Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am probably one representative in this House who was more distant from Mr Chipp than the federal member for Kooyong—with his intimate relationship with him and his memories of and history with him—and also than the member for Kingsford Smith, who spoke so eloquently in regard to Don Chipp. However, I know that Don Chipp was a man who worked hard and played hard. He was a rascal to a degree, a great family man, a lover of life and a lover of the environment.

I came across Mr Chipp, as he was at the time, in his retirement. As a candidate for the seat of Streeton, long since departed, I met Don Chipp, who was a constituent in that area. Because of his long association and friendship with many Liberals, whom he held as close friends for many years after his departure from politics, I was invited to the family home to meet with Don to talk about the issues that affected the particular area in which I was a candidate and where I might head in my future political activity. It was because of his relationship at that time with Barry Simon, the previous member for McMillan, and his wife, Ruth, who remained firm friends over the years.

Of course, my condolences go to his family. This death occurred in difficult circumstances, as can happen as people grow older. However, to the end he was a fighter, and the public that I know would remember Don Chipp fighting to the last moment about the issues that were important to the broader community. He was a politician who never lost sight of those battlers out in the broader community, particularly in Victoria. He was a great lover of people.

So I come to this debate not with an intimacy that others have enjoyed with the man, but looking from the perspective of the broader public. We are grateful for the life and times of Don Chipp. We are grateful for the contribution he made not only in the House but in the Senate. We are particularly grateful, as the member for Kingsford Smith agreed, for the changes that he was prepared to make that set Australia up for the future, particularly with regard to the issues that affected him directly, being, in my opinion, censorship, the environment and proper governance of the nation. Australia will be a lesser place for the loss of Don Chipp.

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