Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am indebted to the late Wally Brown, a remarkable doyen of the press gallery, who made the following observation about Malcolm Fraser. He said, in his book Ten Prime Ministers, which I note with interest was checked by Niki Savva:

He had many positive achievements, which gave the lie to recent observations by people surprised about how much he had changed, how much more liberal, socialist even, he has become since he left office. The basic fact is, he has not changed. The new Malcolm Fraser is the old Fraser.

An important aspect of Wally Brown's work is that it highlights many of Malcolm Fraser's achievements, achievements too often ignored because of the circumstances of his election to power. There were those so outraged by the dismissal of the Whitlam government that they were wilfully blind to the very real achievements of the Fraser government.

My very clear recollection of that campaign was of the growing and overwhelming support for a change from the Whitlam government debacles. Even in the toughest of electorates there would be cheers for coalition campaigners from pub verandas, notably missing from the election some three years earlier. So effective was the subsequent disinformation campaign against Malcolm Fraser and his government that many Australians remain unaware of his remarkable achievements.

As Wallace Brown set out: 'It was Fraser who extended land rights for aborigines to the states. It was Fraser who appointed Fred Chaney, Ian Viner and Peter Baume as ministers for aboriginal affairs. It was Fraser, under Petro Georgiou's influence, who did so much for multicultural affairs, who supported black Africans in South Africa and Zimbabwe, who stopped sandmining on Fraser Island and protected the Great Barrier Reef from mining and petroleum exploration.' No recent convert on these critical issues. He also was a pragmatic politician.

Paul Kelly, in his book The Unmaking of Gough, said:

Fraser was not terribly concerned about repudiating a key section of his policy platform if other factors came into play. He believed that the government was elected by the people in an act of trust to make the best decision possible at any given time, rather than be tied to a specific set of promises. He claimed that dogmatism would lead to bad government. 'Measures which seem appropriate at one stage can sometimes, indeed must, be superseded by new knowledge, new events.'

I did not know Malcolm Fraser well but I first met him as a Young Liberal and then as a staffer for his Minister for Education, the remarkable Senator Sir John Carrick. As a fierce a public persona he appeared and as aloof as he sometimes appeared, he at times also appeared to be shy and reserved. I can remember him outside the meeting rooms of Federal Council clearly hesitant about engaging with delegates he did not know.

He was encouraging and tolerant of Young Liberals. I recall him accepting our right to move a motion to Federal Council to abolish the two-airline agreement, contrary to government policy at the time. He and Tamie hosted the Young Liberal Presidents for dinner at the Lodge, and were clearly relaxed and enjoyed the debate and company.

I last spoke to Malcolm at the time of my swearing in to this place in October 2010 when my husband and I took the new member for Longman for a celebratory drink. We happened upon Malcolm and Tamie having dinner. Malcolm had in the week before the election raised the issue of the capacity of a young member to have the necessary life experience to undertake our work. Malcolm and Tamie joined us for after-dinner drinks and over the next hour or so we saw what a remarkable couple they made. Tamie had no hesitation in chiding Malcolm and pointing out that he was endorsed and elected in his twenties and perhaps should not have been so critical of the member for Longman. We had a pleasant and convivial evening in which I believe we saw another side to this remarkable Australian.

Malcolm Fraser was a good man. He acted in accordance with his principles. He was steadfast in prosecuting a cause. Not a politician that could be labelled as left, right or even Callithumpian. Not a member who would take easily to today's politics of vitriol and slander. There are things that he has raised in recent times with which I do not agree. Sometimes I have thought he was just plain wrong, but that does not detract from the man. Perhaps he could have done more with his great majority. Perhaps some of his more recent comments are more from the heart than from the pragmatic Malcolm Fraser in power. But who can complain about that? Indeed, it highlights his strength of character, his principles and his humanity.

Finally, let me also take this opportunity to pay tribute to Tamie Fraser. She brought a great sense of humour, of laughter and of common sense to this wonderful partnership. She took the rough edges off Malcolm Fraser's gruff exterior and contributed so much to this remarkable man. We thank her for her enormous contribution as a wife, a mother and as a real partner of a magnificent team. I pass my condolences to Tamie and to the extended Fraser family. We have lost a great Australian.

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