Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

As Tony Abbott has just said, he was capable of error. Sir Charles’s parliamentary career began in 1953 and extended to 1982. That is a long stretch. Sir Charles will be remembered for the key role he played in the development of the Western Australian mining industry, first as Minister for Industrial Development in the sixties and as Premier from 1974 to 1982.

Charles Court was a passionate advocate of Western Australia. He never shirked a fight with Canberra—it did not matter who ran Canberra, even when it included his Liberal Party counterpart Sir Robert Menzies. Sir Charles was always a great believer in the capacity and the economic potential of the Western Australian mining industry. He oversaw many years of rapid population growth and major economic development. As Premier he played a major role in the development of the Pilbara, gas exploration, development of the North West Shelf, the Kwinana industrial strip and the Ord River scheme. He also made a major contribution to the development of export markets, in particular in Japan. Charles Court brought great energy and commitment to his public life. He lived a long and distinguished life and his place in Australian history is truly assured. He is one of those giant figures in Australian politics, a person who decided never to come here but a person who shaped so much of what the nation is by his contribution in state politics—and the nation is, I believe, poorer for his passing.

Finally, with your indulgence, Mr Speaker, I wish to speak about Sir Edmund Hillary. Sir Edmund passed away on 11 January. He had a long life, one of remarkable achievements. Through his life he touched and inspired people around the world, first as a mountaineer but later as an environmentalist and as a great humanitarian. Sir Edmund began life working as a beekeeper—I didn’t know that—but his spirit of adventure and challenge led him to incredible feats. He was the first person, as we know from our primary school social studies books, together with Tenzing Norgay, to stand on the summit of Mount Everest, on 29 May 1953. To get to the summit back then took determination, dedication and, above all, human courage. We can see these same qualities in his life’s work.

Conquering Everest was just the first of many achievements. He was a writer and a man of great global environmental conscience. He was dedicated to helping also the people of Nepal. In the 1960s he founded the Himalayan Trust. The trust opened schools, hospitals and clinics for the people of Nepal. Later, in response to the threat of deforestation, he worked tirelessly to have the area around Everest declared a national park, enforced by legislation of the government of Nepal. The area is now listed as a World Heritage site.

On behalf of the Australian government and all members of this House, I extend my sympathy to Sir Edmund’s family, his loved ones and friends, and to the people of New Zealand. Sir Edmund Hillary, in so much of our thinking, equals New Zealand. He has been an enormously successful ambassador for our friends and allies across the Tasman, a great internationalist, a great humanitarian, and the world is poorer for his passing.

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