John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death on 13 October 2013, of the Honourable David Scott Thomson, MC, a former minister and member of the House of Representatives for the division of Leichhardt, Queensland, from 1975 to 1983.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its deep regret at the death on 13 October 2013 of the Honourable David Scott Thomson MC, former Minister and Member for Leichhardt, places on record its appreciation of his meritorious public service and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

Today we pay tribute to a true Australian hero. As the newly elected member for Leichhardt, David Thomson was one of those disparagingly described by the then Labor leader, Mr Gough Whitlam, as a 'oncer', one of those members elected to parliament for the coalition in the 1975 double dissolution landslide election. Leichhardt in North Queensland was a seat the ALP had held for nearly 25 years. The former Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam, had no understanding of the new member's tenacity and courage.

Mr Whitlam believed that Mr David Thomson would last only one term, but he held his seat—the most marginal in the country—in the 1977 election and again in 1980 before finally losing it with a change of government in 1983. During this time he rose to become Minister for Science and the Environment in 1979 and Minister for Science and Technology in 1980.

David Thomson was born on 21 November 1924 in Sale, Victoria, and grew up on his family's farm at Clydebank. He was educated at Melbourne Scotch College. His ancestor Robert Thomson was elected as a member of Victoria's first legislative council in 1856 and served until 1863. He attended the Royal Military College Duntroon and in 1943 was commissioned to serve in World War II. When David Thomson resigned his commission in 1972, he was a brigadier and had served in the south-west Pacific, Japan, Korea and Malaysia and, finally, as army commander of North Queensland.

Mr Thomson was a true war hero. As a young officer of the 2/16th Australian infantry battalion, he took part in the amphibious landings in Borneo in 1945 and was shot by the Japanese defenders. He was wounded again in the Korean War. He was awarded the Military Cross while serving as a company major of the 1st Royal Australian Regiment in the Korean War in 1952 for leading a successful raid on Hill 227 in Operation Blaze. There had been two unsuccessful raids on it, and he proposed a daytime attack because the Chinese would not expect it. According to his widow, he insisted that the bagpipe player accompany them on the raid and that he keep playing throughout it. He thought that the Chinese would think, 'Listen to the Australians playing their stupid music.' More seriously, Senator Scullion will be in his contribution detailing the citation for his Military Cross.

After commanding a battalion during the Indonesian Konfrontasi in 1966, David Thomson reluctantly retired in 1972 for family reasons. From 1972 to 1975, David and his family bought a motel at Palm Cove, just north of Cairns, and developed it as a popular tourist resort where visitors were treated as personal guests. The Brigadier's Bar stands there in his honour. Gough Whitlam wrote his 1974 election policy speech at Thomson's Reef House Motel and was going to hold his now-infamous 1975 meeting with Indonesia's President Suharto there until David informed Mr Whitlam that he had been chosen as a candidate for the then Country Party.

David's life was the Army, and in his maiden speech he made special reference to defence:

Everywhere I go throughout my electorate people express concern about our inadequate defences.

…   …   …

It is my firm conviction that the first duty of any government is the security of the nation, a duty dangerously neglected by the previous Government.

As a backbencher he spoke about the problems faced by his Indigenous constituents. His support for autonomy for the Mornington Island and Aurukun Aboriginal communities against the stance of the Queensland Nationals state government received strong support in usually very strong pro-Labor booths. While in parliament David served on the Standing Committee for Aboriginal Affairs and the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs and Defence. As minister he was concerned with the welfare of the Great Barrier Reef and its protection from drilling. He also campaigned for greater industry involvement in innovation in products and processes.

Throughout his life David exhibited the qualities of courage and loyalty: courage as a soldier, as a campaigner in his marginal seat and courage in dealing with health issues. He was also known as a complete gentleman and for his loyalty to his Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser. In all his endeavours he was ably supported by his wife, Judy, who has been variously described as 'vivacious', 'charming' and 'extremely capable'. The Nationals leader in the Senate, Senator Scullion, will appropriately amplify these brief remarks.

On behalf of the government I offer condolences to Mr Thomson's family: to his amazing wife, Judy; to his sons, Campbell, Andrew and Alistair; and to his grandchildren. May he rest in peace after a full life of service to our nation.

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise also to support the motion of condolence. David Thomson grew up on a property outside Sale, and we have heard already that the date of his birth was during the Great Depression. I think most of his friends would reflect on his toughness. In almost any circumstance, he just did not seem to waiver from the course that he had chosen. Many people reflect that it was pretty tough during the Depression. His mum died when he was seven years old. His father returned from the Great War after serving with the Australian Light Horse. Sadly, he was affected by a debilitating illness. So, growing up basically without a mum and a father who was very limited in his capacity to assist his son, he grew up to be a pretty tough young bloke.

But he did get a break. His grandmother left him 100 pounds, and in those days that was like a small fortune. It was certainly enough to take him on his chosen road of getting an education. So he entered Scotch College in Melbourne. When he graduated from Scotch College, he decided that the military was his calling. He graduated from Duntroon in 1943.

I was reflecting on a number of quotes in the media earlier today. Quite clearly, this was a man who men would follow. He was already picked out in Duntroon as somebody who was going to make a real impact in his military career. Less than two years after stepping out of Duntroon in 1945, he was part of a force that embarked to take the beach at Balikpapan. Any people who are interested in history would know that this was a very, very nasty part of the world to be in and very heavily defended. He was shot as part of the advance, stayed on and continued to lead his troops through that particular period of time in Borneo.

His courage and leadership were already noted. It was unsurprising to many that in 1952 he was awarded the Military Cross while he was serving as a company major of the 1st Royal Australian Regiment in the Korean War. It has already been mentioned that this particular military event took place on a hill, sadly, with simply just a number—Hill 227—as many were named in that part of the world. It was nothing more romantic than that. But a lot of people lost their lives on that hill. This event was the third attempt. The convention was to take these places at night. There was not a great deal of cover, and these were the days when if you could not see someone it was pretty hard to shoot them. Nowadays of course we have far greater technology. So the conventional method of warfare was to go in at night. Normally, you would just count up your numbers and hope for the best. But in a very daring change he decided that this would be something that would take place during the day. As a distraction, he asked a band to play the pipes. It was quite a distraction, because on the day he was able to take Hill 227 and, despite being injured himself, was able to hold the day. He continued his military career by commanding a battalion during the 1966 Indonesian confrontation. After his very notable service there, he retired in 1972.

I would like to offer David Thomson's family and loved ones my heartfelt condolences. As a former member for Leichhardt, I would particularly like to note his contribution to the lives of Aboriginal and Islander people in his electorate. Senator Abetz has already mentioned the work he did around Mornington Island. I do not think that is so surprising, but, if you think about the times, he was a conservative individual and a member of the National Party. I think he went, particularly in those times, out of his way to simply represent the interests, the views and the values of all his constituents. It takes courage and bravery to do the things that are not easy, and I just cannot imagine how tough it would have been for David Thomson in that particular regard.

People should not have been surprised. He highlighted in his maiden speech on 24 February 1975 that at that time there were probably more than 20,000 Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders living in Leichhardt, which is about 16 per cent of the population. That is very high and is second only to one of our electorates in the Northern Territory. Unfortunately, after all this time, many of the issues that we knew about and were relevant then continue to be pertinent now. In his maiden speech he gave expression to the view that policies needed to encourage independence and empowerment of Indigenous people in all the decisions they make. Even today it has only been in recent history that we have understood that if particularly Aboriginal and Islander communities do not have some ownership in the process to deal with a decision that affects them then we are much less likely to get the outcome that we are all requiring. Back in 1975, Mr Thomson was articulating what we know now to be an absolute fundamental about moving forward in these areas.

He was very passionate about Indigenous people being consulted in matters that concern them. So rather than leave it to others, it was in fact David who used to sit down amongst the Aboriginal and Islander people in his electorate and around those areas and ensure that he spent time with them. Rather than allowing others and the department to consult, he made sure that he was a part of those communities and could genuinely reflect on the views of those communities. I think, while some things have not changed, there is much in the lives of Aboriginal and Islander people that has improved. I would like to honour the special contribution that Mr Thomson made in his role as the member for Leichhardt and to the National Party.

I think it is also useful to remind this place that it was because of his determination that the north of Australia and our Aboriginal and Islander people would not remain out of sight and out of mind and that moving forward would have to be in partnership with our first people as we shaped the future of that rich part of the world. He was a courageous and committed member and he had a true Australian entrepreneurial spirit. In his time as a minister he showed that he was happy to take on the big issues, as he was with Aboriginal and Islander issues, and particularly when it perhaps would not have been the most popular thing to do.

As a minister he was always concerned about the welfare of the Great Barrier Reef. He was one of the first at that time who said there should be no drilling on the Great Barrier Reef. He was the one who said, 'They will drill the Great Barrier Reef over my body'—

Senator Boswell interjecting—

A National Party person indeed, Senator Boswell. I am not so sure how far our opponents would say we have proceeded ahead on that matter, but he was certainly well in front of his time. Of course, when you are ahead on these issues and you are reflecting the values and the aspirations of your community, you get the support of that community. That is why he was so popular in his seat of Leichhardt. He also had a number of people in Leichhardt who were very keen to ensure that the ban on kangaroos was lifted. It was a very important issue for Australia then, particularly for people in the bush and for people who relied on culling kangaroos and selling them. He was a great advocate and he was definitely a part of the US decision to allow the import of kangaroo products into the United States and the lifting of a ban on native fauna.

While David was in parliament he served nobly on the standing committee for Aboriginal Affairs and on the joint committee for foreign affairs and defence. On behalf of the government, I offer condolences to his family. Vale, David Thomson.

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

I rise to speak on behalf of the opposition on the condolence motion moved by Senator Abetz. David Scott Thomson MC's career was defined by service to his country, first as a military officer and then as a member of parliament, and today we honour his life.

Mr Thomson's challenging childhood, growing up outside Sale in Victoria during the Depression, gave him an appreciation of the importance of education and of hard work. As has been described, David Thomson had an exemplary military career which began at Duntroon, and he then went on to enter the parliament in later years. He graduated from Duntroon in 1943 and went on to serve during the Second World War in the south-west Pacific. In relation to the landings in Balikpapan in Borneo, Senator Scullion said that those who observe military history would be aware of it; I was aware of it because my family at that time was in Sandakan on the other side of the border, in the Malaysian part of Borneo as opposed to the Indonesian part of Borneo. Balikpapan is one of those conflicts which is known not only to Australians but also to people who know their history of the war for the people of Borneo, both Malaysian and Indonesian.

As has been described, he went on to serve in the Korean War, where he earned the Military Cross for the successful raid on Hill 227 against the Chinese. I will not reprise the extraordinary story of the playing of the bagpipes during the third and successful attack on Hill 227 except to say that it is a reminder that the unexpected is often a good tactic—something I am sure that people in this place would recall. Mr Thomson went on to command a battalion during the Indonesian Confrontation in 1966, and he reluctantly retired after over 30 years in the military. He moved to Palm Cove in North Queensland and, as Senator Abetz has said, he stood in the 1975 election as the National Country Party candidate for Leichhardt. In his first speech he outlined his priorities when he said:

I will be a clear, firm voice in this House so that the far north and Leichhardt, although far out of sight, will not be out of mind. I urge all honourable members to go north and to see for themselves the problems imposed by the tyranny of distance and to see also the vast potential of the area.

In many respects, Mr Thomson was an unusual conservative, or an unusual member of the National Country Party. He was a minister for science—first Minister for Science and the Environment and then Minister for Science and Technology. When he was minister for the environment, as has been remarked upon, he stated that there would be no oil-drilling on the Great Barrier Reef—which again was unusual—and recognised the threat of the crown-of-thorns starfish. He was also in the sometimes challenging position of being a North Queenslander who supported regional development but nevertheless managed to hold a position and balance those concerns.

He was also a strong advocate within the Fraser government for the modernisation of Australia's industrial base through supporting high technology industries. But perhaps most notable was his continued advocacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, demonstrating the capacity of true representation of his community in being able to overcome what might otherwise be stereotypical images of people's political positions.

In 1983 his seat fell upon the election of the Hawke Labor government. The passing of David Scott Thomson has seen the loss of someone who has been described as a true gentleman, someone who spent his entire life dedicated to the service of our nation, whether in the military or in the parliament. On behalf of the opposition, I extend our sincere condolences to his family.

Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

(   Today I rise to join in the condolence motion moved by Senator Abetz. 1983, when I came into this parliament, was the time when David Thomson left the parliament. I knew him personally for many, many years. I knew him as a man who was not only a war hero but a person who came into the National Party and in those days people were mainly farmers who represented the National Party in this house. But he was not a farmer. He was a military hero, a Military Cross recipient and a person who went up to the North and the North became part of him and he became part of the North. And he loved it.

He had a particular affinity with Aboriginal people because he was a warrior and they looked up to warriors. He was a great warrior. I remember the talk going around the National Party: 'David gets on well with the Aborigines. He goes out camping with them and goes into the bush with them. They show him things and show him the sites and they respond to him.' People who know the Torres Strait know that around the villages there are big trees and some seats around there. They are known as trees of knowledge. He used to go out there, sit down and they would come and talk to him. He was a great advocate for the Aboriginal community.

I can remember in the management committee that often he and Joh Bjelke-Petersen did not share similar views, particularly on the Great Barrier Reef and putting World Heritage listing upon it. But he fought for the cause and he never took a backward step. It certainly made the management committee very entertaining when David and Joh set to and presented their different views.

I remember a couple of years ago that he was very active in McEwen House, the headquarters of the National Party in Canberra. He was president of McEwen House. We pulled down the old house and built a new one. He raised the money for that. He never forgot that he was a member of the National Party and he never forgot that he came from the North. He was a great advocate for the North and a great advocate for the Aboriginal people.

I referred to the Torres Strait Islands. They are very, very remote. In those days the only way you could get around the islands was by the big cruiser, the cargo carrier that the Queensland government had called the Melbidirand a few people met their Waterloo on the Melbidir! They are so remote and I can recall going up there in 1983. There was one telephone on one island. But David got telephones there in those days. People could not even ring up TI. There was nothing there. I do not know how you got a message across. I suppose it was by radio. But I can recall every island getting a telephone.

I can recall going up there and I acknowledge that David was held in high respect on the islands and in the community. He was a warrior, he was a fighter, he was a leader and he was a great representative of the National Party and, when he finished parliament, he still put in for the National Party through the management committee of the National Party and through the director of McEwen House. Only a couple of years ago he resigned that position. He had always been around the National Party and always at federal meetings. He retired to the south coast of New South Wales with his wife, Judy.

He led a great life, a life that many people would see as just exemplary. Whatever he did, he did successfully. I say to the family who are left, Judith and her grandkids, that you should be proud of him—proud of everything that he ever did because, to everything he ever did, he gave a 100 per cent and was successful.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to briefly associate myself with the comments and commendations that have been made today of the late David Scott Thomson. I had the pleasure of meeting David only a couple of times. I did not know him particularly well, but I knew him very well by reputation in the North. He was much loved, much respected in the Cairns and Far North Queensland community, in Cape York and in the Torres Strait Islands. As someone who regularly uses the Cairns Airport, I give David Thomson credit for the first lot of work that was done that really started the boom times in Cairns in the mid-1980s. It was during David Thomson's time, as the member for Leichhardt, that the upgrade of the Cairns Airport was commenced and Mr Thomson succeeded in having the government of Malcolm Fraser provide funding to the then Cairns Harbour Board, which then owned the airport.

Mr President, as you may recall, the upgrading of the Cairns Airport in that period of time was really the forerunner to the great boom period that Cairns experienced in the late eighties and early 1990s. Regrettably, more recent upgrades to the Cairns Airport have not, in my view, been quite as successful as those earlier ones but certainly Mr Thomson is well remembered for the boost that he gave to tourism and to the economy in Cairns.

As my colleagues have said, he was also well regarded in the cape and in the Torres Strait. As Senator Boswell mentioned, he worked with the then Minister for Post and Telecommunications in getting the first public telephones installed on the outer islands in the Torres Strait. I understand he took the then Minister for Post and Telecommunications, Eric Robinson, up into the Torres Strait. He was also responsible for taking Malcolm Fraser to visit Burketown, up in the gulf, for their Never Never Get Together function, and that was the very first time a Prime Minister had ever visited the small gulf community of Burketown. He encouraged the federal government to provide funding for the AUSSAT domestic satellite, which ultimately facilitated the broadcast of TV for the first time to remote Australia. He was, as others have said, a real gentleman and, as I say, much loved.

David Thomson's distinguished military career has been well commented upon, and I will not repeat that. He was, though, a soldier and was in the parliament, curiously, at the same time as the late RN 'Duke' Bonnett, who was the Liberal member for the Townsville based seat of Herbert. I remember, as a much younger person in those days, in North Queensland how proud we were of both the political influence of David Thomson and Duke Bonnett and, particularly, their very distinguished service records. I am sure that they would have had many a conversation about military campaigns in their joint time in the federal parliament.

My colleague Warren Entsch fondly recalls many times when David Thomson, in more recent years, would pop in and see him and give him some very helpful advice, which Warren was always very pleased to receive. David Thomson was well regarded in non-Labor circles as being the person to win the seat of Leichhardt back from the Labor Party after 24 long years of Labor rule in that Far North Queensland electorate. He is well remembered in political circles for that. He was a very distinguished Australian, a very distinguished soldier and a very distinguished parliamentarian. I extend to David Thomson's family my sincere condolences on his passing.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask honourable senators to stand in silence to signify their assent to the motion.

Question agreed to, honourable senators standing in their places.