Wednesday, 9 September 2026

 Tim BULL (Gippsland East) (18:02): It is a pleasure to rise and make my valedictory speech. As MPs, we are elected to fight for our communities, we are elected to represent them strongly and make sure they receive their fair share. That is our job. I have always believed that when an MP secures something for their electorate, they have not performed some extraordinary act of brilliance, as some may claim, they have simply done the job that they are elected to do. How we have performed as MPs, ministers or shadow ministers is not for us to judge ourselves; what we might regard as achievements today will be judged by future parliaments on whether they stand the test of time, so self-praise is no praise in my eyes. I want to use this time to talk about the people, the experiences I have had, a few of the things I will miss and a few of the things that I will not.

When I arrived here, there were a few things I did not quite understand fully. Silly me, I thought question time was the time you got answers; Parliament quickly taught me that a person can respond to a question with an extraordinary level of detail without approaching the vicinity of an answer. I will not miss the ministerial correspondence from opposition. I must admit some ministers are better than others in relation to this, but you write to a minister, then often you wait months for a response that is not an answer, so you write again. It is essentially a type of penpal arrangement without the friendship. Then occasionally you do get an answer, and it is the right answer, and faith is restored in the system temporarily – temporarily being the point.

I can say the overwhelming majority of people that I have dealt with inside and outside this place have been very decent and respectful. Then you have those whose confidence exceeds their intelligence. Often they are on social media, behind a fake or locked profile. We have what I call the WAF social media commentators. The ‘WA’ stands for ‘what about’; I will leave it up to members to work out what the ‘F’ stands for. They are the ones that, if you posted about a cure for cancer, would respond, ‘But what about you getting the grass cut by the local shire on the local road?’ I will give MPs a tip before I leave this place: get onto Facebook and open your settings and enter the phrase ‘what about’ in your keyword block list. That very much upsets the WAFs, I can tell you.

I will miss many of the interactions that I have had with my constituents, but I will not miss them all. Some have been frustrating, some have been funny and some have been both. I want to relay one story, and I have never forgotten this story. I was approached by a person who was straight out very aggressive initially in advising me that the wombat crossing signs on Metung Road were in the wrong place. I genuinely offered that if the wombats were not crossing there I would get the signs moved. This only enraged the woman, and she proceeded to shout that the wombats were in fact crossing between the signs. The problem was that they were on a bend where visibility was poor for drivers. The signs should be moved to the nearby straight stretch because, as she said, ‘Any idiot could tell that is a safer area for them to cross.’ While simultaneously looking around to see if one of my good mates was filming me in a set-up, I was reduced to explaining that wombats cannot read road signs. The conversation ended with her simply looking at me and asking me if I was stupid. On that count she may have been right, but she was not correct with the signs.

I will not miss the pothole complaints. I have had that many pothole complaints over a long period of time that I feel like I have developed a personal relationship with some of them. I could have invited a couple down to this valedictory. At times they get a quick fix, but within a week they are back. The approach that we have adopted with potholes reminds me a little bit of Homer Simpson fixing something with duct tape. We watching the telly know it will not last and he knows it will not last, but we sit back and admire the work. We need a new approach.

Some have said in their speeches that the toughest period in the job for them was COVID. For me it was the 2019–20 fires. Around 400 homes were lost, thousands were displaced and around 70 per cent of my electorate burnt. But it was in that time that the culture of our community was best on show. The acts of assistance and of generosity that I saw from people seeking no kudos at all put a lump in your throat and it energised you. Their resilience was just amazing.

That brings me to the first of the little whinges I want to have in this speech. My greatest concern is that from that we have not learned our lesson. Here we are just a few years later undertaking only a third of the fuel reduction burning the royal commission recommended to provide a basic level of safety. This is what some of the world’s pre-eminent bushfire scientists told us we needed to do, and we have not listened. So when it happens again, and I will not be in this place, for God’s sake, let us not have people coming in here and simply blaming climate change. I am certainly not a climate change denier, but when we fail to do what we are told is necessary, we cannot blame something else when the consequences we were warned about eventuate. We have had long, hot, dry summers and lightning storms for thousands of years – they are not new. The reality is simple: allow fuel loads to reach these levels and it can only end one way. There is no other outcome. The fuel reduction burning works. We saw that in 2020 when fires reached the areas and it stopped the fires in their tracks.

My second whinge is about the appalling decision to close the native timber industry. It makes no sense when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognises timber as our only carbon-storing building product – and should be our preferred building product – and that it should come, they say, from a mix of plantation and sustainably harvested native forest. Here we are as the thirst for hardwood grows because we are all told to use it, and we are importing it now from countries that have far less environmental oversight. It is stupidity at its finest, and I look forward to getting this industry back. Anyway, I just wanted to get those two issues in Hansard for the 39th and 43rd times, respectively, before I go.

Since announcing that I am leaving this place, a lot of people have asked me what has been the most rewarding. As I have said, we cut plenty of ribbons and we open lots of things, but my answer is simply ‘When you can help someone’. We cannot solve everyone’s problems, but we can help with a fair few as MPs; sometimes it is just as simple as listening. Those stories never make the newspaper or television, but they are basically the heart and soul of our jobs. Thankfully, I have had a staff that has been terrific in that area as well.

I said there will be no self-praise in this speech, but I do want to indulge myself a little. I want to mention what was my biggest win against the odds in the past 16 years, when the chances of success seemed absolutely hopeless. It was without doubt getting the member for Rowville into the Bairnsdale Secondary College hall of fame, which he thanked me for in his speech yesterday as being one of his proudest moments. But I need to provide the chamber with a bit of background. When a student at the Bairnsdale Secondary College, Speaker, his behaviour was at times much worse than he has exhibited when you have had to throw him out on multiple occasions. On this occasion many years ago, he plotted to blow up the suggestion box at the school reception. Despite detailed planning, student Wells underestimated the explosive’s power. The plan was simply to blow the suggestion box off the wall, but he in fact blew out two walls. In an instant, there was nothing separating the reception from the staff room. Eyewitnesses at the school say the aftermath was reminiscent of the horrific footage we see on our TVs at night – people emerging through smoke and debris, covered in powder, with darkened faces and stunned looks of shock. It has become known locally as the 1974 Bairnsdale bombing – a very dark day in the town’s history.

Members interjecting.

Tim BULL: 1975 Bairnsdale bombing. It was a dark day in the town’s history that is still discussed in coffee shops and at community groups. On my election, the honourable member explained his pure bitterness at having been continually overlooked for the hall of fame, as a student who would become Treasurer and, very ironically, police minister, and he asked me to remedy this. I knew the magnitude of the task before me. Providing funding for the new school certainly helped, but the pathway finally became clearer for the member and me when the final office staffer/survivor from 1974 passed away in 2012, 38 years after the event. That paved the way for his acceptance, and we achieved the result we were after. Colleagues, without doubt, that is my greatest achievement in this place against the odds.

On a slightly more serious note, to my staff: I have been incredibly fortunate. Gaynor has been with me since day one. Sixteen years is a long time to put up with anyone, let alone me, and she has been fantastic. Jess and Anthony have also been with me for a long time and have been terrific as well. We have made a very good team, each with their own skill set to handle the different issues. I acknowledge all the others who have been part of the office over the years, and I want to especially mention Ian Rowe. Rowey was a great staff member and a mate who we tragically lost to cancer a few years back ‍– what a great fella. Although a long time ago now, I also want to thank my ministerial staffers and thank everyone who has worked with me and for me for being not only good staffers but also good friends.

I want to acknowledge the people that I have worked alongside. I have had three Nationals leaders: Peter Ryan, Peter Walsh and Danny O’Brien – just three; we do not change our leaders as often as some others do in this place. To all my Nats colleagues, some who are here today – some obviously in the chamber, some in the gallery – who have served alongside me over the years: many, many thanks. Taking nothing away from any other party, I think we have something very special in the Nats, a special camaraderie, and I have very much appreciated that. There have been plenty of laughs and plenty of great memories, and I cannot believe how gullible some of my colleagues have been – I am thinking about you in particular, Steph and Drummy. If anyone wants to have a good laugh and was not here in 2022, go and have a read of Steph’s valedictory from then.

I also want to thank everyone from all sides for my time in Parliament. I have made some really good friendships on both sides of the chamber, and I look forward to those continuing. To my wife Kim and my children Daniel and Nikita, who are here tonight, thank you. Also to my son Lachlan, who will be ‍– ‍actually, that is bullshit, he will not be watching at all. To my son Lachlan, thanks. I have not always got things right, and I could have and should have been a little better at times. I know that you are probably not necessarily looking to spend a lot more time with me, but that is the challenge that you have ahead.

While I have been in this place I have lost both my parents. I miss them dearly. I hope somewhere they are looking down, and I consider myself very, very lucky to have had them both. I am the youngest and the smartest of their seven kids. We all get along very well, which can be strange in a family that big, but special thanks to my siblings, who have all stood on polling booths and helped out at different times and given great support.

I wish the very best to Gemma, who I hope will be my replacement in this place. She is an absolute ripper and will make a great MP if she gets the chance. To those members who have announced they are retiring with me at this election, I wish you all the very best with whatever comes next for you. To those who are retiring but just do not know it yet, I wish you well too. I especially want to mention my parliamentary colleagues Emma and Tim, who sits up there, and Bill, who are facing far greater battles than anything that happens in this chamber. The way you have faced your challenges is a credit to you and very inspiring.

For 16 years I have had the extraordinary privilege of representing the people of East Gippsland in this Parliament. It has been an extraordinary honour. I depart here knowing that I have not won every battle, but I have won a few, and I can say I have done my best. If you are ever in the best part of Victoria, call me or text me – those of you I like will have my mobile number – or call me for a coffee, a beer or a scotch. Better still, if you want a challenge, come and trek Kokoda with me in the coming years. Thank you all very much for your indulgence.

Members applauded.