Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to commend, on indulgence, Dennis Rose. The honourable member who spoke before me, the member for Denison, mentioned that Dennis Rose was the Chief General Counsel of the Attorney-General’s Department between 1989 and 1995. My period of service as a minister was from 1996, but that does not in any way detract from my personal knowledge of the very high esteem in which he was held. His writings were very extensive, and they remained extensive after he retired from Commonwealth service and became the senior counsel to Blake Dawson Waldron solicitors between 1995 and 2006.

Of interest is that Dennis Rose was called upon to give advice in relation to the establishment of a republic. The Leader of the Opposition was very much involved in that question, and Dennis Rose was asked in 1993 to provide answers to a list of questions as to how that matter might move forward. He also wrote extensively in relation to proposals to fix corporations law in Australia. More recently, and of interest to me, he wrote an article in relation to judicial activism, The High Court’s decision in Al Kateb and Al Khafaji—a different perspective.

Dennis Rose was able to bring a lawyer’s view to complex and difficult questions. He brought those views in a balanced way, something that I very much respected. He always acted in the very highest tradition of the Commonwealth in relation to the service that he gave to the Attorney-General’s Department. More latterly, people are doing that under the aegis of the Australian Government Solicitor’s office. I am sure members of both sides recognise the very distinguished legal personages who have given us advice, particularly in constitutional matters, and are grateful for that service—personified by Dennis Rose, whose death we lament today.

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