Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House record its deep regret at the death on New Year's Day of the Honourable Sir Ransley (Victor) Garland KBE, former member for Curtin, minister in the McMahon and Fraser governments and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and place on record its appreciation for his service to Australia and offer its heartfelt sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

Vic Garland was first elected to this parliament over half a century ago. He was a child of the Great Depression and the Second World War, an only child raised by parents of modest means, and it created in him the fuel for life: to work hard, not waste a minute, be useful and then, when your work is done, to be grateful—strong Liberal values.

At the University of Western Australia, Vic majored in economics and went on to qualify as a chartered accountant. He quickly got involved in the Liberal Party and local community groups. By his early thirties, Vic was vice-president of the party in Western Australia, heavily involved in Apex and was deputy mayor of Claremont.

In 1969, after Sir Paul Hasluck's appointment as Governor-General, Vic Garland was elected member for Curtin at a by-election. He was re-elected six times. Vic Garland called himself a realist. 'I look at the world as it is and work from there.' And he saw politics as an act of leadership—'Leadership towards national purpose,' he said—and described it.

In his first speech to the parliament in August 1969, Vic Garland spoke of a changing world and the importance of growing a strong economy to fund Australia's place in the world. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Victor Garland believed in the centrality of defence and involvement in our region. As he put it, 'defence in its true meaning is not just guns but also butter.'

Friends say Vic was a man who was a simultaneously thoughtful and considered yet had a sense of urgency. Remarkably, he was sworn in as a minister two years after entering parliament—Minister for Supply and Minister assisting the Treasurer in the McMahon government.

At a time of consequence, he was opposition whip during the 1975 supply crisis, and in the Fraser government he held a range of portfolios—Supply, Post and Telecommunications, Veterans' Affairs, Special Trade Representations, and Business and Consumer Affairs.

In the economic portfolios, he advanced the shift to national legislation for companies and securities, and led Australia's trade negotiations during a time when tariffs at home and abroad determined the fate of industries and jobs.

In 1981, at the age of 47, Vic Garland was appointed Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Vic's wife Lyn joked at the time that, unlike during his long stints in Canberra, at least in London they'd crossed paths at the breakfast table!

Vic had always felt he understood the British. He visited London, often as a minister for special trade negotiations, and, unlike with the continental Europeans or the Americans, he had a fallback when negotiations got difficult: there was always the rugby or the cricket to talk about.

But soft diplomacy is much more than rugby or cricket, and, in London, Australia also had a shining light in Vic's wife Lyn, who was a seasoned concert pianist, so much so that Lyn gave a recital at Australia House for some 400 people, including half of the UK cabinet. Soft diplomacy doesn't get much better than that.

Before the last election, the now member for Curtin, with former leader, Bill Hassell, went to visit Vic and his wife, Lyn, in their aged-care residence. It was for morning tea, a moment to honour the past. At that morning tea, Vic expressed one thing: his gratitude to Australia for the opportunities to serve—to serve.

Today I offer my heartfelt sympathy to his wife, Lyn, Lady Garland, and their surviving children, David and Sally, as well as their grandchildren, Anthony, Oscar, Lucy, Ben, Barnaby and Gus. May this dedicated servant of Australia and our great party rest in peace.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If there was someone who was destined to have a firm grasp of numbers, it was Victor Garland. The son of an accountant, who grew up to be an accountant, he had an unfettered clarity which he carried into politics. As he once put in an interview: 'I'm a realistic person. I wouldn't deny that. I think I try to look at the world the way it is and work from there. There's nothing starry-eyed about my approach.' Armed with a Bachelor of Arts and a major in economics, he practised as a chartered accountant. Along the way, he married Lynette Jamieson, an accomplished classical pianist. The Prime Minister spoke about Lyn performing in the UK later on.

He eventually crossed paths with Western Australian powerhouse Sir Charles Court, who became his mentor and acted as the catalyst that propelled Victor towards a political career. So when Sir Paul Hasluck vacated the seat of Curtin to become Governor-General, preselection beckoned. That was successful, as was his election to this place, of course resulting in a punishing commute that is the burden of every Western Australian who bravely puts their hand up to serve here.

Promisingly, he began his first speech to parliament as the member for Curtin by honouring John Curtin as a great Australian who trod the highest path of duty. As supply minister in the McMahon government, he managed to replace Australia's fleet of antisubmarine helicopters. In the Fraser government, he was given the new portfolio of post and telecommunications. The Adelaide Advertiser hailed him as entering the job 'with an accountant's tidiness and a rising politician's pragmatism.' The Advertiser story goes on:

He admits he had taken only a marginal interest in the whole area of his new portfolio but claims that he has never complained about his treatment by the ABC. Almost a rare claim among politicians these days.

That was in 1976.

Like his predecessor, he called time as the member for Curtin to take up another challenge—in his case, as high commissioner to London. It was an appointment that ruffled some feathers, but Victor went and served Australia and got a knighthood along the way. Turn the clock forward to December 1983, at the end of his stint as Australia's man in London, and you find the very picture of a man surrounded by challenges but still determined to absolutely represent Australia's interests. Sir Victor knew that even a relationship as special as the one that exists between Australia and Britain was one that needed careful tending. He stayed on in the UK, sitting on a host of boards and doing work spread over a wide area before at long last coming home to Perth.

As he was the second-last surviving Liberal member of the McMahon ministry, Sir Victor's death, after 87 well-lived years, marks the twilight of an era. Our thoughts on this side of the House are with his wife, Lady Lyn Garland; his children, Sally, Michael and David; his grandchildren, Anthony, Oscar, Lucy, Ben, Barnaby and Gus; and his family in the Liberal Party. May he rest in peace.

Question agreed to, honourable members standing in their places.