Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to pay tribute to a legendary figure—I use the word 'legendary', as did Paul Kelly—in Australian public life: John Owen Stone AO. On behalf of the New South Wales Nationals, I offer our sincere condolences to his family and our profound respect for a life spent in public service to the Australian nation.

He was a man of remarkable intellect. We've heard here today of so many things that he had done, his unwavering conviction and fearless independence. Over a career that spanned public service, politics, journalism and civic commentary, he shaped many of the great debates this nation has had.

We've heard he was born in Western Australia. We've heard about the trail. He went right across Australia, living in so many of our cities and so many of our towns. He gave me a great sense of federalism. He gave me a great sense of what this nation was. There was also that time he spent over in Oxford being a Rhodes scholar—and serving eight treasurers, Liberal and Labor, without fear. That was what led Paul Kelly, once again, to call him 'a mastery of economic reasoning and a gift for the principled dissent'. Stone himself once said that the first duty of a public servant is to the public—not to ministers, not to ideology and certainly not to fashion. He was fiercely independent; that line captures him well. He never allowed his role to become politicised. He stood firm against the inflationary policy and reckless spending—at times, even by his own ministers—when he believed that the national interest was at stake.

When he entered this very chamber in 1987—no, it was the other chamber down the road; he didn't come up here—he spoke plainly and with purpose. He believed in strong borders, a sovereign parliament and a cohesive national identity. He once told this chamber that a parliament that shrinks from its responsibilities, whether through political cowardice or cultural confusion, is a parliament unworthy of the Australian people. Think of where we are today—the arguments we are having and the things that are being said—and apply that. Some of his views were controversial, but none doubted the sincerity in which he held them. In a time when political figures often followed the lead, John Stone was resolutely his own man. He believed, above all, that Australia must remain the master of its own destiny.

In the 1990s and beyond, his essays in the Quadrant, the Australian and other publications show a deep concern for Australia's economic direction and cultural confidence. In one of his most cited pieces, he wrote, 'We have become a nation adept at the language of surrender—surrender of culture, of sovereignty and of pride in our civilisation, and that must end or the nation we know will cease to exist.' Once again, these are words that we must think of. But that was the spirit of John Stone—a man who saw warning signs and spoke them loud and clear while others stayed silent. He was deeply committed to the principle of federalism and worried about the overreach of Commonwealth power into the lives of citizens and the responsibilities of states. His words on this subject were also strong: 'The drift towards centralisation is not inevitable; it is merely being left unchecked.' To the very end, he wrote with sharpness and clarity, urging Australians to think more deeply about what binds us together as people. He was always for unity.

John Stone was not only a public servant or senator but also a national sentinel. He guarded our institutions, our finances and our civic cohesion with fierce determination. His legacy is one of courage, intellect and an unshakeable belief in the Australian nation. To his wife, Nancy, and their children: we extend our deepest sympathies. Australia has lost a statesman, but his words and the example of his service will remain with us. May he rest in peace.