Former senator Brian Harradine has died after a long illness.
He served in the Australian Parliament in Canberra as an independent senator for Tasmania between 1975 and 2005.
He was the longest serving independent senator in Australia’s history. A long-standing ‘Father of the Senate,’ he made a strong and effective contribution to both the parliamentary chamber in which he served and to the state that elected him on six consecutive occasions.
Ever the staunch advocate for Tasmania, Brian Harradine always sought to get the best possible deal for his state.
His faith and his family played an integral part in his life.
Brian Harradine was proud of his family, proud of his state and proud of the Parliament that he served.
My thoughts are with his wife, Marian, and their children and grandchildren.
14 April 2014