Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Leader of the Opposition) (14:11): I rise to support the words of the Prime Minister; and, yes, our former colleague, and friend to many of us, Wilson Tuckey did make an extraordinary speech at Judith's funeral. I suspect it was one of the finest speeches he has ever given. It was certainly heartfelt, but it was scripted—and it was short! But he meant every word of it. Judith had a varied and a full life. She was born in New Zealand, she served in the New Zealand Territorial Army and she served as a civilian nurse in Vietnam during the war. She then came to Western Australia and worked as a nurse throughout that vast state. It was while working as a nurse in Western Australia that she met Gordon, a pilot with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, who was to become her husband in 1970. Judith and Gordon lived in Kojonup, where they farmed for 36 years. But she did not confine herself to farming and her family. She served as the president of the Country Hospital Boards Council, she served on the Kojonup Hospital Board and she was a member of the Metropolitan Health Services Board. She was extremely active in every aspect of civic life. She was elected as a Liberal senator for Western Australia in 2004. She was 62 at the time, but as she said in her maiden speech: Life experience cannot be bought or traded. She brought the experience of a full life to the service of this parliament. I have to say that when I was health minister she was a constant presence in my office. She never left me alone when it came to campaigning for better health services for country people, particularly for people living in the remote parts of her own state. She did not just talk about their experiences, she lived their experiences; she had not just studied the problems that people grappled with, she had felt them at firsthand for herself. That gave her a tremendous insight which very few of her colleagues could quite match. The parliament needs people who are representative of our society at large and the man and the woman in the street. Judith was not the most academic member of this parliament, but she was certainly amongst the most passionate. She was the voice of the country people who might otherwise not have been heard in the councils of our nation. Yes, as the Prime Minister has already mentioned, she struggled with breast cancer. She suffered from much ill health, but she never complained. She soldiered on. She was an embodiment of that grit and stoicism that we like to think are characteristic of Australian people. She was a great lady, and we will miss her. On behalf of the coalition I give my condolences to her sons, Stuart and Robert; their partners, Anne and Tammy; and her grandchildren, Taylor and Maelle. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms AE Burke ): As a mark of respect, I ask all present to signify their approval by rising in their places. Honourable members having stood in their places— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I thank the House. Debate adjourned.