Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the opposition to pay tribute to the Hon. Peter James Nixon AO, a distinguished servant of the Australian parliament, a true champion of rural and regional Australia and a proud son of Gippsland. I also acknowledge members of his family who are here today joining us in the chamber in the gallery—our condolences to you. I'll make a contribution on behalf of the coalition but I do also acknowledge that the leader of the National Party here in the Senate will be making personal contributions in relation to the condolence.

Peter passed away on 1 May 2025. He lived a long life and was aged 97. His was a life defined by public service, loyalty to his community and a commitment to the National Party and to the coalition more broadly. Born in Orbost, Victoria in 1928, Peter's roots in Gippsland shaped the entirety of his public life. A grazier by profession and temperament, he held a deep belief in the dignity of rural communities and the necessity for government to serve them faithfully. Peter entered the Australian parliament in 1961 as the Country Party member for Gippsland, a seat he would hold until his retirement in 1983. In an era before modern communications, Peter was known for travelling vast distances across Gippsland to ensure that the voices of farmers, the voices of small business owners and the voices of local families were heard here in the Australian parliament.

He was elected, as I said, in 1961, and in 1967 he was appointed to the ministry. This marked the beginning of what would become an influential and highly respected ministerial career across both the Holt and the Fraser governments. As Minister for the Interior from 1967 to 1971, he dealt with the complexities of governing Australia's territories at a time when the nation's population and infrastructure were rapidly expanding. He later served as the Minister for Shipping and Transport in 1971 and 1972 in the McMahon government, where he worked to ensure that regional Australia remained connected to the nation's commercial life through robust transport networks, a cause that he championed throughout his life.

It was during the Fraser government from 1975 to 1983 that Peter's reputation as one of the most formidable advocates for regional Australia was fully realised. As Minister for Transport from 1975 to 1979, and later as Minister for Primary Industry from 1979 to 1983, Peter helped shape key areas of national policy. He worked to strengthen rural and regional Australians. They fundamentally get this. He worked to strengthen the road and rail networks that kept our regions moving. And he brought his agricultural portfolio and understanding from his own experience on the land. He understood the practical realities faced by primary producers and he fought for policies that provided stability in what, as we know, are often volatile markets. When dealing with drought policy, market access or the structural challenges that rural communities face, Peter was renowned for bringing common sense, resilience and, more than that, a willingness to listen.

Across the breadth of his service, Peter remained loyal to the principles of the coalition partnership. He fundamentally believed in its strength, its necessity and its unique capacity to reflect the interests of both urban and regional Australians. He was known within government and across the parliament—this is something to be proud of, in particular for his family—as a man of his word. He was known in the parliament for that. He was unpretentious, determined and pragmatic.

His parliamentary career may have ended in 1983, but his contribution to public life did not, and he just continued. He chaired the National Transport Planning Taskforce in the 1990s, delivering reports that shaped infrastructure development well beyond his years in office. In 2015 he was rightly appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in recognition of his distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, to the transport and primary industry sectors and to the people he loved, the people he served, the people of Gippsland.

Away from politics, Peter was perhaps more passionate, I'm told, about two things: his beautiful family, representatives of which have joined us in the chamber today, and his beloved Richmond Football Club. That is the only marking down I'm going to get to give him. I have to mark him down for that one; I'm a Western Australian! As a lifelong supporter of the Tigers, Peter was actually celebrated by the club not just for his loyalty through good seasons and bad—something my husband needs to learn about!—but for his example of integrity and perseverance. That's beautiful. Following his passing, Richmond paid tribute to him as a cherished member of the broader Tiger family, someone who embodied the club's spirit of resilience.

Closer to home, in Gippsland, Peter remained a towering figure long after he left Canberra. He was celebrated for his ongoing connection to the region through agriculture, through civic leadership and through the countless relationships he maintained across generations. He was a respected elder, a mentor to so many and, perhaps more fundamentally, a reminder of what principled leadership looks like. Peter's passing is the end of a remarkable chapter in Australian political and regional history.

This is an interesting fact: he served under six prime ministers. Some say it was five, but it was actually six, for the record. This is incredible. There are not many who can say they served under six prime ministers. Peter served under Robert Menzies, Harold Holt, John McEwen, John Gorton, William McMahon and Malcolm Fraser. That is actually extraordinary from an historical perspective. This of course meant that, when you look at the breadth of those prime ministers, he navigated periods of significant change, but, as I said, he never lost sight of the people he was sent to Canberra to represent. His legacy is not only one of policy achievements and ministerial titles but also one of quiet influence, of community service and of dedication to the people of Gippsland.

On behalf of the opposition, I extend our deepest condolences to Peter's children, his grandchildren and his great grandchildren. His was, without a doubt, a life exceptionally well lived. His service leaves a lasting mark on this nation and on the regions he loved. May he rest in peace.