Mr SHORTEN (Maribyrnong—Leader of the Opposition) (14:04): on indulgence—I thank the Prime Minister for his tribute. I think the remarkable legacy of Ian Kiernan's great Australian life springs from a single moment captured in a single sentence. When sailing solo around the globe, through the Bermuda Triangle and over the fabled Sargasso Sea, Ian recorded that instead of a 'golden rainforest of the sea, literally cover by seaweed, I found a fading legend carpeted by rubbish.' The surprise of that encounter changed Ian's life. He'd always had an instinct for conservation. It shone through in the expert way that he sought to preserve and restore some of Sydney's historic buildings. And he'd always had a passion for the ocean. From that time on he combined the two, urging all Australians, with such great and lasting effect, to roll up their sleeves and clean up their communities. One moment at sea changed the course of Ian Kiernan's life. But Ian's life is also powerful proof that one person can make a difference. His capacity to organise, motivate and inspire others demonstrates that a principled, determined, brave and charismatic person can truly change the world around them. It's this idea, the idea that one person can make a difference, that is also so much of Ian's legacy. It is an enduring lesson that he taught generations of Australians. Ian's extraordinary, ever-expanding success with Clean Up Australia said to every one of us, young and old, city and country, that we have the ability to look after our oceans, our waterways, our environment. We all have the ability and we all share the responsibility. This was Ian's message: all of us are connected, all of us are involved. That's why, far from the TV cameras and the iconic beautiful beaches of Sydney, you'd find him cleaning up urban waterways, because litter dropped in suburban gutters flows into city creeks and into our oceans. That's why he advocated against single-use plastic bags and pushed for container deposit schemes, because these were decisions that individuals could make to reduce their waste and increase their recycling. That's why he was such a strong voice for protecting marine parks, because he knew it wasn't enough just to have national parks on land; we needed them in the ocean too. Last summer the New South Wales government named five new ferries after eminent Australians. They conducted a poll to name the sixth. Ian Kiernan received the most votes in that poll. Perhaps, in the light of the nation's loss, it would be a good and worthy idea for New South Wales, at an appropriate time and in consultation with his family, to honour the memory of a man who loved Sydney Harbour so much by finding a suitable vessel to bear his name. At the heart of Ian Kiernan's life and his work was an abiding faith in the essential decency of the Australian people. From the start, he believed that Australians would join him in his mission, because we have an instinct to get involved, to help out, to pass on a better deal to the next generation than the one that we received, to leave the place better than we find it. As a parliament, as a nation, we can best honour Ian's legacy by repaying that faith by doing more to protect our oceans and rivers for all of those who come after us. May he rest in peace. Honourable members: Hear, hear!