George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its deep regret at the death, on 26 May 2015, of the Honourable Leslie Royston Johnson, AM, former minister and Member for Hughes, places on record its appreciation of his long and highly distinguished service to the nation and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

The Honourable Les Johnson was born in Sydney on 22 November 1924. He was educated at Belmore and Sydney Technical College, and in 1939, at the age of 14, he was apprenticed as a fitter and turner, going out to work at such a young age to help the family finances in the grips of the Great Depression. He also studied business administration at night school and became an organiser for the Federated Clerks Union in 1945. He then worked for the Red Cross, recruiting blood donors and setting up clubs for teenagers in inner Sydney. In 1948 he married Peggy and they had three children. In 1954, Les Johnson became proprietor of the local general store and newsagency and experienced firsthand the challenges of small business. In 1953, he was elected to the Sutherland Shire Council and he held office until 1956. Then, in 1955 he was the successful Labor Party candidate for the newly created federal electorate of Hughes. Thus began a parliamentary career that would span almost three decades.

He was re-elected at the three subsequent elections and then defeated in a close contest in 1966 by Don Dobie. However, he successfully recontested Hughes in 1969 and retained the seat until his retirement from the House of Representatives in 1984. Les Johnson was appointed to the ministry in 1972 upon the election of the Whitlam government and given the portfolio of Housing. He subsequently held the portfolios of Works, Housing and Construction, and Aboriginal Affairs. As one of the ministers in the Whitlam government, Les Johnson therefore partook in one of the most dramatic chapters in Australian political history. With his passing, there remain only five of the 27 men sworn in as members of the Whitlam government on 19 December 1972.

Mr Johnson had a lifelong and strong interest in Indigenous affairs. He was President of the Aboriginal Children's Advancement Society from 1963 to 1972, parliamentary representative on the council of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies from 1976 to 1977, and he helped establish and operate the Kirinari hostels, which provided accommodation for Aboriginal boys attending high school. He was Opposition Whip from 1977 to 1983. When he was Opposition Whip he suggested that the term 'whip'—which, of course, has an English origin—should be replaced with a more Australian title. His proffered suggestions of 'boundary rider' and 'jackaroo' were not taken up.

On the election of the Hawke government, in 1983, Les Johnson chose not to stand for the caucus elections to the ministry. He was instead elected by the House as the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees and served in that office with distinction throughout the first term of the Hawke government. In the 1984 election he retired from the House and was appointed the Australian high commissioner in Wellington. Sadly, his time in New Zealand was cut short by family illness and he and his wife chose to return to Australia in 1987. He became chairman of the Australia New Zealand Foundation in 1989 and held that post for eight years. In 1990 he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for parliamentary and public service and, in particular, for service to the Aboriginal community, and he was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001.

With the death of Malcolm Fraser, earlier this year, Les Johnson was the last of those elected to the House of Representatives in 1955 to have survived. The Honourable Les Johnson's career was one dedicated to community and public service. Sadly, his daughter Sally died shortly after the family's return from New Zealand and his wife of many years, Peggy, herself died in 2002. Les remarried, to Marion, and so to her, his surviving children, Grant and Jenny, and their families, on behalf with the government, I offer our most sincere sympathies today.