George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its deep regret at the death, on 9 February 2016, of the Honourable Robert George (Bob) Halverson OBE, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and member for Casey, places on record its appreciation of his long and highly distinguished service to the nation and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

Mr President, like you, I acknowledge the presence in the gallery this afternoon of members of the late Mr Halverson's family: his daughter, Sharon Bawden; her husband, Grant Bawden; and Sharon and Grant's son, Bob's grandson, James Bawden.

Bob Halverson rose from a modest background to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives and then to represent Australia as Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See. Along the way he served his country with distinction for a quarter of a century in the Royal Australian Air Force and then for 14 years as a member of this parliament.

Bob Halverson was born in Springvale, Victoria, on 22 October 1937, the son of an electrician. He grew up in Footscray, studying at Footscray Technical School and later at Swinburne Technical College, joining the RAAF in 1956 and marrying Maggie in 1958. Bob's service in the RAAF included some years in Washington, DC, and in England, for which service he was awarded an OBE in 1978 and promoted to group captain in 1979.

After leaving the Air Force in 1981, Bob worked as a financial analyst and client adviser. Then, in 1984, he was elected as the Liberal member of the House of Representatives for the marginal Victorian seat of Casey, the first of five occasions on which he was elected as member for Casey. Gregarious, passionate, robust, unmistakably

decent and with—in his words—'a PhD in hard knocks', Bob Halverson worked diligently to represent the people of this electorate, which spanned outer urban, semirural and rural areas.

He also made an ever-increasing contribution to this parliament. As well as extensive committee work in Canberra, including, for example, public works as well as foreign affairs, defence and trade, he became an Opposition Whip in 1990 and served as Chief Opposition Whip from 1994 to 1996. Elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 1996 parliament, Bob Halverson devoted himself to being a thoroughly independent occupant of that office, balancing tradition and reform in the work of the parliament. When he resigned as Speaker in March of 1998 and said that he would not seek re-election to parliament at the election that year, the opposition leader Kim Beazley said that he had 'graced the position' of Speaker, and 'attempted to deal with the opposition fairly and lift the standards of the place'. The Prime Minister Mr Howard said that he had 'served his country with loyalty and distinction', and expressed the hope that he would come to serve it in further ways.

Having travelled widely around the globe while serving in the RAAF, Bob, as a member of parliament, represented this parliament in delegations to many countries, including in 1998 serving as an observer at the Cambodian elections. A long-time campaigner for retaining our existing flag, he became in time an advocate of an Australian republic.

In 1999, Bob Halverson was appointed Australian Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See, which roles he fulfilled with his usual gusto, quick to establish strong links at the highest level, such as with the President and Prime Minister of Ireland and with the Pope, while being a warm and inclusive host, including of many visiting Australians.

After retiring from these posts in 2002 to combat prostate cancer, Bob—with Maggie—fulfilled a long ambition to go onto the land, moving to a farm at Holbrook in New South Wales. Bob maintained warm links to this parliament, not least through his family connection with the member for Murray, Dr Sharman Stone. Bob's son-in-law, Grant Bawden—who I acknowledge in the gallery this afternoon—is the brother of Dr Stone. Sharman Stone described Bob as her 'mentor, adviser and dearest friend'. It is noteworthy that Bob's seat of Casey is today once again held by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In his first speech in the House of Representatives in 1985, Bob Halverson said:

The men and women who seek to serve in this place may be motivated by many reasons. Mine were quite simple: I believe that our rights and freedoms must be protected, and I love my country.

He also spoke of the importance of 'sacrifice, courage, discipline, loyalty, devotion to duty and', once again, 'love of country'—the values by which he lived his life and served his country so passionately. In that same speech, Bob Halverson spoke with feeling of having 'the help, support and encouragement of a loved and loving wife'. Our hearts go out to Maggie, and to their four children and their families, in their deep loss, and we send to them our very deepest sympathy on this occasion, while acknowledging the service to this parliament and to this nation of a great Australian.