Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

A month or two before Christmas last year, I got a call from Nick Bolkus. He was at an aged care facility, actually, and he was struggling. His voice was barely more than a whisper, but the clarity of what he was saying to me and what he was asking me about was very much there despite the difficulty in hearing what he was trying to say. He was interested in the policies that we were implementing. He was asking questions about social cohesion and multiculturalism. He was asking me questions about the new ministry position that I have. He was engaged, he was wise, he gave me some good advice, and he cared.

We are all standing here, today, to pay our respects in this condolence motion to a man who gave so much of himself in public service—obviously to the state of South Australia but also to the entire nation. I want to offer my sincere condolences to his wife, Mary, and his children, Aria, Mikayla and Nicholas, plus the wider, very large community of friends and family that have been touched by the contribution that he's made—even to, right beside me, the member for Adelaide, Steve Georganas, who worked for Nick for 10 years. Now, Mikayla has worked for Steve. The amount of wisdom that Steve probably benefited from Nick and his experience in his career and as a mentor to so many talented politicians—I'll put you in that category—who serve their community faithfully and who do everything they can to give people a better life—that was Nick at the national policy level but also at a community level, at a local level.

We've heard that he was a pioneer of progressive politics. That's certainly the case. He was the architect of modern multiculturalism. We call him one of the fathers of multiculturalism, and that's certainly true. He had a long and distinguished career in politics. He was elected to the Senate in 1980, and his life was a life of public service and of literally giving himself to the nation and to his state of South Australia, his beloved South Australia. He actually began his career as a lawyer—we won't hold that against him—before he moved into politics and had a great political career. He served his home state of South Australia, which he loved so much, and he served all of this nation for a political career that spanned 24 years.

He is known, very much, for his contribution to modern multiculturalism, but we should not forget that Nick became the first Australian cabinet minister of Greek descent. That's a significant step within the context of multicultural Australia, but, more than that, what Nick did as a cabinet minister should be remembered and recalled. When Prime Minister Bob Hawke elevated him to the cabinet, it was as the minister for consumer affairs. In that role, he introduced watershed legislation to protect the privacy of Australians from data credit agencies. He also set up the banking ombudsman to provide a dispute resolution mechanism for bank customers. He did some really remarkable policy work—Steve, that was probably a bit of work that you did when you were working for him as an adviser; I'm not sure—that was significant and made a difference. Nick insisted on protecting all Australians equally and, in many respects, embodied the Labor values that we hold dear in every role that he held.

On the multicultural space and the advocacy that he was known for—obviously coming from a migrant background himself—when he became the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, as well as the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs, he worked in those roles with not only compassion and empathy but also practicality. He got real and tangible things done. We've heard from previous speakers about the moment—I think most of Australia knows the history—when Bob Hawke, our then prime minister, provided refuge to thousands of Chinese citizens in Australia after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. It was actually Nick who was very much part of that decision. He was, alongside the PM, exceptionally proud of that moment in our history.

Back then was a time—which maybe one could argue is not too dissimilar to today—where there were people who were deliberately trying to divide us, as Australians, through fear and differences in our ethnicity and backgrounds, and that fear and division could have triumphed at the time. But, due to decisions like this, and people like Nick Bolkus who stood tall and firm against hatred and prejudice, we triumphed. He stood for the idea that our diversity is a strength and that, regardless of our backgrounds, who we are, where we come from or what our faith is, we can embody the Australia that we live in. We can be part of the Australia that we live in, and we can contribute to the Australia that we love so much. That is modern, multicultural Australia.

Nick stood up courageously and compassionately to do what was right, despite what was, at the time, a very high political risk. It would have been much easier for Bob and Nick to just fold, go with the polls and go with the loud voices that were, at the time, sowing that fear and division. But, they said, 'No, we are going to stand up and do what is right morally, ethically and politically.' People give politics a bad rap, but when you take political actions like this, the way that Nick did, that is I think the core element of politics—the ability to engage in that public space to make decisions that make a difference to people's lives around us. Nick very much symbolised but also practically delivered on that idea of political action.

We know he's of Greek background. He would have claimed to be the holder of the flame of democracy. Apparently the Greeks invented democracy. I think that's true and he handed it down. Nick certainly was someone who was proud of his Greek heritage and proud of the fact that democracy sprung from his homeland. He carried that torch with great courage and compassion throughout his political career. He understood that Australians and Australia should be proud and confident in our differences, and we should recognise that we are multifaith, multiethnic society—one that he helped build.

It's not just about tolerating others, it's about those democratic values and the democratic participation that he loved so much. It's about social responsibility in doing things for others and contributing. It's about the shared values that bind us together. Even when we might disagree, there are threads that bind us together and make up the society that we cherish so much.

He left an extraordinary legacy of dedication, service and foresight, and he will be remembered for his service by not just those in the Labor Party but all of us in this place. I think his spirit lives on in many respects through not only many of my South Australian colleagues but all of us in the party and all of us in this place. It was an absolute pleasure to engage with him and for him to give some time to me and advice to me over the many, many years from the beginning of my political career. I'm sure he was a great mentor to so many South Australian politicians in this place as well. It is so sad to see him go, but he left us with something very, very special, and we'll carry that flame on for him. Rest in peace, Nick.

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