Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction) Share this | Hansard source

It's a great honour to follow a former leader of the National Party and former deputy prime minister to speak about Peter Nixon. I got to know Peter Nixon through the Richmond Football Club. As a matter of fact, pretty much every time I went to a Richmond game, Peter Nixon would be there, and I was incredibly fond of Peter Nixon. He was someone who always greeted you with a really big, warm smile, was always up for a chat and loved the Richmond footy club, so, when you went to the football to get away from politics, he would always know and understand that and would always be happy to talk football with you.

But every now and again, the conversation would get onto politics as well. He was someone who had incredibly sound judgement and incredibly astute judgement, and I always found it fantastic to be able to have conversations with him about politics because I knew and understood I was talking to someone who'd lived through some great eras of coalition government. Not only that, during those times he was someone who always reached across the coalition aisle and knew and understood that a successful coalition is the best way that this country gets governed. We've heard references to his relationship to Menzies. It was wonderful to hear and see about the mentoring role that Menzies took with Peter Nixon. It showed how important it is, especially when it comes to the right side of politics, that there really shouldn't be a party barrier to how we grow, support, make sure we stay strong and make sure that we are a party of government in this nation.

It wasn't just Menzies who took on a mentoring role with Peter Nixon. After Menzies retired and the sad and sudden passing of Harold Holt, obviously McMahon took over, and Peter Nixon had an incredibly close relationship with him even though they were very different personalities. And then, of course, under the Fraser government Nixon almost became an equal with Fraser and the other giants of that time in the way they governed this nation. It's a bit of a lesson for us on our side of politics that Peter Nixon always stood up for the Fraser government. Sure, there are always things that you could do better, but they steered this nation through the aftermath of the complete and utter wreckage of this nation by the Whitlam government. People tend to forget the context in which they came back to power, but Whitlam had basically overseen the destruction of our economy through stagflation. One of the mottos of those times on our side was 'Turn the lights on,' because, basically, people were really worried about what was happening to our nation. Nixon worked very closely with Fraser to make sure that they resurrected the nation. They were very, very good friends. It showed you how important it is; if we're going to work together, you have got to make sure that there are those friendships across the political aisle when it comes to the Liberal Party and the National Party.

He had a long career in the federal parliament—over 21 years. Now, for those of us who have served for a decade or more, over 21 years is a hell of a long time to be in this place, but he made a significant contribution during all of those 21 years. He didn't waste one day of them. It's quite interesting when you serve for that length of time; the party he served in had three different name changes during that period of time. That shows the length of your service here! He started off as a member of the Australian Country Party, then became a member of the National Country Party and then finally served for the National Party of Australia.

He was a cabinet minister for an extended period of time. He was the Minister for the Interior. He was the Minister for Shipping and Transport. He was the Minister for Primary Industry—in those times especially, an incredibly important role. And he was also the Postmaster-General. I always have a slight fondness for people who have been the Postmaster-General. Of course, we don't have that title anymore, but my grandfather worked for what used to be the Postmaster-General when he was a young man, after he left school. It was an incredibly important service that was provided right across the nation. I know that Peter always felt it was a great honour to fulfil that role.

He was rightly made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1993. I used to ask Peter what he thought kept him so grounded even though he had done so much in his career, and he always said it was growing up in Orbost on a farm as a farmer and as a grazier. That's what kept him grounded. For those of us who have been to Orbost and know Orbost, we know that Orbost would keep you grounded. It's a timber industry town—a lot of milling and also a lot of farming. I've got a very good friend, Kevin Brunt, who grew up in Orbost. His family ran trucking operations there. You also had to be tough to grow up in Orbost; I think that helped Peter Nixon as well. For those of us who know and understand this place, you need a streak of toughness if you are going to survive, and Peter, even though he was a lovely fellow—very friendly, very gentle—did have, underneath, the level of toughness that was required.

Peter was also a visionary; we shouldn't forget that. He loved his AFL and the Richmond Football Club but he was also a VFL commissioner and then an AFL commissioner. He served on the VFL Commission and the AFL Commission from 1985 to 1991. You have to remember the change that took place during those six years. They are probably the most significant years that VFL/AFL football has had in the last 50 to 60 years, and that is no exaggeration. What we had before Peter joined was basically the VFL. There had been some attempts to relocate teams and to grow VFL football into a national game, into the AFL that it is today. Between 1985 and 1991 we saw the formation of the Brisbane Bears, the West Coast Eagles and the Adelaide Crows, and the VFL Commission became the AFL Commission—and, really, the rest is history. If you look at the AFL today, that expansion continues. They were difficult times; the Sydney Swans were the pioneers, but to get the Bears established, the Eagles established and then the Crows established—and look not at the Eagles this year but at the success of the Brisbane Lions and the Crows. The AFL continues to grow; we're looking at a team in Tasmania. But it was Peter Nixon and those fellow commissioners, from 1985 to 1991, that put Australian Rules football on the path to being a truly national game. He should also be recognised for his work in doing that post politics.

I say to Peter's family: my deepest sympathies are with you and my prayers and thoughts are with you. Know that you are looking at a giant when we remember Peter Nixon—someone who left a huge footprint on this nation not only as a parliamentarian but in everything he did post politics. I am so glad I knew Peter and I'm so glad I was able to have those wonderful conversations with him. It's so pleasing to see the parliament recognise him, as we are. Long may his memory and all that he did for this nation be remembered. Vale, Peter Nixon.

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