UPDATE: Federal Member for Wannon Dan Tehan has added to the chorus of tributes for retiring Victorian MP Denis Napthine.
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The Liberal MP, whose electorate includes the towns of Maryborough, Dunolly and Avoca, said Dr Napthine, who retired from state politics on Monday, would be remembered as “as a great voice for the Victorian country”.
Mr Tehan said the former Premier had held a number of significant roles in government and in opposition., whose legacy would include signing up Victoria to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, during his time as Premier.
His full statement appears below:
For 27 years, Dr Denis Napthine has poured his values and intellect into Victorian public life. His retirement marks a day to reflect for our community and also for all those he reached out to across the state.
Denis was more than just a community leader. He was also a father, a husband and a friend. All of these speak to why those who have worked with, for or against him have been lit with the decency of the man.
His strength of character has meant that in the chaos and noise of politics Denis has kept both feet rooted in reality. Moments after taking over as Premier of Victoria, Denis joked that this certainly hadn’t been what he was expecting when he had his Special K.
His self-deprecating humour is a hallmark of his relationships in either Parliament or in Port Fairy.
People often can’t escape a meeting with Denis without a tried and true dad joke. This easy-going nature has always meant that no one feels uncomfortable around him.
My mother was a mentor to Denis and there are few who have been stronger in marking me with the importance of people before politics. Starting out as a candidate in 2010, I asked if Denis would join me in Portland to launch my campaign. Despite the fact that it meant an eight hour round trip for the Shadow Minister, he leapt out of the car beaming and ready to help.
Denis will be remembered as a great voice for the Victorian country. From his experiences as a child selling piglets from the family farm at Winchelsea to crossing the state as a veterinarian for the Department of Agriculture, his understanding of rural life allowed him to colour the policy of government often driven by the city.
In no arena was this seen more than with Denis, Minister for Racing. A racing fanatic, Denis knew what country racing meant to the community and to the economy. His advocacy, in particular for jumps racing, injected energy, enthusiasm and financial strength into the industry.
Indeed, in his maiden speech Denis used the Portland Cup as a metaphor for how the electors of Portland and Hamilton, both then in his seat, could work together to achieve great things. The 1988 victory of the Hamilton-owned Majestic-Apex in the Portland Cup showed how mutually beneficial both communities could be for each other.
In public life, Denis has held a number of significant roles in government and in opposition.
In his time as Premier, he brought in a vision for Victoria’s infrastructure, signed us up to a sensible model for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, reformed the justice system for a fairer outcome for victims and brought the state’s finances back into shape.
Yet his actions often spoke far louder than the soundbites offered by other politicians. In 1996, as the Minister for Youth and Community Services, he was confronted by the tragedy of the Kew Cottages fire only days after being sworn in to the office. Denis learnt of the disaster by reading a newspaper while waiting for the 5:30am train at Newmarket Station.
Instead of standing around on the platform, Denis took a cab. He did not head to the office and a media scrum but to Kew, where he consulted and consoled where he could. Putting people before politics has been his instinct since his first day in office.
Years and experience might have dulled this sense of public service. Not so with Denis.
After the November 2014 election campaign you might have thought that the former Premier would be looking to some well-earned rest after leaving office. But that would be to assume that this former Premier wasn’t Denis Napthine. Instead of recuperating, Denis was awarding school trophies and certificates at Warrnambool Secondary College and getting on with the work of being a local member for his constituents.
In a job where self-promotion and egos dominate, Denis Napthine’s career and success will be marked by a decency rarely seen. His hard work, sincerity and humour reaffirm a character which has won over opponents and solidified loyal, life-long supporters.
In his maiden speech, Denis dedicated himself to work for all Victorians. We should be thankful that he did it so well. It may be a long time before we see his equal again.
UPDATE: Bendigo Jockey Club president Brendan Drechsler has paid Denis Napthine the ultimate compliment, declaring the former Premier the state’s “best ever Racing Minister”.
Mr Drechsler said as a veterinarian and thoroughbred owner, Dr Napthine had an affinity for the racing industry unmatched by his predecessors as the minister.
“He was and still is the number one ticket holder of the Bendigo Jockey Club,” he said.
Mr Drechsler said arguably Dr Napthine’s greatest legacy to the sport was his role in saving jumps racing.
“It (jumps racing) was in trouble in 2011, but it’s back flourishing,” he said.
“Denis stood up – because he was from Warrnambool which has a rich history in jumps racing – but without his support that arm of the sport might have been lost.
“He’s always been a great supporter of local sport, including horse racing.”
UPDATE: Denis Napthine says he is bowing out of parliamentary life with many happy memories, lifelong friends and, hopefully, a record that says he made a difference to the state.
The former Premier announced his resignation this morning, ending a 27-year parliamentary career that began with his election as the Member for Portland in 1999.
His full resignation speech appears below:
This week I will be advising the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of my resignation from the Victorian Parliament.
It has been an absolute honour and privilege to serve in the Victorian Parliament for 27 years as Member for Portland and South West Coast.
To live, work and represent this magnificent part of Victoria has been a great joy and I have loved representing this region each and every day.
I thank the people of south west Victoria for the trust they placed in me at every election.
I have enjoyed working with my local community, hearing their aspirations and concerns, building jobs and opportunities and improving local services and infrastructure.
It brings me to tears of joy when local people tell me that the emergency helicopter service, has saved a loved one’s life. The community and I fought for this service over a 10 year campaign.
For too long people in the south west have had to leave family and friends to seek cancer treatment. I am proud to have worked with our community to deliver a locally based comprehensive cancer centre, which is currently under construction. This will save lives.
I am proud to see record trade through the privatised Port of Portland, a bustling Portland marina, safer passing lanes on the Princes Highway and significantly improved hospitals, schools and services.
To the people of Victoria, I thank you for the opportunity and great honour of serving as a Minister in the Kennett and Baillieu Governments and the ultimate honour of being the 47th Premier of this great State.
The tragic fire at Kew Residential Services (KRS) marked my first day on the job as a Minister. I am proud of our work to relocate many residents of KRS, Pleasant Creek (Stawell), Janefield-Kingsbury and other institutions into the community.
In this initial Ministerial role I also started the drug, tobacco and alcohol free FReeZA program for our youth, strengthened Child Protection Services and introduced the innovative Futures for Young Adults program, which provided the funding model now being used for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). These initiatives have stood the test of time.
As Premier, I relished the opportunity to lead the State and build a better Victoria.
Among my proudest achievements was to sign Victoria up to the National Disability Insurance Scheme and, particularly, to gain the national headquarters for Geelong. The NDIS provides new and better opportunities for people with disabilities, their families and carers.
My government also successfully introduced the biggest change to the Victorian tax system in decades with the introduction of a fairer, more equitable property based Fire Services Levy – at a lower cost for most Victorian families and businesses.
We strengthened the Victorian budget and economy. It was a government that delivered record funding and improved services in health, education and community safety. It delivered strong jobs growth in challenging economic times.
I am also particularly proud of the work my government did to improve the punctuality and reliability of our transport system. Whilst doing this we reduced the cost of living pressures on families with Zone 2 fare changes and free trams in the CBD.
We saved thousands of jobs at SPC Ardmona and provided a platform for this major value adding food production company to grow and develop.
We boosted opportunities across regional and rural Victoria using the $1 billion Regional Growth Fund and with key decisions to decentralise jobs with the relocation of the WorkCover headquarters to Geelong and the proposed relocation of VicRoads head office to Ballarat.
I was proud to be in a government that made our families and communities safer by boosting police numbers, putting protective services officers on our stations, introducing tougher sentences and building the extra prisons our state needed.
We built the new Box Hill Hospital, commenced the Monash Children’s Hospital and redevelopment the Bendigo Hospital, which is transforming this great regional city. These projects were part of our record investment in hospital infrastructure across the State.
The $1.6 Billion Webb Dock development is the biggest investment in the history of the Port of Melbourne.
Our transport plan would have decongested Melbourne, boosted productivity, created thousands of jobs and allowed all Victorians to spend more time with their families instead of being stuck in traffic or waiting for public transport services.
I am pleased the Labor Government has adopted our plans to widen the Tullamarine Freeway and to upgrade the Cranbourne-Pakenham rail corridor.
I would urge them to similarly adopt our plans to build the Airport Rail Link – something Victorians want and need.
My government turned the Regional Rail Link from a mismanaged disaster into the national infrastructure project of the year.
In 2008 Sir Rod Eddington proposed building the East West Link. We were working to build this vital nation building project which was, and still is, needed for our growing city and State.
I thank those who have worked with me as local member, as a Minister and as Premier. I also thank the Liberal Party of Victoria and its staff for their support during my time in Parliament.
I particularly thank my parliamentary colleagues. While across the chamber there are differences in philosophies, in my experience, we all share a passion for Victorian families, communities and this great State.
I thank the custodians of our democracy, the fine Parliamentary staff who work tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of the Victorian Parliament.
Finally, to the people I owe the greatest debt – my family, Peggy, Jack, Edward and Tom - this journey would not have been possible without your steadfast support, encouragement and love. Every political journey has immeasurable highs and lows; you were there through all these times, and I thank you.
Matthew Guy and I share a birthday, a great friendship and a long history of working together. I wish Matthew and his team all the very best and I will be doing all I can to help them win the 2018 election.
I bow out of parliamentary life with many happy memories, with lifelong friends and, hopefully, a record that says I made a difference to this State; which I love so much and have been proud and honoured to serve.
UPDATE: State Opposition leader Matthew Guy has congratulated the man he replaced as Liberal leader on his service and contribution to Victoria.
Paying tribute this morning, Mr Guy described Dr Napthine as “a friend, colleague and mentor” and said it was an honour to serve in his Cabinet.
“In his time as Premier, Dr Napthine oversaw the rebuilding of Victoria’s economy which provided the foundation for an ambitious infrastructure program,” Mr Guy said.
“He was a Premier with a vision for a comprehensive, fully-funded transport infrastructure plan which is so missing today.
“History will record Denis Napthine as being on the right side of the debate on the need for the East West Link.
“Denis is a friend, a colleague and an inspirational politician.
“We share a birthday, a friendship and a strong belief in the Liberal Party as the best party to govern this great state.”
Mr Guy said he admired how proud Dr Napthine was of the south west of the state and his “lifelong connection” to that part of the state.
UPDATE: Bendigo Liberal Party branch president Greg Bickley has paid tribute to retiring MP Denis Napthine.
Mr Bickley, who stood as the party’s candidate in Bendigo East at the last election, said the former leader would be sorely missed by Liberals everywhere.
“He was a well respected of the Liberal Party and will no doubt remain so,” Mr Bickley said.
“He was a genuine man, who most people seemed to like.
“He wasn’t a polarising figure – not one of those politicians you either loved or hated – he always up for a chat with anyone.”
Mr Bickley said Dr Napthine had been a tremendous to support to him during his bid to wrest the seat of Bendigo East away from Labor.
“Obviously any election loss is disappointing, but particularly so as leader,” he said.
“The part certainly needs some revitalising – it will be sad Denis will not be apart of that and the parliamentary team going forward.
“He’ll certainly be missed.”
EARLIER: Former Premier Denis Napthine has called time on his 27 year parliamentary career.
The Liberal MP announced this morning he was quitting state politics, triggering a by-election in his South West Coast electorate.
Dr Napthine became Premier in early 2013 after the resignation of Ted Baillieu, but returned to the backbench after the Coalition's defeat at the November 2014 election.
He was previously the Opposition leader from October 1999 to August 2002, losing the leadership in a ballot to current Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle.
The outgoing South West Coast MP told Fairfax Media it had been an honour to represent his South West Coast electorate in State Parliament.
"Twenty-seven years as local member is a long time," Dr Napthine said.
"I've also had the honour of being the minister in two different governments (Kennett and Baillieu) and being Premier of the state.
"But first and foremost, my fundamental responsibility has been to listen to the local community, work with the local community and seek to improve services, opportunities, the economy."
Speaking after the Coalition's election defeat last year, Dr Napthine said he intended to serve out his full term in parliament.
He was one of few Coalition MPs to increase his majority at the election, winning 63 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.
Dr Napthine also served as the Coalition's Racing Minister during his time as Premier.