Gary Hardgrave (Moreton, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

That was his way, Member for Hinkler—‘my boy’. That was the way he spoke to me—a wonderful form of endearment from his lips that I can hear in my mind right now. I said to the lady at the door: ‘Excuse me; I will just take this call. It is Sir James Killen.’ She said, ‘Tell him I think he is marvellous and that I said hello.’ Sir James, as quickly as anything, said, ‘And tell her I think she must be adorable and attractive as well as a completely sound person.’

The member for Fadden’s observation about the race track is correct, except that I think there was nothing that made Jim smile even more than the affection or adoration of a beautiful woman. He did have a great deal of love and respect for all people, I agree, but he did not mind having the company of attractive people around him—and good luck to him. It was very innocent, very decent and very gentlemanly but nevertheless very enjoyable from his point of view.

On the night of the 1996 election win we were at Don Cameron’s house in Greenslopes—Don being a former member of this place and one of the unique five people who have been representatives in three or more electorates. He was the member for Griffith from 1966, the member for Fadden from 1977 and the member for Moreton from 1983 until 1990. We were at Cameron’s house and Sir James was there. He shook my hand and said: ‘My boy, well done. Congratulations. It is all ahead of you now. I pray that one day the Prime Minister will have the good sense to appoint you to a higher office, but don’t forget that, no matter what may happen, it is always the parish.’ He never, ever let me forget the parish. The point of all authority for all of us in this place comes from our respective parishes.

The member for Fadden was also right in observing that he did not like this place; the physical structure of this place offended him. I understand why. He came here for the Liberal Party’s anniversary function in 2006. It was a fine night and I remember him using my office as his base. I offered my office and ensured that he was transported appropriately—that he and Lady Benise and Dame Margaret and Stan Guilfoyle got back to their hotel. It seems extraordinary to me that these great people of enormous stature and great community service are not well looked after by the system these days. They more or less have to fend for themselves and are forced into cabs and so forth. None of this really fussed Jim too much, but I made sure we had a more appropriate form of transport to get him back.

I know what his trouble with this place was about. There is still a lot of genuine wit and ability amongst colleagues in this place. I think there is still an ability for people to make great comments, to interact and to make interjections that are worthy of being placed on the record, even though we all know they are unparliamentary, but this place does not afford that opportunity. I think Sir James would have liked the Main Committee more, because you can actually see the whites of the eyes of the people opposite. You can have a discussion and a debate in a much clearer environment than the very anaesthetic environment of the House of Representatives chamber, which has been styled more for television presentation than good parliamentary debate.

Sir James Killen maintained his sense of connection with Moreton all the way through, even though he lived in another part of town. Lady Joy has been mentioned. She stood and handed out how-to-vote cards for me in 1996 and 1998 at the Wellers Hill primary school, which was the home base of the Killen support group, if you like. They lived just around the corner from there for many years. He maintained his connection with the Tarragindi-Wellers Hill RSL, even though they as an organisation no longer exist and are now augmented under the Yeronga-Dutton Park RSL. He was always the special guest on Anzac Day. On some occasions he was not there. The member for Fadden will know some of the faces there. Muriel Watson, that wonderful doyenne of Brisbane theatre and television from many years ago, is a constituent of mine. Muriel and her late husband would be there every Anzac Day. There would be Jim and Dawn Slaughter—Dawn Slaughter being Sir James’s sister. A bit of a reunion would happen every Anzac Day at the memorial. It was always a very happy time to hear some fine words from Sir James Killen.

I think Sir James Killen showed that, from his point of view, community service was never something he was going to shy away from. Many people may not remember—the member for Blair is in the chamber and he will remember this—that at one stage Sir James Killen offered himself for election as the member for Blair to take on the then member for Oxley when she tried to continue her parliamentary career. He thought she was repugnant to Australia’s standards and repugnant to the way in which Australia operated. He was ready to take a stand against her. It showed the great strength of Sir James Killen for having that view.

At the end of it all it has come down to this enormous high honour for me, as the incumbent member for Moreton, to note his passing, to lament his passing and to thank him for his community service. When I was a young bloke growing up, the great figures in my local area around Sunnybank—apart from David Jull—were people like Geoff Chinchen, the then state member for Mount Gravatt. He has sadly left us. He was indeed a war hero and a fellow who, with his wife, Heather, helped start the Sunnybank Red Cross, maintaining his connection with that organisation. There was also the very sad passing just prior to Christmas of Bill Kaus, the former member for Mansfield. His daughter, Andrea West, was the member for Bowman between 1996 and 1998. And then there was the passing of Sir James Killen. For me, three powerhouses of local community focused representation were taken in just the last year or so.

I say to Diana and Heather: we thank you for the work that you allowed your parents to do. To Dana and to the rest of the family: we know that you will live up to the legacy of this wonderful man, Jim Killen. To Lady Benise: I join with the member for Fadden in publicly acknowledging the great strength and dignity that you brought to Jim’s latter years. The opportunity for us to deal with Jim in a more direct and open way because of your efforts is something for which we are forever indebted. Jim came and witnessed the opening of my electorate office in November last year. He patted me on the back and said, ‘You’ve done well’—high praise for me. Lest we forget—what a great man.

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