Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my privilege to follow the member for Hotham and that powerful and heartfelt condolence that he extended for Hazel Hawke. I take this opportunity to pay my respects to Hazel Hawke's family on her passing on 23 May this year. Hazel Hawke was one half of a dynamic combination that saw her husband, Bob Hawke, become a very successful Prime Minister in the years from 1983 to 1991. But she was a great woman and a great talent in her own right. We have heard that she was an accomplished pianist and actually played at the Sydney Opera House. She was a patron of the arts. And she was an author, having in 1992 written an autobiography and in 1994 authored a book, A Little Bit of Magic: Thoughts for Women.

As we have heard from the member for Hotham, she suffered, tragically, from Alzheimer's, but she was a great advocate for building awareness of this disease among the wider community. I have great sympathy with sufferers of Alzheimer's and their families, having known many people who have faced that debilitating disease—and Alzheimer's Australia Victoria is in my electorate of Kooyong.

I think of the words of Ita Buttrose, the Australian of the Year, when she described Hazel Hawke:

Hazel Hawke's life was a life to celebrate and one devoted to many causes and especially those Australians who suffered disadvantage.

Hazel embodied a sense of fairness and concern for other Australians. She was the first and only well-known Australian to speak publicly about her life with Alzheimer's disease. Her courage to speak openly about her dementia journey has left a lasting legacy in raising the profile of Alzheimer's disease and reducing the strong sense of isolation experienced by the thousands of Australians who have dementia. Hazel Hawke was always dignified. Those who knew her well said she was most charming and, of course, she was extremely modest. She had four children, Susan, Stephen, Roslyn and Robert Jnr, who died in 1963.

Regardless of which side of the political divide one comes from, we all come together in this place to pay tribute to fine Australians who have served their country in so many ways. Hazel Hawke is one such person. She will be remembered fondly as someone who was eternally decent, she will be remembered fondly as somebody who thought about helping those less advantaged than her and she will be remembered fondly for being one half of the dynamic political combination which saw Bob Hawke as a respected Prime Minister of this country from the years 1983 to 1991. I take this opportunity to pay my respects to the family, to send my condolences to her friends and to her many friends in the Labor Party and I say thank you to Hazel Hawke for a wonderful contribution to Australia.

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