Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I feel very privileged to rise to make some brief remarks in this important condolence debate, following those made by the Prime Minister and my friends the member for Cunningham and the member for Whitlam. Mine will be a less personal contribution. I never met Stewart West, but I hope that it is of interest to some that I recognise the wider significance of his contribution. I think his is a life and career that deserves to be recognised in this place and for that recognition to go to the totality of his contribution.

When I think of Stewart West's contribution, he can only be described as a giant of the labour movement. He is a person who made an extraordinary contribution as a unionist, an activist, a local representative in this place and, of course, a minister. Notably, he is someone whose involvement in politics can be characterised only by an unerring adherence to principle, but not abstract principle—a sense of principle that was anchored in the concrete in being true to one's values whilst ensuring that those of us who are in this place use every minute we are here to make a difference.

Stewart West was also the only member from the left of the Labor Party to be a member of Hawke's first cabinet. That is something that I think is very significant in our political history, and his role has been very significant in the evolution of our politics since then. That is something that has been underrecognised in our party, as well as more broadly. Also underrecognised, and my good friend the member for Whitlam touched on this, is the fact that it is well known that Stewart West did a quite extraordinary thing. He resigned from the ministry. He resigned from the cabinet. And he did so by choice, over a matter of principle. But he did that and subsequently returned. That says something both about his standing with the Prime Minister and his colleagues, and, again, about his commitment not to principles in the abstract but to the responsibility of those of us who have the power to act for good to act for good, and he continued to do so.

Stewart West was the minister for immigration. He had a slightly different title than mine but very similar responsibilities, again, in circumstances that can be described only as challenging. The way he went about them is a template. His example of principle and pragmatism is something that I hope to emulate to some degree, because I don't think I will live up to his example. His lifelong concern for refugees is also something that I find inspirational. It was a concern that he gave expression to as a minister and through every moment of his time in active politics and, indeed, beyond it, as my friends from the Illawarra are better placed to attest than me.

His contribution more broadly in his other portfolios, but perhaps most significantly in terms of his role within the Labor Party and as the shadow minister for immigration, might be his most enduring public legacy. The decision to prevent the damming of the Gordon below Franklin is fundamental in its impact not only on the great state of Tasmania but also on our country's relationship with our precious and beautiful natural environment. It also, ultimately, radically reshaped the relationship between the Commonwealth and the states. It's hard to think of a more significant individual decision than the decision the Australian Labor Party made in that platform to that critically important act, and I think that is something that is worth restating and reflecting on.

Ultimately, it is true that if Stewart West's life was defined by contributions and achievements, it would have been a great life of service. However, for some of the reasons I've outlined, I think his contribution is greater than that by the power of the example he set about the power of collective action, the power of the union, the power of the great movement that I'm proud to be a member of, and the power of all of us in this place to make a difference in our communities and to our country.

My thoughts are with all those who knew him and loved him, and particularly his family. Vale.

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