Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death on 25 December 2025 of the Hon. Nick Bolkus, a former minister and senator for the state of South Australia from 1981 to 2005. I call the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its sadness at the death, on 25 December 2025, of the Honourable Nick Bolkus, former Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Administrative Services, Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs, and senator for South Australia, places on record its gratitude for his service to the Parliament and the nation, and tenders its sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

I begin by offering my personal condolences, and those of the government, to Mary, to Aria, to Mikayla, to Nicholas and to all who knew and loved Nick Bolkus. Nick Bolkus was a leader in shaping modern multicultural Australia. He was a giant of the Australian Labor Party in South Australia, a driving force of progressive politics in our state, and a powerful advocate for multicultural Australia who broke barriers as the first Greek Australian to serve as a cabinet minister. Many of us in South Australia in Labor looked up to him and were guided by him, including me.

As Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, he changed countless lives. He helped give practical effect to the Whitlam government's earlier renunciation of the White Australia policy, and, in doing so, Nick Bolkus changed the face of our nation. He made us more open, more tolerant and stronger.

Nick was elected to the federal parliament as senator for South Australia in 1980, and he served as a cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating governments across a range of portfolios, from consumer affairs to immigration and multicultural affairs.

Nick Bolkus's life story is the story of modern multicultural Australia. He was born in Adelaide on 17 July 1950, the son of Greek migrant parents. His parents came from Kastellorizo, a small Greek island in the eastern Mediterranean, just over a kilometre from the Turkish coast. Like so many from Greece and beyond, the Bolkuses left in search of security and of opportunity, travelling to Australia in the difficult years between two world wars. Their journey was hard. They travelled in steerage, cooking for themselves over small burners for months at sea before eventually arriving in South Australia. They first settled in Port Pirie, where Nick's father worked on the transcontinental railway line. From there, the family moved to the west end of Adelaide's CBD and later moved to West Beach. Here, Nick grew up surrounded by other migrant families building new lives, often with little more than determination and hope for a better life for future generations.

Nick Bolkus became synonymous with Adelaide's western suburbs—a part of the city shaped to this day by a dynamic mix of migration, industry and beach-side life. Like so many migrant kids, he grew up acutely aware of the sacrifices his parents had made and of the barriers they had faced. Nick attended Adelaide High School, where he excelled academically—the first in his family to finish high school. As he would reflect on in his valedictory to the Senate in 2005, the western suburbs of the 1950s and 1960s offered few obvious role models for a political career, but he was moved to public life by admiration for the reforming Labor governments of Dunstan in South Australia and Whitlam federally. Nick went on to study law at the University of Adelaide—again, the first in his family to attend university. This sort of opportunity was exactly what his parents had in mind when they left Greece.

Nick became involved in the Labor movement as a teenager, helping deliver campaign material in electorates with strong migrant communities. His early political engagement was practical and grounded in organising, persuasion and community connection, values he would hold true to throughout his career. Growing up as he did in working-class migrant communities, Nick Bolkus knew better than many the tensions of assimilation and identity. He knew what it meant to straddle two worlds, and he understood how easily people like his parents could be marginalised. These experiences drove his lifelong commitment to multiculturalism, to social inclusion and to democratic participation.

From the outset of his political career, Nick Bolkus established a reputation as a formidable intellect and a quietly spoken but always effective parliamentarian. He combined intellectual rigour with an instinctive understanding of politics as a practical craft, and he quickly emerged as a senior figure within our party, respected for both his command of detail and his strategic judgement. Nick was appointed to the Hawke ministry in 1988, serving initially as Minister for Consumer Affairs and Minister Assisting the Treasurer for Prices. In these roles, he focused on strengthening consumer protections and ensuring that economic reform was balanced by fairness and accountability. His approach reflected a consistent theme throughout his career: markets must serve the public interest, and government has a responsibility to protect those without power.

In 1990, Nick entered cabinet as Minister for Administrative Services, a role in which he oversaw significant reform to the machinery of government, and he was committed to improving transparency, efficiency and integrity in public administration. He understood that trust in our democratic institutions depended on their ability to function fairly and that people must sense this in their everyday lives. But it was during his time as Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, from 1993 to 1996 in the Keating government, that Nick made what I believe was his most enduring contribution. In this portfolio, Nick played a central role in shaping modern multicultural Australia. He approached immigration policy with a blend of humanity and hope combined with a heavy dose of pragmatism. He understood migration as being essential to our economic vitality, to our cultural richness and to our international standing. He believed above all else that migration policy must be grounded in dignity and in fairness.

Alongside his immigration responsibilities, Nick also served as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs. Nick Bolkus believed deeply in the benefits of migration and multiculturalism to our people and to our nation, a belief grounded in his own family and grounded in his lived experiences. Nick was a strong advocate for multiculturalism as official government policy at a time when it was both transformative and contested. He knew that multiculturalism is not an abstract ideal but the lived reality for millions of Australians. It is one that has enriched us a nation and has made us stronger. After the defeat of the Keating government in 1996, Nick continued to serve with distinction in senior opposition roles, such as shadow Attorney-General, shadow minister for justice and shadow minister for environment and heritage. As shadow Attorney-General, Nick Bolkus played a central role in the longest ever debate to take place on a single bill in this place. The debate on the Howard government's amendment to the Native Title Act went for over100 hours. Nick himself moved over 900 amendments on behalf of the opposition.

Nick Bolkus remained a central figure in parliamentary debate and party leadership until his retirement in 2005. For Nick Bolkus, the Labor Party was not simply a vehicle for power nor a tribal identity only, although it was both those things. It was also a moral project, one rooted in fairness, opportunity and progress. In his first speech to this place, he outlined what Labor meant to him:

The Australian Labor Party is the oldest political party this country has and every other political party has been a reaction to it. … It is the Australian Labor Party which has provided the real benefits of being Australian and living in Australia. It is the Australian Labor Party which has consistently and without hesitation fought for the rights and aspirations of Australians. It is the only political party which has the interests of Australians at heart.

Nick believed deeply in Labor values. He shaped them and he lived them, and he was a leading figure in our party, particularly in our left faction in South Australia. His guidance and mentorship in my younger years, and as a new senator, were formative. Nick Bolkus played a key role in delivering the stability that has enabled our party to be so successful in South Australia in recent decades. He sought to deploy power not only for its own sake but rather in the interests of working people.

As many people have remarks since his passing, Nick was particularly proud of his role in one decision as minister. In the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Nick was central to the Hawke government's decision to grant permanent residency to almost 40,000 Chinese nationals—predominantly students. At a time when fear and division could so easily have prevailed, Nick Bolkus had the courage to advocate for compassion anchored in principle. This was not without political risk, but it was right, and history has vindicated that choice. Those who have stayed have contributed profoundly to Australia's economic, intellectual and cultural life, but, beyond that outcome, the decision matters because of what it said about us as a nation—that we could act with humanity and extend protection to those who needed it, and that we could put our values into action.

You see, Nick Bolkus understood something that is so important: government decisions do not only determine outcomes. In a democracy they also declare who we are. In his valedictory speech in 2005, Nick described politics as an ongoing 'learning experience'. He reflected:

It was so easy when I first got here. There was East and West, the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, fixed currencies, no internet and, indeed, no mobile phones.

But Nick Bolkus knew that time stops for no one, in this place or in any other. He knew that our role is to face the future and to do what we can to shape it towards fairer and more just outcomes. He said:

As I learnt very quickly in this environment, I had to engage and develop my attitudes if I was to be of any relevance to the national political agenda. Defending and maintaining the status quo was not a sustainable option. Defending the status quo, in this age of mobility, is more likely to mean embracing irrelevance.

Nick Bolkus loved our state. He loved South Australia with that fierce, unpretentious loyalty familiar to so many of us. Nick loved Adelaide's western suburbs, its beaches, the communities along them that shaped him and, of course, Joe's kiosk at Henley and the West Adelaide Football Club. He was proud of his state, and he was proud to represent it. And his daughter Aria continues that legacy, standing for the state seat of Colton at next month's South Australia election.

The last few years of Nick's life were difficult for him and for those who loved him, as he faced major health challenges. His daughters, Aria and Mikayla, spoke lovingly at the state memorial service on 22 January about helping care for their father; about the insights Nick imparted and the small shared moments of love and laughter that sustained them; and about how his experience of our healthcare system only strengthened his commitment to universal health care.

Nick Bolkus's contribution to Australian life is enduring. He helped build a more open, respectful and compassionate nation. This is a proud legacy. I pay tribute to a remarkable Labor man, and I extend, again, my sincere condolences to Mary, Aria, Mikayla and Nicholas and all those who knew and loved Nick Bolkus.

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

I rise on behalf of the opposition to acknowledge the passing of the Hon. Nick Bolkus, a former senator for South Australia and a former minister of the Commonwealth who passed away on Christmas Day at the age of 75. On behalf of the opposition, I extend condolences to Mr Bolkus's wife, Mary; to his children, Aria, Mikayla and Nicholas; and to his family and those close to him. We recognise the loss they have experienced.

Nick Bolkus served in this parliament for almost 25 years. First elected to the Senate in 1980, he represented South Australia until the conclusion of his term in 2005. Over that period, he was a consistent presence in this chamber, and he held a range of parliamentary and ministerial responsibilities. Born in Adelaide in 1950, Nick Bolkus, as we've now heard, maintained a strong connection, and a passionate connection, to South Australia throughout his life. He represented his state for more than two decades and took a close interest in issues affecting its people and its institutions. Before entering parliament, he trained as a lawyer, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide. His legal background informed much of his parliamentary work, particularly in relation to legislation, committee processes and scrutiny of executive decision-making.

Nick Bolkus was appointed to the ministry in 1988, initially serving as the Minister for Consumer Affairs and Minister Assisting the Treasurer for Prices. He entered cabinet in 1990 and later held portfolios including administrative services; immigration and ethnic affairs; and Minister assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs. These portfolios were administered during a period of significant change, and he approached them with a strong focus on policy detail and administration.

During his time as Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, he emphasised the rights and responsibilities associated with citizenship and Australia's democratic framework. As we have heard, one decision from that period that has been widely noted was his involvement in allowing Chinese nationals to remain in Australia following the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989. That decision formed part of Australia's response to an international crisis and remains a significant moment in the history of our immigration system.

After the change of government in 1996, Nick Bolkus continued to serve in parliament in opposition, including in a number of shadow ministerial roles, including shadow Attorney-General and shadow minister for justice, environment and heritage. In those roles, he was an active participant in parliamentary debate and scrutiny. He also made an extensive contribution through Senate committee work, serving on committees dealing with legal and constitutional affairs; foreign affairs and defence; scrutiny of bills; privileges; and estimates. These committees, as all senators know, play a critical role in the functioning of the Senate, and his long involvement reflected his commitment to that work and to this place.

Nick Bolkus was known in this place as a direct and determined debater, strongly committed to advancing his party's positions. At the same time, colleagues have noted his willingness to engage with parliamentary processes and his preparedness to share experiences with others in the chamber.

A parliamentary career places considerable demands on those who undertake it and on their families. Today we acknowledge the support provided by Nick Bolkus's family over many, many years of public service and the loss they now feel. Nick Bolkus served during a period of substantial change in Australian public life. He approached his responsibilities with seriousness and consistency, whether in government, in opposition or in committee work. On behalf of the opposition, I again extend condolences to his family, friends and former colleagues. His service to this parliament and to the people of South Australia is acknowledged.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Nationals, I rise to join fellow senators in acknowledging the passing of Nick Bolkus, former senator for South Australia, and to place on the record our appreciation for his service to the parliament and to the people of South Australia. Nick Bolkus died peacefully on Christmas morning aged 75. He was a South Australian senator from 1980 to 2005 and the first Greek Australian cabinet minister, under the former prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

Nick served as Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs and later as Minister for Consumer Affairs and Minister for Administrative Services. He was a passionate believer in the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. In keeping with the ancient Greek philosophy, he was also passionate about our democracy. Senator Bolkus's work reflected a clear understanding of the economic and social importance of strong regional communities to Australia's national prosperity, with a special interest in immigration. Most notably, during his time as immigration minister, as Senator Wong outlined, Senator Bolkus allowed thousands of Chinese nationals who arrived in Australia before the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing to permanently settle along with their relatives, a totemic decision for which our nation is grateful.

He was a formidable contributor to debate and a senator who took seriously the responsibility of proudly representing his state. He was also a key factional figure in the South Australian Labor Party and a key mentor for some of those opposite. He also played a strong role in modernising administrative services and public sector management. Though his political philosophies were not exactly aligned with the Nationals, Senator Bolkus was a strong advocate for strong competition laws and consumer rights. He was sympathetic to strong section 46 laws under the former Competition and Consumer Act, where the misuse of market power provisions are outlined. He was supportive of truth in advertising and fair trading enforcement and expressed strong concerns about vertical integration and market dominance, especially where it harmed small business or vulnerable communities, such as those of new arrivals. Any friend of stronger competition laws is a friend of the Nationals because what is fairer for consumers and producers is a fairer society. Following his Senate career, Senator Bolkus served as Australia's ambassador to Greece until 2002.

Only a short while ago our party lost former senator Ron Boswell, and I note the AFR's political correspondent Phill Coorey's comments over the weekend that 'we're losing all the good ones'. I completely concur with those comments. We're losing a generation of senators who left an indelible mark on our democracy, on this chamber and on their respective political movements, and we are poorer for them leaving us. On behalf of the Nationals, I wish to extend our sincere condolences to former senator Bolkus's family, friends and former colleagues and to acknowledge his contribution to Australia's parliamentary and public life.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to add my condolences to those already shared in the chamber for a wonderful South Australian and South Australian senator, an advocate for our state, an advocate for multicultural Australia and an advocate for our wonderful natural environment. We know, of course, that Nick Bolkus was passionate not just about his family and the local beaches and the environment but about what type of country we are and want to be. The leadership he showed following the Tiananmen Square massacre was significant. We should remember, at these types of times, that that type of leadership has been done, can be done and is needed, and we should reflect upon the courage at the time of political leaders to make the right decisions for humanity and for future generations. As the shadow environment minister in the year 2000, Senator Nick Bolkus attended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. I note that way back then, he was talking about the need to cut carbon emissions and to do more in relation to our climate. He was a visionary. He was able to see the problems as they were, understand where the community was and do his best to bring people along with him.

In summary to this condolence, I actually wanted to read some words that have been written by the former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown, who worked closely with Nick Bolkus at various times, particularly in relation to not only the environment but also human rights: 'Nick Bolkus was considerate, friendly and a good negotiator. I especially remember his smiling demeanour the day in 2001 when I stood up in the House of Reps on the visiting of the US president George Bush Jr. There was a lot of condemnation, but Nick, sitting across the aisle, kept up a knowing and reassuring smile as the uproar continued. After all, Labor also opposed the illegal invasion of Iraq. He was a minister whose ability to talk over contentious issues without rancour was outstanding and rewarding. Vale Nick.'

I wish the best for his family—I know this is a really tough time. Know that our thoughts are with you and the party that he loved so much.

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

I rise today to pay my respects to a giant of the Australian Labor Party and the architect of the modern, multicultural Australia that we know today. I associate myself with the comments of Senator Wong.

The day before Christmas last year, I visited my friend Nick Bolkus in Adelaide with my new son-in-law, Lawrence Ben, where we were able to say our goodbyes for the last time to Nick. He passed away peacefully with his family around him the next morning, Christmas Day 2025. Nick and I had become friends over a long period and worked together to stabilise the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party, which had been divided by factional disputes for more than 10 years. This relationship resulted in the SA Labor branch focusing on its efforts to defeat the Liberals rather than fighting amongst ourselves. That stability has resulted in the ALP being the party of government for all but four of the last 24 years. I think that's Nick's greatest political legacy. Of course, his personal legacy would be so much more significant to him: his wife, Mary, and his children, Nick, Mikayla and Aria. As Senator Wong pointed out, Aria is running in the state election for the state seat of Colton, and Nick would have been so proud of her and so disappointed not to be there to see her win in a few weeks time.

I first came across Nick as a young lawyer working for the shop assistants' union in Adelaide in the 1970s. Nick wanted a political career, and the Labor Party rules back then required you to be a member of your appropriate trade union. Nick worked in his father's deli in the West End of Adelaide, and he tried to join the shop assistants' union. This was not well-received by the then secretary of the union, Ted Goldsworthy, fearing a potential left-wing challenge to his leadership. Nick never got his membership of the shop assistants' union. My next contact with Nick was in—

That's the way we do it. The next contact with Nick was in 1988, when I was running in the by-election for the federal seat of Adelaide. Nick, by then a Keating minister, was a terrific support. Unfortunately, I lost, but we became friends, both being members of the West Adelaide Football Club. In 1993, we went to Nick's house in Henley Beach to celebrate the 'true believers' election, which kept Nick in the Keating ministry as one of our greatest immigration and ethnic affairs ministers. Do you remember that? It was a great night. We lost the seat of Adelaide, but we kept government. It was after Paul Keating's loss in 1996, when working with a young Patrick Conlon—Nick's staffer—that the relationship that has resulted in the stability of which I spoke earlier was built.

After he left parliament, Nick set out to help South Australian companies prosper, which he did very, very successfully. He engaged a young Lawrence Ben, a member of Labor's left wing at the time, and convinced him that he should be a member of Labor's right wing. Of course, Lawrence followed Nick's advice, and Lawrence and Nick became great friends. Nick was a mentor to many young MPs in South Australia and was always a good source of advice. He was also a sage observer of politics, predicting that Labor would win the 2014 South Australian election when everybody else had given up. After his stroke some years ago, my wife and I would take Nick to his favourite restaurants: the Thai Orchid at Henley Beach and Enzo's on Port Road.

I was honoured to represent the Prime Minister at Nick's private funeral at the Greek Orthodox community church in Franklin Street. The church was packed with his family, members of the Greek community and all of Nick's friends. It was one of two funerals that we attended that week, the other being that of Tim Picton. I and my wife offer our deepest sympathies to Mary, Aria, Mikayla and Nick.

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise also to contribute to this condolence motion. When we lost Nick Bolkus, Australia—and South Australia in particular—lost one of its truly great political figures, the Australian Labor Party lost one of its great sons and the Greek Australian community lost a great man of state who, as others have described, was one of the architects of our modern multicultural project. Progressives across all of Australia lost a great advocate, because Nick Bolkus was someone who was always ahead of the curve.

His legacy is full of things that, today, we simply take for granted. He was the first Greek Australian to enter the ministry. He introduced some of the first laws of any jurisdiction in the world to protect the privacy of ordinary people against credit data agencies. He introduced the banking ombudsman so that ordinary Australians had someone to stand up for their interests when it came to misconduct from the big banks. He helped streamline our national food standards. He introduced legislation for the disclosure of political donations. He was, alongside Prime Minister Hawke, a key architect of the decision to give refuge to thousands of Chinese citizens in Australia after 1989. That is just a small snapshot of his very extensive record in government. In it, you can see someone laying the foundations of Australia's modern consumer protection, disclosure and migration arrangements, enshrining principles of equality, openness, procedural fairness and nondiscrimination. They are all things that we now take for granted in our expectations about how corporations are required to treat ordinary people and how governments operate. The freewheeling world of the 1980s and the 1990s was a world that wanted government out of society. Nick, in insisting on protections, was well ahead of the curve.

I want to make another important point about former senator Bolkus. It is one thing to be ahead of the curve in government, with a ministerial office, the departments of state and executive power behind you. It is another thing to take those steps from opposition, with limited resources and an important and consequential calculus about how far you can go and what risks you can afford. I was drawn to politics in the eighties and the nineties by the very big debates that were occurring about the protection of Australia's environment. This of course will be shocking to people in this chamber, but there was, at that time, still quite a hot debate, a controversial debate and a contested debate about the reality of climate change and the scientific consensus around greenhouse gas emissions, and that was even true in the Australian Labor Party at that time.

Some shadow environment ministers might have been tempted in that environment to take the easy option, to try and balance the needs of competing stakeholders and to not take a stand on a thing that really mattered, but that was not the approach taken by Senator Bolkus. When you read the contributions that he made in the Senate during his time in that shadow environment portfolio, you can see him castigating the Howard government as it walked away from the Kyoto protocol and you can see him raising the alarm about Australia's carbon emissions at the start of a new millennium. You can see him calling for Australia to be a genuine bridge builder and take an active role at an event, which was quaintly referred as the conference of the parties at The Hague, and to support international action to reduce emissions.

I should acknowledge that being a shadow environment minister can be a tough job, and in one case it involved the then Labor candidate for the seat of Richmond, who I concede was me, putting the shadow minister in a pretty battered Troopcarrier, driving him out to the rainforest out the back of Murwillumbah alongside an overly enthusiastic local activist and requiring him to climb a very steep mountain through subtropical rainforest in suede moccasins as the humidity hit about 90 per cent. I have since organised better shadow ministerial visits than that! I don't think that that was the program that Nick Bolkus expected. He certainly did not dress for that program, but he bore it with exceptional grace and good humour.

I was very glad that he did take the time to spend some time with me as a young candidate, because, for those of us who were active in environment politics at the turn of the new millennium, he was one of our great, great advocates. We saw in him someone who was ahead of the curve, talking about the necessity to take climate change seriously and talking about our obligations to future generations to leave them a better world. These positions are now actually the consensus positions on climate change right across Australia's public sphere. They are accepted by the Public Service, they are accepted by the business community, and there is a broad public expectation that governments will take action on climate change. But that was never a sure thing, and you can see in the Hansard that Nick Bolkus was one of the key people who made the case for climate action here on the floor of the Australian Senate.

It shouldn't be a surprise that Nick, who blazed such a trail in so many areas of our public affairs, was a mentor to many Labor people. Losing Nick is a collective loss for all of us, but the people who will feel it most are his family, and I want to pass on my heartfelt condolences to his family—to his wife, Mary, and his daughters, Aria and Mikayla—and to the whole South Australian Labor family. Vale, Nick Bolkus.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the condolence motion for former Senator for South Australia, the Hon. Nick Bolkus. Elected at just 30 years of age, Nick served during a transformational time in our history. He was a senator for some 24 years, a number which would make more than a few of us tremble looking forward. But he had a lot to do, and he used his time with purpose. As the first Greek Australian cabinet minister, Nick was obviously a staunch advocate for multicultural Australia, helping to shape our country into what it is today. Much has been said in this condolence and in recent weeks about Nick's extraordinary contribution to public life, to this chamber, to multiculturalism and to our democracy. He deserves all of this praise and more, and I want to associate my remarks with those senators who have spoken before me, especially Senators Wong, McAllister and Farrell.

Nick will forever be remembered as a legend of the South Australian Labor branch, as a champion of our state, as a formidable contributor, as a senator and as a cabinet minister. My husband, Clint, and I had the privilege of getting to know Nick when I moved back to Adelaide in 2013 after some time overseas. We both have such fond memories of his dry sense of humour, razor-sharp wit, insights and generosity of wisdom, including to this young woman of the Right. Nick was excellent company, but he was also purposeful. Long after serving in parliament, he continued to do work of meaning for our movement and in support of its people. He did a lot of work in the South Australian branch of the Labor Party, formally and informally. He was a generous mentor to so many from our branch and deeply loved by his colleagues.

I also especially want to acknowledge his staff, who worked with him. My close friend Nina Gerace worked for Nick his entire time as a minister. She has always spoken to me so fondly and energetically about what it meant to work with Nick and his entire team, all of whom were so incredibly loyal to him, and with good reason—staff like Lisa Barker, John Richardson, Dave Richardson, Marianna Serghi, Dennis Atkins, Adam Kilgour, the late Chris Gration, Bronwyn Pollock, my friend Barb Pini, Pat Conlon, James Peikert, Pasquale Gerace, Jacqui O'Brien, Paula Kansky, the late Mick Tumbers in his electorate office, and many more staff who I haven't mentioned and apologise for not mentioning.

I have it on good authority that another senator at the time coined the phrase 'Bolkus and the Bolkettes' to describe Nick and his staff—this is so very eighties. But, as well as being a sign of the times, it also demonstrated that our movement's youngest, brightest, most energetic and smart staff wanted to work for Nick Bolkus because he was a reformer, he was doing work of purpose and he was a good man. Those of us who've been staff in this place and formed those close relations know what it means to be working for someone doing work with purpose and how meaningful that it is, too. To all of his staff, who are also grieving for Nick: I acknowledge you and your contribution to his incredible work and legacy in this place.

Of course, no-one will miss Nick more than his beautiful family. My deepest condolences go to Mary, Aria, Mikayla and Nicholas. Aria has described her father as her 'best friend'. She said: 'He fought for what he believed in because he truly believed in the movement. He gave back so consistently because he never forgot where he came from.' Through Nick's children, his legacy lives on—in their deep respect for public service and fierce work ethic. I see this every day in Aria's campaign as a South Australian Labor candidate for Colton. Even in her grief, she shows up every day, determined to work hard for the Colton community that she loves and in which her father raised her.

To Nick's beloved family, his friends, former colleagues, staff and all those who loved him, I offer my deepest condolences on behalf of the great state of South Australia, which he represented with such distinction in this place, and on behalf of the South Australian branch of the Labor Party, which owes him so much.

Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise today to pay my respects and offer condolences on the passing of ex-senator Nick Bolkus. I'm not going to go over the ground that has already been covered but will connect myself to the comments of other senators on all of his achievements, which are extremely impressive.

His achievements as a parliamentarian and a minister are an excellent gift to this nation. But his skill and dedication as a mentor to the Australian Labor Party is something that sits in the heart of our party and its South Australian branch and will do so forever. In his long and impressive career—25 years—he played such an important role in embedding those Labor values of fairness, inclusion and opportunity into public policy, the national discourse and the future of the Australian Labor Party. He was generous in supporting people coming up through the ranks, both rank-and-file party members and future leaders—not just those on the Left but also those on the Right, as others have commented on. He was a deeply generous man with his time, skill and wisdom. He exemplified and embodied the values that he worked so tirelessly to populate throughout this country.

But he was, as we all know, a devoted family man. I know Nick Bolkus purely through his daughter. The stories of the way he emboldened his family and the way he adored the western suburbs are so deeply impressive. So, my condolences, and the condolences of the Left of the South Australian Labor Party, to Mary, Aria, Mikayla and Nicholas.

May you rest in peace, Nick. And if you're listening, I assure you we will be throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, at Colton, because I know it was one of your last dreams for Aria to represent the place you loved in the western suburbs, and we will do everything in our power to make sure that happens. Rest in peace.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to join with my colleagues in this condolence motion in paying tribute to the life and legacy of the Hon. Nick Bolkus, a man whose contribution to the Australian Labor Party, to the parliament and to our nation was profound and enduring. Although I did not have the opportunity to serve in the parliament alongside Nick, we were members of the same proud tradition within the Labor Party—the Left. I did have the pleasure of witnessing him in action many times at Australian Labor Party national conferences and at numerous gatherings of the National Left. In those forums, Nick Bolkus was something to behold: utterly fearless in debate and driven by an unshakeable commitment to Labor values and democratic principles.

Nick Bolkus is one of those figures whose reputation preceded him, whose influence was felt across the generations of Labor parliamentarians and whose legacy continues to shape the party we are today. Fittingly, as the first Greek Australian to serve as a cabinet minister, Nick Bolkus was a passionate believer in democracy and in the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. He understood, from lived experience, what it meant to belong and what it meant to work for inclusion. His story was also Australia's story—a story of migration, contribution and the enrichment of our national life through diversity.

In every portfolio he served, Nick sought reform, not only for its own sake but to ensure that the instruments and power of government were also used to serve the aspirations of everyday Australians. Whether in immigration, multicultural affairs or other areas of responsibility, he brought intellectual rigour, moral clarity and an unshakeable commitment to fairness. As Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs and later as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Nick was both a strong advocate for the benefits of a modern multicultural Australia and a living example of its success. He understood that multiculturalism was not simply about tolerance but about participation, responsibility and shared democratic values. He argued for an Australia that is confident enough to embrace difference while united by common purpose.

Within the labour movement, Nick was respected as a principled advocate and a committed member of the Left. He believed in social justice, in equality of opportunity and in the idea that government has a moral responsibility to act in the public good. These are values that continue to guide many of us who follow after him. For those of us who did not serve alongside him, Nick Bolkus remains a benchmark, a reminder of what principled public service looks like and of the difference that one determined individual can make over the course of a lifetime of politics.

I extend my deepest sympathy to Nick's family—his wife, Mary, and his children—and friends and those who love him. Theirs is a profound loss, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. Nick Bolkus's memory will indeed live long in Labor hearts. His legacy lives on in our laws, in our institutions and in the multicultural, democratic Australia that he worked so hard to strengthen. I look forward to the Labor Party celebrating the win of the seat of Colton for Nick Bolkus and Aria.

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