Russell Broadbent (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I've had the pleasure of knowing Dr Brendan Nelson very well, not only as the fire-brand, earring-wearing national President of the AMA, where he caused discomfort to every government and every minister that was around this building at the time, but also as a member of the backbench, a minister in the Howard government and his ambassadorial appointments. I've had interaction with Brendan in all those places. Most memorable, Brendan was an education minister that was an on-the-road education minister. He was everywhere and he came to people's electorates. As minister, he actually looked at the problems that they had. I'm not having a go at any other minister but Brendan was a real on-the-ground, face-to-face education minister. He wanted to know the issues.

If he came across an issue in an electorate that he thought was worthy of consideration he'd act on it. His department didn't like it, the bureaucrats didn't like it but Brendan loved it. If he could do something really worthwhile, especially for those who may not have been part of the mainstream, he'd act. He had a real heart for those who perhaps couldn't hold their ground at the school level and they were in a specialist centre, and it wasn't really the federal government's obligation to go in and fix those problems. I remember the department told me one time, 'Just remember, this is a one-off. It will never happen again.' But Brendan was the sort of minister that made things happen in his portfolio on behalf of constituents and on behalf of members that drew a problem to his attention.

But probably most importantly, I was hugely impressed with Brendan as an ambassador. He was a highly respected ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union. I met Brendan, again in that capacity, when my wife and I joined Brendan for the celebration of Anzac Day. Brendan had us working like beavers from well before sun-up, all the way to sundown. He was amazing. His work ethic was exactly the same in everything he took on: President of the AMA, then a member of parliament, then a minister. It didn't matter what ministry he took on; he was like that battery—is it the Eveready battery?

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