PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION

Senator THORPE (Victoria—Independent VIC Whip) (18:34): Sorry, I missed my turn. I thought Shoebridge would talk much longer. I want to say to Senator Surfer: you are a good man.

There are a lot of good people in the Greens, and you are certainly one of them. I feel really sad that you're not going to be around. You're the only one in this whole place that stands up for oceans.

You're the only one that talks about oceans in this place. You will be missed, and we all have to take responsibility for the legacy that you are leaving us to continue protecting oceans and protecting country. I've appreciated you personally and all of the work that you've been doing, particularly on PFAS.

We had a good time on the PFAS inquiry, learning about all the poison that we're ingesting and that our oceans and earth are ingesting. That was a really lovely time. I didn't know about the Maugean skate until you mentioned it.

You've left such an impact on me personally as a sovereign black woman who also supports the Greens, even though I'm not one anymore. Your fight for the Maugean skate that continues to be threatened by the Tasmanian salmon industry is another legacy we must continue to fight. There's your work on waste and recycling and reducing plastics.

I'm looking forward to your private senator's bill. What a great way to go, keeping country and people safe. You respect us as First Peoples of the lands and you've always ensured that we're part of the conversation, so thank you.

Not many people in this place make sure that happens. There was your involvement in the release of the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. When I had the justice portfolio, the first yarn that we had was, 'Oh, you know I do the Julian Assange stuff.' I'm like, 'Mate, that's yours; I'm not going to take all that work away from you just because I've got the portfolio.' I learnt so much about that as well from those yarns.

You're just a good man. I really appreciate you and I respect you. Thank you for giving your dad and your husband to this place.

You know how crazy it makes everybody, but he's maintained his sanity. You did invite me out for a joint or a reefer on the front steps of parli, which we never got to do. We've still got 48 hours, so if you've got any around I'm happy to fulfil that and end with a beautiful moment.

Thank you for all that you've given to this place and to our people and to all people in this country.