Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the member for Wannon. He would have hardly been a twinkle in his mother's eye at that stage!

It was 1974. But, with his usual charm, humour and robust debating style, he held his own and apparently placated the masses. He even thanked the crowd for receiving him so warmly. So I think that as Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister, said last week:

In person, it was hard to disagree with and impossible to dislike such a man …

I am sure his presence left an impression on the masses that gathered that day in 1974.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention, as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, the contribution that our former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam made to the Royal Australian Air Force. Mr Whitlam signed up with the RAAF in 1941 and started training as a navigator/bomb aimer in May 1942. He was later posted to the RAAF No. 13 Squadron, operating out of the Northern Territory, Dutch New Guinea and northern Western Australia, often flying very long sorties. He served with distinction, as he went on to serve with distinction in this place, and the war experience no doubt emboldened his sense of public duty and the service which he maintained throughout his career both as a barrister and later as a parliamentarian.

It takes courage to be a RAAF officer. It takes courage to enter this parliament and to stand at the dispatch box and contest the great ideas that our nation needs to contest for its future. It was a brave decision by Mr Whitlam as opposition leader to visit China in 1971, and history will judge him very kindly for making that decision. Just look at our relationship now with our northern neighbours. It is a type of courage in decision making that we should all aspire to. As the Prime Minister said, there is a lot to be learnt from the giants of those times. As the Deputy Prime Minister said, some of the big changes Gough Whitlam influenced during his tenure are widely accepted now. He had the courage of his convictions and he acted upon them.

I will leave the final comments to the member for Sydney, who reflected that Gough Whitlam, in his own words, might be considered 'eternal but not immortal'. Certainly, when it comes to the story of our great nation, Gough Whitlam will always hold a special place. I commend the condolence motion to the House and I again extend my condolences, on behalf of the people of Gippsland, to the Whitlam family, its friends and the Australian Labor Party.

See this speech in context