Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to support the motion moved by the Prime Minister and seconded by the Leader of the Opposition recognising the great contribution of two great Australians to the Australian political scene and to the nation: firstly, Sir Robert Cotton and, secondly, Sir James Killen.

The well-known and legendary political journalist Alan Reid once described Sir Robert Cotton as a man ‘whose considerable subtlety of mind was masked by a direct, open manner’. Sir Robert Cotton was a great coalitionist. In the late 1950s, he was the president of the New South Wales branch of the Liberal Party. As a result of his efforts, the New South Wales Liberals and the then Country Party developed joint opposition policies for the first time. They also reached a historic agreement on three-cornered contests. The Liberal and Country parties lost the 1959 and 1962 state elections, but their close cooperation was vindicated in 1965 when they swept into government after 24 years in opposition. The cooperation between the two New South Wales parties has continued, including in the present state election campaign.

Bob Cotton’s good relationship with the Country Party proved to be essential in the confused days after Harold Holt disappeared off Portsea in 1967. Some people in the New South Wales branch of the Liberal Party argued that Sir John McEwen should stay on as the Prime Minister, even though he was the leader of the Country Party. They were looking for a trade-off. They were prepared to give up the leadership of the country as long as McEwen agreed to amalgamate the two parties. Cotton thought this was a ridiculous idea. He checked with his contacts in the Country Party and concluded that the Country Party would never agree to amalgamate and worked within the Liberals to kill off the deal. At the same time, he knew the federal coalition had to continue, had to survive. He knew the Country Party would possibly leave government if the Liberals elected Bill McMahon as Prime Minister, so he turned his attention to making sure that McMahon stayed out of the leadership contest. It was a masterly performance that helped keep the coalition government together and in office.

Seventeen years later, as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States—as has already been pointed out by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition—Bob Cotton had to use his coalition and diplomatic management skills again. This time it was to help manage the ANZUS alliance. In February 1985, the New Zealand government of the day had refused to allow the USS Buchanan to visit New Zealand ports. The decision ended New Zealand’s role in ANZUS, but there were many in Washington who wanted to go further and impose sanctions on New Zealand. Bob Cotton was a key part of Australia’s successful efforts in talking the Americans out of this course of action. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke once recalled that Cotton told them:

You might think the New Zealanders are mistaken, but they’re good people, they’re worth having as friends, and if I were you, I’d treat this ships business as lightly as you can.

Bob Cotton served Australia, the Liberal Party, the coalition and his state with great distinction, and history will record the many contributions he made in terms of good government in Australia. I would like to join the Prime Minister in extending to his family our condolences.

On that lovable and wonderful Australian character Sir James Killen: he was always recognised as a great orator and debater. It is interesting to hear today how he honed those skills as a jackaroo, talking to sheep. I often reflect on how I honed my skills as an auctioneer, talking off a stump to nobody in particular, but it is interesting that some great Australians come from jackarooing backgrounds—often I speak at this stump to not too many either.

The leader of the Country Party at the time when Sir James Killen made his maiden speech in the parliament, Artie Fadden, took him into the cabinet anteroom for a drink afterwards, and Bob Menzies even dropped in to say hello. Fadden said:

By Jove, Bob, you’ve got some opposition here. That’s as good a speech as I have heard you make.

Menzies evidently was not impressed with the comparison and, I suspect, was even less impressed when Killen dreamt up the famous telegram that was referred to by the Prime Minister.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Killen spoke frequently in the House and at the same time studied for his law degree. He graduated in 1964 and immediately started building a criminal law practice during non-sitting periods. It was a very different time, and no-one seems to have criticised him for taking on the occasional murder case when parliament was not sitting. At one point, he was even swapping jovial notes across the chamber with Gough Whitlam about a young Labor official that he had represented in a minor case.

Killen was commissioned as the Minister for the Navy in 1969 and took a strong interest in conditions for ordinary sailors. The military was astonished. One retired air marshal told him:

Jim, you have an extraordinary reputation for visiting service establishments and talking naturally to people ... When I was chief of the air staff, my minister never came anywhere near us.

He was appointed shadow minister for defence in 1975 and promptly announced, in his usual manner, that ‘we would not be able to protect Botany Bay against the enemy on a hot Sunday afternoon’. Killen got the opportunity to do something about that when he was commissioned as Minister for Defence in the Fraser government. He prepared Australia’s first white paper on defence and bought the FA18 fleet. He was also responsible for setting up the Australian Defence Force Academy, after a long argument with the Public Works Committee. Those are all important achievements that Sir James Killen will be remembered for. But, above all, he will be remembered as a great parliamentarian and a great participant in this, the clearing house of ideas in Australian politics.

In his autobiography Sir James described how he felt as he left the old House of Representatives chamber down the hill for the last time:

Here had been hush and uproar. Here had been tears and laughter. Here had been drama and absurdity. Here had been the men and women of Australia. And here, indeed, had been the country, and I had seen it all. I walked through the door for the last time. I was glad I was given the honour of walking though it the first time.

Sir James Killen served his country, his state, the Liberal Party and all Australians with distinction. He will be remembered as a great Australian. I join with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in offering my condolences to Lady Benise and his daughters, Diana and Heather.

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