Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand corrected. Thank you, Member for Shortland. I well remember, after the election in Burrinjuck, Alby came into the party room and was tearing strips off Nick Minchin because a couple of his ministerial staff had handed out for Katrina Hodgkinson because they had a personal relationship with her and had worked with her in the office. He was furious at that. As everyone knows, Nick Minchin was a formidable political operator, but Alby Schultz did not take a backward step in confronting him.

I also remember that, a couple of years later, there had been a possible redistribution in the electorate of Macarthur. John Fahey was the member for Macarthur. He had been a former New South Wales Premier and was finance minister at the time. There was speculation in the paper about whether John Fahey would move to the seat of Hume. This was around 2000 to 2001. Alby, once again, was very much up for the fight. I remember that friends of mine from places like Yass regarded Alby as really one of them. They recognised Alby as a fighter. In my limited sample of three or four, they would definitely have preferred a fighter like Alby over someone of very high calibre such as John Fahey.

I well remember the pool accident that Alby had with the chemical fluid, which led to the loss of his eye. A school in his electorate would make eye patches, and every day Alby would wear a different eye patch to parliament. Before he had his prosthetic eye he did have very much the appearance of a pirate.

He was a quintessential local member—a very good local member. People I knew in Yass and Murrumbateman related to me that the personal attention that Alby would show to his constituents was legendary. I remember once that a couple were moving from Murrumbateman to Kingswood in my electorate of Boothby. Alby rang me up to say that they were coming to my electorate and to facilitate introductions. They were good people and would I look after them? He never ceased to amaze me with how good he was with those personal connections. By the same token, to gain Alby's approval was something that you felt you had earned. It was a very good thing.

There are a number of members on this side who, when the sitting hours were a bit different, would take the opportunity to get out of this place on Tuesday and have a lunch, most recently at Timmy's Kitchen in Manuka. Before that I think it used to be at Belluci's, still in Manuka, just down the road. I think the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection did touch on this group. Sadly, just in the last month two members of that group have died: Alby Schultz and also Don Randall, the member for Canning.

I always found Alby very straightforward. For about four years I had the job of doing the party room briefing to the media, and Alby would always take a great interest in what has been briefed and what had been leaked by others. I think he certainly approved of the way that I did that role and took an interest in what was going on.

Alby was a great member of the Liberal Party. He had enormous life experience before coming to parliament. I appreciate all the time that he gave me as a member and colleague and I do express my sincere condolences to Gloria and also to his family.

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