Tasmania's premier has paid tribute to former Liberal colleague and state minister Paul Harriss, who died at the weekend, describing him as a mentor. Mr Harriss, 68, served in the upper house as an independent from 1996-2014 and in the lower house from 2014-16 as a Liberal. Mr Harriss last year urged men to take regular screening tests after revealing he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Premier Jeremy Rockliff said Mr Harriss was a mentor and was kind and compassionate. "When I was elected in 2002, Paul had been a member of parliament for some years," Mr Rockliff told reporters on Monday. "He was almost like a father figure to me in terms of the parliament. "He was a fun colleague to work with. He had a wonderful sense of humour." Mr Harriss, who represented the southern electorate of Franklin in the lower house, was minister for resources before retiring from parliament in February 2016. Mr Rockliff said Mr Harriss helped pass "significant reforms" in relation to the forestry industry. His son Dean Harriss was elected to the upper house in May. "Paul Harriss was a friend to many thousands of Tasmanians. My thoughts are with Dean and of course the entire family," Mr Rockliff said. Mr Harriss was criticised by the Greens following his tenure as resources minister for "scapegoating" conservationists. Sign up for our emails