Andrew McLachlan (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death on 3 May 2023 of the Hon. Anthony Alan (Tony) Stanley AO, a former minister and member of the House of Representatives for the division of Chisholm, Victoria, from 1970 to 1980. I call the Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Farrell.

Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its sorrow at the death, on 3 May 2023, of the Honourable Anthony Allan Staley AO, former Minister for the Capital Territory and Minister for Post and Telecommunications, and former member for Chisholm, places on record its gratitude of his service to the Parliament and the nation and tenders its sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

I rise to pay tribute to Tony Staley. Tony was elected to the House of Representatives for the division of Chisholm at a by-election in 1970, joining John Gorton's government. He would go on to serve the people of Chisholm for a decade. During his ten years in parliament, he served as the Minister for the Capital Territory, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Arts, Minister for Post and Telecommunications as well as shadow parliamentary secretary to the Leader of the Opposition. Sadly, Tony passed away on 3 May 2023, surrounded by his children, with his beloved poetry books on his bedside table.

Tony's life was one of service. Before entering parliament, he was employed as a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne, the same university where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws. Tony's departure from parliament was not due to a loss of confidence of the electorate or his party but rather as a man who wanted to spend more time with his family. At the time, Tony described the reason for his decision as he no longer wanted to be an absentee landlord to his children. He was a family man. He was a dedicated father and husband.

When Tony left parliament, he didn't walk away from the party that he loved. Instead, he was convinced to put his name forward as national president, a position he held from 1983 to 1999. Many credit a portion of the Liberal Party's success during this period to the leadership that Tony provided.

He was a man with great courage in his convictions, never hesitating to do what he thought was right. Tony has been remembered as a man of great resilience and strength, as was demonstrated by his notable courage in the wake of a terrible car accident in 1990 in which he was injured. Tony has been described as a great politician; an even greater man; a brave, strong and, above all, party loyalist; and a devoted servant of and contributor to the Liberal Party all his adult life.

In the days following Tony's passing, tributes have flowed, with many from across the country remembering him with great affection and wishing to express their condolences.

While Tony had a deep love for politics and service to the community, he also had a deep love for poetry. Some of his favourite poems were said to have brought him comfort when making difficult decisions while in government and peace in difficult moments of his life.

It's appropriate that we pay tribute to Tony in this place, that we acknowledge his contribution to Australia. We're deeply saddened by Tony Staley's departure from this life. I offer my condolences and those of the government to Tony's family, especially his children, Richard, Samuel, Alexandra, Jonathan and Lucinda, as well as to Tony's friends and to all those who knew him. May he rest in peace.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the opposition to honour the life of the Hon. Anthony Allan Staley, AO. Tony Staley served as the member for Chisholm, a Liberal Party member and a minister. Born in Horsham in 1939, Tony attended Scotch College before going on to university where he became an active member of the Liberal Party. A graduate of law, Tony had two passions dominant in his life at that stage: drama and politics. Both stages were open to him in life, but he pursued the latter after completing a masters degree in politics and working as a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne. However, Tony never lost the art of bringing a little drama to politics whenever the stage would demand it.

In 1970, he was elected in the seat of Chisholm at a by-election, joining John Gorton's government, and he would go on to serve the people of Chisholm for a decade. In his maiden speech in 1971, a speech that walked across issues of public order, protests, universities and freedom of speech, Tony made an observation of enduring relevance. He said:

In time of peace, wishful thinking and dreaming will not keep institutions alive and well. They must be defended as any human institution must be defended when it is under attack.

Upon being re-elected in 1972, Tony found himself and his party in opposition for the first time in a long time, with Billy Snedden now at the Liberal helm. In 1973, Tony was promoted to shadow parliamentary secretary to the Leader of the Opposition. However, Tony admitted to losing faith in Snedden's ability to lead the Liberals, and, despite his personal regard for the then opposition leader's honesty and decency, Tony joined a growing chorus who threw in their lot with Malcolm Fraser. Tony would later say:

I'm not prepared to be the sort of politician who won't stand up for his beliefs.

Tony was not necessarily a major powerbroker, but his decision, his rule and his actions there were influential. He certainly should not be portrayed as a powerbroker, for, as author and journalist, Paul Kelly, wrote, 'Without Staley's decision, Fraser would not have won the Liberal leadership at the time he did and consequently would probably not have won it before the Liberals were returned to office.' Staley's role helped to divert and change that part of history. But Paul Kelly noted that, unlike some of his party colleagues for whom the blood and thirst of leadership challenges and the like came naturally, Tony was a theorist who enjoyed philosophising, a trait which came naturally to the academically minded and gifted Tony Staley. If Tony was atypical in this regard, he was also exceptional in being someone who did shape Australia's political history—first, as I said, in helping to lift Fraser into the Liberal leadership and, secondly, in helping to bring down Gough Whitlam's Labor government and therefore making Fraser Prime Minister.

In Malcom Fraser's government, Tony Staley proved to be a steady hand and an effective minister, first for the Capital Territory, then assisting the Prime Minister and finally for Post and Telecommunications, where he excelled. Yet, as Senator Farrell has indicated, Tony Staley made the decision to retire from the parliament before the 1980 election, despite then Prime Minister Malcom Fraser's attempts to dissuade him from doing so.

After leaving the parliament and seizing that time with his children, Tony took on a directorship for Ogilvy & Mather and became chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Australia, Geostar Pacific, Reed Stenhouse, Australian Telecommunications Users Group and, for a short while, Ozonyx, a medical equipment company. He turned his attention to being chairman of the Jet Corporation of Australia but also found time for chairmanships relating to his passions, including the Australian Professional Performing Arts Association, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Film Victoria and the Playbox Theatre.

In 1990, as Senator Farrell alluded to, Tony was involved in a near-death car accident with a drunk driver that left him to endure a long and arduous recovery. Once over the hardest hurdles of his recovery, Tony reflected to the Sunday Herald about taking his first steps in some eight months and sharing the triumph with his family, saying: 'These are big moments in a little life.' None of us who knew Tony would ever describe his life as a little one. Tony had and made a big impact. He also never complained of the injuries caused to him or the calipers that he would use to aid his walking for the years to follow. He instead always reflected on the charmed and privileged life that he felt so fortunate to have.

Following the accident, in the years to come, he continued to contribute. He took great delight in his work as chair of the Cooperative Research Centres Association, acting there in ways aimed to help drive science and research across so many different fields in Australia. Tony also gave back to the Liberal Party at its time of need, becoming federal president between 1993 and 1999. Nineteen ninety-three was a dark, trying and troubling time for the Liberal Party. We had just lost the so-called unlosable election; we were churning through leaders and facing great challenge. But Tony answered the call to step up. He wasn't just a leader who provided great leadership at the highest possible levels of the party. He used that office to connect across the board.

It was at this time that I first met Tony Staley at a Young Liberal conference at Sydney University. I remember Tony Staley not as the person who came with his great deep voice and got to the stage and gave an uplifting speech, though indeed those are the things that he did do. I remember Tony Staley as the person who stayed through the day and into the night—well into the night—and, after the wines were finished, finding a bottle of scotch and continuing to engage with all of the Young Liberals, decades his junior, inexperienced as we were, with plenty of cigarette smoke wafting through the air in those days too. Tony Staley was clearly in his element mentoring and encouraging future generations, challenging our ideas and our thinking, and quizzing us about the policies that were being debated at that conference. From that, I know many who may not have seen or heard much of Tony Staley in the years to come but will, like me, have taken great inspiration from the work of somebody who had been serving in this place—likely at the time that most of us, in fact, were born.

As Tony finished his presidency of the Liberal Party, then Prime Minister John Howard described him as 'a great servant of the Liberal Party' who 'always put the party first'. That is so true. And it was, of course, during Tony's presidency that he saw and oversaw the successful election and re-election of the Howard government, turning the tables on the 13 years of opposition and setting us up for more than a decade in government. Howard highlighted Tony's three great qualities: his immense personal courage, his great sense of humour and his considerable grace and eloquence. I'm sure all of us who met or knew Tony can attest to each of those.

Testimony to Tony's achievements, he was fittingly made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2007 for his service to politics, to the telecommunication and arts sectors and to the development of the Liberal Party. He was generous in sharing his time and insights with new generations of Liberals but also across the art society and world, the scientific realm and all other sectors in which he engaged.

The Hon. Anthony Allan Staley passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and neighbour, with, as his family reported, books of poetry, Leonard Cohen playing, a glass of Cointreau and a crumpled Age newspaper—his son Sam noting 'a happy end to a long and interesting life'. We can all but hope to go surrounded by such love and so many fitting memories of a life well lived. On behalf of the opposition and the Australian Senate, I thank Tony for his service and offer our heartfelt condolences to his children, Richard, Samuel, Alexandra, Jonathan and Lucinda. And, to all of Tony's loved ones, friends and former colleagues, we extend our deepest sympathies.

Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today the chamber pays its respects to a lion of the Liberal Party in Tony Staley. I am both sad and very proud to stand here today to mark, on the indelible record of Hansard, a tribute to his life. But I have a confession to make before I do: I am hopelessly biased because Tony Staley was my 'Tuesdays with Morrie' guy. That is a rather crass referral to an airport novel that's rather unfit for a man so well versed in the classics, but, indeed, it is the best description I could come up with.

I met Tony eight or nine years ago at a group dinner, knowing only the legend of him. He inadvertently left that dinner early without paying his bill. To avoid embarrassment, I picked up the cheque for him and quietly covered his share, but clearly somebody knew, because about a fortnight later he called me and asked me to lunch to thank me. I went to lunch, and we hit it off and we've been having regular lunches ever since then. At first, it was always the same. It was at the Bamboo House, and we had Peking duck at his regular table. When he moved into an aged-care facility about three years ago—his mind still very sharp, just his body giving way—I would bring the takeaway Peking duck to him. It was over these lunches that I got to know a truly great man; a man of extraordinary achievement; a man of love for his family and passion for poetry, of charm and erudition; a man of strength of will and determination in the face of adversity; a man of character and patriotism and a commitment to service; a man with a cheeky sense of humour and a healthy sense of the ridiculous; and a man of enormous conviction and deep humanity. He brought all of these things to his life and to his politics. I took great joy in learning from him and about him.

His life was one that was well lived—a race well run from the start. He was born in Horsham and educated in Melbourne, and he went on to Melbourne university, where things could have gone in a very, very different direction. It wasn't until his funeral that I realised—because much was said about it—his original plans were to in fact join the church. But it was not to be. Apparently, two days into a theology degree, he told the Reverend Davis McCaughey that he had come to the conclusion that man created God and not the other way around. Needless to say, law and politics were clearly a better fit.

One of Tony's childhood friends was Sam Holt, and Sam spoke so beautifully and eloquently, and with such affection, at Tony's funeral. One can only imagine just how profound the effect of the disappearance of Sam's father, Prime Minister Harold Holt, at the Portsea Back Beach was to be on both men, as well as on the psyche of a nation—because just three years later, at the age of 31, Tony Staley won the seat of Chisholm in a by-election and increased the Liberal Party's primary vote. He went on to serve in the many capacities that have already been spoken about, most notably as Minister for the Capital Territory and Minister for Post and Telecommunications.

It was in this particular role that Tony took his Liberal values to the airwaves. Through the reforms that he introduced to our broadcasting legislation, he provided the basis for local and community-focused radio stations through the establishment of new broadcasting stations. In introducing the changes, he told the parliament:

… the main reason for setting up new broadcasting stations is to provide better programs. The Government sees public broadcasting as a force for diversity. Its role is to provide Australians with a range of choices which the national and commercial sectors are not able to provide.

He was also the minister when the long-held ambition of the SBS came to be a reality.

These are extraordinary achievements in themselves. But Tony Staley was not a minister that was only delivering changes in order to receive accolades or create announceables. In his time in parliament Tony Staley was central—he was instrumental—in the rise of Malcolm Fraser as leader and the downfall of the Whitlam government and the Dismissal.

Unbelievably, after an extraordinary career, he left parliament by choice after 10 years at the age of 41. I once asked him why he chose to leave politics at such a young age at the height of his political influence. 'You could have become leader,' I said to him. He said back to me in his deep melodious voice—one that usually quoted poetry or said words that I later had to look up in a dictionary—in that beautiful rich timbre: 'Jane, I just wasn't enough of a'—and for the sake of Hansard I won't reveal that final word, but I will say that I responded, 'Tony, that's not what I've heard.'

As a member of this parliament he served a brief but still very remarkable period. It was made even more remarkable for the fact that this was not the culmination of his contribution to public life but just the beginning of it. Reflecting on some of the harder moments he faced and difficult decisions he confronted in public life, he turned to poetry as his source of courage. An oft quoted favourite was Australian poet James McAuley—a warrior for his beliefs, according to Tony. His musings on the human condition contrasted by the value of lived conviction was indeed a compelling theme. Tony said it was a McAuley poem entitled Liberal or innocent by definition that helped him to decide to resign his shadow ministry and begin the campaign to elect Malcolm Fraser as leader. In it McAuley calls out the empty life of the virtuous neutral without beliefs or the courage to commit to them—'Unbiased between good and evil they can never be convicted. They have no record of convictions.' I just love that.

Following parliament, Tony's convictions were lived, not forgotten. He was the president of the Public Broadcasting Foundation and attended the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia's conference for over 40 years. As a result, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia honours community broadcasting organisations or programs that actively promote the values of community broadcasting with the Tony Staley Award. When he was asked what community radio meant to him he responded, 'The voice of the people.' This is typical of how Tony lived his time beyond politics—the continued pursuit of those values and projects that in public life he believed in. Convictions for Tony were never performative.

When the Liberal Party was facing the 10th year of Labor in power in Canberra, despite his permanent and profound injury from a car accident three years earlier Tony Staley put himself forward to serve his party again as federal president. This wasn't an easy decision. He had to defeat Malcolm Fraser, the man he had campaigned for the Liberal leadership 20 years prior. But, having beaten his former leader and Prime Minister, he didn't rest.

No-one was left wondering whether he would be an active and activist party president when he took the step to remove his support from John Hewson as leader. Together with Andrew Rob, Graham Morris, Ron Walker and Mark Texta, Tony Staley devoted his time to rebuilding the Liberal Party's machinery and movement. That dedication delivered victory for the first time in 13 years and the election of John Howard in 1996. The work that Tony and others had undertaken established the foundation for electoral success over the next decade and beyond.

For those of us who may have been too young to be in Canberra for the Whitlam dismissal but had the privilege of knowing Tony later in life, he was always gracious and always generous with his wit and with his wisdom. Those regular lunches—first at the Bamboo House and later by his bedside—we are very important to me. They were a source of inspiration. They gave me perspective. They gave me context. Tony gave me advice and encouragement. In him I found someone I could trust completely. He saw my potential, pushed me to be braver and wished me nothing but good things—a rare thing, indeed, in this game.

I loved the stories of his family, who he loved so desperately. Stories came thick and fast from his time in politics and the characters that he knew on both sides of the political divide. Some were fantastical, but they were all true. At his funeral I heard one that I hadn't heard before. It was told by one of his five adored children. Apparently in the early 1980s Tony was sitting on a plane and found himself next to Wendy Wier, the wife and collaborator of film director Peter Weir. Somehow, as most conversations with Tony go, a poem was quoted, this one by Tasmanian poet Gwen Harwood. So taken with the poem was Wendy Weir that she asked Tony to write it down on a Qantas napkin. A few years later, Tony received a phone call from Peter Weir, letting him know that the poem was a source of inspiration for his new film that was about to be released, Dead Poets Society. Apparently the director gave each of the young actors a copy of Gwen Harwood's poem in a frame at the conclusion of filming. That frame can still be seen on the wall behind Ethan Hawke in interviews and documentaries.

I found out that Tony was unwell and only had a short time to live via a text message written on his behalf by his son Sam. Even his texts, even when dictated to somebody else, were poetic. Among other things, he said that he faced death with no fear whatsoever and greatly supported by his beautiful family and friends. He said he counted me as one of those and hoped I would give us a better world.

I wouldn't let him get away with that. I went to visit him the next day. Sure enough, there he was, still holding court, surrounded by family, talking about—very matter-of-factly—his funeral: who would do the eulogy, which hymns would be sung and where it would be held. I suggested to him that there would need to be space for his many friends and admirers. 'Definitely not St Paul's,' he said, 'Too small for a cathedral, too large for a church.' His funeral at St John's was one of the loveliest I have ever been to: full of family, full of friends, full of love, full of admiration and full of gratitude.

Tony's life will not be judged as being unbiased. He wasn't a fence-sitter. He wasn't a bystander. It was a public life with conviction, and for many neutral observers that might have pushed him between the columns of good and evil. But he was never deterred. He was all in, feet first. Just as the Dead Poets Society quoted Thoreau, Tony Staley wished to live life deliberately. As parliamentarians reflecting on a former servant, we can only hope to deliver on our beliefs to the extent of Tony Staley.

For some of us, our time here will be the conclusion of our public service and the beginning of a return to a life that is more private and more personal. Tony's convictions burned too bright for that. His love for life and for those around him and his devotion to service of his nation will forever be an inspiration to me, as they should be to us all. I will miss our lunches. I will miss sharing Peking duck. I will miss my friend. Vale Tony Staley, go well and God bless.

Sarah Henderson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is my great honour to rise with my fellow senators to honour the life of the Hon. Anthony 'Tony' Staley AO. I want to acknowledge the very fine contributions made in the chamber today, including a beautiful contribution from Senator Hume.

Tony Staley was a man of great strength, resilience and conviction, and a fine example of the very best that the Liberal Party has to offer to the Australian people. Born in 1939 in Horsham in regional Victoria, Tony demonstrated a love for learning, poetry, and philosophy—a love that would later lead him to obtain a Bachelor of Laws and a masters degree in politics at the University of Melbourne.

After his studies, Tony went on to teach at Melbourne Grammar School before returning to the University of Melbourne, this time as a lecturer in politics. During his time as a lecturer, Tony became increasingly engaged in the fight to maintain freedom of speech on university campuses, a cause after my own heart. That was an issue that prompted him to nominate as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Chisholm.

In 1970, Tony was elected to the parliament as the member for Chisholm, the beginning of a decade of service to his electorate and many decades of service to the Liberal Party. As we've heard, Tony served in a number of eminent ministerial roles, perhaps making the greatest mark in a portfolio that he loved dearly, as Minister for Posts and Telecommunications. Apart from his great love of community broadcasting—he is till held up as one of the great people in this country to champion community broadcasting—he also had a particular interest in the ABC, another cause after my own heart. I was looking through some of the clippings and found one written by Michelle Grattan and Tony Walker, in the Age, from 23 May 1979, called 'Staley sets up ABC inquiry':

The Federal Government has approved a full-scale inquiry into the ABC. Yesterday's decision follows persistent criticism of the way in which the broadcasting body is run.

That was something that Tony had, and I have, a deep interest in—matters of public broadcasting. He was a great champion of broadcasting but also of accountability of our public broadcasters.

As we have heard in this condolence motion, Tony was pivotal in helping to bring down the Whitlam Labor government before his appointment as a cabinet minister in the Fraser government. Tony retired at a very young age, and that ended a decade-long service to the people of Chisholm. In 1990 he suffered very serious injuries in a car crash that would leave him very debilitated, but those closest to him noted that he demonstrated immense strength and he never complained about the accident or the painful and debilitating side effects that he endured.

After a period of recovery, Tony went on to serve as the federal Liberal Party president between 1993 and 1999, working tirelessly to secure John Howard's leadership of the party and, ultimately, the successful election of the Howard government in 1996. Tony Staley was duly appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2007 for his service to politics. There are many current and former members of parliament and senators, including myself, who owe a great debt of gratitude to Tony Staley for his friendship, for his service and for his guidance.

I, too, was honoured to attend Tony's funeral, which was a wonderful celebration of an exceptional life. I offer my heartfelt condolences to Tony's family, friends and colleagues, but especially to Susie and his children, Richard, Sam, Ali, Jon and Lucinda. Vale, Tony Staley.

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to add a couple of short comments and associate myself with the wonderful presentation speeches that have been made in recognition of the life of Tony Staley.

I first met Tony when he came to lobby me as a delegate to my first-ever federal council in 1993, when, as has been so beautifully put, he saw off Malcolm Fraser, who he helped install as prime minister 20 years earlier. He won us over as delegates—his entrance to the federal council hall at the Lakeside Hotel would have to be one of the most dramatic entrances that I've ever seen—and cemented his place as our leader of the Liberal Party at a national level. As others have said more eloquently than I, he gave great service to the organisation at a time when it needed it and provided leadership through the period that saw the Howard government come to office in 1996.

He was always there to offer support and advice when it was needed. He was a great friend. He made a great contribution to his country, and clearly, from the anecdotes that have been prepared here today, was someone whose love of his family was always to the forefront. I'd just like to add my condolences to Susie and his family. He is very much deserving of the recognition that he's receiving here in the chamber today. I thank those who've made a contribution to the debate and I commend the debate to this chamber.

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A lot has been said, and I associate myself with all the remarks that have been said. The only two additional points I'd like to make are as follows. First, I always assess the contribution that a member of the Liberal Party makes not just in light of the contribution they make when they serve in this place but also in terms of what they do afterwards. I think the contribution which Tony Staley made after he left this place was just outstanding, and that should be recognised.

Second, I did have some opportunities to interact with Tony Staley, mainly in the context of Young Liberal National conventions. Tony spent a lot of time making sure he interacted with younger members of the party, and that was greatly appreciated. That was something he did not have to do, but which he chose to do, and everyone who interacted with him on those occasions enjoyed his company immensely. I do wish Tony's family and friends all the very best.

Question agreed to, honourable senators joining in a moment of silence.