FORMER Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss is enjoying life after politics avoiding the verbal venom of parliament question time, while one-time Shadow Agriculture Minister John Cobb is loving life back on his farm clearing land for agricultural production.
Both former veteran Nationals MPs were honoured last night at the party’s traditional jug presentation ceremony, where the service records of past members are acknowledged post-election.
Mr Truss retired ahead of last year’s federal poll after serving in parliament since 1990 for the Queensland seat of Wide Bay.
Mr Cobb stepped down after 15 years - in the end representing the sparse NSW seat of Calare but the former NSWFarmers President was originally elected in Parkes but his constituency changed due to boundary redistributions.
Former Queensland Nationals MP Bruce Scott who also resigned before the last federal election was also honoured at the event held at Parliament House in Canberra but was unable to attend due to family commitments.
The former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives held the seat of Maranoa for 26 years and was Veterans Affairs Minister in the Howard government era.
Current Maranoa MP David Littleproud said Mr Scott had experienced a “dignified” political career and always “treated people with the dignity and respect they deserved; especially people in Maranoa”.
Mr Cobb was Shadow Agriculture Minister from 2008 to 2013 ahead of the Coalition claiming government from Labor after two terms in opposition and was praised by Nationals MP Mark Coulton for his behind the scenes policy work and setting the early tone for the government’s current agricultural achievements.
Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said Mr Cobb’s contribution to politics in the difficult agricultural role was “immense” and the former MP’s electorate was never under the threat of being lost, due to his “incredible following” with local voters.
Mr Joyce also praised Mr Truss’s record saying he’d been an “incredible” Agriculture Minister - a position he held from 1999 to 2005 in the Howard government - during difficult and challenging times like the Cormo Express incident.
In late 2003, the live exports shipping vessel was embroiled in an international controversy after a shipment of about 50,000 Australian sheep was left in limbo, and many died, after Saudi Arabia rejected it, forcing Mr Truss to spearhead urgent diplomatic negotiations to try and safeguard the animals.
Mr Joyce also praised his former leader’s infamous attention to detail in reading policy documents and other political briefing notes and documents, thoroughly, while providing extensive, considered feedback.
Mr Truss was the Nationals leaders from 2007 up to the time of Mr Joyce taking over in February last year.
Mr Truss said at the event, “I can't say I've missed the place” admitting he’d not watched parliament question time until it was disrupted by about 30 protesters who glued their hands onto railings in the public gallery, late last year.
The softly-spoken former Nationals leader also recalled the time former party member and House of Representatives Speaker Peter Slipper - who had his portrait unveiled at Parliament House yesterday as its 27th Speaker - ejected him from the chamber.
Mr Truss said the incident - in February 2012 - was the first time he’d ever been thrown out of question time and the second occasion was the next day, again by Mr Slipper, which sparked an exodus from the chamber of all Nationals MPs in protest at perceived bias towards their party leader.
Mr Slipper quit the LNP to turn independent during the Gillard/Rudd hung parliament and was promoted to Speaker prompting accusations of betrayal form his former party members.
The Nationals were unhappy at the treatment of Mr Truss who was ejected from the chamber by Mr Slipper, for interjecting when normally party leaders are afforded more latitude by the speaker.
“Peter Slipper is the only Speaker to throw me out but he did it twice in two days,” Mr Truss said last night.
Mr Truss said it had been a “great honour to be the leader of this party” and there had been some good times and bad times.
He said he’d never forget the Nationals party-room’s dark mood in 2007 when he took over as leader after the federal election when the number of members had been dramatically reduced, as Labor won government.
But it was “wonderful to see steady improvement over time” he said, with the party now holding sway in the current government with 16 MPs and five Senators.
“The country is a better place because of the contributions we've made,” he said.
But Mr Truss said he was also concerned about the current state of democracy due to an inability to govern with an outright majority and parliament being influenced by the votes of independents and minor parties where “only popular stuff gets through”.
However, he said “someone has to pay for it” and rather than just passing legislation to serve short-term political interests, the long-term national interest needed to be central to governing.
“We have to be prepared to do the tough things,” he said.
Mr Truss also held a range of other ministerial roles during his 26 year political career including Trade, Transport, Regional Development and Infrastructure.
Llew O'Brien who replaced Mr Truss at last year’s election said his predecessor had made “incredible changes” in Wide Bay in a parliamentary career that also spanned some tough policy challenges like dairy deregulation.
Mr O’Brien said Mr Truss was “one of the great men of Australian politics”.
In his jug acceptance speech, Mr Cobb said he was feeling “a lot more relaxed” post-politics, having now returned to his cattle farming career full-time, on properties in central-western NSW.
He said the best part about retiring was returning to the farm and “knocking down trees and clearing land”.
Mr Cobb said a time he’d been most proud of the Nationals during his political career was when nine members crossed the floor to oppose a vote on the wheat export industry’s deregulation, in 2008.
“We fought hard but we had to move on and we did move on,” he said.
Mr Cobb also praised the delivery of financial assistance by the Howard government - singling out former Nationals leader John Anderson for delivering more for country people “than anyone” - to farmers and rural communities in response to the millennium drought.
But he also described the NSW Coalition government’s decision to try and ban greyhound racing last year as the “craziest” he’d ever seen in politics.
He said the “biggest problem” was that the NSW Nationals didn’t “rebel” against the decision in the party-room but was pleased federal Nationals members had publicly criticised the ban early on - led by Riverina MP Michael McCormack - which led to a reversal.
Mr Cobb said that resistance “helped save the farm in the long run”.
“For the Nationals to side with the Greens and the extreme activists on animals was the craziest thing I've ever seen,” he said.
Mr Coulton said Mr Cobb was an “early voice of reason” through his front bench role on the Murray Darling Basin Plan and helped apply “common sense” at the outset of the planning process.
He said Mr Cobb had also done a lot of work behind the scenes assisting former Labor Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig to provide policy guidance that benefitted the farm sector, “instead of focussing on political point scoring”.
“A lot of people don't know that,” Mr Coulton said.
“Cobby’s contribution in the dark days of opposition set the stage for when we came to government.
“This party owes you a lot - 15 years in parliament is a big stint.”
Mr Coulton also praised Mr Cobb’s work on the single desk issue and help with delivering government assistance in the millennium drought.