Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Defence Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to Sir Llew Edwards, the former state MP for Ipswich and former Deputy Premier of Queensland. My deepest condolences to Lady Jane; his sons, Mark and David, and their respective families; and his brother, Tom, and his family. Llew was the member for Ipswich for the Liberal Party from 1972 to 1983. He started his working life as an electrician in the family business, RT Edwards & Sons, and was a beloved doctor in the Ipswich community.

After he left politics, he took on the role as chair and CEO of Expo 88, a transformative event for Brisbane and the city we call the capital of Queensland. For many years thereafter he was the well-respected Chancellor of the University of Queensland. When he was appointed as chair of the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation set up by James Hardie to provide compensation for victims of asbestos related diseases caused by the company, he took on the company himself and criticised it.

The Edwards family and the Neumann family have known each other through church and community life for generations. Sir Llew and I were clearly on different sides of politics. I acknowledge his immense contribution to the city of Ipswich in Queensland. He was a decent and honourable man in a conservative government that did not always live up to his own standards of integrity. Then Labor Premier Anna Bligh named him one of six Queensland Greats in 2010. Vale, Sir Llew Edwards. Thank you for your service to Ipswich and Queensland.

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