Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

No, Jim Short won it. Peter Durack was a very good mentor in that first year and a bit that I was here in the parliament. He was regarded, along with Brian Archer, as a father of the party. They were the two people who had been here from 1975 onwards—and I think in the case of Senator Durack it was even earlier than that. The whole family life of Senator Durack, coming as he did from that great Western Australian family, meant that he was held in some awe by some people here not only because of his contribution to the Senate and to the government of the day but because he was a very thoughtful person as I—a young senator coming into this place—remember him.

Peter Durack’s contributions have been well documented here today, so I am not going to go over those again. An enormous number of new senators have entered this place today—and in the past three years there has been, I think, something like 37 new senators—but to new senators coming into this place I would say that the amount of experience that you can get by talking to people who have been in this place for some time is invaluable. I counted Peter Durack as a very wise mentor. He only ever offered advice when you asked for it. He was not one who thrust his views or opinions on you. He was indeed a gentleman. Certainly the people I remember most from my early days in the Senate were those who had been in this place for a long time and who were prepared to share their experiences both in government and in opposition with those of us who were new. Who could forget Shirley Walters, Brian Archer, Peter Durack and a whole range of people who were finishing their Senate careers? I think they all finished in 1993 or thereabouts. But I do want to associate myself with this condolence motion because senators who make the sort of contribution that Senator Peter Durack made do not come past every day. I certainly offer my sympathy to his family; they can be sure in the knowledge that Peter Durack will be well remembered for his contribution to the Senate.