Duncan Kerr (Denison, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on indulgence: I wish to make a couple of brief remarks on the death of Dennis Rose, a former chief general counsel of the Commonwealth. I understand that the member for Berowra will respond, both of us having held ministerial office at a time when Dennis was a significant figure in the Commonwealth. Dennis rose to the rank of Chief General Counsel and was, I think, the pre-eminent legal adviser of the Commonwealth for a decade. It is sometimes said of legal counsel that you can seek counsel to form views that suit the objectives that you wish to pursue. With Dennis Rose, that never would have been the case. He was always a man who gave you a straight and honest assessment of the law as he understood it. He came to law, which was his life learning and experience, with a commitment to best practice and to the Commonwealth and as a model litigant. He played a very significant constitutional role in this country for a long time. He came at a time when the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department was a very strong fortress of excellence. Jack Waterford, in the Canberra Times, said:

Were the central offices of the department considered as a law firm, as it now is, there was no firm in Australia, possibly the world, with more talent and expertise. And Rose was probably the best.

After his period with the Commonwealth he went on to become special counsel with Blake Dawson Waldron. He was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Tasmania. He is a Tasmanian by birth.

As someone who worked closely with him, I would like to record my own personal respect for his character, his honesty and his integrity in the roles he played for the Commonwealth. I also express my condolences to his family and the appreciation, I am sure, of members of both sides of politics for his service to the Commonwealth.

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