Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this evening in praise of Senator John McCain, a friend of Australia, a political giant and a global statesman. In an era when populism was on the rise throughout the democratic world, in an era of faux conviction, John McCain stood as a beacon for those who seek to pursue politics in a thoughtful and courageous way. He was an embodiment of the idea that public service through political life is a noble profession. For all of us here across the political divide and, I think, throughout the democratic world, he stands as an inspiration.

Senator John McCain's family calling was military service. His grandfather and father were the first father and son combination in the US navy who both served as four-star admirals: John Sidney McCain and Jack McCain Jr. Both served, in one way or another, in the Pacific theatre, which, in a way, began John McCain's connection with Australia. His own military service commenced with graduation from naval college in Annapolis in 1958 and from flight school in 1960. Of course, the story of his being shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and his subsequent 5½ years in captivity in Hanoi is the stuff of legend. When he ejected from that plane he broke both legs and a shoulder. He was bayonetted in the groin by the crowd that pulled him from the lake. He was then left untreated for a week in Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi. When the fractures were ultimately treated, it was done without anaesthetic.

Soon after his capture, it became apparent to the North Vietnamese that John McCain's father was an admiral. He was offered release but, in a sense, it was on condition of him condemning his country—something he would not do. He refused that release because of the US military's code of conduct, which says that POWs should be released in the order in which they were captured. So, over 5½ years, he endured, at times, solitary confinement and torture, during which his ribs were broken, his arms were rebroken and his teeth were knocked out.

In 1974, McCain revisited South Vietnam. That visit said something about a feature of John McCain that characterised his life thereafter: generosity towards those who were his foes. As the member for New England said, he had an irresistible attachment to the better angels of human nature. When he returned in 1974, he attended a speech by an aid of President Thieu of South Vietnam, who said that the sacrifice of those who had served as prisoners of war could never be compensated, but if there was anything that could be provided by South Vietnam, or if there was anywhere or anybody that any of these former prisoners of war wanted to see or visit then South Vietnam was at their service. John McCain asked to visit one place: Con Son Island. It was the place in South Vietnam where North Vietnamese prisoners of war were held. He wanted to visit that place to see what state North Vietnamese prisoners of war were kept in. As he said, he had reluctantly become an expert in the way North Vietnam treated prisoners of war. He wanted to see the way in which this was done in South Vietnam. Indeed, after that visit, he came back noting that the conditions were not as bad as in North Vietnam, but they were far from perfect, and he made a range of recommendations in respect of that.

His political career is enormous. From 1983 through to this year, he served in the Congress, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the year 2000, he sought the Republican nomination, losing, ultimately, to George W Bush, and, in 2008, he won the Republican nomination and contested that presidential election against Barack Obama. He was a fighter for everything from campaign reform through to America being an outward looking nation that took a leadership role within the world. Throughout his political career, he demonstrated a selfless, courageous dignity and a generosity for his opponent which marked him out as somebody who was special in the political domain. As has been said, during the presidential election campaign with Barack Obama, there was a woman at a rally who suggested that then candidate Obama was an Arab, and Senator McCain said, 'No, ma'am. He’s a decent family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about.' Rather than turning up the political heat, he sought to define the political contest. It's not about individual on individual; it is about a contest of ideas.

The fact that at his funeral there were eulogies from President Obama, President George W Bush and Vice President Joe Biden, who were all, at times, opponents, but ultimately people who I suspect Senator McCain would regard as colleagues, says everything about the giant that Senator McCain was. Indeed, Joe Biden described this as the McCain code: a fierce contest of ideas, but a complete respect for the sincerity with which ideas are put into the political domain. It is something from which all of us practising politics today can learn.

Senator McCain was a great friend of Australia. His grandfather served in the Pacific theatre during the Second World War, as did his father, who, as a submarine commander, spent time in Perth. His sons have also served in the military alongside Australians in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

At the beginning of last year, when Prime Minister Turnbull had a difficult initial conversation with President Trump, it was Senator McCain who immediately came out to make clear the significance of the Australian relationship to America. He said:

Australia fought alongside us in wars, including losing over 500 brave Australians in the Vietnam War, which some of us remember. This, in my view, was an unnecessary and, frankly, harmful open dispute over an issue which is not nearly as important as United States/Australian cooperation, working together, including training of our Marines in Australia and other areas of military cooperation and intelligence.

As the member for New England noted, President Trump described Senator McCain in these terms:

He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured.

This was an appalling statement to make about an American who was unquestionably a hero. But, despite that, there was a generosity from Senator McCain even in respect of President Trump. He visited Australia in May of 2017. Like the member for New England, I had the enormous honour of meeting McCain on that visit. In the United States Studies Centre in Sydney, he said this:

You will not agree with all of the president's decisions. Neither will I. But I am fully committed to doing whatever I can to help my country and my president succeed in the world. And I would beseech all of you to join me and help me.

This was generosity of spirit indeed.

Within two months of visiting Australia, Senator McCain was diagnosed with brain cancer. His death is a loss to all of us. I think that, for all of us who seek to serve in this place and to represent people in democratic societies, Senator John McCain, in his life, stands as the personification of dignity and the personification of what it is to provide service to our communities in a generous way, a way which puts them at the centre of our thoughts and a way which does not indulge populism, the darker angels of our nature or a contest which isn't real. John McCain is absolutely a hero, and John McCain is an inspiration to us all.

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