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

It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death, on 26 April 2026, of the Hon. Peter Frederick Morris OAM, a former minister and member of the House of Representatives for the division of Shortland, New South Wales, from 1972 to 1978.

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its sadness at the death, on 26 April 2026, of the Honourable Peter Frederick Morris OAM, former Minister for Transport, Minister for Aviation, Minister for Resources, Minister for Housing and Aged Care, Minister for Transport, Minister for Industrial Relations and member for Shortland, places on record its gratitude for his service to the parliament and the nation, and tenders its sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

The Hunter Valley has produced some of Australian Labor's finest sons and daughters, and Peter Morris was one of those. He and his seven siblings were born to a family proud of its Greek heritage and deeply dedicated to Newcastle. Though study and work periodically took Peter further afield, he always made his way back to the Hunter.

Unsurprisingly for a man so deeply invested in his community, Peter was drawn to Labor politics. In his mid-30s, he became an alderman on the Newcastle city council, and in 1972 Peter came into parliament on the wave of excitement that brought the Whitlam government to office. Like Whitlam, Peter believed firmly in Labor's ability and mission to make life better for Australians in the outer suburbs and regions. As a backbencher, Peter had a ringside seat to the heady days of the Whitlam government, its ambition and its frenetic pace, and he was there, actually on the steps of parliament with Gough, on 11 November 1975.

Those experiences of reform and conflict in our parliament shaped the kind of minister he would later become. Peter Morris was not a fairweather friend. In the aftermath of the Dismissal, as federal Labor entered some of its darkest days, he rolled up his sleeves and he got to work, holding the Fraser government to account and simultaneously laying policy foundations for the Hawke government's later success.

Peter represented the people of Shortland during pivotal and occasionally tragic times, such as the 1989 earthquake, which killed 13 and injured so many others, including at the Hunter Valley's Newcastle Workers Club, and the closure of the BHP steelworks, right at the end of his 26 years in parliament. Throughout all of that turmoil, Peter Morris was there. He wasn't a flashy politician, but he was active in so many of the Hawke government's reforms in the 1980s, such as the modernisation of telecommunications and an enterprise bargaining system where blue-collar workers would reap the rewards of their own productivity.

He made his true mark in transport and aviation policy. He worked to make Australia's roads, airports and wharves more productive. His mission was about fairness, safety and decency, especially for wage earners who bore unfair commuting burdens and assumed large occupational risks in those sectors. And his achievements are foundational for Australia and, in particular, for the Hunter Valley. They include the M1 Motorway, Newcastle Airport, the foundations of Western Sydney International Airport, the end of the duopoly in our skies, and the 1992 Ships of shame report, which drew international attention to bad ships where work was dangerous and exploitative for seafarers and destructive to our marine environment. Those are just some of the monuments to Peter Morris.

When Bob Hawke wanted to sense-check his government's standing in the Hunter, he would turn to Peter Morris. Bob Hawke knew, and Peter knew, and Hawke said famously that if they loved Newcastle properly it would love them back.

He inspired great loyalty in his staff. To work for Peter, I'm told, was to join something like a family.

By the time he received his Medal of the Order of Australia in 2012, he could have been enjoying a well-deserved retirement. Instead, he was still advocating for Newcastle's future, its economic vibrancy and its civic richness. The legacies of that work include the Fighter World RAAF museum, Newcastle Maritime Museum and the locally adored William the Fourth steamship. We in New South Wales, in the Hunter Valley and in Australia owe much to Australians like Peter—Australians who might not be from the nicer parts of our capital cities, but who step up to advocate for their communities in Canberra, Sydney and wherever else people like them are often forgotten.

Peter and his wife, Florence, were loving parents of four children, including the late Matthew Morris. Matthew's eight years of service in the New South Wales parliament made a real difference to the quality of public services in Charlestown. What greater example—what greater tribute, I should say, to the power of Peter's example could there be? Peter, Florence and Matthew are survived by Michael, Paul and John Morris along with Peter's remaining siblings, including former member for Newcastle Allan Morris, who I spoke with earlier today. I know that the Morris family is watching these proceedings now with great sadness but also with great pride in the achievements of Peter and the Morris family in that wonderful Hunter community in New South Wales. On behalf of the Australian government, I pay tribute to a great Australian.

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the coalition to pay tribute to the honourable Peter Morris OAM, the former member for Shortland who passed away last month, and he was a young 93 years of age. Peter Morris served in this parliament for almost 26 years—a huge achievement—from 1972 to 1998, representing the electorate of Shortland in New South Wales for the Australian Labor Party. Peter Morris was born in Sydney on 29 July 1932. As we have heard, he was elected to the House of Representatives with the Labor wave of 1972, and he held the seat of Shortland until he retired at the 1998 election.

Politics, it seems, ran in the family. His brother, Allan, went on to serve as the federal member for Newcastle between 1983 and 2001, and his younger son, Matthew, served as a state MP for Charlestown. Three members of parliament in one family—that is a remarkable contribution to public life by any measure. In opposition, Mr Morris was appointed the ALP spokesman on transport in 1976, a role he held under opposition leaders Gough Whitlam, Bill Hayden and Bob Hawke. He was renowned as being a diligent parliamentary operator, tabling nearly twice as many questions on notice as any other Labor MP during the 1977 to 1980 parliamentary term. That kind of sustained effort in opposition, holding government to account through proper parliamentary process, is the work of a committed member.

Transport remain a driving passion throughout Mr Morris's career. He was appointed the Minister for Transport in the first Hawke ministry in March 1983, and, in December 1984, he assumed the additional portfolio of aviation. Those were without a doubt significant portfolios, and he approached them with evident seriousness. During his time as minister, he helped secure original funding for Badgerys Creek. He opened the M1 motorway between Newcastle and Sydney with Prime Minister Hawke, and he was instrumental in the establishment of the Newcastle airport. These are tangible, lasting contributions to the infrastructure of New South Wales and our great nation, and they stand as a real record of his achievement.

After the 1990 election, he was not returned to the ministry, and he subsequently served as chairman of the House Standing Committee on Transport, Communications and Infrastructure from 1990 to 1996. In 1992, that committee produced what became known as the Ships of shame report—a significant inquiry that concluded that substandard shipping practices were widespread and recommended increased government regulation of the industry at both national and international levels. It was serious, consequential policy work, and it had a lasting impact on maritime safety standards both here and abroad.

After leaving parliament, Mr Morris was appointed chair of the International Commission on Shipping, a body established by the International Transport Workers' Federation to inquire into international shipping standards. His expertise and commitment to the sector did not end with his parliamentary career. Beyond his formal roles, Mr Morris served as president of the Newcastle maritime museum and was instrumental in securing funding for the William the Fourth paddle-steamer. These community contributions reflect a man who remained engaged with the people and the region he had represented long after leaving office.

Mr Morris's wife, Florence, passed away in 2019. He is survived by his sons Michael, Paul, and John. His son Matthew passed away from a brain tumour in 2020. The family has endured significant loss in recent years, and our thoughts are with them at this time. On behalf of the coalition, I extend our sincere condolences to the Morris family, and I acknowledge with respect the contribution Peter Morris made to this parliament and to this nation. May he rest in peace.

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

I ask senators to join in a moment of silence to signify assent to the motion.

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