Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this condolence motion on the very sad passing of the Hon. John Charles Kerin AO. I start by paying my respects to John's wife, June, to John's family and to all the very many people who knew John Kerin, because that's what John Kerin did: wherever John went, John left his mark, and that is why I am speaking here today.

Decades ago, as a young girl, when I first heard the name John Kerin on the radio, in the newspapers, on TV—I can't remember exactly when I heard John's name, but I certainly remember it. I grew up on a dairy farm and little did I know at that time but, of course, John Kerin was the agriculture minister, or Minister for Primary Industries and Energy as it was known then.

John grew up on a farm not too far away in the New South Wales Southern Highlands and studied economics. He then worked as an economist with the bureau of agricultural economics. John entered parliament as the member for Macarthur in 1972—I was two years old—and held a number of portfolios, including Treasury, but went on to be the longest-serving minister for primary industries.

Like John, I also studied economics, but at the very time John was the minister. I mean, John was even in the textbooks and the articles. However, at that time our paths had still not actually physically crossed. It would be many, many years later, when I joined the Australian Labor Party as a member of the Jervis Bay/St Georges Basin branch, that I first came across John's wonderful and loyal friends and then John and June Kerin themselves. It turned out that John and June lived part of their time on the New South Wales South Coast and shared their time between Canberra and the coast.

During my candidacy in a number of federal elections in Gilmore, most notably 2016, 2019 and 2022, John always seemed to pop up at events to support me. John always phoned and emailed, offering guidance and support. No-one asked John to do that. John just did it, and I understand that was because of who John was. I had to pinch myself, really. Here was someone that I had known as a prominent name while I was a young girl on a farm and while studying economics, and here was John Kerin, decades later, supporting me.

Listening to condolences since John's passing, it is easy to see the tremendous mark that John has left on so many people right across the country. John was a reformist, a trailblazing minister for primary industries. John was a friend and a mentor to so many. May John rest in peace and his legacy live on.

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