John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the life of Sir Zelman Cowen and on his contribution to our country. Sir Zelman passed away on 8 December, at the age of 92. He was born in the Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda in 1919, on the same day as the death of Alfred Deakin, one of the founding fathers of our nation. At 19 years of age he became the youngest tutor in the history of the University of Melbourne. Chosen for a Rhodes scholarship the following year and at just 31 years of age, he was chosen as Dean of the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Law, one of our nation's great schools of law. He also helped establish the Monash Law School and the Griffith Law School and was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of New England and then of the University of Queensland, exemplifying his unique commitment to learning and leadership.

His writings on privacy and bioethics have stood the test of time and helped shape the laws we hold firmly to today. As many Australians have found their hero status in the field of combat and in the face of fire, Sir Zelman's heroic deeds were performed in peacetime but at a time of crisis. In 1977 he was appointed as Governor-General. It was his most important role. After the 1975 dismissal, our nation was fractured. He entered with a goal to become the healer and he left five years later having achieved this goal.

His many more contributions to the British legal system and the Press Council have been recounted numerous times, as have his love for his family and his contribution to the vibrant Australian Jewish community. But Sir Zelman was more than that. He represented a new stage in Australia's development. He was a first-generation Australian who strongly represented our new multicultural society. He brought together old-world religious, cultural and social traditions with the continuous development and growth of our legal system and practices. He reflected great courage as a 1930s school student, writing stories for his peers about the great suffering being heaped upon the Jewish community in Europe. He defended our nation and our nation's core values on the battlefield, in the classroom, in the lecture theatre and on the typewriter. He possessed an intellect that few could match but preferred to use humour as a tool to get his message across; yet this keen intellect and intuition was on constant display throughout his days as he remained steadfastly loyal, despite only once being rewarded by that great institution, the St Kilda Football Club. He was a truly broad Australian of intellect and a love of sport. Sir Zelman was a hero on the field of combat and in his peacetime pursuits. He was a truly great Australian. We will miss him greatly.

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