Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to associate myself with some wonderful remarks commemorating the life of a great Australian, Nick Bolkus—those remarks made by the Prime Minister; the Leader of the Opposition; my friend the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, very powerfully last night; and, of course the very moving tribute offered by the Minister for Health. I rise to make a few brief remarks associating myself and reflecting on the Hon. Nick Bolkus's legacy, and in doing so I remember that in December last year I had the opportunity to meet his daughter Aria in her capacity as South Australian Labor's candidate for Colton. I reflected then on some similarities that appeared to me and how wonderful it was to see a legacy continue in that family. It's tragic that only days afterwards Nick passed away. Beginning my remarks, I, of course, think mostly of his family—of his wife, Mary, who I had the privilege of working with in former capacities, and the daughters: Aria, who I mentioned earlier, and Mikayla, who gave a wonderful tribute that has been reflected on in this place already.

For me, I find it difficult to overstate the significance of the influence the Hon. Nick Bolkus had on the Australian Labor Party, particularly its Left; on the state of South Australia; and indeed on the shape of our country. He leaves an indelible mark on the country that we live in today, and I want to touch on that through the lens of the role that he played as a minister, as a very significant part of the more than 25 years he spent serving diligently the people of South Australia in the other place—a time marked by an unusual adherence to a really clearly defined set of principles through which he approached his tasks in politics, but ensuring that those principles were always given a practical application, which I think is the very best of the movement that I'm proud to be a part of.

Nick Bolkus's most significant impact was in portfolios that I had the privilege of holding for a period of time. Thinking about his impact, I want to touch on those three lenses of citizenship, multicultural affairs and immigration very briefly. In terms of citizenship, what Nick Bolkus did was to transform or, perhaps, realise Australian citizenship as that common bond that unites us all and to think about how we could celebrate the moment of acquiring citizenship as something that is as nation building as the construction of physical infrastructure, recognising that, in our country, our greatest strength is the unrivalled capacity of the Australian people.

His elevating of citizenship takes me to the role that he played and his responsibilities in what was first called ethnic affairs and has since been reframed as multicultural affairs. What Nick Bolkus did was see our country as it is—or, indeed, as it was—see that recognised in our institutions and our cultural understanding and see ourselves through a clear-eyed lens, not looking back, not elevating nostalgia, but seeing us as we are. But he did more than that. He sought to imagine how we might be, how we could be a country in which everyone belongs, a country characterised by inclusion, belonging and respect. By putting down these markers, he made an extraordinary contribution to the country that I'm so proud to live in and to represent in this place today. His work carries on in this government through Minister Aly's great work, and, right across this nation, its imprint is felt. There are many Australians who have many reasons to be grateful for his contribution in that role.

The Prime Minister and others have touched upon how he went about his work as minister for immigration, and it would be remiss of anyone not to reflect on the important series of actions he took in the aftermath of the horrors of Tiananmen Square. He combined, again, a sense of principled compassion and respect for human rights with a determination to see these principles put into practical effect, and I challenge anyone to think about how our country would be but for the decisions he made in 1989 and the years following. This is one example of how he carried out a very significant role and, I can say, a very challenging role—but also a rewarding role, as others have said. Perhaps the immigration portfolio is unique in that I believe it does contain within it an ex-ministers' club, all of whom reflect on the significance and the weight of individual decisions that we have made, difficult decisions that shape lives and shape communities. I think, in how Nick Bolkus went about that work, he set a standard that all have aspired to follow but few have emulated successfully.

In touching on those three things, I don't wish to think that his life should be defined by them. However, they have all left a really significant impact on this place and on the lives of all Australians. As others have recognised, Nick Bolkus made an extraordinary contribution to my party, the Australian Labor Party, in South Australia and around the country. His surname was also remarkable when he entered the Senate. As my friend Steve Georganas—I should use that name in this context—knows, our parliament looks and sounds very different today because of the trail that Nick Bolkus blazed. Nick Bolkus made a huge impact on behalf of the people of South Australia. He transformed the South Australian Labor Party and opened up my party as a better party of government of the centre left through his role organisationally and through encouraging so generously a generation of talented politicians, many of whom have made contributions in this debate. As a minister he changed lives and, in many ways, changed our country. He deserves to be remembered in this place.

But the last point I want to make—again, turning back to those who loved him the most: his family and his friends—is that, if we are to pay tribute to a life lived like Nick Bolkus's was, it's not so much the words we offer in tribute to him; it's how we conduct ourselves, those of us who sit in this place and the other place, and how well we follow his example in seeing our country as it is, imagining how it could be better and seeking to chart a path between those two things. Vale, Nick Bolkus.

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