually read, only two houses can do a referral to the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee, and I did not have the motion that I needed to achieve that, but nobody checked the standing orders.

The Clerk at the time, Jan Davis, said, 'Nobody is going to check them, Tammy, so don't draw it to their attention.' Stephen Wade was an absolute champion and said, 'This is a great idea, and the parliament should be looking at it.' So we had an inquiry, which went over two years, through the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee into a Stolen Generations Reparation Scheme, where we heard evidence. First the opposition—the then Marshall-led Liberal opposition—came on board, supporting it and taking as an election promise to the election, where they were successful. Then, eventually, the Labor government came on board. But had you read the fine print I would never have got that inquiry up. Read the standing orders; I think that is one of my bits of advice. But sometimes it is better, of course, to ask forgiveness than seek permission.

I also note that many of us in this place cop a lot just for putting our hands up to be a politician, to be a member of this place. It does not matter what our beliefs are, and it does not matter what we do; we are simply judged and dehumanised for being politicians. I was reflecting on this today, because I saw an article about new Senator Charlotte Walker, who is a 21 year old. It was in the Daily Mail—as I say, post-truth politics—and it said, 'Senator slammed for her expenditure' and had a red-hot go at her in the headline, and then all the comments were like, 'How dare she be spending public money when she is 21?' and 'This is outrageous. Who does she think she is? She has never had a real job,' blah, blah, blah. I was reading the comments, and then I read the article.

Senator Charlotte Walker spends one of the smallest amounts of her allowance in the entire country in the Senate. That was actually the substance of the article, had anyone cared to read it. None of the people who made comments had read it, of course. They all judged her on her age and made assumptions about her life experience. We all in this place know what that is like, whether it is that we do not fit whatever somebody thinks we should be doing or saying or thinking or believing, and then we get judged unfairly and misrepresented.

That is something that I will not miss at all. I will not miss the public life where you cannot control what people think about you. The thing is, you never can control what people think about you, and it is actually not that important, but it gets to us. I know it gets to everyone at times, particularly when it is deeply unfair. I wish Charlotte Walker all the best, because I saw it with Natasha Stott Despoja.

I would not be involved in politics without the leadership of Natasha Stott Despoja. I know she is listening and watching. She cannot be here today because she is not in South Australia, but she is the one who gave me a chance and gave me a job. I had never thought I would actually work in politics, except she rang me up one day and said, 'I have just filled the casual vacancy. Do you want to come and work for me?' For five interesting years I was her higher education and youth affairs adviser. That was quite a wild ride.

She was judged for who people thought she was—that she was too young, that she could not possibly have anything to contribute, because what life experience could she have? As we know that is not necessarily the measure by which we should be judged, and it is certainly not known to any human what another human being knows, does, thinks or is going through at any particular time.

I say to everyone: do not read the comments. But I also say: please read the actual articles. Maybe if we had less paywalls that might happen a bit more, but I am not sure that is going to happen any time in the near future. I think we are in a situation where democracy is in peril unless we start to ensure civil education and civics and, I think, a strong civil society.

I think the leadership of Premier Malinauskas on this is incredibly inspiring. I hope that his investment in early education, civics education, will start to turn the ship around in South Australia, but we are nowhere near having strong democracies, when you look at the international studies into democracy and the lack of faith that young generations have. They are cynical—and understandably so—and they are not trusting of democracy. I think that is something we should all work together on across party lines to ensure that we turn it around, and I commend the leadership of the Malinauskas government on that.

I got my own bingo this week, which is the last sitting week. A long-held cause for me—and members are not going to be surprised—I have long advocated for the decriminalisation of sex work in this state, unsuccessfully. I still have not got there, but I held a forum because a motion to refer that off to the SA Law Reform Institute for a report on the decriminalisation of sex work in this state and legislative models for that to happen passed the parliament in the late hours of the previous sitting week. I held a forum with members who I hope to pass the baton over to, and also sex workers themselves and their advocates who walk alongside them, earlier this week.

I also have a bill, which I think will be the last bill to go to a debate today, possibly ending the year, to legalise cannabis. I am reasonably sure I do not have the numbers. I am reasonably sure it is going to fail but, on a more successful note, today I tabled in this place on AusMusic T-Shirt Day a live music and creative venues report where myself, the Hon. Ben Hood, the Hon. Reggie Martin and the Hon. Frank Pangallo—right across the political spectrum—have made really good recommendations, I think, that will ensure we do not see situations like losing the Crown and Anchor being on the books, and that we restore our live music scene, not just for the musicians but for the punters and for the good it can do in our community, and for our mental health as well. I hope that report will not sit on a shelf and gather dust. I do hope that it will be put into action.

My bingo this week was I did sex, drugs and rock'n'roll in the parliament, and I have been wanting to say that all week. It was quite an achievement, and I did not think it was going to happen, but we had joked in my staff team that it was a possibility that they all might come together for this final week.

I want to thank those members who I have worked with over the years on various issues. I know that we are all here to create better lives for our constituents and, for those in particular who can put aside the political differences to do so, I really appreciate the effort that everyone puts in, the time that you all give up that should be spent with your families or doing things you actually would rather be doing, but you put in the grind and you work the long hours, and you dedicate yourselves to what is a cause of democracy. I salute you all for that. You have my eternal respect, and I probably look forward to every once in a while dipping in to see what you are doing, but without having any investment in it whatsoever. That might be quite fun.

I also particularly want to thank my friends and family, some of whom came today, some of whom I have met through politics, and some of whom I have not, and some of whom are family. When I first started this job in 2010, I did not have much family here actually. I had my daughter, who was still the one throwing herself to the floor in the Blue Room. My mother does not live in South Australia; she lives interstate, and she came over for that speech, but she is not here today. She is living in rural New South Wales now and quite far away and difficult to get to because regional rail does not exist to the town of Nyngan due to the floods that washed away the train tracks.

I do have my aunt and uncle here. My Aunt Roma Gorringe and my Uncle Brian Gorringe have retired to South Australia, which was a delightful surprise for me to have family in this place. I actually know that they have a connection with the Hon. Laura Henderson and her family from Riyadh days, which will probably surprise many people. Laura, it did not surprise you and I because we met at a Christmas function many, many years ago, and well before your election. I am really thrilled that you could join me today.

I am also amazed that my friend Sergei turned up on time. I have never seen Sergei ever in my life turn up on time, so I was really surprised before when he was 15 minutes early. People like Emma Webb are sitting behind me, and they have been an enormous amount of support to me over many years. Emma Webb and I were once mortal enemies in the political field, back in the student politics days when, of course, the left can always fight against itself, but then when you grow up you realise you have a lot more in common than you do in difference, and she is one of my best friends and I thank her for everything that she has done, particularly in the last few years. She is an icon. She has an Order of Australia Medal for her service to the arts and the community and she has done such enormous, amazing work for working people and for arts in this state and I absolutely admire her and thank her for being here today.

I also note friends such as Deb Thorsen, Dom Heeney, Michelle, Erin and Craig (who cannot be here at the moment), my quiz night team, who with Emma finally won a quiz night last week, but we hope to win many more in the future, have been really good friends away from politics and aside from politics, who do not necessarily understand politics, but that is actually quite a good thing, and I really thank them for being here today and showing their support. Danica Moors, who has been around for many, many years and who is an absolute icon and a legend, is also here, and I just want to thank her for not just her friendship but also everything that she does as well. Martine Hawkes, too, is on my list.

I want to move to the unlikely allies: Bruce Djite is here and Mark Carroll, and Ian Horne sends his apologies. Such is the nature of this place that you may have many disagreements on many issues but you can always find something to agree on and work towards progress on, and so particularly to Ian Horne I want to say when he was the head of the evil empire and David Penberthy was having a red hot go at him as the head of the AHA, he and I did a power of work on live music. Around that time we saw a Weatherill government investment and attention to live music that I hope to see again under the Malinauskas government, and Ian Horne and I actually found that we had a lot more in common than we did in difference.

Similarly, you would not expect somebody who was the former head of the police union to be here for my valedictory, but I thank Mark Carroll. He was an incredible support at times over the past few years. We found that we agree on workers' rights and we worked really hard on workers compensation and workers' rights—while we will always disagree on the police complaints and discipline authority lack of transparency, and I will not give that one up. But we just will not talk about it in polite company. Bruce Djite, of course, is, again, a legend, and I have gotten to know him as a friend and I respect everything he does, but I do not agree with hardly any of it, so here we are.

My staff: Jamnes Danenberg, who has been with me since 2010, went off to other bigger and better things. He worked in WA for a while for various Greens MPs and is back with us. Michael Donato, Monti, Belle, Tina, Joanna Wells and Keiran Snape: I gave them shout-outs yesterday, Mr President, as I think you are aware, with Taylor Swift lyrics and eras. I hope they appreciated that, but I hope they understand how much I appreciate them. They have been absolutely stalwart in what have been reasonably difficult times in the last year and I just could not have done it for the last few months without them and so I thank them for everything and I hope that they go on to bigger and better things.

Monti, Joanna and Keiran in particular, I hope they end up as elected representatives in parliaments. I think that would add so much to parliaments. I obviously know that Keiran Snape is currently Deputy Lord Mayor, but people might be aware he is running as an Independent for the City of Adelaide. I hope that he has great success with his political endeavours. I have watched him grow and blossom from a young man who had great ambitions to someone who is keenly able to listen to those who do not agree with him and work with them and work through things, and, again, shows up, is diligent, turns up to the events, takes on board criticism and then serves his community. It might not even be what he believes necessarily is best, but if it is best for his community, he is willing to do that hard work and so I commend him for that.

Joanna Wells and Monti, of course, polled incredibly well in the federal election for the seats of Boothby and Adelaide respectively, and I hope that they get the chance to live out their political ambitions, goals and dreams in the near future, and I will be there every step of the way to support them as they do.

Finally, I particularly want to thank Leesa Chesser in the gallery today, a former member for Taylor and a former minister. Leesa has been an outstanding friend ever since 2010, and that is actually when we first met. We both first came in at the same time, we both had children much the same age at the same school, and we did that whole mum and then single mum thing together through this place. Leesa has faced adversity and survived it and is a great example to me that there is life after this place, and has done not just a lot today to wrangle everyone but so much over the past few years and was always there when needed.

I am a single mum in this place. In my first speech I spoke about my mother going through domestic violence when I was a child and ongoing. In the entire time I have been in this place I have had a situation where I have been in what you would call a domestic violence situation, with the father of my child always spewing abuse, always being difficult and always seeking to destroy me. I will not miss that when my child turns 18 and I do not have to have any connection there. But it is one of the things that I have carried the entire time I have been here, since 2010.

Mr President, you, of all the people in this place, gave me the greatest support with that. You and I know that you offered me a pair should I ever need it with regard to my child. We had a secret arrangement for a few years when she was really young and I would have to drop everything at short notice and manage really difficult family situations. I thank you for that, and I thank you for your friendship and also the way that you have been a really considered, thoughtful and down-to-earth President in this place, using humour rather than power to control and manage this place.

I value your friendship and I know that politics will be different in this place when you leave. I have watched over my years every time one person leaves it changes markedly so I imagine it will change quite a lot without me. I am not sure if you will enjoy that or not—perhaps you will—but as the Hon. Kyam Maher once said in a particular mention of me at the end of a particularly nicer year, I always spent more time on the steps outside than I did in here anyway. So I look forward to being on the steps and seeing you from there and continuing to advocate for the causes I believe in, and holding firm to that.

I will get to spend more time with my family and see my daughter, Pippa, and my son, Geordie, and his wife, Brooke, and their daughter, who is my granddaughter, Peyton, a fair bit more I hope and have the flexibility of not being tied to parliamentary duties in order to do so. I might also get to see my brother, Shane, in Queensland a little more. He has given really outstanding support, reaching out when he could see that I was in trouble. Both of us will always deeply miss my brother, Brian, who died by suicide in the time that I was here.

Again, I reflect on the kindness that was shown to me by some members of this place when my brother died by suicide during a sitting week, and I again thank my aunt and uncle for being there through that really difficult time. It is something that you do not want to join the club of, but it is a club that I am a member of, and I do know and acknowledge the work of the Hon. Sarah Game with regard to men's mental health.

I often think my brother would have loved to have been here today. He is never with us for birthdays, for Christmas or for events like this, but I remember him today. He was a bit of a poet and a footballer, so there was an odd assortment in that as well. I think he would have quite enjoyed some of the sex, drugs and rock'n'roll fun that I have had this week.

I want to conclude by noting that one of the suffragists for South Australia, who was part of women getting the vote—which actually means that I could have been here in the first place—Mary Lee, always said, 'Let's always be leaving this place better than we found it,' or, 'Let's be up and doing.' She was embodied by Steph Key, who was always the one to say, 'Onwards and upwards.' When she first would say it, it was always in the face of adversity, and I always thought it was a really black humour thing to say. I came to adopt it myself and use it to uplift me as we faced these challenges. So onwards and upwards, and to use the Ngarrindjeri phrase, 'Nukkan ya.' That is my valedictory; that's it.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Mr President, is flowers on the floor parliamentary?

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Hunter, today it is okay.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (16:35): I would like to thank the mover of this motion, the Hon. Kyam Maher, for making this possible. This is the last time I will be speaking in this chamber, and I am going to try to do something I have not managed in eight years, and that is keeping it short, simple and to the point. I promised my wife not to be gratuitous and certainly not to wallow in any sentiment. She has already warned me that if I start getting too emotional she will stage an intervention from the gallery.

After 46 years in a media career full of experiences, crossing paths with countless colourful and interesting characters, celebrities and events I never imagined would be possible for the school dropout I once was, my life took an unexpected turn in March 2018 when I was elected to public office. Of all things, I became the very person I had spent decades chasing down hallways, pointing cameras at, peppering with questions dipped in hardened cynicism. Sometimes, I still half expect a journalist to jump out from behind a pillar now and shout out, 'Gotcha.' In fact, they already have done it.

There was never any fear or favour in my reporting, except for one man, the person who convinced me to take this leap of faith, Nick Xenophon. Nick and I share the same values: fighting for the underdog; exposing wrongs in our society; fixing the broken and bloated systems of government; and working through legislation to make life better and fairer for our children and grandchildren, the future generations of South Australians. I am eternally grateful for Nick's faith and friendship.

His faith reminds me of a story. A bloke falls off a cliff and grabs onto a branch sticking from the cliff face. As he clings precariously, he looks down at the sheer drop below and calls out: 'Lord, is there anyone up there? Give me faith. Tell me what to do.' Then there is a booming voice, and it answers: 'If you have faith, let go.' He pauses, looks down again, looks back up and says: 'Is there anyone else up there?' That is like politics. There are plenty of voices, not always the ones you want, and sometimes the safest option is hanging on to that branch.

I thought journalism was the best job in the world—the things you learn, the people you meet, the ones you cross, the doors that open, often unexpectedly—but being a parliamentarian has been the most fulfilling and satisfying work I have done. It became an extension of my previous life, still driven by the belief that the stories and struggles of everyday people matter. People counted on me to be their voice, to listen when no-one else was hearing, to see when no-one else was looking, to be part of shaping the history of this state, sometimes in big ways, sometimes in small, but always with purpose.

I am particularly proud of having defibrillators made mandatory in our communities. If just one life is saved because of it, it has been well worth it. The other experience which has stood out is the way this place managed the pandemic, an uncharted catastrophe that confronted us and our thinking. At times, it felt like trying to navigate your way through a blinding blizzard in sheer darkness, praying you did not make the wrong decision or take the wrong turn because of the impact it would have had on all our lives. It affected everybody in the state, in this country and, of course, in the world. It was an extraordinary time.

I have tried to pursue justice when it was cruelly denied, to achieve outcomes that made a genuine difference and to face difficult and divisive issues with honesty and courage, though I suspect not everyone agreed with me all the time—that is politics, too. The community I have met along the way has been extraordinary, diverse, enthusiastic, resilient. From those who welcomed me warmly to those who challenged me fiercely, thank you. You have sharpened my thinking, broadened my compassion and occasionally tested my patience, though I am sure the feeling was mutual.

They say a lesson learned is a lesson earned, and after eight years I have earned a fair few. I have made mistakes. I have never been afraid to admit them, and I have tried to be a better person because of them. I hope I have been trusted and dependable, especially when someone was in desperate need and had nowhere else to turn. Those moments—quiet, unpublicised, sometimes unseen—are the ones that stay with me.

There have been bruising knocks, times I have walked out of this chamber feeling battered, and times I have walked out feeling 10 feet tall—that is something, coming from me. There have been defeats and there have been victories, some small, some significant, that gave me pride and satisfaction. I leave without regret and certainly without feeling like I have failed.

No-one survives eight years in this place without help, and I would like to thank those who stood with me. My staff, loyal, dedicated, occasionally long-suffering: Sean Whittington, my former Chief of Staff and the most ethical and talented media adviser I have come across; Adrienne Gillam, my senior legislative adviser, whom I hold in such great esteem; my indefatigable and proficient office manager, Kim York, who so capably organises my hectic life; and Hugh Salter, a talented adviser who went on to better things. I could not have asked for a more professional team, and those friendships will endure.

My parliamentary colleagues across all parties: who argued with me, collaborated with me and at times wondered, 'What on earth is he doing?' I will single out some here. The Hon. Robert Simms: we are opposed politically, but on a personal level, our relationship has been one founded on mutual respect. The Hon. Russell Wortley: an extraordinary human being, especially for a Labor man, who introduced me to deconstructed milk coffees and his footy multibets. He is an engaging, ageless bloke. I am still searching for a single strand of grey hair in that magnificent mane of his, and I must say his President's portrait is quite impressive.

The Hon. Dennis Hood, who has been a pillar of support and friendship over many years, including before I entered parliament, is a man of courage, faith and conviction. I have great admiration for the Hon. Mr Hood's principles and values, many of which align with mine. Thank you to my Liberal mates and colleagues in here who have welcomed me into the stable.

You, Mr President: I can still recall our first meeting when you and your wife, Donna, extended to me a genuine hand of congratulations the morning after the 2018 election on Norwood Parade. In fact, you had just been re-elected yourself, and the Marshall government had been swept into office. I am really appreciative of your guidance and advice, indulgences of my long brief explanations, your friendship and your words of support and encouragement during some contentious and difficult times we both faced in this place. I wish you the best in your retirement and thank you for your exemplary service.

My sincere appreciation also goes to your predecessors, with whom I became friends. The Hon. John Dawkins' elevation to the job was unprecedented in the history of this place—out of a hat; could you believe it? He held no grudges against me after I confessed to him that I did not vote for him, not once but twice. The Hon. Andrew McLachlan's wise counsel, knowledge and experience was most welcome and still is.

To the committee staff I have worked with, the Clerk, the Black Rod, our attentive and efficient chamber attendants—Super Mario sitting in the corner there; Todd, Charles, Kylie—our diligent librarians, the thorough Hansard reporters who have had to endure my long speeches, thank you. Thanks also to Creon Grantham and his professional catering staff, the every-cheerful Blue Room girls, Nicky, Belinda and Karen, and David Woolman and his team—all the people who keep this place functioning with professionalism and grace.

To all the members of parliament from all sides in here and the other place who are leaving today, I extend my congratulations on their service in their electorates and to the wider community. To the Hon. Tammy Franks, her contributions on the committees that I worked with were extremely astute and valued. She is passionate about all the issues she tackles. Even though I would have been opposed to many of them, I had to really respect the stands that Tammy would take. Outside of this chamber, outside of this place, she is a really decent human being, and she will be missed. As she pointed out, parliamentarians do get an unfair, bad rap from an every-cynical media, but I will be the first to defend most of my colleagues for their work ethic. It is a tough job when you are constantly under scrutiny and under attack.

To my family—my sons, Mark, Alex, his wife, Nina; Connor and our grandsons, Max and Alessandro—thank you for your love, your patience and your honest feedback. It is sometimes a little too honest, particularly from my son Connor. As many would know him, particularly for his connections to the Liberal Party, we had challenges with Connor when he was a young boy. He was diagnosed with having neurodiverse issues and was told at the age of eight he would never make anything of his life and would never finish school. Only last week, I was proud to attend his admission in the courts as a barrister and solicitor. This came after he became dux of the same school that said he would fail.

Furthermore, this week we received more good news that we are expecting another grandchild and also that Connor has been awarded a university medal from Flinders University for his efforts. We are extremely proud of the work that he has put in to be the success that he is. I cannot leave out my exceptional and wonderful wife of 30 years, Angela—or Angel, as I have always called her, because it is a perfect reflection of the type of person she is. She is my anchor, my sounding board and the first to remind me when my speeches or social media posts are getting too long and boring, starting now probably. Thank you for being the caring person you are and standing by me and our family. We are blessed to have you in our lives.

For those who have been asking me, yes, I have started outlining my memoirs. It has become more fascinating and controversial with my time in here. So while this chapter closes, there is still one more to be written for an ending. I leave the Legislative Council with gratitude, with pride and with the hope that the work that we have all done together through the triumphs, the trials and the hard conversations has made this state a little fairer, a little safer and a little better.

Finally, to the people of South Australia: thank you for trusting me. Thank you for giving a former probing journalist, a school dropout and a lifelong seeker of justice and fair play the chance to serve you. It has been an honour. Thank you.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (16:50): I rise to offer a reply, on behalf of the opposition, to recognise the extraordinary parliamentary careers of three members of this place: the Hon. Tammy Franks, the Hon. Frank Pangallo and you, Mr President. Valedictories remind us in this place that this place works best when people arrive with purpose, work with conviction and depart having left a mark, and the three of you have done exactly that.

I will start with the Hon. Tammy Franks, who is someone who has had over 15 years in this chamber. The Hon. Ms Franks has been one of the most prolific and persistent contributors to public life in South Australia, and the record speaks loudly. By my best count, after sifting through a considerable amount, the honourable member has more than 2,800 references in Hansard, has served on 42 parliamentary committees and has advanced 63 pieces of legislation under her name. Few members can point to such breadth.

Her work has touched industrial manslaughter, medicinal cannabis, animal welfare, human rights, workplace safety, protections for the LGBTQ+ community, the Port River dolphins, arts and live music, mental health, First Nations justice, and the issue she and I most vigorously and passionately disagree upon: sex industry law reform.

This is where I want to pause, because the Hon. Tammy Franks and I occupy opposite ends of the political spectrum on many issues. On some matters we not only disagree but disagree fundamentally. We have debated fiercely, sometimes repeatedly, always completely sure of our own position, but never once—never—have those differences diminished the respect we hold for one another and certainly not the deep respect I hold for her. In fact, those differences sharpened that respect because, while we often see the world through very different lenses, I think we have recognised in each other a shared honesty, a work ethic that never wavers and a willingness to argue openly and be transparent with conviction. In this place, that matters.

The Hon. Tammy Franks has never been a member content to sit quietly in the back row. Her tenacity is unmistakable and so is her humour, her patience when it is required, and her impatience when it is demanded, as she has called out hypocrisy, challenged complacency and shaken debates that risked becoming sterile. Yet she is just as capable of generosity: generous with her time, collegial in committee work and respectful of the institutions. From the crossbench she has shaped legislation, influenced government priorities and ensured that voices often unheard were placed firmly on the parliamentary record. I think that has earned the honourable member mutual respect across this chamber.

The Hon. Tammy Franks leaves this place with the genuine respect and good wishes of our team. On behalf of the opposition, I acknowledge her remarkable service to the people of South Australia and her unwavering advocacy for those without a microphone. Whatever comes next, inside or outside of this chamber, history tells us that she will continue to prod, to challenge and to demand that we think a little bit more deeply.

So thank you, Tammy, for your service, your dedication, your persistence and your unmistakable voice in this chamber. I do hope I will continue to see the honourable member, perhaps inside this place but, if not, maybe outside this place—perhaps even in the next footy season, at the Berri Football Club, watching her son, Geordie, and the beloved Berri Demons win next year's premiership flag.

I want to now speak briefly about the Hon. Frank Pangallo. I will do it briefly because it is our firm belief that the honourable member will be back in this parliament, just not in this chamber, after March next year as the member for Waite. However, today we gather to acknowledge the contributions of those retiring from this place and the Hon. Frank Pangallo has unquestionably been a significant contributor to this council. His career is characterised by tenacity, a commitment to public service and an unwavering pursuit of accountability of office holders in public life.

The Hon. Frank Pangallo, following a long and distinguished career in print, radio and TV media, first entered politics as an adviser to Nick Xenophon and was then elected in 2018 as a member of SA Best in this place. We on this side of the chamber are extremely pleased to have welcomed Frank to the Liberal Party in August this year. The honourable member has a long list of achievements in this place, including active participation on many committees, with a particular focus on matters of probity and integrity. One of his most significant achievements was his leadership in delivering world-first legislation to make defibrillators mandatory in public places, reforms that will save lives for years to come.

Today, I want to focus on Frank the person. He has approached every committee, every inquiry and every bill with a reporter's eye for detail and a deep belief that transparency strengthens democracy. He has been guided by what he believes is the best outcome for the community and this commitment and clarity of purpose must be respected. The honourable member has brought a unique approach to his service: as you pointed out in your valedictory speech yesterday, Mr President, we have all become fondly accustomed of Frank's so-called 'brief explanations'. He must hold the record for one of the longest speeches in this place, I am sure—five hours and 21 minutes. With this timing we may well have seen the duration of the honourable member's speeches measured by the calendar rather than the clock.

As we know, the Hon. Frank Pangallo is a committed family man: a father of three, a grandfather and, as the honourable member pointed out earlier, soon to become a grandfather again, and congratulations on that. We must also pay tribute to his family because, while candidates and members sign up for this, families are conscripts. I acknowledge his family and in particular his wife, Angie, in this place. Frank has always been willing to put himself out there for the cause. I am sure we will never forget his willingness to offer critique about the refurbishment of the men's bathrooms in this place. He has brought energy, dedication and humour to his service, and for that we thank him.

This may be a valedictory speech for this place, but I am sure it will also be a 'see ya later'. While Frank is retiring from this place, he is, as we all know, contesting the seat of Waite, where he lives and has long lived, a community he has been a part of for many years. We certainly hope that he will be back in the House of Assembly and, if Frank is successful in his campaign to enter the lower house, those in the other place will probably be slightly pleased that the speeches are capped at 20 minutes. We acknowledge his commitment and application in this place today and we look forward to continuing to work with him as a Liberal team member.

Last, but certainly not least, Mr President, I would like to pay tribute to you and your extraordinary parliamentary career as you prepare to conclude more than two decades of service to the people of South Australia and to this council. Your story, Mr President, is in many respects a story of South Australia itself: grounded, hardworking, honest and always remembering your roots. You have often said, 'You can take the boy out of Whyalla, but you can't take Whyalla out of the boy', and you have lived that truth every single day that you have walked into this chamber.

Elected to this place in 2002, you quickly established yourself as one of the most diligent and level-headed members of our team. You have served under premiers, opposition leaders, ministers and leaders and, through all of it, you have remained exactly the same person: steady, principled and deeply committed to the people who entrusted you with your role.

Across your long career you have held an enormous number of roles: shadow minister across a raft of portfolios (sport, tourism, gambling, correctional services and Aboriginal affairs), Government Whip and, of course, the role that has defined these later years—President of the Legislative Council. Your committee work alone reads like a recent political history of South Australia: Aboriginal lands, Budget and Finance, Natural Resources, corrections, poverty, health services, Valuer-General, Statutory Authorities Review Committee, environment and development, marine parks, electricity, fuel supply, even the O-Bahn and the Adelaide Oval redevelopment. You have been right here in the engine room of nearly every major political conversation that this parliament has grappled with over the past 20 years.

Beyond all the titles, committees, debates and thousands of contributions recorded in Hansard what will remain in this chamber is the way that you have treated people. You have been a mentor to our Liberal team, particularly to those of us fortunate enough to sit beside you, to learn from you and to benefit from your sense of calm perspective and, of course, your wine collection, which has offered its own moments of wisdom. You have been the person who could cool the temperature, steady the course and remind us why we are all here whilst you have been in the chair.

I will never forget our introduction. It went a little bit like this, Mr President. You walked straight up to me, stuck out your hand and said, 'G'day. I'm Terry Stephens. I hear you're a bloody good lass from the Riverland who thinks a bit like me, and that's a good thing.' Since then you have been one of my closest friends, and you have been an incredible mentor. I have sought your advice on countless occasions—and I apologise for that—but on every occasion your advice has been generous, honest and sound, and that is something that I will certainly miss.

Your generosity is one of your greatest strengths. It is not a quality often spoken about in politics, but it should be, because you have shown it time and time again. You have backed others, you have supported the team and you have put institutions ahead of yourself. As President, you have been equal parts firm but fair, authoritative yet approachable, and you have protected the dignity of this chamber with seriousness and deep respect.

Presiding over the Legislative Council is not simply a matter of keeping order. It is, as we all know, a bit of an art. It requires judgement, clarity, patience, the occasional well-timed raised eyebrow and a very rare but unmistakable stand up and glare. You have perfected each of these with trademark precision.

It would also be remiss of me not to acknowledge one of your lesser known but highly developed skills—your extraordinary patience in managing the Hon. Russell Wortley's ongoing phone-based contributions to chamber debate. Few presiding officers in the commonwealth have had to rule not only on points of order but on ringtone selection. And, of course, you have spent a good portion of your presidency offering quiet but constant protection to the Leader of the Government in this place, who we all know feels deeply threatened by those of us on this side of the chamber, and in that sense your service has been nothing short of heroic.

Today, as we mark your retirement we acknowledge the personal cost and deep commitment that come with the two decades of public life. Your loyalty to your party, this chamber, your community, your committees and the integrity of parliament has been unwavering. To this end I also extend particular thanks to your wife, Donna, whose support has been integral to your service.

As you step out of public life I know there is one thing that you are looking forward to much more than committee meetings and procedural rulings, and that is time with your family. I hope Donna is equally thrilled at this new opportunity. We will perhaps ask her in about six months' time, but you will finally be able to spend more days with your children, Courtney and Riley, their partners, Fraser and Keela, and of course your beautiful grandchildren, Teddy and Frankie. I truly hope that you enjoy the far more rewarding role of Pa. Something tells me that Teddy and Frankie will not yell at you or interrupt you nearly as much as we all have here in this place, but if they need any lessons feel free to send them our way.

On behalf of the opposition, with genuine affection and deep respect we thank you. South Australia owes you more than what can be captured in a valedictory. This chamber will not be the same without you and nor will our side of it. You leave with our gratitude, our admiration and our very best wishes for the years ahead. Wherever life takes you next, one thing will remain absolutely certain: you can take the boy out of Whyalla, but you will never ever take Whyalla out of the boy. I will miss you deeply—as well as your excellent wine cellar. Congratulations for all that you have achieved in this place. It has been a remarkable career, and we honour you for it.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (17:04): I just want to speak very briefly about our three retiring members. I have known you all over the period of your careers, except for yourself, Mr President; you were here before me. To the Hon. Ms Franks, who is no longer in the chamber with us, best of luck. I have served on a number of committees with the honourable member, and it has always amazed me how aware she is of all the issues and how she has never been frightened to take someone to task on an issue.

The first experience I had with the Hon. Tammy Franks was around about 2011 when I was a minister. In the first week of parliament as a minister, the opposition moved a no confidence motion in me. Of course, it was all nonsense, it was just a political thing, and I thought to myself, 'Well, they haven't got the numbers here because the Greens and Kelly Vincent will see through it and won't support it.' They did see through it, so they abstained, and the vote got through. I was one of the few who had a no confidence motion moved on me. I wish Tammy, her family, her daughter, all the best.

Frank, you have only been in here eight years, and I have developed a very good relationship with you. You are one of the most tenacious people I know. I did not know you before you got into parliament. I had seen some of your antics on Today Tonight. I think you have played a very, very important and contributing role in this place and you do look after the underdog. There are occasions in the morning when I come into parliament when I go to see if Frank wants a coffee, and there is always someone in his room. There is always somebody he is talking to regarding an issue. That is really refreshing to see. I wish you all the best in the future. Angie, I wish you the best, and I will look forward to catching up with you in the future.

Mr President, there is not much I really can say about you. It has been a great pleasure knowing you, Terry. When I first got into Parliament, I was told that you are an absolute right-wing monster, and to be wary of Terry.

The Hon. K.J. Maher: And it was confirmed.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: And it was confirmed very well, but I found you to be a very decent human being. We all come into this place with the intention of doing good. We just come from different directions. I wish you well, Mr President. You have done a great job as President, and I must say, your portrait out there is almost as good as mine, but it is rustic, and when you look at it you know that is Terry. It is a beautiful portrait. Best of luck. All the best for the future and hopefully I will catch up with you as well for a nice barbecue in Wallaroo.

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (17:07): It has been great hearing the contributions, and I acknowledge the amazing contributions that the members who are leaving have made. I would like to thank them for their service. To the Hon. Tammy Franks, thank you. I must admit, when I first came in here I was a little terrified of you, but I learnt very quickly what a wonderful person you are, Tammy, and the contribution that you have made to our state and to this parliament has been quite exceptional. I wish you all the very best for what lies ahead.

Certainly, obviously, we had different opinions on things, but it has always been a very respectful relationship here with all members across the chamber. I think that is so important and I hope that continues after the election as other people are coming through, but thank you very much. I wish you and your family all the very best.

To Frank, I am very hopeful that we will continue working together after the election. It has been an absolute privilege working with you and having you here within our state team as well, and Angie. I know Connor very well, and you must be incredibly proud of how well he has done. I have known him for many years through the Liberal Party. I think it is great to see him progress, and I wish him all the very best as well. Angie and Frank are a really important part of our team and it is wonderful to be able to speak today, and to hopefully see Frank in the other place after the election as well.

Mr President, I have known you for over 25 years. You have been one of the most supportive and encouraging influences in my political life. From day one you have been someone I go to for advice, honesty, a reality check, or often just for a laugh. I will always be grateful for the support that you have offered.

I remember when you came into parliament in 2002, the first election I had worked on. On election night, we thought that we had won. Sadly, that was not to be the case, but I think it was fantastic that you were able to come in and you have made a genuine contribution to this place and always been approachable as well—qualities that are not always guaranteed in politics but it is really important that that does continue on for someone like Terry. He has been able to make such a wonderful contribution while always making sure that we keep things balanced and are able to have a laugh along the way as well.

On a personal level, I have always loved our chats. We share a passion for the Crows, which means there have been a few highs and a few lows over the years, and we both enjoy a good red wine. To Donna, Riley, Courtney, Fraser and your gorgeous grandsons, they have not only been a great support to Terry but also a great support to our team. I have known the Stephens family for a very long time and was at school with Courtney, who was in the year below me at Loreto. I know what a wonderful family they are and that they are very much looking forward to more time all together.

I do also want to thank Terry. You have always been such a wonderful friend to all of us. From my days in the Young Liberals to my days here in the parliament, it has always been your humour, your friendship and your support and your enormous contribution that you have made to our party, our state and to the chamber. You leave behind a legacy built on fairness, decency and authenticity. We hope that your retirement brings you more time with your family, especially with your grandchildren, a few more wins for the Crows and plenty of good red wine. Thank you, Mr President.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:11): I was not listed to speak, but I did just want to make a few remarks about our departing members. In particular, I wanted to start by acknowledging you, Mr President, to express my thanks to you as our Presiding Member. I have really enjoyed working with you over the last four years and enjoyed the great sense of humour and the fairness that you have brought to the role. So thank you for that, and I do wish you and your family all the best.

I want to acknowledge the Hon. Frank Pangallo. He and I have our offices next door to each other. I will miss our regular coffee catch-ups, Frank, and often chats in the corridor about various news of the day. I might say, the honourable member and I often have different views on issues, but I have always enjoyed that collegial relationship. Thank you and I do wish you all the best as well.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the Hon. Tammy Franks. Tammy and I have known each other for a very long time. Her contribution to the parliament has been significant. In particular, I want to acknowledge Tammy's work on LGBTI law reform, on drug law reform, and sex work. I think she has really put these issues on the map during the last 16 years, so I also wish her all the best.

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Autism) (17:12): I rise today to acknowledge someone I perhaps never thought I would rise to say I would miss. But when I first started my first year, we debated sex work and abortion and I thought, 'My gosh, what have I got myself into here?' These were some very heated moments, but these debates also triggered a complete appreciation for the Hon. Tammy Franks, and whilst we never agreed, I wanted to give this speech.

Tammy, you have dedicated so much of your life as an adviser, as we have heard today, as a member of this house and as a party leader, to be a voice for those who often are unheard. You have stood up when others have stepped back and you have carried people's stories into this place with genuine courage.

But we do have a shared interest. Whilst there was a debate in this place, there was also the sales of tickets for the Taylor Swift tour. There was a moment when I got tickets and Tammy had not, and I thought she was going to get very, very angry at me. She is clearly the number one Taylor Swift fan in this chamber. I will never be able to live up to her standards, but I did want to give her some words from Taylor Swift. If you do not understand Taylor Swift, you are going to find this very hard to keep up with. I guess to start with, 'Who's afraid of little old me?' Well, you should be. Because you are fearless, and your questions are always the ones that I was the most afraid of, and you shook off any critics and made the invisible feel visible.

You made change, a real, lasting change, the kind that leaves a legacy and not just headlines. Just like Taylor's The Eras Tour you take us back through every chapter of our success. Your time here has been fearless. You have never been afraid to speak. You represented your values with pride from the red chamber, and like reputation you have been defiant when defiance was required.

You will be folklore in this place and just like Taylor Swift's album, which was named in full after her, you came into this place knowing who you are. You are Tammy Franks, and you will leave having been bold and clear and unapologetic. Just like Showgirl, a story about finding fame, feeling the pressure and ultimately finding the contentment off stage, Tammy, I hope you feel that contentment. You have been successful.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (17:15): I will conclude the debate and thank all honourable members who have made contributions: those who have made contributions who are leaving on their own behalf and reflections, and those who have spoken about people's time here.

If you tally up the years that the three leaving members have served in this chamber, it is just two years short of a half century. It is a significant contribution that has been made between the members who are leaving. I will speak a little bit more, but also very briefly, at the end of year wrap-up adjournment debate about each individual member.

A common thread, from what everybody has talked about today, is that we come with very different positions. You can hardly see daylight between the Hon. Tammy Franks and me on nearly every issue. There is a bit more daylight between the Hon Frank Pangallo and me on some issues, but you, sir, do not get to vote on issues sitting up in that chair, so we just do not know what sort of daylight there is. But I thank you for acknowledging how helpful I have been over the past four years in what you are doing.

With a chamber of 22 people it is a really difficult workplace if you do not get along. I think what has been demonstrated here today is that despite very significant differences on some issues, particularly social issues, there is a willingness to work together and a willingness to get along. How could you work with 22 people if you did not have that? Thank you to all members who have made a contribution. I commend this motion to the chamber.

Motion carried.

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