Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My home city of Townsville and the Liberal Party have suffered a double blow in recent weeks, with the losses of two former federal members for Herbert. Ewen Jones passed away on 13 July and Gordon Dean left us just last week. It's hard to sum up in words how big a character Ewen was. From humble beginnings in western Queensland, the town of Quilpie, he was able to win the Townsville seat of Herbert in 2010 against all odds, against a star Labor candidate handpicked by then PM Kevin Rudd. Legend has it that a throwaway line at a barbecue, where he expressed serious misgivings about how the country was being run, was met with a quip from his wife, Linda, 'Why don't you have a go?' The seed was planted, then it sprouted and he was a serious contender.

Ewen's team decided that a grassroots campaign depicting him as a hardworking local could be enough to sway voters to give him a go ahead of his well-heeled opponent, and they were spot on. Ewen doorknocked relentlessly and attended every community event going. His affable, humorous manner and his ability to connect with people from all walks of life earned him wide respect, and each morning he and his supporters walked Townsville's famous Strand all wearing Liberal blue shirts. What started as a trickle of blue eventually became a blue wave, as dozens of people joined these walks. The visual effect was powerful, and on election night Ewen recorded a resounding victory.

After accidentally being left at a service station briefly while on a family driving holiday when he was aged eight, Ewen's ethos in life and as a politician was that no-one should be left behind, and he exemplified this with his successful fight to obtain Commonwealth financial support for 550 workers at Townsville's Yabulu nickel refinery, which closed suddenly in 2016 leaving them jobless and desperate. The sight of him in tears at a press conference when the funding was announced remains a moving testament to the sort of man he was. He was also successful in obtaining a state-of-the-art PET scanner for Townsville so patients didn't have to travel to Brisbane. It was cruel coincidence that some years later it would be this same scanner that picked up the cancer that would eventually take his life, a point he brought up with friends in a typical witty style.

Before, during and after his political life, Ewen was a great fundraiser for junior sport and disability support groups and regularly donated his skills as an auctioneer to extract the maximum amount of money from charity auction bidders. Farewell, Ewen, a man who loved the North Queensland Cowboys, who loved blues music and who loved a beer at the Hotel Herbert. Your life of service will not be forgotten.

Arthur Gordon Dean, known as Gordon, was a lawyer, magistrate, ABC newsreader, author, actor and federal politician. He was born in Mackay, raised in the small town of Maroon and educated in Mount Isa and Townsville. He was elected in 1977 and retained the seat in 1980 before losing it in 1983. His neighbours in the Townsville suburb of Mysterton remember their local Liberal MP being blessed with this beautiful operatic singing voice and regularly heard his dulcet tones as he pottered around the house.

Gordon was involved with James Cook University as the honorary solicitor for the student union and held other community roles, including president of the Eisteddfod Council of North Queensland. He was also a member of the Townsville Hospital Board and John Flynn College. He was appointed to the Magistrates Court of Queensland in 1997 and retired in 2007, upon which he earned numerous accolades for his humanity, compassion, knowledge of law and love of the arts. Upon retirement from the bench, the chief magistrate appointed Gordon to the honorary position of archivist for the Queensland Magistracy. An avid historian, Gordon was the author of nine books on the history of various aspects of the Queensland legal system.

Former US President Woodrow Wilson once said of public life:

You are not here merely to prepare to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.

These two men embodied not just the obvious aspects of public service but the true meaning of it. North Queensland is poorer for their loss but remains enriched by their legacy. I extend my and the coalition's sympathies to their families.