Senate debates

Monday, 24 June 2013

Condolences

Hodgman, Hon. William Michael, AM, QC

3:48 pm

Photo of Eric AbetzEric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Today we salute the life and contribution of the irrepressible, the honourable William Michael Hodgman AM, QC to public life. He was a true Tasmanian patriot and a true Australian patriot. His commitment to Queen and country was unparalleled. His loyal toasts will never be surpassed for fervour or passion, and his love of our Australian flag was never left in doubt. So today, as a mark of respect and personal affection—but I hasten to add, as a one-off—I have felt it appropriate to emulate his passion for the flag. If Michael had his way we would not be mourning his passing with a condolence motion but, rather, would be celebrating a full life lived at 100 miles an hour with a motion of thanksgiving.

'Irrepressible' is one descriptor of the many in the avalanche of adjectives employed in seeking to described the indescribable character that is, or was, Michael Hodgman. I have chosen 'irrepressible' to describe the unique, dynamic and hyperactive life of Michael Hodgman. His irrepressibility was no more on display than when Michael was diagnosed with a cruel disease that was ultimately to claim him. On receiving his diagnosis he remarked to his brother, Peter:

I've got bad news and good news. The bad news is I'm going to die. The good news is—not yet.

The diagnosis was not good—three years. Here we are, 14 years after that diagnosis, paying tribute to his life. There is no doubt that he willed his life to that extra decade, such was his dogged determination and commitment when he set his mind to something.

It is one of the ironies of life that a man who was never short of a word, dubbed the 'Mouth from the South', was so cruelly taken from us by a disease that slowly robbed him of his breath. His slow deterioration was fought with courage and absolute determination. Even when I last saw him, with oxygen bottle in tow and in a wheelchair, he did not complain about his lot in life. He was positive about the future, the Liberal Party, the next state and federal elections, the monarchy, the flag and the mighty Cats—although they did let him down yesterday. His positive outlook on everything was infectious, inspiring and a lesson for all of us. He was seriously irrepressible.

Michael was a man who could walk with princes and mix with genuine ease at the local RSL or pub. His was a life lived to the full. He jammed into 74 years what would normally take centuries of human endeavour. His involvements and patronages were legendary. While the MLC for the seat of Huon in Tasmania's upper house, which he won at the age of 26, he was made a life member of the wharfies union, or the Maritime Union of Australia, at Port Huon. In his bid for the federal seat of Denison he spoke out against the compulsory trade unionism and 'no ticket, no start' which shamefully operated on building sites. He made himself available to work as a builder's labourer, discarding his barrister's wig and gown for overalls.

As a lawyer, he was a laughing Rumpole. In front of a jury, he was unbeatable. His oratory, his wit, his sharp mind and disarming charm all combined to make him the criminal barrister, or should I say the barrister practising in criminal law, of his era. Like his father before him, who was similarly skilled, he was without peer. While magistrates and appeal courts were not as fond, juries were spellbound by his presentations. I recall personally briefing him on a matter. Despite repeated promises to meet with the accused, who was on remand, no meeting took place. On the day of the trial I observed the Crown papers were still in pristine condition, completely unopened and unread, which became cringingly obvious during the first day of the hearing, but there was no embarrassment for our Michael. I noticed how he speed-read the papers as the jury were being sworn and during the first day of the trial. Suffice to say, that first day I thought I could have done a better job. The second day was not quite as bad; on the third day we made some headway; and on the fourth day the jury acquitted. Of course, it was always a foregone conclusion to Michael: 'My boy, we were always going to win' rings in my ears, with that smile and glint in his eye. He was always one who was at his best when flying by the seat of his pants.

His appeals were not always as successful, including the one which he started by tendering a photo of the prisoner to the full bench with the words: 'This picture is not that of a criminal.' The appeals bench was not amused. His client was absolutely impressed and became a devotee for life, but not in that sense. Among the profession, we thought he engaged in these displays to ensure the bench unanimously campaigned for his re-election, as they would prefer to see him on the TV as a parliamentary representative rather than as a legal representative in their court room!

His legal skills and capacity were recognised by his vice-presidency of the Bar Association in Tasmania and his being appointed one of Her Majesty's Counsel in 1984. Such was his reputation and the respect for him that, if Michael Hodgman lost something, something was clearly wrong. I recall that the only complaint I ever had made against me to the Law Society of Tasmania was by one of Michael's clients, who was so affronted by the fact that a young whippersnapper lawyer got the better of him in a particular case—how on earth could that be allowed by the Law Society! But, more seriously, he was of the old guard. Pay him if you could; if you could not, he would catch up with you later—no drama.

I personally had the privilege of knowing Michael for nigh on 40 years, first through student political involvement, then as a fellow lawyer, his electorate chair and a fellow parliamentarian. As his electorate chair in the Liberal Party structure for a number of years, I was impressed by the huge number of nonmembers he was able to corral for letterboxing, erecting posters and booth-manning. His electorate involvement was highlighted in the death notices: the Baltic states—he rightly campaigned against their shameful incorporation into the Soviet empire by that weaselly Whitlam diplomatic jargon-du-jour recognition. He was recognised by the Polish Club, the Tasmanian Racing Club, the Hobart Greyhound Racing Club, the Carbine club, the Glenorchy RSL, the Tasmanian hospitality industry, even Senator Bushby's beloved North Melbourne Football Club, the New Town Senior Citizens Club and of course, above all, by his beloved Royal Australian Naval Reserve, whose uniform he wore with great pride. And that is just to name a few of his interests. For him as a member of parliament, three functions a night was an absolute minimum.

In politics he said what he meant. He was pro-life, he was pro the monarchy, he was pro the Federation, he was pro the flag, he was pro-independence for East Timor—another Whitlam government foreign affairs debacle—and, above all, he was staunchly anti-communist. His maiden speech was a full-blown attack on the ALP for its behaviour after the Dismissal, recalling he was elected in 1975. He got stuck into the Labor Party for boycotting the Governor-General's opening of the parliament but then emerging for the lamingtons and cream puffs afterwards. He suggested the day be remembered as 'Lamingtons and Sour Grapes Day'. He spoke of his passionate belief that federalism was the answer to any attempted socialist republican takeover. I hope Michael was able to put in a postal ballot for the upcoming referendum.

It looks as though Labor's obsession with Building the Education Revolution is nothing new. He recounted in his first speech how in Denison two science laboratories were funded by the Commonwealth at two schools only 14 miles apart, but between the two schools there was only one science teacher. It seems history does repeat itself. Having condemned the then worst government in Australian history, he recounted the unemployment rate of 6.8 per cent in his home state of Tasmania. How Tasmanians wish our unemployment rate were there now, instead of having a seven in front of the figure. Having berated the previous government non-stop and drawing the ire of one Paul Keating, he disarmingly told the House: 'I honestly did not want to make a maiden speech in which I made an attack on the previous government.'

His time as a minister, Minister for the ACT and minister assisting the minister for industry, with Phillip Lynch, was clearly the highlight of his career personally. Before self-government, the Minister for the ACT was like a benevolent dictator, signing ordinances at will—like moving on demonstrators, designed of course to genuinely allow others the opportunity should they wish to occupy the space. He was surprised to learn that some, if not all, feminists hated him. He had just stopped Women Against Rape marching on Anzac Day through some obscure traffic ordnance. His response: 'I never said that extremist feminist groups, including Marxist lesbians, planned to disrupt the Anzac Day march. I merely said I had heard reports of their plans.'

Michael Hodgman was described as the type of parliamentarian for whom leaders publicly profess admiration but whom they privately abhor—a type often approved of by Australian voters. There is no doubt that Michael was overwhelmingly approved of by the Australian people. He was described as a mischievous political show pony by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate; but you will be pleased to know that that was way back in 1978 when somebody else held that post—namely, Senator Ken Wriedt.

Controversy and publicity were always courting Michael, or was it the other way around? It was difficult to tell, but the three were always in a strong embrace. In state politics his stoushes with the Labor Attorney-General were high entertainment. Her Majesty's loyal shadow Attorney-General for the state of Tasmania, to whom you referred, Deputy President, could so bait the then Tasmanian Attorney-General she was once reduced to saying she simply hated Hodgmans. The Greens leader at the time, who now leads the Greens in this place, was dubbed 'Christine and the Crazies'.

Apart from his active and capable advocacy on the issues of the day, he was a dab hand at achieving things for Tasmania and his seat of Tasmania: the Antarctic Division, the national marine science and research centre, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the Commonwealth law courts complex, the second Hobart bridge, the Christchurch to Hobart air link. Whenever he was accused of pork-barrelling he would simply clip the Hansard or the media story and ensure that it was circulated in Tasmania.

His passion and principle saw him cross the floor and be outspoken, but he could switch instantaneously from serious to fun. His sense of fun saw him convince the cabin staff on an airliner that his fast-asleep travel companion was in fact his mentally defective brother and to provide him with a colouring-in set should he awake. As he awoke, the member for Franklin could not quite come to grips with why a very sensitive stewardess was offering him a colouring-in set. Another time a colleague had got the better of Michael, so Michael drafted a media release, waltzed around to the colleague's office, slammed it on his desk and said that he at least was giving the colleague the courtesy of knowing exactly what he had said about him. The mortified colleague braced himself for the next day's papers, only to find that it was just a hoax.

He loved sport. Be it racing—horses and dogs—tennis, sailing, boxing or football he was into it. As past president of the Geelong Football Club Frank Costa told me last week, Michael would ring him every year with a Hodgman slogan for the Cats for that particular year. The one that Mr Costa recalled was '2007 will be Cats heaven'. Regrettably, no slogan was offered for 2013.

It seems that everyone has a Hodgman story. He was a friend to all. No person or issue was of insufficient importance to be denied representation. He loved our flag, our monarchy, our Constitution and our institutions. He loved the Liberal Party, of which he was made a life member. He loved the jury system and the parliament. He loved his family. He loved life and lived it to the fullest. But above all he loved people, and he served them with distinction. The coalition mourns his passing and salutes his tireless service to our nation and its enduring symbols and institutions and to his state of Tasmania. The coalition extends our condolences to his family, knowing the best tribute we could pay Michael is by dedicating ourselves to the election of his son, Will, as a premier of a majority government of Tasmania on 14 March 2014.

Normally one would conclude a speech such as this with the words 'May he rest in peace'. I confess I have trouble visualising 'rest in peace' and Michael Hodgman. I suspect he has already discovered a gross injustice against which he is advocating before the ultimate judge. I will conclude with the words recorded in the Hansard of Michael Hodgman's last speech, which he finished as he finished most of his later speeches: God save the Queen!

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