Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I pay tribute to Edward Gough Whitlam AC, QC, to his life and his achievements. I pass on my condolences to his family and friends. I pay my respects to him on behalf of my electorate of Blair, which encompasses most of Ipswich and all of the Somerset region in South-East Queensland. I thank him for the recognition of China, for ending conscription, for law reform, for regional development, for funding for the arts and for fairer electoral laws. In his three years in office, he did more than almost all his predecessors put together and those subsequent to him.

Gough was Labor's leader and, in my electorate, Bill Hayden was our federal member. We revered Gough. We were as proud of him as he was of himself! We idolised him. He made more of an impact on my family and on me individually than any other political leader. I wonder where I would be without free university education; and, having practised as a family lawyer for more than 20 years before I came to this place, I wonder what life would have been like in legal practice under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1959.

My parents and their parents before them were denied the opportunity to go to high school. Because my two brothers and I went to university, we achieved. It was because of the Whitlam Labor government, which gave us that opportunity, that we did so. Without Gough and his Labor government, none of that would have happened.

I remember the pride that my parents felt when they went to our local church on Sunday, 3 December 1972, the day after the election of the first federal Labor government in 23 years. I remember the relief my anti-Vietnam-War mother, Joy, felt when Gough ended conscription, ensuring her three sons would not be forced to go to a war which had already been raging for decades. I remember putting up a sign, a handmade poster, in my bedroom window during the 1974 election campaign which read: 'Gough's going great—give Gough a go.' My love of alliteration was obvious early on!

I recall coming home and discussing with barely concealed anger the sacking of the Whitlam Labor government in what I thought was a coup at the time by the Governor-General. I recall my father, Al, shedding tears when the results of the 1977 election disaster were clear to all of us on the Labor side of politics. Gough's political career was over.

Like many on this side of the chamber, I am fortunate to have spoken with Gough on numerous occasions, during party functions and conferences. Always he would refer to you and to people generally as 'comrade'. I thank him, simply and without emotion, for what he did for me. But today I feel the sadness of loss and what his life meant to me. Respected Queensland Times journalist Joel Gould wrote:

The nation lost a great man and Ipswich lost a dear friend.

Gough's urban and regional development policies proved a boost for Ipswich. By opening up direct funding to local councils under the Constitution, Gough was able to fund cities and regions more effectively. That funding saw almost all of Ipswich sewered. In 1972, when he came to power, Ipswich was only 50 per cent sewered. The Whitlam Labor government's assistance following the 1974 floods, which devastated Ipswich and Brisbane, including my parents' home in which I lived at the time, helped us to rebuild our community infrastructure, such as roads, and a host of other flood measures also assisted us greatly.

On 19 July 1975, Gough opened the Ipswich Civic Centre, built with federal funds. It is still an important resource in our region for our arts, cultural, civic and community events. I am pleased to have got funding in the last government to upgrade the civic centre. I recall Gough returning to the Ipswich Civic Centre for a fundraiser many years later. He was honoured and he was glorious in his element. His long speech that night was Castro-like in length. Barely any aspect of federation government and governance was left out, including a long dissertation on rail gauges, much to the mortification of my wife, Carolyn, at the time.

Following the 1975 double dissolution election, Queensland Labor was left with just one seat, Oxley, which comprised most of the current seat of Blair. Through Bill Hayden, Gough remained a great friend and a great presence in the region. I spoke to Bill Hayden about what I would say today. I am happy to repeat on the public record in the House and in Hansard what Bill said on the public record. Bill referred to Gough as 'the great man of my life' and said, 'If I achieved anything, he made me.' He said:

Everything about him was big; not just physically but the openness and generosity of his nature, the warm enthusiasm with which he could embrace new ideas and encourage others to pursue fresh thinking, the breadth and depth of his interests, the colourful range of singeing expletives he held in reserve for times of tension. But if you were doing your job he was no meddler.

To the extent I made any achievement in public life I owe a big debt to the lessons I learnt practically from Gough. A great Australian, a former colleague, now sadly departed.

I grew up politically handing out how-to-vote cards for Bill Hayden and campaigning for the former state member for Ipswich David Hamill. These men, along with former Ipswich mayor Des Freeman, are my political heroes. But Gough Whitlam stood above them all. On behalf of my family and my electorate, Gough, thanks for your contribution, your life and your example and for your beloved Margaret and her work. You will never be forgotten. Rest in peace, comrade.

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