Not only did he cop the customary bi-partisan group hug from his new colleagues but the hometown boy packed out half of the upper house’s public gallery with dozens of family friends and colleagues.

All the love around the former Canberra Liberals’ leader proved a little too much for cynical observers used to the usual rough-and-tumble antics of the nation’s house of review.

Senator Seselja used his allotted 20 minutes to pay tribute to his wife and five children, tick a few political boxes, crack a gag or two and even managed a kind word for Labor counterpart Kate Lundy and vanquished pre-selection rival Gary Humphries.

The speech took in the new senator’s classically Canberra upbringing, including his stints at St Thomas the Apostle in Kambah, Padua Catholic High School in Wanniassa and St Peters Catholic College in Isabella Plains, the University of Canberra and the Australian National University.

Throw in a job with the public service and it does not get any more home town than that.

The man from Macarthur took his chance to throw down a few policy markers, the first one on gay marriage.

“I believe the institution of marriage between a man and a woman is a special one, deserving special recognition and protection,” he said.

“Many people who voted for the Liberal Party did so on the basis that this is our long held position.”

There was also a plea for the fate of his old colleagues in the federal bureaucracy.

“As the Coalition government goes through the difficult task of fixing the budget mess it has inherited, I urge my colleagues to treat public servants with respect, to give as much clarity and certainty as possible and to honour the promise to ensure reductions in public service numbers are achieved through natural attrition.”

Coalition leader in the Senate Eric Abetz would have been pleased to hear his new colleague’s thoughts on industrial relations.

“There is still far too much union intimidation of small, medium and even large builders,” Senator Seselja said.

“I commend the policy of re-establishing the Building and Construction Commission, and I would urge the minister to ensure that it is properly resourced and supported to bring back the rule of law to building sites.”

Those were some fighting words, maybe meant to show that normal Senate service wold soon be resumed.