John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death, on 28 October 2012, of the Honourable Gordon Neil Bilney, a former minister and member of the House of Representatives for the division of Kingston, South Australia, from 1983 to 1996. I call Senator Evans, the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion relating to the death of former member of the House of Representatives and minister the Honourable Gordon Neil Bilney.

Leave granted.

I move:

That the Senate records its deep regret at the death, on 28 October 2012, of the Honourable Gordon Neil Bilney, former Minister and Member for Kingston, places on record its appreciation of his long and meritorious public service, and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

I served for a very short time with Gordon Neil Bilney in this parliament. He was a great Labor character, and he was much admired across the parliament. Gordon Neil Bilney was born in Renmark, South Australia, on 21 June 1939, the son of Neil and Elaine Bilney. He attended school in Adelaide at Marryatville Primary School, Prince Alfred College and Norwood High School. Gordon then studied Dentistry at the University of Adelaide and graduated in 1961.

However, a lifetime as a dentist did not appeal to Gordon, and he went back to university to study for an Arts degree, graduating with honours in 1965. He joined the Australian diplomatic service in the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1966. During his lengthy career in the service, he was posted to Jakarta, Manila, Geneva and Paris and represented Australia as a member of the Australian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1972.

His diplomatic career was paused in 1973, when he joined the Prime Minister's staff as private secretary. At this time, the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, also held the position of Minister for Foreign Affairs. This was a reforming time for the first Whitlam government. Gordon was associated with the recognition of the People's Republic of China, the abolition of conscription and the withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam. When Whitlam relinquished the Foreign Affairs portfolio to the great Western Australian Senator Don Willesee, Gordon moved to Willesee's office. After the dramatic dismissal of the Whitlam Government in November 1975, Gordon returned to the Department of Foreign Affairs—to the OECD and EEC branches successively.

In 1980 he was appointed Australia's High Commissioner to Jamaica, a position he would hold until 1982. But his interest in and love of politics saw him return to the centre of Australian politics by successfully contesting the marginal Adelaide electorate of Kingston at the 1983 election, which was of course the year that Bob Hawke was elected with a very large majority. Gordon was re-elected a further four times in the seat of Kingston, holding the seat until the Keating government left office in 1996. His greatest electoral challenge came in 1990, when the high-profile leader of the Australian Democrats, Janine Haines, chose his electorate of Kingston as part of her tilt to have Democrat representation in the lower house. Gordon survived that challenge and retained the seat.

Drawing on his vast experience in foreign affairs, he served the parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade and the expanded Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade from 1983 until his appointment to the ministry in 1990. He was first appointed as Minister for Defence Science and Personnel and in 1993, at a time when Australia was working for greater cooperation in our region, Prime Minister Keating appointed Gordon as the first Minister for Development Cooperation and Pacific Island Affairs.

It is probably this period in the ministry for which Gordon is best remembered, and I know he will be affectionately remembered throughout the South Pacific, where he travelled regularly and was much loved and admired. He developed a great reputation as a person and a great reputation for Australia based on his work. He remarked that his appointment as the first minister for pacific island affairs indicated the Keating government's focus on Australia's relationship with its South Pacific island neighbours. It was a new beginning in Australia's relations with its near neighbours.

Continuing the Labor tradition of activism in foreign affairs and development, Gordon was pivotal in making substantial changes to our development programs. His reforms benefited women, with a doubling of aid for women in development projects and the lifting of the freeze to family planning assistance in Australia's aid program. He was also a strong advocate for Australia's role in providing aid assistance to South Africa during their transition from apartheid to democracy in the early 1990s. He was also responsible for mobilising Australian assistance after Papua New Guinea's devastating earthquake in 1993.

Anyone who knew him knew that he was a genuine character, both in public and in private. He was a master wordsmith with a quick and devastating wit. He was never short of a smile or an anecdote or two. He was just great company. As a proud South Australian, he shared two of that state's great passions, AFL football and South Australian red wine. Combining his love of words, humour and advocacy for a great bottle of red, Gordon achieved wide success with his fundraising campaigns. Senator Abetz may refer to this, but he assures me he did well on both sides of the parliament in selling his wine, so it must have been keenly priced and a good drop.

After the Keating government's defeat and Gordon's eventual electoral loss, Gordon was quoted as saying that the future would include some thinking about cooking and enjoying one of South Australia's 'gorgeous glasses of red'. He spent time after life in parliament fishing and playing chess, as well as still being active around the place. But after a combination of 16 years as a diplomat, 13 years as an MP and six years as a minister he probably enjoyed having the chance to be a little freer to speak his mind.

One of his notable contributions, which I think has been widely quoted in recent days, was in 1996, just after his loss at the polls, when he wrote the following letter to a local official in his former electorate:

I saw your letter today of 26 February. One of the great pleasures of private life is that I need no longer be polite to nincompoops, bigots, curmudgeons and twerps who infest local government bodies and committees such as yours. In the particular case of your committee, the pleasure is acute.

Wouldn't we all like to have written letters like that! Some people suggest senators are more likely to write them anyway, but I think it is a great reflection of the attitude of many retired politicians when presented with new freedoms. It also reflects his great sense of humour. I think from the Labor point of view people like him and John Button were great characters of the Labor Party during that period. While being effective politicians, they were also great human beings and great fun to be around.

He lived a full life and was very dedicated to his family. I am very pleased that Senator Don Farrell is going to speak, because Don knew him far better than I did and I am sure he will bring a more personal reflection. But, on behalf of the Senate, I extend our condolences to his wife, Sarah, his daughters and his extended family.

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

The Hon. Gordon Neil Bilney represented the seat of Kingston for our political opponents in the Australian Labor Party from the election of the Hawke Labor government in 1983 to the defeat of the Keating Labor government in 1996. In many ways, arriving and departing with a Labor government, Mr Bilney was an exemplary Hawke-Keating minister. I am not one who is often given to quoting Alan Ramsey, but allow me to do so on this occasion. He described him as 'a free spirit of great style and wit'. The coalition members who knew him and who have spoken to me, and my own chief of staff, who recalls him from working in the office next door, would vouch for that description by Mr Ramsey.

There is no doubt that Mr Bilney's abiding calling was foreign affairs. He was in the Australian diplomatic service from 1966 to 1982, being stationed in Jakarta, Manila and Geneva. Previously he had served as private secretary to Prime Minister Whitlam with responsibility for foreign affairs. Prior to entering parliament he served as High Commissioner to the West Indies from 1980 to 1982. In 1993 he was made the Minister for Development Cooperation and Pacific Island Affairs—the first time a minister had been appointed to this role and a role he took to with great gusto.

Prior to entering parliament, he served as High Commissioner to the West Indies from 1980 to 1982. From 1990 to 1993, he was Minister for Defence Science and Personnel. In 1993 he was made the Minister for Development Cooperation and Pacific Island Affairs—the first time a minister had been appointed to this role, one he took to with gusto.

He has been described to me as person of ruddy complexion, a tousle-haired fellow for whom coalition members had a deep and abiding affection. He clearly had great diplomatic skills. For a start, he managed to hold the marginal South Australian seat of Kingston for 13 years until swept out by the Howard landslide in 1996. For his 13 years in parliament he was aided by assiduous fundraising with sales of his Kingston shiraz.

Even more impressively, it is the view of some of the old timers in the coalition that much of the funds raised was money out of the wallets of Liberal Party and National Party members and staffers. In the temporary parliamentary annex built into the old House of Representatives rose garden, Mr Bilney plied a strong trade in Kingston shiraz. Many members and staffers eagerly awaited the arrival of each vintage.

My staff member has described Mr Bilney as having a most endearing quality—that he was completely without cant. He spoke with a disarming honesty, directness and joviality, which made one instantly feel one was talking to an old and trusted friend. He was always good for a yarn and always offered his views on Labor colleagues and the Labor Party, but because of his disarming manner, nobody ever took advantage of Mr Bilney's forthright expression of his views.

Many members on both sides of the parliament and former members will sadly miss Mr Bilney. Despite his Labor membership, he brought panache and warmth to this parliament. On behalf of the coalition, I extend our condolences on his passing to his partner and his two daughters.

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very happy to speak in addition to Senator Evans and Senator Abetz about a man whom I would consider a friend. People have commented on his ruddiness. In fact, there is a photograph in the Australian today where you can see that ruddiness. I think it was Senator Abetz who referred to two of his favourite occupations after leaving parliament—drinking red wine and fishing. It is not quite clear from the photograph whether it was the red wine or the fishing which caused that ruddiness. Perhaps it was a combination of both. Of course, the red wine he would have been supplying to all members of the parliament would have come from that great wine area of McLaren Vale, from where some of the best reds come, particularly shiraz.

He was a fine South Australian, who sadly passed away last Sunday at the age of 73. I was disappointed to hear that. I did not even know he was sick. I would have seen him at some point during the course of this year, so it was sad to hear of his passing. He was born in Renmark on the Murray River and, like me, came from the Murray community. He was an ordinary bloke who rose to be a foreign diplomat. Of course we are aware these days of politicians who have a background in foreign affairs. He might have been considered to be an earlier version of one of those. He became a foreign diplomat, was an adviser to Gough Whitlam and a minister in the Hawke and Keating governments. He was renowned for his outspoken humour and a deep belief in ordinary people getting a decent go in life. As others have said, he was a dentist who changed careers to serve with the Australian Diplomatic Service from 1966 until 1982. He was deputy representative to the OECD and then High Commissioner to the West Indies.

In that great wave of the Hawke era of 1983, Gordon was chosen by the Labor Party in a highly contested pre-selection contest. It is not just currently that we have deeply contested pre-selection contests; they even had them back in 1983. Gordon ran in the seat now occupied by that fantastic local member Amanda Rishworth and before her David Cox, both of whom very much relied on Gordon's always sage advice about how to win that seat, which often changes with government.

I cannot quite recall the candidate who ran against him in that pre-selection but I think it was John Lewin from the Australian Workers Union—I could be wrong about that. It was a bitterly contested pre-selection and how I came to first hear of Gordon Bilney was that Gough Whitlam, who by this time was out of parliament but still a great hero of the party, rang a fellow called Murray Glastonbury. Murray was an old stager from the Electrical Trades Union, a very wise and crafty fellow. Gough rang him seeking support for Gordon Bilney. I will not pretend to copy his voice; I will leave that to somebody like John Faulkner, but it was Gough on the phone. Murray was impressed by the fact that the former Prime Minister was ringing him, saying he was supporting this fellow Gordon Bilney. Murray said, 'I've never heard of this Gordon Bilney character. Where does he live?' Gough said, 'He lives in Kingston.' Murray said, 'I can't recall anybody by the name of Gordon Bilney who's connected with the Labor Party in the seat of Kingston.' Gough said, 'I'm not talking about Kingston in South Australia; I am talking about Kingston in Jamaica,' which of course was where Bilney was: he was a diplomat in Kingston, Jamaica, seeking preselection for this seat in South Australia. Most people considered that a pretty outrageous thing to do. Even now it could be considered an outrageous thing to do! But Gough held sway. He rang enough people, and Gordon won that preselection. He then continued to hold it, election after election, for the whole period of the Hawke-Keating government. That includes the difficult preselection where he beat the high-profile leader of the Australian Democrats, Janine Haines, in what was pretty much hand-to-hand combat through the streets of the seat of Kingston.

One of his great friends from South Australia was Chris Schacht, a fellow member of the Keating government. He records, in the Australian newspaper article I referred to earlier:

… he had a wonderful sense of humour; a dry sense of humour …

I think anybody who met him would know that. He would sometimes surprise you with a comment and you would think he was serious, but then you would suddenly realise he was just making fun of you.

Gordon was best known nationally for his roles as federal government Minister for Defence Science and Personnel from 1990 until 1993, and then as Minister for Development Co-operation and Pacific Island Affairs from 1993 to 1996. He was a prominent member of the political stage, but he never lost sight of the welfare of ordinary Australians. After he retired from politics, he continued to live in the seat of Kingston and continued to try and help people who he thought deserved his support. He did a range of other things in the course of his 13 years in parliament.

Having entered the parliament in 1983, he was successful in the 1984, 1987, 1990 and 1993 elections, and as I mentioned before he held off a challenge from Janine Haines. He was a man of good humour, and the former Premier of South Australia, John Bannon, has described him as a man of very high intelligence with no self-importance. Anybody who met Gordon in a pub, in an airport or at a fundraiser for Amanda Rishworth or David Cox would know that was absolutely true. He was always a straight talker.

There is a story that one of his former employees, John Bistrovic, tells about him. It was in the lead-up to the 1996 election. He arranged to set up a stall at the Noarlunga Australia Day festival; he paid his fees and made all of the necessary arrangements. On the day of the festival, just before Prime Minister Keating called the 2 March election, Gordon's stall was covered with corflutes, standard election flyers, when someone from the festival committee asked him to remove the corflutes and the other paraphernalia, claiming that they were too political. He thought this was a rather bizarre situation, considering they allowed him to set up a stall knowing of course that he was a politician. Not wanting to cause an incident, he was happy to comply with their request but unfortunately lost the election. The letter that Senator Evans referred to was in response to that particular event, so I will not go through the words again; but that is how the letter came about, as a result of that.

It is very sad to see Gordon go. He was a fine fellow and always enjoyable company. He had that great sense of humour and he always had something very sensible to impart, particularly to young politicians at the time, like me. I express my condolences to Sandy Calhoun, his wife—a hell of a nice lady—and to his children, Caroline, Sarah and Nicholas. We shall not forget his contribution to the Australian parliament.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask honourable senators to stand in silence to signify their assent to the motion.

Question agreed to, honourable senators standing in their places.