House debates

Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Condolences

Halverson, Hon. Robert George (Bob), OBE

10:29 am

Photo of Philip RuddockPhilip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

It is always a difficulty to speak on condolence motions in relation to people you have known and served with in the parliament, and Bob Halverson was a friend—as you will probably gather from some of the remarks that I will make. He had a history of engagement, particularly with our military, that reflected something that I knew in my own family. I have an uncle who was an airman. I    might say he may be a little more accomplished—he has only just given up his pilot's licence, and he was flying during the end of the Second World War—but he retired as a squadron leader and was promoted to wing commander, and I notice that Bob Halverson similarly left the service of our great nation as a wing commander.

He had a period in which he was a stockbroker and a businessman before he became, in 1984, the member for Casey in Victoria. He was a very accomplished member with a great deal of interests, particularly in relation to Australia and its role in the world. If you go through and look at the nature of the service he gave, it was very much reflected in the committee work and the delegations in which he participated. I went to his maiden speech. It is always interesting to look at maiden speeches to understand where people are coming from. While I gather some may be surprised that he later became a republican, in his early remarks were on the state of the nation he said:

… that patriotism and nationalism are becoming tainted and unacceptable words and that sacrifice, courage, discipline, loyalty, devotion to duty and love of country are, to many, unfashionable concepts or embarrassing cliches.

He had a strong commitment to our flag and its design, our history, and the fact that we were a British colony. He acknowledged the role of Australia as a member of the Commonwealth and acknowledged something that I acknowledge frequently—the importance of our parliamentary system, the separation of powers and the rule of law. These were safeguarded in our constitutional arrangements. In that sense, he was an Australian very committed to the values that we all hold as important.

I was challenged to raise a parliamentary delegation that I travelled with in 1988, in which Bob was a very distinguished member. It was to the former Soviet Union at the time of glasnost and perestroika, when we were wondering whether it was going to fundamentally change. We discussed the future of the Soviet Union at that time. We had the opportunity of visiting part of Central Asia. In other words, we were in Uzbekistan, and we had the opportunity of being in Samarkand, as I remember well. Later, we went to one of the Baltic republics, Lithuania, and were in Kaunas and Vilnius. Then we were in Moscow and St Petersburg. What we found out was that Russian cities are very different to our own. I was jogging regularly at that time—I was far fitter than I am now—and I might say that, as I came back to the hotel after having run round a park for something like 10 kilometres—I was training for the Sydney City to Surf—Bob Halverson was coming out. He looked at me in horror and said, 'There's no hot water.' I said: 'You really don't know what you are talking about. There'll be hot water; you've just got to let the tap run long enough.' So I went upstairs and let the tap run and run and run, and there was still no hot water. That was fine. We went down and we found our Russian guide. We all knew his name had to be Boris and that he had to be part of the KGB. We said to Boris, 'Look, Boris, there was no hot water—you will be able to fix it tomorrow, won't you?' and Boris said, 'Yes, there will be hot water tomorrow.' So I went out the next day and I think I did 15 kilometres. I came back and there was Boris, knocking on the doors of all of the members of the delegation, singing out at the top of his voice, 'Hot water, hot water,' as he handed each one of us a thermos flask. I did not know that in these Eastern European cities they closed the hot water system down for maintenance because it was reticulated through the whole city. It gave us some fascinating insights.

Bob, of course, became Speaker. I do not know whether our former Madam Speaker, who is in the chamber, will appreciate some of the comments I am about to make. Bob played a very important role in developing a more independent role for the Speaker. It may not necessarily have been acknowledged by all. He agreed at first instance that he would robe but he was not prepared to go back, as Billy Snedden had, and wear the wig, so in that sense he was already starting to define himself as someone who took a different view in relation to the role.

He elected not to participate in coalition party room meetings. He was pressed by the opposition of the time—that was understood—but he also found that his own colleagues were a little disappointed in some of his rulings, which led to a point where there was some questioning over it. In a sense that is disappointing, because I would like to think that in a robust parliament genuine debate and discussion should be facilitated and that the Speaker has a proper role in ensuring that there is appropriate decorum but also that debate is facilitated. I think Bob was one of those who saw a more independent role as the direction to take. Not all agreed with that, which I understand, and when he elected not to seek that role any longer—I think that happened around 1998—he left the parliament.

Bob then had a period as Australia's Ambassador to Ireland and as our representative at the Holy See. It was interesting to see some of the issues that he had to deal with. Diplomatic representatives find some of these matters challenging—particularly, for example, when you are at the Vatican and people want to raise with you issues of asylum seekers and other matters—and he obviously had to deal with those. But it is generally acknowledged that, after some questionable appointments to Ireland at earlier points in time, Bob Halverson was able to restore Australia's reputation as a country that appointed people of capacity and ability to fulfil that role on behalf of Australia. It was very appropriate that, after a distinguished parliamentary career and a period as Speaker, he was able to fulfil that role for our nation and in the nation's interest.

It was a great privilege to know him. To his wife, Maggie, I say, 'We regret very much his passing.' To his children and grandchildren we all express our condolences. He was a fine Australian. He had served this nation in our military. He served this parliament. He played a distinguished role in being the Speaker and he was later a very important diplomat for Australia.

10:39 am

Photo of Mrs Bronwyn BishopMrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the condolence motion on the death of the Honourable Robert George—otherwise known as Bob—Halverson OBE. Like the member for Berowra, I too was a great friend of Bob Halverson. Indeed, I might mention a couple of things as we go through the course of this small contribution I make in recording his life. He was, in many senses of the word, a giant of a man. He had, as we know, served in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1956 to 1981. He had enlisted as an officer cadet and topped his class in 1957. We heard that he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1978 for his work with Britain's Royal Air Force during the Queen's Silver Jubilee, and of course he received the Centenary Medal in 2001. Those things are formal notations of what had shaped much of his life. He was a man who was about service. When he came to the parliament, it was to serve the people of Australia—a country he loved.

I came to the parliament in 1987, after he had already become a member, but over the course of time we became strong friends. Indeed, that friendship included the period when there was much discussion as to whether I was to become the leader of the Liberal Party and whether I would go on, as the pundits were saying at the time, to be the first woman Prime Minister. He was a great supporter of me in that period, and I would like to place on record my thanks for the work that he did and the encouragement that he certainly gave me at that time. As the member for Casey, he worked hard in that seat. There were many occasions when I would join him at events that were important, talking about the parliament or whatever else we were doing at the time.

In opposition, as I said, it was a fast and furious time. When John Howard succeeded Alexander Downer as the Leader of the Opposition, we settled into a pattern of being determined to win that election. Upon winning that election and during the lead-up period, Bob had been the whip. When we won the election, Bob decided that he would run for the office of Speaker. I have to say that he was a very popular member among those of us in the Liberal Party, in the coalition. Bob was successful in winning the ballot to be the preselected candidate, if you like, for the position of speaker, which is the way it is done, and then, when he was put forth in the chamber, he was duly elected to that role.

Traditionally, conservative speakers had worn the ancient garb and, as the member for Berowra mentioned, Bob refused to wear the wig, but he did wear other parts of the apparel, although slightly toned down. But that acknowledged the tradition in his mind. I think it was a very wise decision that he made, showing that the office of Speaker was transitioning. The office of Speaker, as we know, is one of the most ancient in the parliament, dating back to 1377. The only other office within the parliament which is older is that of the Clerk. The reason that the Clerk always does the first readings and so on is that he was probably, in those times, the only person who could read and the members of those early parliaments needed to be told what was in the bills. In the office of Speaker we see the traditional struggle to go up to the chair. In its history, it is an office that is strewn with people who lost their heads or lost office for one reason or another. In changing the garb, he was flagging that there was to be a transition. The way he saw it was that he wanted to change the way that question time, in particular, was conducted. As I had come from the Senate, I understood what supplementary questions were about, but it was something that was rather frowned upon when he introduced it into the House of Representatives, although there were many who enjoyed the opportunity of using the supplementary questions. There was, shall we say, a tense relationship between the government of the day and Speaker Halverson, but he held his ground. He, in my view, marked out the important position of the Speaker's independence from the government and the opposition—in the sense that the office is one of the parliament. He made that a firm position. Others have interpreted that differently, but his speakership was, I think, a turning point—and one that should be marked.

He subsequently became the Australian Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See and he received a papal knighthood for his services to the Vatican. He was a man who was able to transition from military life to life as a stockbroker, to life in the parliament, to life as the Speaker and to life as a diplomat. He was a fine friend and an excellent servant of this wonderful country, Australia.

10:45 am

Photo of Mal BroughMal Brough (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise to pay my respects to Bob as well. I came to parliament in 1996, when Bob Halverson was set to become Speaker. So my first recollection was a phone call from him. With the big loss by the Keating government, there were in that class of '96 a whole heap of new Liberal members. There were therefore a lot of members that the candidates for the role of Speaker did not know. But Bob had done his homework and he recognised that I too was a graduate of the Officer Cadet School, Portsea. When he picked up the phone to me, therefore, he knew that he would be speaking to someone who would have a similar train of thought, if you like. The motto of OCS Portsea is 'Loyalty and Service' and I immediately knew what the make of the man, having graduated in that class of 1957, would be.

The member for Mackellar reflected on the fact that Bob was the top graduate in his class. But it is also interesting to note that it was the smallest class of OCS Portsea ever to graduate. There were 30 cadets selected to attend and only 15 graduated. That is quite a high attrition rate and it says something about what it took—particularly in the fifties and sixties and the lead-up to the Vietnam War—to graduate. The motto of 'Loyalty and Service' served him well and he observed it throughout his life. The member for Berowra mentioned that in his very first speech Bob talked about love of country and his concern about some of our country's values. Bob always put that proposition about values.

I have a couple of interesting little anecdotes. When I was a first term member of parliament, it was in fact the Speaker who first led me astray. I missed my first ever division—the only one I missed in 11½ years—because I was at dinner with the Speaker, which was a heck of a good excuse. For the benefit of members here, I will pass on that it was interesting to discover that our pagers do work in Manuka—because my pager went off. I queried whether we could get back to parliament within the four minutes. Bob assured me that it was not something to panic about and that, on our return, all would be forgiven.

Unlike the members for Mackellar and Berowra, I do not have a history with any speakers before Bob. But the tension between Bob and the government of the day was clear. He had taken Prime Minister Howard at his word that he was after an independent Speaker—and I am quite sure that John was indeed after an independent Speaker, although perhaps not one quite as independent as Bob was aiming to be. There is always that tension. I think the current member for Casey, Tony Smith, is finding that balance better than any Speaker I have witnessed in the 20-odd years I have been here—and that is no disrespect to anyone else. He has found a fine way to maintain that balance. I am sure that when Bob spoke to him, as the Speaker related yesterday, at the time he was a candidate to become the Liberal Party nominee for Speaker, he would have felt some trepidation. Whilst it is a wonderful honour, it is a heck of a responsibility and that balancing act is a hard one. But Tony Smith has done it with aplomb.

I could sense Bob's pain and anguish in that two years as he tried to balance what he thought was right—right for parliament, right for the government and right for the nation. That conflict, I am sure, was something that did not sit well with him, hence his decision—as has been pointed out, his alone—to break from the parliament and leave the incredibly important and significant role of Speaker. Sue and I travelled to Ireland and were hosted in Dublin when he was the ambassador. He was as gracious as you would always imagine him to be. If all of our ambassadors and our diplomats could carry themselves with the dignity that Bob did, then it would bode well for all of us.

It is with great sadness that I note, reflect upon and pay respect to his life of service and loyalty to his country, to the defence forces and to this parliament—and to his family as well. It is clear that Maggie, his family and his grandchildren have lost a dear, dear person who loved them so very much, who led by example and who lived a life that all of us can only aspire to be so proud of. To his family: may he rest in peace—he will not be forgotten by those who knew him so well.

10:51 am

Photo of Sharman StoneSharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

It is with great sadness that we heard of the death of Robert—always known as 'Bob'—Halverson, the fifth member for Casey in Victoria and the 22nd Speaker of our parliament. He passed away on 9 February, after a long battle with cancer, at his home, Kildrummie, in southern New South Wales. He died as he had always hoped: in his own home and with his family.

Bob can be remembered by the nation as having had a long and distinguished career as a senior member of the Australian Defence Force, as a hardworking and dedicated local member of parliament in his initially marginal electorate in the foothills of the Dandenongs and at the head of the Yarra Valley, as the chief Liberal Party whip and as a somewhat controversial Speaker of the House before he entered a distinguished career as an Australian diplomat. Bob was also a close personal friend and mentor of mine, someone who advised and inspired me to become the member for Murray in 1996. I first met Bob when his only daughter, Sharon, became my sister-in law married to my only brother, Grant. Bob was a big-hearted and towering figure who had a passion for our country, for the rule of law and for politics. Bob brought total commitment, passion and persistence to all that he did. He had superb organisational skills which were well recognised and rewarded throughout his career.

Bob was born in Melbourne and grew up in Footscray, so in an essential sense he was a city-centric person who later came to love country Australia. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1956 as an officer cadet at Portsea. He topped the course in 1957. He was awarded an OBE in 1978 for his coordinating role with the Royal Australian Air Force during the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations. He attained the rank of group captain before retiring from the Australian Air Force in 1981. He served the Air Force loyally and he was very proud that his grandson James has also become a pilot. During his long Air Force career, like many other long-suffering faithful Defence Force wives, Bob's wife Maggie relocated with him around the country with their four very small children, including to some very remote and uncomfortable Air Force bases in Northern Australia. She recalls with a mixture of horror and humour how she once had to call Bob home to prise an enormous snake out of the bathroom—or was it the laundry? The louvre windows apparently offered absolutely no resistance to the local wildlife.

After leaving the Air Force, Bob briefly became a stockbroker before being elected to the House of Representatives in 1984 as the Liberal member for his beloved Casey. His hard work in that electorate and his capacity to engender deep loyalty, affection and trust from his fellow local Liberals and branches meant that this was very much a team effort in Casey. There are many who were a part of the Casey Liberal family at that time now mourning his loss.

Bob was magnificently served by his close-knit staff, who were key to his initial success in winning this marginal seat. The late Pauline Osmond, for example—the daughter of another great woman, Dame Phyllis Frost—was not only Bob's mentor and political soul mate; she was a powerful advocate of our strongest liberal values and traditions. She was also one of my closest advisers and mentors when I sought election to the federal parliament in 1995.

Bob served as the opposition party whip, a position he was eminently suited for, before being elected as the 22nd Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Australian parliament. He held that position from 1996 to 1998, when he retired from politics. Others have referred to his great interest in being an independent Speaker, giving a very balanced chairing of the chamber from the Speaker's chair. Controversially at the time, he introduced a not unfamiliar proposition in the Senate: the idea of supplementary questions. Too often, those supplementary questions had to be ruled out of order, because they were vexatious and were not within the standing orders. But the very fact that he had to hear that supplementary question meant that the point was scored and, as you can imagine, that did cause some grief to the government of the day. There was only a two-year period as Speaker but, when Bob left the Australian parliament—given he was still a man wanting to serve his country—he accepted the ambassador position to Ireland and the Holy See. There, he was a most successful ambassador, forging unique and special relationships with the Irish government; although his own background was from northern Europe, of course; given his appearance and his name. He also served the Holy See so well that the Pope granted him a papal knighthood for his services—although he was not a Catholic.

Bob retired to Holbrook in 2003 to become a prime beef producer on his property Kildrummie. The property is close to his son-in-law's property, which also grows beef and sheep. His long beloved wife Maggie helped transform a unique home at Kildrummie; in fact, the house was a converted cattle stud selling station. To go into that extraordinary home, a magnificently organised place, was to really understand Maggie's great skills as a homemaker—and someone who was until very recently Bob's life partner. Bob is survived by his wife, Maggie, and their four children and many grandchildren. He was a very special Australian, and a very dear friend of mine. May we always remember his legacy.

Photo of Clare O'NeilClare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I understand it is the wish of honourable members to signify at this stage their respect and sympathy by rising in their places.

Honourable member s having stood in their places

I thank the Federation Chamber.

10:58 am

Photo of Mal BroughMal Brough (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I move:

That further proceedings be conducted in the House.

Question agreed to.