PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION

Senator STEELE-JOHN (Western Australia) (18:49): I'm probably going to need that tissue box at some point. It can't sit there the whole time! When I was so unexpectedly catapulted into this place, I was shit-scared and excited, and I very quickly looked around—in this new team of incredible human beings that I was suddenly working with, who I'd mostly watched on TV, because I'm also a bit of a sad nerd in some ways—for people that I could connect with on what I now understand to be, I think, a bit of a brain level.

And you were one of those people straightaway, Pete. Your friendship during our time together has taught me so much and kept me going through some tough moments, and I am so grateful to you for everything that you have given to our movement across this incredible period of service. I've been sitting here thinking about what I was going to say, and I didn't want to prewrite too much because I wanted it to be authentic, because one of the things that you've taught me is the sustaining nature of authenticity in this job—that this institution, if left to its own devices, will grind us all into compliant tubes, joyless and mildly rolling around the place, and so it is in the individuality and in the authenticity that we find reason to keep doing it.

So I only wrote two notes. One was: thank you from WA, because you have been a stalwart bloody friend of our party and our movement. You are one of the people that are always willing to jump on a plane and come to WA for an event, to support our campaigns, to fire up our volunteers and to connect us with the spider web of relationships that you have across our state—all of which seemed to lead back to some of our best oceans, just coincidentally, I'm sure!

So a big thank you from the WA Greens to you. I'm not empowered to extend an honorary membership, but rhetorically I can! The other thing I wanted to do was just name-check a couple of things that you have taught me really tangibly, because, for most of the time I've been here, I've been behind you, by one seat.

There have been two things. One is that, whenever I get a text message from my office to say, 'Jordon, you look like you're on your phone and not listening to somebody,' it's always when you're speaking, because it's right in the direction of the camera. but I've been able to observe you at close quarters as you've worked, and I'm bloody lucky to have done that.

You've taught me so much about the value of working across the aisle with people about whom, at the party level, you might think, 'What do we have in common?' But I think I wasn't too long in here before you were doing the work with your team—with Wacka Williams, Barry O'Sullivan and members of the Labor Party—all behind the scenes, to bring about the banking royal commission.

And then there's the work that you've done with Glenn Sterle and others with whom, on other policy issues, we wouldn't agree, but you've connected with their humanity and found a way to get a good outcome for the community. I've shifted in my approach to this job from when I started, when I was quite 'in, out, en garde' with people, based on which party they came from.

I've shifted to something where I'll chat to nearly anybody, and it's part of watching you do that and get that for people. Your love of—I know everybody's said it, and it's hard to say it better than everyone's said it, but you have taught me so much about the value of our oceans, not just to the biosphere but almost on a spiritual level: the way that the oceans call us back to a part of ourselves that is critical to human beings continuing to be anything worth being.

I feel at times that you've called us, as a party, back to the oceans and let the oceans take us back to ourselves. I've watched that happen in people's eyes. In a capitalistic life that is so based on bloody KPIs and materialistic nonsense, I've watched you talk about giant kelp forests and Maugean skates in a way that's put a bit of hope back in people's eyes, and it's beautiful.

It's beautiful. You've also taught me to listen—because I'm going to own something here. When you first started talking about a Maugean skate, I remember I was not paying full attention, and I looked up and I thought, 'What?

Roller skating?' There's a place called Maugean and he wants to skate. I thought, 'It's a Pete thing. Anyway, get back to what you're doing.' You just kept raising it and raising it and raising it until I had to google it to find out what the heck you were continually bringing up.

Then you went and did it. Campaigns are the work of a lot of people, but it was you who decided to walk out of the gym in your shorts, with a towel over your shoulder, and go shout at the Prime Minister at a press conference. You'd continually bring this thing up in such a powerful way and get a really wonderful outcome for people—marching always.

Scott once described you to me as somebody who marches relentlessly to the beat of their own drum, and, my God, haven't you! That's been a hell of an example. I also want to thank you for all of the times that you and I joined in a piece of cake or in the advocating for the eating of cake or in sneaking off for cake, and for your patience in explaining some of the basics of economic systems and sharing that wisdom.

I've sat down with you for far longer than my team allocated for me to do so. We've talked about interest rates and these things. You've been very generous with your time and understanding, always.

I concur with everybody that's mentioned that twinkle in your eye. I bloody love it. I will bloody miss it.

I think I'll end my impromptu speech with it, which is my favourite intervention of that twinkle in your eye for me, ever. The couple of times that I've been part of our incredible movement when we've had a change of leader, and those are tense times—as anybody who's ever been through them know—and every single time there would be a moment where we're finally coming to ratify the decision, and there's that kind of 'speak now or forever hold your peace' moment when anyone else can nominate, and every single time you've put your hands up and there's been a moment where everybody in the room goes, 'Oh my God, is he going to?' It just breaks the tension and humanises what is a deeply mechanical process.

It's bloody wonderful, man. You have an ability to know precisely either what should be said but isn't being said, or what maybe shouldn't be said but let's say it anyway. You just name it up, break the tension and bring us back to being human.

For you to have that ability after the decades in here is an example that we can all strive for. The fact that you ended your speech by reminding this room of people that we will all be forgotten and so we should grip the opportunity to do everything we can with it is, I think, one of the most beautiful and fitting ways I could ever imagine somebody like you finishing this chapter of your life.

So, well done. Your family are incredible people. Nat, I'm really sorry we've taken him away from you for all of these years.

I'm bloody glad that you all get to be back together again. I hope you do get some time off—some proper time off. Surf the waves, forget about the place, let it all go and then come back to it in the way that you want to.

I will always pick up your call and be happy to have it, man. You're welcome in WA any time and, yes, go surf that wave of joy into the next chapter. I love ya.