Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

The death of Rick Farley was tragic and it was untimely. He suffered a brain aneurysm last year. He was in the process, as I understand it, of recovery only to sustain another tragic accident that ultimately claimed his life. At 53 he was too young to lose. He had so much more to offer and as a nation we do not just mourn him; we are less for his loss.

It was a privilege to have known Rick over so many years. I had many dealings with him both as ACTU President and as minister for primary industries in particular, but then in various parts of my parliamentary career subsequently. Rick was committed, he was courageous, he was caring and he was compassionate. He also believed very much in community. He was not a captive ever of any constituency that he represented; he would always seek constructive solutions on behalf of the groups that he represented. He was fiercely competitive and would always strongly argue his case. He could be irascible at times but over time I came to understand that this was really part of his passion and his commitment—his belief in the cause.

Despite his determination he believed fundamentally in building partnerships, in bringing together the different parts of the debate, in devolving of responsibility and in engaging the community. One of those early partnerships, of course, was Landcare, and many people have spoken about that. It was a movement, a cause and an initiative that still remains today. I think the testimony to any politician or advocate is the extent to which that with which they have been associated stands the test of time regardless of the change of government. Landcare is such an initiative.

Together with Phillip Toyne from the ACF and the Hawke government, Rick was able to be part of developing a proposal for funding sustainable care through community based partnerships of one of our greatest national assets, our land. It was a program which did not just cover the bush; it also covered the city. When it was announced it obtained immediate and bipartisan support. Rick worked also with the Hawke government to produce the nation’s first effective national drought policy—another policy, I might add, which has stood the test of time.

There were many other issues where our paths crossed because it was a time of great crisis in the rural sector associated not only with the drought but also with the serious restructuring issues confronting many rural sectors. Rick was not always easy to deal with but he was good to deal with. He had integrity. If he gave his word, he honoured it. He always had a view; he was always constructive; he always sought solutions.

I mentioned that he developed into, and was very much, a community man. He was also an internationalist. The member for Fraser would be aware of the very strong commitment and support that Rick and the leadership of the NFF gave to the then government—the Hawke government—and its leadership in the Cairns Group and the Uruguay Round, and the fundamental necessity to get, through multilateral agreements, the opening of trade circumstances and opportunities for this nation.

I think the biggest challenge for Rick in his day—and for all of us, for that matter—was dealing with the consequences of the Mabo decision and the native title debate. Here again Rick was a key player. The Keating government, in response to that High Court decision, had determined a three-pronged strategy: securing native title legislation that effected the impact and significance of the High Court decision, dealing with the legalities of the competing land claims and access and use arguments; the establishment of the Native Title Land Fund; and the development of a social justice package for Indigenous Australians. Rick was the negotiator for the National Farmers Federation. The implications for pastoral leases were a huge issue, and he and I had many dealings over them. They were resolved, and they were resolved because he, like us, brought goodwill to the table. Everyone knows that those negotiations were hard. At times they did not produce the perfect result, but they did produce a very good result in the circumstances, and he is to be given credit for the contribution that he made in overcoming what appeared at times to be irreconcilable differences.

When the native title legislation was finalised, he left the National Farmers Federation but he did not leave the issue. He had found a new challenge: the challenge to achieve reconciliation with our Indigenous people. He continued to promote alliances with Aboriginal communities—again, the sorts of initiatives that the member for Fraser referred to by example. He served until 1997 as a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, with Pat Dodson, the father of reconciliation, as its chair. He served also as a member of the Native Title Tribunal. He was, until his death, a member of the New South Wales Reconciliation Council.

Rick also became involved in politics, standing for the Democrats in 1998, a detail alluded to by the member for Fraser. He joined the Labor Party in later years. We were proud to have this warrior for rights and justice as one of ours. As always, he did not necessarily agree with everything we did, but it was always a great pleasure to meet him, engage him and draw wisdom from his continuing commitment.

The nation has lost a true champion. We mourn him. My condolences go to his partner, Linda, to his children, Jeremy and Cailin, and to Linda’s children, Binni and Willurai.

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