House debates

Wednesday, 13 February 2019

Condolences

Neville, Mr Paul Christopher, OAM

11:00 am

Photo of Darren ChesterDarren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

It is with a tinge of sadness but great joy that I have the opportunity to reflect on my great friend, former colleague and, in many ways, mentor, Paul Neville. I congratulate the current member for Hinkler for his comments. His reflections very much sat with mine in terms of what a character Paul was.

Many will speak here today. His National Party brothers and sisters will speak about Paul's wicked sense of humour. Indeed, he took great joy in sharing jokes—normally around whips' drinks—and quite often the same joke week after week, but often told with more flamboyance on every occasion. He was quite the raconteur in that regard. He was also a great intellect, Deputy Speaker McVeigh. I've had the great privilege of sitting around the cabinet table, as you have. Paul would have matched any of those men and women who sat around the cabinet table with me. He had a great intellect.

He had an enormous degree of personal integrity. Paul was someone who would be your friend, and friend for life. He wasn't a fairweather friend. He wasn't someone who had false airs and graces. He was someone who would gather friends as others collect stamps or collect coins. Friends seemed to gather around Paul and enjoy his company enormously. He also had an incredibly generous spirit. He was one who was very giving to those who were in his friendship circle, and that was a very large friendship and family circle. Indeed, he had enormous pride in his family's achievements. I think the measure of Paul in many ways is the fact that he crossed party lines in this place. There are many on the other side of the chamber who had great positive experiences in dealing with Paul because of that integrity, because of that generous spirit. He had friends on both sides of the chamber.

I want to share a few memories here today in the time I have allowed. A couple of reflections on Paul—it would take me all day to go through all the stories, but there are a couple that spring to mind. Paul always claimed that he was the first politician to ever darken the doors of Portia's restaurant in Kingston. He claimed he was the first ever politician to have dinner at Portia's. He would take great delight in telling that story every time we went out for dinner. If you asked Paul, 'Where are we going for dinner?' he'd say, 'Maybe Italian, maybe—let's go to Portia's.' We never went anywhere else. He took great delight in telling me that story on every occasion. He knew the menu backwards, and the staff loved him dearly.

Paul is also the member of parliament responsible for me crossing the floor in my first term in this place. Paul, as you'd be well aware, represented the seat of Hinkler, which is home to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery. In my first term of parliament, the issue of ready-to-drink alcohol products and the Rudd government's plan to increase the tax on them was causing quite a heated debate. The coalition had taken a view that it was going to oppose the legislation. I supported that view, but somewhere in the debate the coalition's position changed—except Paul Neville and I didn't change our position. As it came to pass, the only time I ever crossed the floor was to try to get cheaper grog for Paul Neville. Anyway, I digress. We both crossed the floor on the alcopops tax. We used to revel in that every time we shared a drink.

The member for Hinkler, my colleague, just spoke about Paul's farewell speech. I'm sure many of our colleagues will reflect on that evening, where Paul spoke and spoke and spoke and spoke. Margaret, his beautiful wife, tried to wind him up on at least five occasions, and Paul kept on ploughing through. It was when he told the same joke for the third time that we realised that Paul was ready to sit down. It was a great night.

I didn't get to Paul's funeral—sadly, I had other commitments—but I'm going to share from my great friend and one of Paul's long-time staff members, Cath Heidrich. Cath spoke at Paul's funeral and gave a eulogy, which was quite beautiful. I'd encourage anyone who knew Paul to get a copy of Cathy's speech on that day. In her description at the church, as she gave the eulogy, Cath quoted from the federal Nationals' leader Larry Anthony, who said, quite beautifully, 'Paul had a heart as big as Phar Lap's, the compassion of Mother Teresa, the tenacity of John Howard and the humour of Rowan Atkinson.' That sums up our great friend. I will quote from a couple of other things that Cath said in her eulogy. She said:

I have known Paul and Margaret for most of my life. Paul helped me to secure my cadetship at the Bundaberg News Mail and I lived with the Neville clan at Limpus Cresent for a few months. Years later I worked for Paul until his retirement from politics.

Paul won the seat of Hinkler in 1993, defeating Labor's Brian Courtice who is here today, and his ability to win tight elections in his seat are legendary—winning again in 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010. The 2001 win was particularly close—69 votes, 64 votes on recount, and the result was not known for 13 days. During that time Paul came here, to this church, to contemplate and pray.

He was a man of great faith. Cath continued:

In 2007, Paul faced another hurdle after a redistribution saw the boundaries of Hinkler change dramatically, losing Gladstone and gaining Hervey Bay.

At the last election he contested, in 2010, Paul won every booth—a tremendous feat.

His dedication to his role as Federal Member was unsurpassed. He never thought anyone's time was more important than anyone elses.

I worked with Paul when he fought on behalf of the legendary Major Harry Smith for recognition for his troops in the Battle of Long Tan. Paul was instrumental in making sure that the troops were properly recognised many years after that battle. I will continue with Cath's comments. This is one of the stories that I think many in the National Party room have heard before, but Cath told it beautifully on this occasion. She said:

Of course one of his most famous trips was with Margaret to a wedding in Rockhampton. En route he called into a township called Ambrose between Gladstone and Rockhampton, where in 1993, five booths had swung against him. Paul was keen to speak with some locals and try and work out what he could do to improve his standing. It was mid Saturday morning. There was no one in the pub, the shop or the streets on the eastern side. Moving to the west, it was almost the same but as they rounded a corner near the State School, up loomed a CWA Hall with 50 or more cars around it.

Jackpot!—it was Paul's chance to engage with the town in one hit. Margaret felt the locals might have been getting ready for a wedding or a dance that night.

So, bold as brass, and full of confidence, Paul bounced in and said to the ladies who were feverishly going here and there—"well girls, what's on here today?"

Paul had gate crashed a country pap smear clinic.

Let it be known that Paul Neville went literally everywhere for a vote!

With Paul's self-deprecating humour, he'd tell that story with great relish on many occasions, and it still remains one of my favourite memories of Paul as a grassroots campaigner. He would stop and talk to anyone in his electorate and spend time with them.

In his valedictory speech, Paul said he looked back over his 20 years in parliament feeling the exhilaration of success, the stings of failure, the warmth of colleagues on both sides and the common humanity of the people he had been privileged to serve, and now it was time to move on. In closing, I feel blessed to have had both Paul and Margaret Neville in my life. The National Party family—and the member for Dawson is here with me today—is certainly richer for characters of Paul's depth and just decent humanity to one another.

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