Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

I just want to acknowledge the previous contributors. Being from WA they have an excellent understanding of the impact and legacy of Michael Beahan. But of course, as honourable members have heard, he came from the UK. He had Irish parentage. He made his way to Perth, as many fine Australians have over the decades, including some friends of mine who I served with in the Australian Defence Force, including some of those who defended Darwin. So many great Australians have made that trip across the oceans and have made our country better. Michael Beahan certainly made this parliament and the body politic in our nation better.

Being a sparky, he brought life experience to his work in this place. In manufacturing, getting an apprenticeship and working as an electrician obviously gave him an excellent understanding of what working people were doing in their lives every day. He was in an East Perth factory.

Also in Perth he did some compulsory military service—three months full-time and two years part-time service with the 13th Field Squadron of the Royal Australian Engineers. I know exactly where he served. During my time in the forces I served with the 13th Brigade. In fact, a good mate of mine was the OC of the 13th Field Squadron. It is a great outfit with a great history. I didn't know that about Michael Beahan's history. He would have learnt a lot there.

He decided to go back to study. Like some of my colleagues, he had a great education. In Michael's case it was arts and education at the University of Western Australia. From the education he received at the time he became a teacher. As he became more involved in the unions he represented teachers. Having had the experience of being not only a sparky but a teacher, he was well placed to become the state secretary of the Western Australian Branch of the Labor Party. It was great to hear a former state secretary of the Western Australian Branch talk about Michael Beahan. I won't go over a lot of that material, but I did want to focus on another thing about him and his time in this place that I think is very important. With some defence experience, he would've made great contributions to the foreign affairs, defence and trade committees, and also the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Having come from part of the Commonwealth, he would have enjoyed that.

But I just want to focus a little bit on his contribution to the art collection, because it involves people from the Northern Territory as well as WA. I think it's important to note that, nowadays, due to Michael Beahan's insistence, there is a lot of outstanding First Nations art in this building. I've done some research with the good folk down at the collection, and I want to thank them for their assistance. They pointed me to several pieces in the collection that are a direct result of Michael Beahan's insistence that we broaden out the scope of the art here—in particular, to get some representation from WA, the NT and Queensland.

One piece—which I've now got my eye on well and truly and hope to have in my office at some time—is by the artist David Malangi Daymirringu. A Yolngu man born in central Arnhem Land in 1927, he was moved to the Milingimbi mission, until that was bombed in World War II—and we're coming up to the 80th anniversary of those bombings. When I was with NORFORCE, I served with a Daymirringu, Norman, who still serves our nation with NORFORCE today—a proud family, and an awesome artist. It's great to know that that history and his depiction of the Arafura Swamp is in our collection because of Michael Beahan.

Also there are several pieces from the Pintupi people, including one here from Ronnie that won the Alice Springs arts prize in 1988—and I'll provide Hansard with the spelling of his surname, Tjampitjinpa, because I didn't have the opportunity to sit down with Warren Snowdon and work out how to say it properly, so I won't have a go at it. But there are really strong lines in this art piece. As I said, in 1988, the bicentenary year, it won the arts prize in Alice Springs, and that's in our collection, thanks to Michael Beahan.

Another Pintupi artist—and these people are from the Western Desert of Western Australia but they also live in the western areas of the Northern Territory—is Joseph Jurra, an incredible artist. He's had his artwork shown from Papunya to New York, and his work, because of Michael Beahan, is in our collection. Also there's Gloria Petyarre from Central Australia, who, unfortunately, died last year. She created so much amazing art, and, again, because of Michael Beahan, it is within our collection here at Parliament House. I just wanted to flesh a couple of those out. The people who made the design behind this tie that I'm wearing now are from the Simpson Desert, from the Western Desert. Those people's artwork, because of Michael Beahan, now hangs on the walls of our offices and in our collection. It is said about Michael Beahan that he had, politically, great influence beyond his numbers. But I would put it to all honourable members that, particularly through the artwork, he has had significant influence in terms of the artwork and the telling of Australia's stories in this place well beyond his years.

I think Michael Beahan would be happy with modern Labor these days, striving for a better country where there is secure work, good living standards for working people and—as a former sparky and manufacturing guy, a welder—a future made in Australia. Vale Michael Beahan.

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