Mr Harriss, 68, served in the upper house as an independent from 1996-2014, and in the lower house from 2014-16 as Minister of Resources in Will Hodgman's Liberal government.

"Paul Harriss was a friend to many thousands of Tasmanians, particularly in the electorate of Huon, and was a great friend and colleague of mine for many years," Mr Rockliff said.

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"I always looked upon Paul as a bit of a mentor, and ... when I was elected to parliament in 2002, Paul had been a member for some years prior to that, and he was almost like a father figure to me."

"Paul put through the parliament significant reforms in terms of building our forestry industry across Tasmania, but most notably, Paul's legacy will be as the member of parliament who worked with his constituents in a very kind, compassionate and in a very thorough way."

Among Mr Harriss' final public acts was his collaboration last year with Cancer Council Tasmania, urging all men to take regular prostate-specific antigen tests - the main tool used to screen for prostate cancer.

"Talk to your GP - and have the blood test. It's once a year - a little needle. Don't be complacent - don't be ignorant - just do it," he said at the time.

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About 550 Tasmanian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer annually, according to the Cancer Council.

Mr Harriss began taking PSA tests regularly after 2001, when a close mate died to the illness.

His regular test in April 2019 recorded a "blip", he said, and his doctor advised getting another test three months later.

"But when it came time, it was July in the middle of winter and I just never got around to dropping into pathology in Kingston. I had no symptoms and no pain".

Mr Harriss eventually went to be tested next in December 2020, more than twenty months on from the initial screening.

"The scans showed that the prostate cancer had metastasized into my bones - pelvis, ribs and spine - but not into any organs."

Acting Labor Leader, Anita Dow said Mr Harriss was often on the "opposite side of political stoushes" with her party.

"We always knew where he stood on the big issues and he argued his points with passion and resolve," Ms Dow said.

Describing him as "fiercely pro-industry and the Huon Valley," she said Mr Harriss was a "formidable political force for 20 years."

Mr Rockliff said Mr Harriss' continual re-election throughout his two decades of service was a "testament" to his value to constituents.

"If you are not a grassroots member of Parliament, where you are willing to engage every single day with people ... then you don't get reelected. Paul consistently got reelected."

Mr Harriss is survived by four children and 11 grandchildren, aged 4 to 19.

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