Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

It is my solemn duty to pass on the respects of the people of the Riverina on the death of the Hon. Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC and also to have a few reminisces of Mr Whitlam's time in Wagga Wagga and to pass on a few of the remarks of those who knew him and those who revered him.

In passing on some of the reminisces of Mr Whitlam, I bring to the House a bound edition of the Daily Advertiserthe Wagga Wagga newspaper. I know you are not allowed to use props, but I am sure it is okay on this occasion. So I will show my ALP friends across the other side, the front page of the edition which is headlined, 'Wagga's big welcome to Whitlam—five-hour visit'. The story reads:

The Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam, and his wife Margaret were Wagga's guests yesterday and for five solid hours wherever they went crowds applauded and whenever they turned welcome hands were extended. More than 480 people—many of them young children—crammed into the Wagga Civic Theatre to extend a Wagga welcome to the man who holds Australia's top political office.

Mr Whitlam visited Wagga to open the Schnelle Harmon grandstand on Eric Weissel Oval—

unfortunately now disused—

and the half-million dollar extensions to the Wagga Leagues Club. Three hundred sporting, civic and service leaders from Wagga and district attended the opening of the grandstand yesterday afternoon. Inside the Leagues Club later in the evening Mr Whitlam and his wife met more than 150 Labor Party supporters in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

And I am sure the local Labor branch would love to get 150 local supporters at a function these days!

A spokesman for Mr Whitlam said, 'The Prime Minister did not know what to expect coming to a current Liberal stronghold.'

And I am happy to report that I am hopeful that it is now a strong Nationals stronghold.

But he was greeted with a right royal reception. Children, nuns, students, politicians, housewives and hundreds of working men thronged around Mr and Mrs Whitlam for their entire Wagga visit, which was Mr Whitlam's third to the city but first as Prime Minister.'

I can report that it was the first prime ministerial visit that Wagga Wagga had received since Robert Menzies came to town on Friday, 17 November 1961. So it had been quite awhile.

During his welcome to the Prime Minister, Alderman Gissing spoke of the tremendous number of playing fields provided for the community of Wagga and the role of the council and the local leagues club in maintaining these. Mr Whitlam understood the need for the Commonwealth to fund local government directly. He understood regionalism. I have to say that; I have to put that on the record. Mr Whitlam said he was flattered by the welcome he received from the people of Wagga. And you will love this quote, members opposite, and you can just imagine Gough—I will channel Gough here, 'And I was thrilled to see all the decorations as I drove along Wagga's main street,' he quipped, 'but I was later told that they were for Christmas, not me.' You can just see him saying it—those great quotes. He was quite the comedian, but very witty, as we all know.

I would also like to place on the Hansard some of the tributes that he has received from no less than the former Leader of the Nationals and Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer, who said in The Daily Advertiser:

Unbelievably, Gough Whitlam as prime minister and ex-prime minister could recite correctly every (train) station from Junee to Narrandera in correct order, and he often did this when we were in conversation. Gough told me he used the wheat silos of the Riverina to assist his RAAF navigation training in World War II.

My final session with him was on the Ghan to Darwin in 2004 and, once again, he recalled in correct order, Marrar, Coolamon, Ganmain, Matong, Grong Grong and so forth.

That is amazing! That is just remarkable recall. The article continues:

Mr Fischer said he did not agree with much of Mr Whitlam's politics, but he respected his deep knowledge of the Riverina and also of military history, including the life and work of Sir John Monash—

who, of course, Tim Fischer is so deeply fond of.

I would also like to quote some of the Labor members of the Riverina, one of whom is my great mate Peter Knox. Peter never agrees with anything I say and nothing I ever do, but he is a great Labor member. I tell you what, if ever the Labor Party wanted to acknowledge somebody with life membership or something in the party, then Peter Knox is that person. He said, 'Gough with the was the reason I joined the Labor Party in 1972.' Mr Knox said he met Mr Whitlam on several occasions and was in awe of him. When he heard the news he said that it was a very big shock—even at his age. And it was a very big shock; the fact that Mr Whitlam passed away on 21 October 2014 at the grand old age of 98. I think he was one of those ageless figures who we all thought would just live on forever. None of us really expected him to go.

When Gough Whitlam visited Wagga Wagga on 15 January 1974, former Wagga Wagga deputy mayor, Mary Kidson, recalls being struck by a very tall and articulate man who made a captivating speech. He was one of those people who could really command an audience. I never met him, but certainly from seeing documentaries on television and reading a lot about him, he was one of those people who had presence. Mary Kidson told how fond she was of him and certainly of her great memories of him.

John Sullivan, who was the Country Party member for Riverina from 1974 to 1977 and who, even though he is an octogenarian, is still contributing greatly to public life as a councillor for Narrandera Shire Council recalled that he was in parliament at the time when Mr Whitlam was. He said:

We've lost one of the great characters of the Australian parliament and a prime minister that will be remembered for a long, long time.

We had a great rapport and I thought very highly of him.

I think that probably stretches across the bounds of parliament, the fact of that great respect that people had. We heard it last week in the condolence motion by the Prime Minister and others on this side for Mr Whitlam. Mr Sullivan continues:

I didn't appreciate some of his actions as leader of the Labor Party but as a man, he was very good.

There are others: Glenn Elliott-Rudder, who I bumped into at the shopping centre yesterday, described Mr Whitlam as a man of vision with a positive outlook. Indeed, he certainly was. Dan Hayes, the young president of Country Labor's Wagga Wagga branch said that the death of Mr Whitlam marked a sad day for the party. It was a sad day for the ALP, but it was also a day when we could celebrate the life of Mr Whitlam and, certainly, the great difference and transformation that he made to this nation.

I do praise Mr Whitlam for many of the things that he did, not least of which of course was also the acknowledgement that Catholic schools require funding from the Commonwealth. And I believe that he also understood regionalism—understood the great belief in decentralisation. If more members of parliament understood the great need for decentralisation the regional areas would be far stronger than they are now.

He also understood the need to have a trade relationship with China. We heard last week how he forged the way for that great relationship to occur. Australia's current ties with China have their origin in his efforts at what would have been a very difficult time. These moves laid the foundation for Australian business to establish a presence. One of the businesses that is really enjoying those links now is a company called Bee Dee Bags, which is based in Wagga Wagga. It is one of the fastest growing regional companies doing that sort of thing in Australia. 'China is going to be the economic powerhouse of the world in the future,' Bee Dee Bags founder Bruce Dicker said, and he acknowledged the role that Mr Whitlam played in that.

There are a lot of people in the Riverina—in fact, I would say most people in the Riverina—who mourn Mr Whitlam's passing, as do I. I really feel the need to pass on the condolences of all people in the Riverina for his loss and to pay respects to the surviving members of his family. May he rest in peace. Thank you for your contribution, Mr Whitlam.

See this speech in context