Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I concur with the fine words of the member for Gellibrand about Shinzo Abe.

Anybody here seen our old friend Shinzo?

Can you tell me where he's gone?

He freed a lot of people, but it seems the good, they die young

You know, I just looked around and he's gone.

Of course, they are the words of the song written by Dick Holler and performed and first recorded by Dion. They refer to Martin, Abraham and John. We know that the good do die young. Bobby Kennedy in 1968 said, 'Some men see things as they are and say, why; I dream things that never were and say, why not.' The same could definitely be uttered about Shinzo Abe. Bobby Kennedy's brother John was assassinated in 1963; for Abraham Lincoln, we go back to 1865; and of course Martin Luther King in 1968—all great leaders. They were all men who made a pivotal change, not just in their communities, their states, their countries; they had a global influence the likes of which we may never see again.

On 8 July the world was stunned by the assassination of the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a campaigning speech in Nara, two days before elections were to be held. While domestic debates about improved security for members of parliament continue in Japan, it's also very timely to think about, to consider, to reflect upon Shinzo Abe's wonderful achievements and the legacy of them, not only in terms of foreign policy but especially here in Australia—what he did, what he represented and what will continue as his legacy for many years to come in this country.

I come here as the member for Riverina in the Central West. The town of Cowra, this Friday, will commemorate 78 years since the famous—some might say infamous—breakout at the internment camp. Cowra lost its innocence on 5 August 1944 and was thrust into a war zone which, until that very moment, was confined to anywhere but Cowra. The prisoner of war camp custodians—members of the Australian militia's 22nd Garrison Battalion—were mostly older veterans and men who were deemed unfit for the front line. They faced a dire situation. They had Japanese internees holed up in this camp who—1,100 of them, prisoners of war—in three groups stormed the boundaries of their confines and broke out. In the ensuing calamity, 231 Japanese soldiers and four Australians were killed.

You might think that Cowra would be hostile for evermore about Japan relations. No, not at all. What they have done is that they have gone out of their way to forge ties between Cowra and Japan and between Cowra and Tokyo. The Japanese gardens—which are one of the finest gardens in the state, if not the country—are visited by many, many people. For those who haven't been there, I suggest you put it on your list of things to do. The relationship between Cowra and Japan, and the international peace and understanding that has followed that, has not been lost on citizens both here and in Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu.

I know that, when the late Japanese leader addressed the parliament on 8 July 2014, that was especially celebrated, commemorated and thought about in Cowra, because I know the close relationships they have with Japan. That speech that Shinzo Abe gave was so emblematic and reflective of the relationship that Cowra has with Japan—that Australians generally have with Japan. I go back to John 'Black Jack' McEwen and how he forged trade ties with Japan at a time when being friends with Japan was not popular at all because of what happened in World War II. But as Prime Minister Abe said himself:

Our fathers and grandfathers lived in a time that saw Kokoda and Sandakan. How many young Australians, with bright futures to come, lost their lives? For those who made it through the war, how much trauma did they feel years and years later from these painful memories? I can find absolutely no words to say; I can only stay humble against the evils and horrors of history. May I most humbly speak for Japan and on behalf of the Japanese people here in sending my most sincere condolences towards the many souls who lost their lives.

Of course, he was wonderfully thought of here in Australia, as he should be. His loss is mourned by peace-loving people right across this nation. He was a great man. He stood for great things, just like the Kennedys, just like Martin Luther King, just like Abraham Lincoln—good men gone too young, wonderful leaders shot down, one could say, in their prime. Whilst I appreciate that Shinzo Abe had had his terms at the top and had served his nation well, he still had much more to; he still had so much more to do.

He spoke of Australia and Japan's relationship of trust in that 2014 speech to our parliament. He spoke of standing up through the trials of history and the cooperation in the area of security and also trade. We've lost a great friend. We've lost a great partner. Certainly in my electorate I know Cowra felt his loss, as did good, peace-loving people right across this nation. I pass on my condolences to his family, to Japan, and certainly to those in Australia—all of us who mourn his passing. May he rest in peace.

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