Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Nelson Mandela was an enigma—a man who achieved greatness and humility, a man who was hated, feared and scorned, and a man who is loved, revered and honoured. He fought injustice. He was a legend. He was unique. He was a freedom fighter, a student activist and a great leader. Nelson Mandela changed the face of the world, I would say. His moral leadership gave hope to many people and, as Ban Ki Moon said, the world has been influenced by his selfless struggle for human dignity, equality and freedom.

I can remember the days of apartheid. I can remember feeling how unjust it was, that just because of a person's colour they were treated as a lesser person. I can remember thinking as a teenager how wrong it was. I also remember when Nelson Mandela was jailed back in 1964 and feeling how unfair and unjust it was that a person who stood up and fought for injustice and for a fair system could be imprisoned because he took that stand. When he was released from prison in 1990, instead of being angry and bitter, he said:

… I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and freedom for all. I stand … before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant …

That was 27 years after he was first jailed.

I have been to Robben Island; I have seen the prison; I have seen where he was held in that prison. I have experienced the really inclement weather on that island—cold and bitter. It would be a horrible place to be interned. Yet, after having worked by lifting and moving rock around the island and being treated in quite an inhumane way, he left there still capable of saying those words I have just quoted. It was an even greater tribute to the man to four years later be elected President of South Africa. As President he took people from both sides, black and white, and he said:

We enter into a covenant that we shall build a society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity—a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.

It could have been a very different scenario if, after he was elected, he had sought retribution. But what he did was to show true leadership.

He was a unifier; he brought the country together. Yes, there are still problems in South Africa; it still has a way to go. I have seen some of the problems that exist there, but it is a better place—and the world is a better place—because of Nelson Mandela's contributions. I would have to say that he is one of the people that I hold up as a hero. He is a role model for all politicians and all people who struggle against injustice. He showed that, if you stick to your cause and if you fight for what you believe in, then you can achieve. His achievements have established a place in history for him that few people will be able to enjoy. I will end with these words from Nelson Mandela:

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society … It is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.

That ideal came to fruition under Nelson Mandela's leadership. As the world pauses to remember his contribution, it is very important to reflect on those words. The world is not dominated by either white or black; and it is a world where, if you are totally committed to what you believe in and to the struggle for noble ideals, you can achieve. Nelson Mandela certainly achieved, and he will be honoured in perpetuity by history.

See this speech in context