Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the opposition to speak on this motion of condolence on the passing of the Honourable Leslie Royston Johnson AM. The loss of Les Johnson is a sad one and I convey, at the outset, our thoughts for his family at this time. Of course, Mr Johnson was also part of the Labor family and there are many associated with our movement who feel his passing especially keenly.

Originally a fitter and turner and an engineer, Les Johnson served as a shop steward with the Amalgamated Engineering Union and became an organiser with the Federated Clerks Union and a councillor on the Sutherland Shire Council before being elected to the House of Representatives as the inaugural member for Hughes in 1955. He had also been a proprietor of a general store and worked for the Red Cross recruiting blood donors and establishing clubs for teenagers in the inner suburbs of Sydney—all of this before the age of 30! On his election he was the youngest member of the House of Representatives at that time and—as the acting leader of the government has noted—he was the last surviving member of the 'class of 1955' following the passing of former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser earlier this year.

The 1955 federal election was not a happy one for the Australian Labor Party, with the party losing a net 10 seats in the second election we contested with 'Doc' Evatt as leader. The swing against Labor was nearly five per cent and Johnson found himself in parliament at a time when the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, was at the height of his powers. With a government majority of 28 in the House of Representatives, it was a depressing time to be on the opposition benches. Further, it was a time when the split within Labor was taking its full effect. Not only did Les Johnson suffer the miserable years of opposition but also he further suffered the despair of defeat in the 1966 election, when the Labor primary vote fell to less than 40 per cent under Arthur Calwell and he lost his seat.

In an election dominated by the Vietnam War, which at that time was still widely supported amongst the Australian population, Johnson did not compromise his strong anti-war principles. As someone who had witnessed the British nuclear tests at Maralinga, in my home state of South Australia—without protective clothing—as well as having visited Vietnam during the early years of the conflict he was well-placed to offer a critique of the 'barrage of death and destruction' and 'dreadful carnage'—using his words—that he regarded the war to be.

Fortunately, he was re-elected in 1969 following a seven per cent swing towards Labor, under the leadership of Gough Whitlam who occupied the nearby seat of Werriwa in Sydney's south-west. Many of Whitlam's policies resonated not just with Johnson's electors but also with Johnson himself. He would go on to play a pivotal role in implementing Labor's nation-building agenda and its policies of reconciliation with our first Australians following the election of the Whitlam government in 1972. He served as Minister for Housing, Minister for Works, Minister for Housing and Construction and also as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. He worked alongside—and occasionally in conflict with—the Minister for Urban and Regional Development, another of our recently departed, the late Tom Uren.

Just as housing policy is a topical matter of discussion today, so too it was then. In his first speech, Johnson spoke of the difficulties that faced young couples looking to enter the housing market and, as minister, he pursued policies aimed at making 'dream homes' come true. In an article in early 1973 he spoke of beginning with the belief that the biggest social injustice in Australia is the economic barrier to housing. He wanted 'to get the right kind of people into the right kinds of houses in the right kind of environment at the lowest possible cost.'

As with housing, as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Leslie Johnson was fulfilling the interests and pursuits he had been engaged in earlier in his political career. He had been president of the Aboriginal Children's Advancement Society from 1963 to 1972, raising funds for Aboriginal peoples in the process, and would be present when Gough Whitlam poured sand into the hands of Vincent Lingiari in 1975. Sadly, of course, like so many other talented and committed individuals, his service was cut short following the dismissal of the Whitlam government.

Back in opposition, after that time, he served as Opposition Whip and following the election of the Hawke government, in 1983, was Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees before leaving parliament the following year. The Acting Leader of the Government in the Senate has referenced Les Johnson's interesting suggestions that the title of whip be replaced by boundary rider or jackaroo—in many ways proving that the Whitlam government ministers did not lose their reforming zeal after losing office.

Having been the youngest member of parliament, when he arrived in this place in 1955, he was the 'father of the House' when he left the parliament. His place as member for Hughes was taken by Robert Tickner, who would himself become Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, in the Hawke and Keating governments, and is now—in another link with Johnson—the chief executive of the Australian Red Cross.

Les Johnson continued to serve Australia, notably as High Commissioner to New Zealand from 1984 to 1987, and then as chair of the Australia New Zealand Foundation from 1989 to 1997. Labor mourns the passing of Les Johnson, a great contributor to our nation, and we again extend our sympathies to his wife, family and friends.