Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia has many people who, when looking back, have inspired, changed lives and empowered Australians. In fact, every day I am reminded about the greats of our party, given the honour and privilege it is to represent the seat of Werriwa after other great luminaries like Gough Whitlam and John Kerin. In the pantheon of Labor greats, though, few stand taller than Bill Hayden. In reality, he stands tall not just as a great Labor man but as a great Australian. Few have achieved so much over such a long period of time.

Bill Hayden's list of achievements runs to pages: police officer, member of parliament, minister, Treasurer, Leader of the Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition and Governor-General, to name a few. From our side of politics, though, I think his time as opposition leader is the most seminal. After the disaster of the 1975 election and the equally devastating loss in 1977, Bill took over the leadership at an extremely difficult time, but he quickly found his stride. The fact that he did so is not really surprising. He had immense talent and a natural instinct for politics and government. His time as Whitlam's Treasurer, albeit for a short period, showed his potential. I'm left to ponder how things may have been different for Gough and his team had he taken on the role earlier.

With Bill as ALP leader in the period of 1977 to 1983, the Labor Party again became competitive. In the 1980 election, he gained a healthy swing to Labor and slashed the Liberal majority in half. He very much laid the foundation for the eventual triumph in 1983 by Bob Hawke. During his time as Leader of the Labor Party, Hayden reformed the party, not least by introducing a quota of 30 per cent women MPs and opening up the party to an emerging professional class.

He understood people, he understood the aspirations of everyday Australians and he understood the parliament processes to bring about change.

Perhaps this natural instinct and empathy came from his upbringing. As one of five children, he grew up in a poor family, and, after attending Brisbane State High School, he left school at the age of 15 to become a clerk and then later join the Queensland police. He studied at the University of Queensland. His story in some respects is typical of its day, but the gift of his upbringing to the Labor Party and then to the Australian public is that it made him grounded. He knew firsthand of the needs of the people he grew up with—the struggles of everyday Australians. Who better, then, as minister to introduce Medibank, Australia's first universal health scheme? Medibank changed the lives of families across Australia, particularly mine. He took the pressure and worry away from my father, because my mother had an illness that made her very unwell. My father was equally devastated when the election of the Fraser government meant that Medibank was discontinued. Hayden also introduced the pension for single mothers so that they then had a choice not to stay in situations that were not good for them.

Our nation owns a debt to Hayden. Brisbane and Ipswich gifted this man, a man who made a difference, made an impact and changed things for the better. No more can be asked of any representative of this place. Bill Hayden's portrait graces the Labor Party caucus room as a reminder of all that is good about our party and its cause. But, more than that, it reminds us that one life from humble beginnings can make an enormous difference and that all of us, regardless of any political difference—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

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But, more than that, it reminds us that one life from humble beginnings can make an enormous difference and that all of us, regardless of any political differences, can take enormous encouragement from this.

May Bill Hayden rest in peace and may his family take comfort in the fact that he was greatly loved and enormously respected by so many around Australia.

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