Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this condolence motion for the Rt Hon. John Douglas 'Doug' Anthony, who passed away in Murwillumbah on 20 December 2020 at the age of 90, just 11 days before his 91st birthday. I'd like to acknowledge Doug Anthony's dedicated service to our nation, firstly as Australia's longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister and, of course, his service to our New South Wales North Coast community as the federal member for Richmond from 1957 to 1984.

Last week's state memorial service at Tweed Heads really did outline Doug's extensive political career, with the highlight being, of course, that what he's most remembered for is the fact that, when he was Acting Prime Minister, often over the summer holidays, he ran the country from his caravan at New Brighton. It certainly was a different time, and many people reflected on the fact that he did run the country from the caravan. What was overwhelmingly evident in all of the reflections at the service was Doug's love and commitment to his family, to the land and, of course, to the Tweed. Doug Anthony served as Deputy Prime Minister for nine years, but he was first and foremost a son of the Tweed.

Whilst many have spoken about Doug's lengthy political career, for my contribution I'd like to focus on his community involvement and his generosity. Born, raised and having lived in Murwillumbah, Doug was an integral part of our community and even more so after his retirement in 1984. It's also very important to note that Doug Anthony was a strong supporter of the republic campaign in 1999. In fact, I first met Doug at this time, when, as a group of local mothers with their young children, we were invited to a media event at the Anthony's Murwillumbah home, 'Sunny Meadows'. The event was to highlight the very important reasons to support an Australian head of state. Doug was rightly and fiercely passionate about the need for Australia to become a republic and he campaigned strongly right throughout this time.

One of Doug's greatest legacies is of course the Tweed Regional Gallery. Doug and his wife, Margot, very kindly donated a portion of their land at Murwillumbah to build the new Tweed Regional Gallery, which opened in 2004 and is now a world-renowned art gallery that we're incredibly proud of. Later, in November 2011, Doug joined me at the announcement that the then federal Labor government had committed $1 million to build the Margaret Olley Art Centre at the Tweed Regional Gallery. This centre is remarkable. It's a recreation of parts of Margaret Olley's famous home studio and Doug, Margot and everyone in the community were very excited about it. The Anthonys were good friends with Margaret as well.

The centre features original architectural elements such as windows and doors, and the interiors are filled with so much furniture and more than 20,000 items that Margaret Ollie had collected over many, many years, all meticulously moved up to Murwillumbah for the wonderful centre that it is. It is truly remarkable, and I know that Doug and Margot were incredibly proud of it. It's a wonderful asset. The Tweed Regional Gallery director, Susi Muddiman, recently said:

Doug was a wonderful supporter of the Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre.

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Doug and Margot's donation of land from their farm—the spectacular site where the Gallery is now situated—will forever shine as the ongoing legacy of Doug's extraordinary commitment to enriching the lives of so many Australians. He will be greatly missed.

The other community involvement I'd like to highlight is Doug's generosity in relation to the Wedgetail Retreat community hospice in Murwillumbah. The hospice started with a dream to fulfil the community need for an inclusive, specialised palliative care facility in our region. It was a wonderful vision led by Meredith Dennis, the fantastic president of the Tweed Palliative Support group, a multi-award-winning charity that started in 1998, who provide free support and services for palliative care for patients.

Meredith and her team were so committed to finding premises to open a 24-hour hospice to provide palliative care services and they found the perfect site in Murwillumbah; however, it cost $1 million, and there was no capacity for the group to access the money needed to buy it. Doug Anthony kindly offered to lend the $1 million at a very, very low interest rate, but on one condition: he requested that this act remain anonymous. It's only recently become widely known that Doug was the original benefactor to Wedgetail Retreat. The group then paid back the loan in full in 5½ years through donations and fundraising. Of course both Doug and Margot were very much involved in assisting them and Margot is a patron of the organisation. Along with many people in the community, they were very proud in 2015 when the doors opened to Wedgetail Retreat, New South Wales' only 24-hour palliative care community hospice, where patients and their families are welcomed into a friendly homelike environment in a beautiful rainforest setting. Nurses and trained volunteer palliative carers offer a person-centred approach to caring for patients and their loved ones. The vulnerable and disadvantaged are cared for free of charge. Clients and families sometimes donate funds to assist with ongoing operational costs. This is a unique and remarkable hospice and, as Meredith Dennis recently told me, the fact is Wedgetail would never have happened without Doug's generosity, and we thank him for that.

Doug Anthony was a man committed to his family and committed to the land, and that was clearly evident in all of the stories and reflections we heard at the memorial service. Of course, at this sad time, our thoughts are with his lovely wife, Margot, the true love of his life; and their children, Dugald, Jane and Larry, and their families. As the current member for Richmond and on behalf of our North Coast community, we say farewell to the former member for Richmond, Doug Anthony, son of the Tweed. May he rest in peace.

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