Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to be associated with this condolence motion. I have been in the parliament for the whole of the time that Alby was with us. I very much admired him and also his wife, Gloria. It is to Gloria, Grant, Dean and his grandchildren that I want to speak, because he has had a remarkable career. He has not been the minister; he has not been the person who has led at the highest level; but he was the person who gave service, I think, beyond the call of duty.

And it was not just him; it was Gloria. I used to see them coming and going from this place. We have talked a lot about families recently. I think the Schultz family acknowledge the work of a family in public life. I often observe that a good local member is like a parson: you get two for the price of one. Gloria would drive him everywhere. She was out delivering the parcels in his constituency that he would often take to people in need. He was a remarkable member.

As noted by the previous speaker Alby was the member for Burrinjuck between 1988 and 1998, a 10-year term. He was 15 years with us, from 1998 to 2013. He had an unusual career. He had been a field officer of the Liberal Party and he had been a meat-processing consultant, but he had also been involved in local government. You can see how somebody like him would be equipped to undertake the role of a federal member in a rural seat.

I was interested in looking, again, at his maiden speech because it outlined, very fully, the nature of his electorate, one that contributed to the economy through agricultural, viticultural and horticultural industries, including wool, fat lambs, pigs, cattle, wheat, cherries, apples, stone fruits, timber and wine. This was the electorate he represented, here. He spoke about it. He informed us about it. He wanted people to be aware of the burdens. He wanted people to be aware of the need to understand the impact of fees and levies that can have an impact on demand for these sorts of products. He was a forceful advocate for his rural producers, as you would expect. He also took up other issues. If he had been here today he would have been talking about NBN Co. Then, he was talking about Telstra and the extent to which they were able to adequately serve rural Australia.

For me, what was particularly interesting was that he noted his own background was unusual. He was the son of a wool-store labourer. He came from a low-income working-class background. His grandfather on his mother's side was a personal friend of John Curtin's. An uncle had recently told him that his grandfather would turn in his grave knowing that he, Alby, was a Liberal member of parliament. He wanted to establish his family's bona fides and he wanted to assure members of the Labor Party that he was converted to our side of politics—at a very young age—because of extremely well-paid union officials. He likened them to some of those opposite. He noted that they had had him out on strike more times than he had worked. As a young slaughterman in the meat-processing industry he learned rapidly that people lining their pockets at the expense of the working classes were not only the employers but also the union officials. I thought they were extraordinary comments made by him, at that time, in the context of other matters that we were having to address.

He went on to say—as a member of the Liberal Party, which is the largest rural based political party in Australia—that he wanted to assure the House his politics differed from others. He saw rural people being represented as much by Liberals as by our friends in the National Party. I think they would acknowledge that he had some very strong views about that. I was certainly appraised of them.

I was not able to be at his funeral. I was overseas at the time. I felt very deeply about that because I noted, again, his own observations in his maiden speech. They are worth quoting. He said:

To my lovely wife, Gloria: thank you for your love, your quiet inner strength, your comfort and support, and for just being beside me; `the team', as we are known within the region, has been a close successful combination in everything we have done together all our married life.

He went on to note his two sons for their strong support and assistance.

This was a remarkable man, but it is a remarkable family. I have admired Gloria enormously and I wanted to be associated with this condolence motion just to say that.

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