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

My experience of Peter Reith, of course, goes back to the very early days when he was preselected, elected and then lost within a few months before he even came to this house. I had a terrific, friendly association with not only him but also his brother and his first wife, Julie; as a member of parliament from 1990 to 1993; and then subsequently in later years.

Of course I was able to see his performance in the House as the Leader of the House, and it was a remarkable performance. It was a performance that had this friendly air about it. His natural stance of his face, his countenance, was a smile. So even when he was attacking the Labor Party or the opposition as hard as he possibly could, it was done in a way that was totally inoffensive. It was done in a way that only Peter Reith could do it, his tall, loping body with his bent over style. And the last time I saw him was at Phillip Island. He was on the foreshore with a friend of his. I popped out to say hello. Clearly he wasn't quite sure who he was talking to, but he finally recognised who I was and we had a quick talk and discussion. He'd had a stroke prior to that, and now, sadly, Alzheimer's has taken his life.

Others were far more closely involved with Peter. I was a backbencher in those turbulent days of reform after the election of the Howard government. I had my first two years in the Howard government from 1996 to 1998, when I was defeated again in that 1998 election campaign. I was the only Victorian to be defeated in that election campaign, so it was pretty rough. So my collegiate nature with a lot of my colleagues disappeared. It disappears overnight once you're not there. I didn't see Peter again until I came back into the House, but, because he was my next-door neighbour in my seat, we had quite a bit to do with each other in terms of activities. Politicians get together in the one party, and Peter was always a great friend.

An even greater friend of Peter's was the former member for Eden-Monaro Peter Hendy. Peter's written some notes about Peter that I'd like to draw to your attention. These are Peter Hendy's personal reflections on Peter Reith. They're not mine, so I can't claim them. They are Peter Hendy's. Peter says:

I originally met PKR when I worked as economic advisor for Andrew Peacock who was Shadow Treasurer, then Leader of the Opposition, between 1987 and 1990.

Peter Reith impressed me from the start as a politician who actually wanted to get things done in the public interest. He threw himself into the big issues of the day, whether or not they related to the shadow portfolio he had at the time.

It didn't matter to Peter. The big issues were there. He was into them. Hendy continues:

Peter Reith was a big supporter of free trade and the bringing down of tariff barriers. He helped push the Liberal Party to these positions in the early to mid 1980s and urged supporting the Hawke Government to start the process of tariff reform in 1990. That is in itself a big contribution to economic reform in Australia. However, there was much more.

Much more to Peter! Peter Hendy goes on:

Equally, Peter Reith campaigned for a GST and major taxation reform well before John Hewson went with it in 1990-93. He was the driving force behind this reform.

Peter says:

I worked with Peter Reith directly between 1990 and 1993 when he was Shadow Treasurer. That was the Fightback period.

I remember that period very, very well because I was on the Fightback committee.

John Hewson gets all the public credit for this economic reform manifesto but it was equally the child of Peter Reith and a lot of the intellectual strength of the document also comes from him. Fightback didn't win the election, on the contrary, but it was slowly implemented by subsequent governments over the preceding 10 to15 years and was the foundation of much of Australia's current prosperity.

Peter Reith was an amazingly considerate and collegiate boss. He made sure that you felt that you were part of a team and not just working for him.

Peter Reith was a diligent, very hard working minister. I joined his office again as chief of staff in 1998 after having worked for two premiers in the NSW Cabinet Office. In the former job the premiers wanted ever shorter briefings One even insisted that no briefing note could be longer than just one page. When I asked Peter Reith if he wanted this he was aghast and said he wanted as much briefing material as was necessary to explain the issues. He was not afraid of the brutal workload of a cabinet minister.

PKR was undoubtedly instrumental in workplace reform in Australia in the late 1990s, that has stood the test of time. His strength and courage (he suffered death threats) during the waterfront dispute was inspiring and the result was that Australia subsequently enjoyed a world-class waterfront sector that strengthened the country's role as one of the globe's great exporting nations.

Peter Reith was subsequently Minister for Defence and I remained with him as chief of staff. He threw himself into fixing the problems then plaguing the Collins class submarines and any number of vexing questions related to equipment purchases, from helicopters to missiles. It was at the time of the deployment of troops into East Timor and at the end of the term we had to confront 9/11, the invoking of the ANZUS alliance, and the invasion of Afghanistan. He met with world leaders and played his part in diplomacy between China and the US. When we visited Washington DC in early 2001, despite Defence Minister being his main job the PM delegated him to help persuade the new Bush administration to commence free trade agreement negotiations with Australia. So he also played his part in that significant policy result.

When he decided to retire from politics after the 2001 election PKR told me simply that he had now been a cabinet minister for 5 years. He had made his contribution. If he thought staying around would result in the prime ministership he would. However, he reasoned that JWH would retire after the 2001 election—

Wrong—

and that Peter Costello would take over before the 2004 election—

Wrong—

and that he would miss out. So 'relaxed in his own skin', he thought it was time for new adventures.

I regarded Peter Keaston Reith as my mentor and he was never shy in giving frank and helpful advice as the years went on. He remained incredibly interested in public policy and in my future roles as CEO of ACCI (2002-2008), Chief of Staff of the Leader of the Opposition (2008), and then as an MP and Minister in government (2013-2016) he was always on the phone with interesting angles and perspectives on the issues of the day. It was very sad to see him impacted by his stroke in 2017.

There was so much more to his life and career, but these are some brief personal reflections.

He will be sorely missed by friend and family.

Peter Hendy

16 November 2022

I have seen many, many, many, many members come and go since my first time here in 1990, and his friends and family couldn't have been prouder of the contribution that he made, not only to this parliament but to this nation and to world affairs.

I think Peter Hendy's words today about his friend, Peter Keaston Reith, sums up, briefly, a life that was well lived, with a great contribution to his family and his community, remembering he was first a councillor and then a mayor on Phillip Island and went on to do great things from small beginnings. Vale Peter Keaston Reith.

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