The Hon Warren Truss MP has been a steady and effective minister in the Howard government, a universally respected leader of the National Party for almost a decade and an outstanding Minister for Infrastructure in the Abbott government.
Thanks to Warren Truss, Sydney’s second airport is finally underway; Sydney’s Westconnex is finally being built; the Bruce Highway is having its largest ever upgrade; the North-South Road in Adelaide is finally being upgraded to expressway standard; and Perth’s road system is being transformed.
But for the obstinacy of the Victorian government, Melbourne would be getting the East-West link too.
I could not have asked for a more loyal colleague or firmer friend than the deputy prime minister.
Apart from transforming our transport infrastructure, his legacy is a decade of Coalition harmony and the steady growth of the National Party under his leadership.
The Hon Andrew Robb AO has been a successful federal director of the Liberal Party, an effective front bencher in opposition and Australia’s best ever trade minister in government.
Following the victory of the Howard Government in 1996, Andrew was successful in private business before winning the seat of Goldstein at the 2004 election.
After the 2013 election, I gave him a year to finalise the Korea, Japan and China free trade deals that had been languishing for almost a decade.
He secured the highest quality FTAs that Korea and Japan have ever entered into and the first FTA that China has entered into with a large economy.
These FTAs will set up our economy for decades to come.
Both Warren Truss and Andrew Robb can be immensely proud of their contribution to public life.
Our country is much the better for their work.