Thursday, 4 December 2025

 Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs, Minister for Finance) (09:58): I want to rise to acknowledge the great contribution that my dear friend the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples has delivered to this Parliament and this community. In politics I have often thought it is not so much why we are here or what we want to do, it is the how – it is always about the how. The thing is, my good friend has always been a trailblazer. Whether it was right back in the 1990s as the first female assistant secretary of Trades Hall, she has always had an incredibly values-based approach. I think that if you look at what Natalie has achieved in her tenure, it is extraordinary. People have talked for years and years, for decades, about reconciliation with First Peoples – Natalie did it. She did it. She did not just talk about it, she did not admire the problem, she went on and she did it, and what she has achieved is extraordinary. For me, I feel an enormous amount of pride. I have known Nat for probably getting close to 30 years, and as she reaches the end of her ministerial career I have nothing but pride and admiration for what she has achieved. It is just extraordinary. I think that the ultimate test in leadership is: did you leave the place better than you found it? I think that in terms of what she has achieved, it is something that will reverberate across this nation for decades and for generations to come. I could not be any – (Time expired)