David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I feel it's a great honour to rise and pay tribute to the life of a wonderful man who made an indelible mark on this world. As the ancient Greeks used to describe good, upstanding men as 'good and beautiful', or kalos kagathos, surely Doug Anthony was a great man. I had the privilege of attending his memorial service, and the thing that struck me was the affection and the admiration his family, his family's family, his grandchildren and his friends had for him. All had a huge affection for Doug, the man. Many people focus their whole life on their career, but it was quite obvious that his family was as much his career as his political career.

He certainly had a rich life. He wasn't a one-trick-pony politician. He lost his mother when he was six or seven, went off to boarding school and lived with his father—who was the member for Richmond before him—at the Kurrajong Hotel. I met him at a couple of dinners when I first joined the party and in 2008, 2009 and 2010. I think the last time we sat together was at the Lismore Town Hall for the launch of my good friend and colleague the member for Page's election campaign. There were some very interesting stories. During his time living in the Kurrajong with his father when he was a young boy, not only did he roam the corridors of Parliament House but he also met pretty much every Prime Minister from Billy Hughes onwards. By the time he left, he had met and known personally about 11 prime ministers, which is quite an achievement.

His political legacy is quite astonishing, with 27 years as the member for Richmond and 10 years as Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the party. I grew up in Queanbeyan as a young child—Queanbeyan has always lived in the shadow of Canberra, but that wasn't always the case; Canberra was quite small when we were growing up—and I remember that the mayor of Canberra was the Minister for the Interior, who ran the National Capital Development Commission. I remember all the local controversy. His name, Black Jack McEwen, featured at kitchen table conversations between my mother and father, who were opinionated about politics. That name came up often. Because Doug was the Minister for the Interior, he was like the mayor of Canberra. We didn't have self-government then. So he really had a local mark.

He was involved in the wool floor price scheme, the Wheat Board and quotas, as was mentioned by the member for Capricornia, the New Zealand and Australia free trade agreement, which then evolved into the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement, trade with the Middle East and also resources. He was there at the double dissolution. He came and saw off Gough Whitlam. He served with various prime ministers. He served with Menzies, Fraser, Gorton and Holt. He had been through an amazing period of national public life at the highest levels and also institutionally.

But, as I said, he wasn't a one-trick pony. He was a trained professional in agronomy and agriculture. After he left, he went back to agriculture—in pork, dairy, beef and, I understand, cotton. He was a director of a mineral exploration and gold mining company. He—along with Margot, who was a trained concert pianist who performed overseas—was quite a philanthropist. He and Margot bequeathed land, on the family farm, to the Tweed Heads Regional Art Gallery, overlooking the most spectacular views of the Tweed River. You could say he was a true renaissance man.

But his political career didn't define him. He was a knockabout fellow, highly intelligent, very disciplined and, by all accounts, a very good leader. He was firm when he needed to be, he could win an argument and he was prepared to take an argument up and fight for it, to argue the case and win, which is one of the great skills of politics.

When I was growing up, as a teenager my political consciousness came to light through public affairs and a fascination with history. I was in high school when the double dissolution happened. Doug Anthony inspired me. I had a medical career for 33 years, but my interest in politics resurfaced 33 years later. As I said to Larry Anthony, Doug was a role model and the main reason I stuck with the National Party. My family background was on the land. As I was growing up, Doug Anthony was seen as being more important in discussions than even Menzies, Fraser or Gorton—everything was referenced back to Doug.

I thank Doug for his legacy. When he passed, a bit of the National Party and a bit of that slice of life in Australia passed with him. We are all very sad. I would like to salute him and thank his family for sharing his wonderful life with the nation of Australia and the National Party. Vale Doug Anthony.

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