Stewart McArthur (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

My opponent in the House of Representatives for the last 14 years, the honourable member for Corio, leaves this place for pastures greener. The parliament will miss the good-humoured interjections and ongoing political combat between Corangamite and Corio. The easy flow of language from the grey-haired but very fit veteran footballer from Corio will not be easily replaced. Corangamite and Corio go back a long way, to when Gavan O’Connor first stood for the seat of Corangamite in the February 1984 by-election that saw me enter the parliament. He then recontested the seat in December 1984. At that time he was a well-known Colac boy with a bit of a chance for the big time in politics.

Gavan O’Connor worked for the highly respected Senator John Button. During that time, he came to understand market economics and lower tariff regimes. Unfortunately, he was never quite capable of reaching the intellectually correct position of his hero, Captain Zero. Gavan brought to Senator Button’s office a background of an economics degree at Monash and a Diploma of Education at the University of New England. He honed his teaching skills at Trinity College, Colac, before he became the key adviser to Senator Button. He then worked the smoke-filled rooms of the Labor Party and became the candidate for Corio in 1993 as a factionally non-aligned candidate, taking over from the Hon. Gordon Scholes, a former minister and Speaker.

Gavan O’Connor is the only Labor member in the parliament who has dirt under his fingernails and understands rural issues. In his role as shadow minister for this portfolio, he brought to bear a genuine understanding of rural people’s attitudes, their trials and tribulations and what might be good for them in the longer term. He even had a sympathetic view of dairy deregulation, which was somewhat contrary to his more socialist attitudes towards statutory marketing. He argued these rural issues responsibly from the opposition benches.

Gavan O’Connor comes from an old DLP family in the Alvie district near Colac. Since a young age he has been debating political and philosophical issues around the dinner table. His cousin, Allan Woods, of Camperdown, was probably Australia’s most famous buckjump rider. Allan Woods rode Curio in 1949 and that epic feat is recorded in the Stockman’s Hall of Fame at Longreach as well as there being a statue at Warwick, Queensland, where this historic ride took place. Allan Woods’ father worked at my family’s property, Meningoort, Camperdown.

Gavan’s exploits as a veteran rising 59-year-old footballer are well known to all members of the House. Hamstring injuries and other combat woes have often restrained him from reaching his full potential as one of Australia’s outstanding veteran AFL footballers. However, he lives the glory days of his youth at Alvie and Monash, not to mention his fanatical support for the Richmond Football Club, the mighty Tigers, which he now conveniently hides under the shadow of Red Rock, Alvie.

The publication of his memoirs will contain exchanged notes with Corangamite, which record contemporary political events, the imminent demise of Corangamite over 14 years, the Tammany Hall activities of the Geelong city council and the Labor Right, the rise of yet another Labor leader and the Geelong Advertiser reports on branch stacking by Labor members in the seat of Corio. These original literary works will record the genuine political assessment of day-to-day politics in the House of Representatives over the past 14 years and will be deposited in the National Library for posterity.

Corangamite and Corio travelled overseas to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, and the Vietnamese were able to hear Australia’s No. 1 karaoke singer. His performance in Hanoi would present a challenge to Shannon Noll as Australian Idol.

Gavan’s contribution to the parliament was cut short by a branch-stacking operation never before seen in the Geelong region. Politics is a ruthless business, but Gavan O’Connor and the genuine, long-serving Labor Party members of Geelong who supported him, have been badly let down. Gavan O’Connor’s commitment to the Labor cause has never been in doubt. His articulate and genuine passion for the cause on the floor of the House of Representatives has been first class. His cheerful disposition and genuine consideration of others has earned him a reputation on both sides of the parliament as a straight shooter and a person without rancour or bitterness.

He leaves the parliament with the good wishes of all members, in particular the member for Corangamite, who will feel lonely during the debates without the good humour but sharp heckling to ensure that the member for Corangamite will be kept in line. We wish Gavan and his partner, Toni, every success in this next stage of their career together.

See this speech in context