Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise with great pride to make a contribution today on the condolence motion before the chamber on David Jull—'Jully', as we knew him so affectionately. My very first association with Jully was when I was a boarder at the Church of England Grammar School—'Churchie' as we knew it. He too was a boarder at Churchie. After school—

Mr Vasta interjecting—

Yes, my colleagues here were not in the school but are all proud of our great colleague and friend David Jull.

Mr Vasta interjecting—

Yes, I know. I noticed that. Villanova were not much good on the football field! Anyway, we will not go there in this condolence motion, but if Jully were here then he would probably give us a bit more history of that as well—when we defeated Villanova on the football field, and other sporting events—because he had a great memory and a great recall of events and history throughout his life.

I must say my association with him began when I first was a boarder there at Churchie and he was too—those weekends on the football field or when, as boarders, you were running around. Jully was always one of those guys that had a sense of humour. It was even shining through in those very early days in his life. So I recall that with great affection. We were in different houses and that always caused a bit of rivalry when you were a boarder at school, but he was loved and liked by so many of our associates at school. He maintained a very long association with the school and I think that up until his last days he never lost contact with the network and the old boys association and the school generally. He was very proud, I think, of Churchie. The students who went through it had an enduring association with many of the old boys, the associations and the principals of the school, and I know he was a regular attendant at many of the functions at the school.

Our paths really did not cross again until I was aware of his election in 1975 to this place. I took a little bit of an interest—obviously my own interests were my own family and my own businesses in Western Queensland—but our paths did not really cross until I came to this place in the school of 1990. I do recall, though, with David—and it has been spoken of here in this condolence motion—his interest in and absolute passion for the tourism industry and the aviation industry. He had an enormous knowledge of the aviation industry, not just here in Australia but around the world. I well remember that he was the opposition spokesman at the time of the pilot strike here in Australia when, if you wanted to fly somewhere, you were being flown in a Hercules that had been leased by the then government—the Hawke government—to keep aviation transport moving because of the difficult times that the government of the day were going through in relation to the strike. That seemed to go on forever. David Jull was the opposition spokesman. I still have this vision of David on The7.30 Reportputting a position—one of great credibility—as to how this could be resolved, why it was important and, if we as a country were not able to resolve this soon, what the impact would be on our inbound tourism and the tourism industry generally. It did have a profound roll-on effect on our tourism industry, particularly the inbound tourism industry, quite apart from our domestic tourism industry.

When I arrived in this place he was always a voice of experience and assistance. That is what you need when you come to this place. You can be very lonely and isolated in those early days, weeks and probably years. But David was always there—a voice to listen to. He would not necessarily offer the advice. As others have said, you would go and see Jully and he always had wise counsel for you. That helped, I think, in my own case. As you put your footprint down in this place, dodging the potholes—we often talk about the 'bearpits' that could be a problem—Jully was always there with great advice. That advice was for both sides of the House. That was the great thing about Jully: it was not about party lines. Anyone could ask for his opinion or advice and he would offer it freely. He spoke with great credibility.

There was also his knowledge of aviation. I think Jully kept a diary of the registration of every plane that he had flown on. It will be fascinating to talk about that with colleagues when I attend the state funeral on Friday. He could tell you whether it was a Boeing or an Airbus. But he also had the registration number and where he sat on the plane. I think he also collected his boarding passes. That is my recollection. I am sure that was the case throughout his life. At a moment's notice, he could recall that: 'Yes I flew on such and such, and this was its registration number.' We as members of parliament all know how often we have to fly, not only as members for a constituency but also on other parliamentary work. Jully had an extraordinary recall for that. I hope that on Friday we are able to find out where those diaries are from some of his colleagues who may know. He kept a fascinating record.

I think the member for Groom said that, if you wanted to take holidays somewhere with your family, you did not go to a travel agent; you went to Jully. He would always give you the best advice and he knew where the best prices were, such was his interest in tourism. He was a great help in that regard as well. He would say, 'Oh, don't go with those.' I will not use the language he sometimes used about a particular carrier, but he was always spot on. He knew intimately the carriers, the prices and the places to get the best prices. He had great connections in the tourism industry.

I was part of the first Howard ministry; so was Jully. It was a very proud moment for both of us to be sworn in at Government House that day, having been mates at Churchie. Being sworn in together as ministers in the first Howard government was another one of those moments that brought us back together. It is one of those very fond memories that I will always retain. Recently a lunch was organised in Brisbane by members of the first Howard ministry. It was called, 'The South Wing'. Sadly, I was unable to attend, because of a conflict due to other engagements. I knew that David had not been well, but I did not think that there would be another South Wing lunch without David Jull. So I regret that I had other commitments that I was not able to change. That will always be for me one of the things that I regret, and like all of us in this place there are things that I have regrets about because of scheduling. When I heard the news, the first reaction I had was: 'Why was I not able to do that? Why was something else a priority?' We knew that his battle with cancer was one that he was losing, but I did not think that the end was so near. That is a great regret to me.

In conclusion, David was a great friend, a great contributor to this place and a great contributor to this nation. That was not necessarily recognised. It has been by some associations, but more broadly the tremendous contribution that he made has not been recognised. The footprint that he leaves behind him as he leaves this world is one that will endure forever. It is a legacy that I am proud to have been associated with. I am proud to have known David and proud of the legacy that he leaves.

I pass on my condolences to Erica and other members of his family, because any death of a loved one, a friend or a colleague is a sad time. I look forward to attending the state funeral, which is a very appropriate way to recognise David Jull, a great friend and colleague. David, may you rest in peace.

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