Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great sadness that we heard of the death of Robert—always known as 'Bob'—Halverson, the fifth member for Casey in Victoria and the 22nd Speaker of our parliament. He passed away on 9 February, after a long battle with cancer, at his home, Kildrummie, in southern New South Wales. He died as he had always hoped: in his own home and with his family.

Bob can be remembered by the nation as having had a long and distinguished career as a senior member of the Australian Defence Force, as a hardworking and dedicated local member of parliament in his initially marginal electorate in the foothills of the Dandenongs and at the head of the Yarra Valley, as the chief Liberal Party whip and as a somewhat controversial Speaker of the House before he entered a distinguished career as an Australian diplomat. Bob was also a close personal friend and mentor of mine, someone who advised and inspired me to become the member for Murray in 1996. I first met Bob when his only daughter, Sharon, became my sister-in law married to my only brother, Grant. Bob was a big-hearted and towering figure who had a passion for our country, for the rule of law and for politics. Bob brought total commitment, passion and persistence to all that he did. He had superb organisational skills which were well recognised and rewarded throughout his career.

Bob was born in Melbourne and grew up in Footscray, so in an essential sense he was a city-centric person who later came to love country Australia. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1956 as an officer cadet at Portsea. He topped the course in 1957. He was awarded an OBE in 1978 for his coordinating role with the Royal Australian Air Force during the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations. He attained the rank of group captain before retiring from the Australian Air Force in 1981. He served the Air Force loyally and he was very proud that his grandson James has also become a pilot. During his long Air Force career, like many other long-suffering faithful Defence Force wives, Bob's wife Maggie relocated with him around the country with their four very small children, including to some very remote and uncomfortable Air Force bases in Northern Australia. She recalls with a mixture of horror and humour how she once had to call Bob home to prise an enormous snake out of the bathroom—or was it the laundry? The louvre windows apparently offered absolutely no resistance to the local wildlife.

After leaving the Air Force, Bob briefly became a stockbroker before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1984 as the Liberal member for his beloved Casey. His hard work in that electorate and his capacity to engender deep loyalty, affection and trust from his fellow local Liberals and branches meant that this was very much a team effort in Casey. There are many who were a part of the Casey Liberal family at that time now mourning his loss.

Bob was magnificently served by his close-knit staff, who were key to his initial success in winning this marginal seat. The late Pauline Osmond, for example—the daughter of another great woman, Dame Phyllis Frost—was not only Bob's mentor and political soul mate; she was a powerful advocate of our strongest liberal values and traditions. She was also one of my closest advisers and mentors when I sought election to the federal parliament in 1995.

Bob served as the opposition party whip, a position he was eminently suited for, before being elected as the 22nd Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Australian parliament. He held that position from 1996 to 1998, when he retired from politics. Others have referred to his great interest in being an independent Speaker, giving a very balanced chairing of the chamber from the Speaker's chair. Controversially at the time, he introduced a not unfamiliar proposition in the Senate: the idea of supplementary questions. Too often, those supplementary questions had to be ruled out of order, because they were vexatious and were not within the standing orders. But the very fact that he had to hear that supplementary question meant that the point was scored and, as you can imagine, that did cause some grief to the government of the day. There was only a two-year period as Speaker but, when Bob left the Australian parliament—given he was still a man wanting to serve his country—he accepted the ambassador position to Ireland and the Holy See. There, he was a most successful ambassador, forging unique and special relationships with the Irish government; although his own background was from northern Europe, of course; given his appearance and his name. He also served the Holy See so well that the Pope granted him a papal knighthood for his services—although he was not a Catholic.

Bob retired to Holbrook in 2003 to become a prime beef producer on his property Kildrummie. The property is close to his son-in-law's property, which also grows beef and sheep. His long beloved wife Maggie helped transform a unique home at Kildrummie; in fact, the house was a converted cattle stud selling station. To go into that extraordinary home, a magnificently organised place, was to really understand Maggie's great skills as a homemaker—and someone who was until very recently Bob's life partner. Bob is survived by his wife, Maggie, and their four children and many grandchildren. He was a very special Australian, and a very dear friend of mine. May we always remember his legacy.

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