Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the opposition to acknowledge the passing of Gerry Norman Francis Jones, who passed away in April. At the outset, I convey the opposition's condolences to the family and friends of Mr Jones. I start by acknowledging the generous contribution of the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

As a senator of the great Australian Labor Party, Gerry Jones served in the Senate from 1981 until 1996, representing the state of Queensland. As a South Australian, I will not join with the Leader of the Government in the Senate's comments about Queensland senators—I might leave that to my colleague, Senator Moore, who may make a few comments.

Mr Jones was a committed Labor member, joining the party in his early 20s. He stood unsuccessfully as a House of Representatives candidate. He served a term in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and worked as a party official prior to his entry to this place. His was a life defined by service to the Labor cause.

Gerry Jones was born in Roma in 1932. He was a keen sportsman, particularly in rugby league and boxing. He qualified as a joiner after undertaking an apprenticeship and would later establish his own business as a building contractor in Dalby and the Gold Coast. He also worked as a real estate agent following a period of ill health that curtailed his physical activities. At one point, he also managed a service station. Ultimately, it was politics that was his true vocation.

He joined our party in 1956 and, as Senator Brandis has described, this was a tumultuous time in Labor politics. It came hot on the heels of the great Labor split in 1955. It was this, accompanied by the influence of his father—who was the president of the local Labor branch—and an attraction to the emphasis on humanity within the Labor platform that propelled him into the party.

His party involvement was active, diverse and marked by a willingness to put himself forward as a candidate for our party. Twice unsuccessful at both ends of the 1960s in attempts to win a seat in the House of Representatives, in the meantime he secured a position as a state organiser in the Queensland branch in 1967. It provided him with a foothold in the organisational wing of the party—a role which enabled him to travel all over Queensland talking to members. Doubtless, this was a sound platform from which to launch himself into parliament, which eventually occurred with his election to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in 1972.

Disappointingly for him, and for the reasons that Senator Brandis has outlined, it was only a short stay. But he made plenty of impact, establishing himself as one of the most strident critics of the government of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, which he colourfully described—amongst other things—as a:

… minority coalition which masquerades as a Government through the grace of an undemocratic redistribution, false promises, political deceit and political distortion …

His attacks against the Premier were persistent and trenchant.

Following the 1974 election, Mr Jones returned to party service for much of the remainder of the decade, culminating in his appointment as state secretary in 1977. As with many other state branches, this time was notable for the rise in influence of groups within the party pushing for reform: reform of party organisation and reform of party structure. And of course, in Queensland, one of the principal protagonists was the future premier, Peter Beattie. This culminated with a full intervention by the National Executive in 1980. As state secretary, Mr Jones remained loyal to what was known as the 'Old Guard' and, by the time the intervention had occurred, he had already secured a winnable position on the party Senate ticket for the election to occur later the next year. The next stage of his political service was about to begin.

Taking his place in the Senate from July 1981, he would go on to be elected four times. He was a proud senator for Queensland and used many of his early parliamentary contributions to focus on his home state. And still, the premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and his government came under sustained criticism from him. He was particularly adept at drawing unfavourable comparisons between the performance of the Queensland economy and the national economy.

He found much satisfaction in the work of Senate committees and served on many throughout his career. One of these was the Senate Committee on Science, Technology and the Environment, of which he was chair for some four years. A notable inquiry that took place in this time was into the effect of pesticides such as Agent Orange on the health of Australia's Vietnam War veterans. Perhaps one of his earliest forays into foreign affairs was in 1971 when, together with his wife Rita and many others, he was heavily involved in the anti-apartheid movement. This came to a head when Joh Bjelke-Petersen declared a state of emergency in Queensland to ensure the Springbok team could tour without being hindered by protests.

In the parliament that interest in foreign policy persisted on a range of parliamentary committees. It was, over the time he was engaged on this, an extraordinary time in foreign policy. The Berlin Wall fell, the Cold War came to an end, the Gulf War took place, Cambodia emerged from a decade of conflict through Australian leadership on the international stage, and there are many other examples. At the same time, the Hawke and Keating governments were embarking on a deeper engagement in our own region, led by foreign minister Gareth Evans.

Perhaps one of the most significant engagements of Mr Jones was the inquiry into sexual harassment in the ADF. He was chair of the inquiry, which emanated from incidents of alleged harassment towards female officers aboard HMAS Swan in 1992. This was an inquiry that navigated difficult terrain, required a great deal of sensitivity and was the subject of extensive media coverage. Ultimately, Mr Jones was able to lead the committee to a report with a substantial number of recommendations. He remained a strong anti-uranium mining and antinuclear advocate throughout his career, and received the unanimous support of the Senate on moving a motion calling on the cancelling of the French program of nuclear testing in the South Pacific.

Gerry Jones contributed greatly in the service of our party. He served as Deputy Government Whip and then became Government Whip in 1987, a position he would hold until just before his retirement in 1996. It was a role that suited his collegial nature, and he has been described as having built relationships not only within his own party but also across the chamber. By his own words, he described the role of the whip as being like a director in a play. As Government Whip, he also became the first senator to chair the Selection of Bills Committee from its inception from 1990 until he left the Senate.

Gerry Jones was a Labor senator through and through. But from the tributes of others, both at the time of his departure from the Senate and since his passing, it is clear that he did not let strong values and strident political opinions, nor indeed political differences, compromise his personal integrity. He seems to have been universally described as warm, friendly and decent and someone who went about his work cheerfully and calmly. When speaking on his valedictory, Senator Faulkner recognised the outstanding service to the party rendered by Mr Jones throughout his career as a senator and throughout his life, stating, 'You have always conducted yourself with very great distinction.' But perhaps it was one of my other predecessors as Labor leader in this place, Chris Evans, who summed it up best. He simply said, 'Gerry Jones, good bloke, consummate whip.' To be called a good bloke—I am not quite sure what the female equivalent might be—at the end of a career of that length, I think, is a pretty significant achievement. We, again, extend our deepest sympathies to Mr Jones's family, friends and former colleagues following his passing.