Wednesday, 30 October 2024

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (09:56): For the past two years I have had the tremendous pleasure of sitting in this place with Dr Samantha Ratnam. Samantha is one of the rarest of people who gets even more extraordinary the more time you spend with them. When someone asks me what leadership looks like, Samantha comes to mind. It is her picture next to the definition. Her moral clarity, courage of conviction, genuine care and compassion for the community and ability to speak truth to power are without parallel in this place, which is unfortunate, because if we had more Samanthas, Victoria would be the better for it. Her ability to work with people across the chamber is demonstrated by the respect she commands and her track record of achieving real-world outcomes for the community. Samantha’s warmth and generosity, her humour and quick thinking and her extraordinary tenacity have been loved by so many MPs and staff of all stripes. While I am excited for what Samantha will bring to our federal Parliament and beyond and thrilled to be joined by the extraordinary Anasina Gray-Barberio next week, it is going to take me a while to get used to not being able to lean over and seek her wise counsel. Thank you for everything, Samantha. You have left an extraordinary legacy.