“I have said on a number of occasions that I would never leave this place until God tells me to,” Fred Nile told the New South Wales parliament at the beginning of his valedictory speech. “That would appear as though it has now occurred.”
As Nile, the “father” of the Upper House pointed out by the time his term officially ends, he will have served the parliament for 42 years. “It has been my cross, my public ministry and my absolute privilege to be here for so long.”
He pays tribute to his family, but then to his Saviour. “I have lived my life to be faithful to God’s plan. Jesus Christ is my shepherd and saviour. My time spent here has come at a considerable personal cost. I did not spend as much time as I would have liked to with my family. That is one of my greatest regrets. But I will make up for it now.”
He had an interesting list of successes, especially First Nations issues
“I supported the Aboriginal Land Rights Act in 1983 and as a result, I received death threats, slurs against my faith and general insults against my character. Similarly, when I recently supported an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, racist activists were angered and threatened me. I hope that my Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (Culture is Identity) Bill has started the legislative conversation for meaningful community‑led protections for Aboriginal cultural heritage in New South Wales. The bill is well on its way to being passed. I hope that it will be passed very shortly.”
Other Nile causes included
- Banning smoking in public spaces, but his push to ban smoking in cars with a child present was later up by Labor.
- Zoe’s Law, making killing a foetus In an assault punishable was taken up by the Coalition after ten years of campaigning by Nile.
- Nile did not include his latest achievement, forcing the NSW Government to back down on making it easier for landowners to clear Koala habitat.
Nile thanks a long list of staffers but when it came to officials who served in his Christian Democratic Party he mentioned only one, Greg Bondar a long-time activist in conservative politics.
He finished by urging a vote for his wife Silvana at the next election. “I hope, with God’s help, that she will be elected. I have no doubt that her passion, empathy and godliness will see her continue my work in this State and in this place. I thank Silvana for all the care and love that she has shown to me over many years. Serving the Lord in this place has been a great privilege but a heavy cross to bear. I say farewell to this Chamber, where I have spent nearly half my life. I have loved every second of it.”
Reflecting on Nile’s departure Greg Bondar noted “The 2023 state elections will not, for the first time in 42 years, have a ‘Christian’ political party contesting any seats in either the lower or upper of NSW parliament,”
Of Nile he added “It would be remiss of me to not finish with a verse from Matthew 25:21 ‘…Well done, good and faithful servant”.