He revealed part of that dynamic involved at times exasperating practical jokes.

“You learn to never leave your mobile phone lying around, because someone like Tim Bull or Russell Northe will pick it up and send a message to somebody on your behalf, and you might not find out until that person sends you a message back,” Mr Drum said.

“At best you get away with it being a little bit embarrassing; at worst it is totally inappropriate. But at least it keeps us all on our toes, and it is incredibly funny.”

He also recalled not being able to find his car at conferences as it had “gone for a walk” and having his clothes stolen and put in different rooms.

Another practical joke involved rerouting the parliamentarians’ phones so they would end up fielding calls from each others’ partners, and Mr Drum’s partner, Ros, also received a special mention.

“I remember we had a regional sitting in Bendigo, and I said to Ros, ‘we need to have the team at home’, so we did,” he said.

“I was thinking about it, doing this speech, and I was thinking it was just such a non-issue. We were always going to do it because that is what you do when your friends, associates and colleagues come onto your patch: you bring them round for food, wine and beers.”

Bendigo featured prominently in the speech, in which Mr Drum expressed his pride in his part in securing funding for the Ulumbarra Theatre and Bendigo Hospital project.

Mr Drum leaves the Victorian upper house to contest the seat of Murray in the July federal election, a prospect he described as both exciting and daunting.

“As we have seen in recent days, there are enormous challenges in that part of the state, with dairy issues and water issues heading the list of things that need to be fixed up,” he said.

Mr Drum also thanked the entire chamber of MPs for their friendship.

“To all of my Labor opponents, we are tremendously warm when we need to be, away from Parliament, so I thank you all,” he said.

One of those opponents, recently suspended Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings, paid his respects in return.

“Earlier in the day when I said that there may be a number of people who voted to kick me out of the Parliament who did not make eye contact, I noticed that you did, and I give you some credit for that, because over the course of our parliamentary careers I have watched and noticed your body language on a number of occasions, which is the mark of who you are,” he said.

Mr Jennings said Mr Drum should now take comfort from having earned the same number of premierships with the Fremantle Football Club as current coach Ross Lyon.