Parliament paused on Monday as a mark of respect for the passing of former prime minister Malcolm Fraser. Politicians from both sides of the aisle remembered Malcolm the man, friend and humanitarian in a series of moving tributes.

Here's a selection of the best speeches from members on both sides:

Tony Abbott

"In a sense, today's proceedings are a farewell to this complex and driven man, to this forceful and effective leader, to this rare public personality who gained the support of all points on the political spectrum, but almost never at the same time. But, Madam Speaker, we Liberals owe him more than that. Our challenge is not to say goodbye, it's to be more magnanimous in his death than we were in his life and to acknowledge this giant who is surely one of us."

Bill Shorten

"For some, Malcolm Fraser was a hero who became a villain. For others, he was a villain who became a hero. But neither of these simple sketches are fair, and in time history's judgment will be kinder than either. The good that Malcolm Fraser did will live after him to his great enduring credit."

Julie Bishop

"He was driven by strong principles and deeply held values. To paraphrase one of his global contemporaries, Malcolm was not one for turning once he had set his mind upon a course of action. I found Malcolm Fraser, as I suspect many Australians did, to be an enigmatic and complex political figure. Malcolm Fraser was not afraid of controversy, particularly when his moral compass had established a point of principle in his mind."

Tanya Plibersek

"His great opponent and later sometime ally, Gough Whitlam, didn't wish that his achievements in the prime ministership be overshadowed by the way he left office. Nor did Malcolm Fraser wish his prime ministership to be defined solely by the manner in which he achieved it. History will forever record the controversy of the dismissal but so too it will record Malcolm Fraser's enduring contributions to our national life."

Warren Truss

"He was part of a generation of Australian politicians who recognised the need for constructive change right across the national agenda. He understood Australia is a great nation and it could be made better. Indeed, in his opposition to apartheid in the 1960s, Malcolm was well ahead of most Australians. He showed early on that he had a mind and great convictions of his own which weren't always shared by those who supported him."

Chris Bowen

"I remember early in my time as minister for immigration sitting in my office and we had a young receptionist in the ministerial office not long out of school and she came into my office one day and said there is a man called Malcolm Fraser on the phone and he wonders if you might take his call. I said of course I will take his call. He was lobbying on behalf of an individual refugee. I gently asked her later whether she knew who Malcolm Fraser was. I thought by her tone that she might not have realised that she had spoken to a former PM and she said she did know who Malcolm Fraser was but she was surprised that a man as humble and polite as that could really have been a former PM on the phone talking to her."

Christopher Pyne

"When I was a newly elected member of this house some 22 years ago, Malcolm Fraser gave me the best political advice I have ever received. He said when a constituent is in contact with you as a local member of Parliament, when they have gone to the trouble of being in touch, it is because the matter they raise is for them at that time the most important thing of all. For you as a member of Parliament it may be one of very many things with which you need to be concerned but for them it is upper most and so it is essential to respond as quickly and as well as you can to their issue."

Tony Burke

"I will not forget my first opportunity to meet Malcolm Fraser in an airport lounge, where, with humility that you wouldn't expect from a former PM, he introduced himself to me and then asked at what point there was going to be a new political party formed with particular people from the Labor Party and particular people from the Coalition. I think in the years that have intervened, almost every one of us has been accepted and expelled from that party in Malcolm's mind over the years."

Joe Hockey

"I, like many others here, had many interactions over the years with Malcolm Fraser. He would occasionally ring to offer advice on numerous occasions, he would give criticism publicly and privately. The hardest thing about being in the Liberal Party is that some of our toughest critics are our own. Robert Menzies was no different. Malcolm Fraser was no different. It is because we expect so much of ourselves. The modern left is trying to own Malcolm Fraser but nobody owned Malcolm Fraser. He was his own man. He was a genuine Liberal. He was of the Liberal Party and for ever, no matter what happened in later years, he will remain a part of the Liberal Party."

Anthony Albanese

"I will never agree with the outcome of the events of November 1975. At the time, like Joe Hockey, as a young student but a young true believer I saw this intervention as undemocratic and, like many in the great Labor family, had a personal view of Malcolm Fraser that wasn't complimentary. I remain of the view that the events of that day were wrong but the passage of time has allowed me to see Malcolm Fraser's life in a very different context. It is clear to me he was a man of intense principle. Malcolm always stuck to his principles, no matter the often fierce criticism that he received."

Malcolm Turnbull

"He focused on the future but he did so in a thoroughly positive way and in that respect gave all of us an example that we should, at every stage, like Fraser and like Whitlam, drive the negativity and hatred and bitterness out of ourselves and fill it with love because that makes us stronger and makes our nation stronger. Farewell Malcolm Fraser, the nation has lost one of its greats. We salute you, we pray for your family, they are in our prayers and we know that your role in Australian history will be forever recognised as one of the greatest, one of the architects of the extraordinary nation all of us are so honoured to represent in this chamber."

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