Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to join with earlier speakers to pay tribute to Sir Harold Young, who died at home in Adelaide just last week. As earlier speakers have said, Sir Harold certainly is regarded as a man who did a very difficult job well, a fair man and, I think we would all say, a gentleman. Sir Harold served as a Liberal senator for South Australia, including a period as President of the Senate from 1981 to 1983. I thank the member for Barton, whose father, former Deputy President of the Senate, Doug McClelland, has been kind enough to pass on some of his experiences working with Sir Harold during his time as Senate President. He tells me:

Sir Harold managed to run the Senate without showing any favouritism and without incurring the rancour of his political opponents.

Doug McClelland describes Sir Harold as:

… a very down-to-earth and fair person who was respected by all sides, inclusive in the way that he ran Senate affairs.

Doug also credits Sir Harold as helping him develop his own skills in the Senate, and he remembers his involvement in the establishment of this new Parliament House. Perhaps as a very personal reflection, Doug and Lorna McClelland formed a very close friendship with Sir Harold and Lady Margaret Young and kept in touch beyond the conclusion of their respective political careers.

We in the parliament know that to be held in such high regard is a product of commitment and skill. Perhaps it is a reminder that Sir Harold was from another time in our history. He was the last President of the Senate to wear the wig and gown and the first to appoint a female attendant in the Senate. Along with earlier speakers, I express my condolences to Sir Harold’s family and friends.

I would also like to pay tribute to Sir Allen Fairhall, who died earlier this month. As others have said, he represented the Liberal Party for a long period. As the Prime Minister indicated, he was a possible candidate for Prime Minister in 1967, following the drowning of Sir Harold Holt, but I gather he withdrew on the grounds of ill health. However, he served in a number of portfolios and, in particular, I acknowledge his time as Minister for Defence in the difficult period during the Vietnam War.

He retired from politics just before the 1969 election. I gather that, on his retirement, he told the Sydney Morning Herald that he wanted a complete break—saying that he had had 20 years of heavy pressure night and day—and that his break had been complete. He said, ‘I don’t need a diary to tell me what I’m doing next Thursday; I know already: nothing.’ In fact, that did not turn out to be the case. His life, post parliament, continued to be a very active one, well into his 90s. He published two books. I think he will be very fondly remembered for all that he contributed. On his retirement in 1969, the then Labor member for Bass and shadow defence minister, Lance Barnard, said of Sir Allen:

He has made a tremendous contribution as a member and as a responsible minister in this parliament. We may disagree with him politically, but the fact remains that he has not spared himself in his efforts on behalf of the party he has represented with very great distinction. He has certainly not spared himself on behalf of the people of this country.

Again, I would like to express my condolences to Sir Allen’s family and friends.

Question agreed to, honourable members standing in their places.

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