Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

As I noted before the suspension, Gary Ticehurst put his own safety a distant second during the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race of 1998. It is fair to say that there are many families that remain whole as a consequence of that decision.

John Bean, of course, was an awarded cameraman. His work took him right around the country and he had worked in rural Australia. I make this point because, having worked with many ABC journalists and camera crew across rural and regional Australia, I have a sense of the passion they have for their job. It is important to acknowledge that they are a fundamental glue—whether we agree or disagree with any particular story—to the ability of people in regional Australia to have a voice, to have access to an understanding of the broader things that are occurring within their region and to simply be in connection with the rest of the country.

Paul Lockyer, who was of course the best known of the three to have perished in the Lake Eyre helicopter tragedy a week ago, was a journalist who brought to life the drought. He then brought to life the rains and the magnificent spectacle of Central Australia in full bloom, both for its environmental benefits but also the human stories that went with it. Again, a tragedy which perhaps became the leitmotif of his work was his role and work in Grantham in the immediate aftermath of the tragic inland wall of water that tore through that town at the start of this year.

I simply wanted to record my sorrow at their passing in such circumstances. Like many in this House, it was my portfolio, not so much my electorate, that took me into many circumstances where I have worked with ABC regional crew. They do a tremendous job. To lose three of their principal leaders was a great loss for them and the community, but above all else a loss for the families of Gary Ticehurst, John Bean and Paul Lockyer.

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