Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

():  I was first elected to this parliament in 2010. On average, as members of this parliament, we would stand twice a week and offer a minute's silence in question time for members of this place that had passed. For over a decade, this ritual has continued—an honourable ritual. It just speaks of the fragility. When something moves or shifts with people from 'you didn't really know who they were' to 'now you know who they are'—the men and women that you have served with—and you're standing to offer a minute's silence, it speaks of the fragility of life and the inevitability. When the news of Kevin Andrews's passing found me, I was shocked. At the age of 69, that is below the average life expectancy for an Australian male. Kevin, in his last contributions in the party room as the member for Sturt—aptly appointed to—showed no signs of illness and no signs of frailty. He was fit and well with a plan and a destiny to invest time with his family. He had plans to write yet another book, which has been spoken about in a number of speeches. And so it is a life lost too early.

In my contributions today, it is not my intention to speak of the biography of what Kevin Andrews was and his assorted ministries as such, because my colleagues have done that so appropriately and I don't want to cover that ground. I want to speak more to the man and the contributions and the effects that he had on me. I just think that Kevin Andrews walked the walk and talked the talk. He was a decent human being, and I cannot recall a particular point in the 15 years that I've served here where I sat with him where he said an unkind word about anyone. He used to get frustrated with some colleagues, but I think that's just a by-product of working in a place where robust debates happen and points are different, because he was such a conservative. Our political ideologies were very much aligned, and so we found comfort in each other's similarities of our beliefs. We were not always 100 per cent aligned, but for the most we were very much aligned. His Christian values and his commitment to family go hand-in-hand. You can be a great father without being a Christian, but, when you're both, it is another set of values that you live by.

He was someone that I found very easy to look up to. When I had a particular issue that was vexing me, I pondered for some time as to who I would take advice from, because the issue was sensitive, and I went to Kevin. And we spoke, and he gave me advice that reaffirmed what my problem was. I left that meeting, without divulging what it was, with a sense of calmness and a sense of healing and most of all, through the Christian learnings, a sense of forgiveness. The bitterness that I had gone there with was gone. And it is a powerful skill that one has to be able to impart that generosity.

But the point of the contribution that I wanted to make today is that Kevin's contribution to this country was cut short too early. I just want to challenge members of the House that, if Kevin Andrews were here listening to these contributions about him, what would his reaction be? What would he be saying? He'd be embarrassed by the generous comments that were made. He'd be humbled. But most of all I think he would feel a sorrow for his family of not being able to wake up the next day with Margaret or take a phone call from one of the children. And those months and years ahead—having lost a father myself at a very young age, I know the pain never leaves you, but it does subside. Those that leave us are always in our presence, and I think Kevin will always be in our presence here as a political mentor.

So what gift has he left us as politicians? I think, passing away at the age of 69, you could argue that the gift he has given us is to live every life as if there is no tomorrow. Leave nothing in the tank. Stay true to your values. Stay true to your family values. Stay true to your beliefs. Live them, share them, embrace them, and encourage others to do the same thing. Be forgiving. Be charitable. And, when it comes to your children, the greatest gift you can give them is your time. I know this task takes away an enormous amount of time, as politicians, that we would spend with our children. I offer my condolences to Margaret and the children, who now go through life having the memories of a wonderful father but without being able to touch or hold their hand or pick that phone up again. Kevin Andrews's gift to us is to be good to your family. Live your life by the principles that he taught us.

In passing, my final comment is that someone will write the book that Kevin Andrews was going to write. With my conversations with him, he kept with granular detail party room meetings. I thought: 'Are you leaking to the press? Are you doing this for vexatious reasons or clandestine reasons?' And he said: 'You should keep a diary. You'll be surprised when you go back a couple of years after being here by how much slips your mind.' He said: 'My intention is to write a book. We won't divulge names or anything. It's more about helping the next politician, the next style of politician that will be coming to this House, because there are no rules in our party room. There are procedures and there are traditions, but there's no one tradition that binds one party room to the next. Unless we know the procedures and how situations have been managed, choreographed, and the outcomes of those, that history becomes lost.' His gift to our party was that granular detail that he has, and let's hope those diaries that he has don't get discarded, but they end up in the hands of a wonderful journalist that may fulfil Kevin's legacy in writing that final book in his memory.

To Kevin Andrews, thank you for your friendship and your contributions to this place. To Margaret and the children, I cannot imagine the sorrow and hurt that you will be enduring in the months and years ahead, but know that there is a parliament that respects your husband with unlimited capacity, and that he has left behind a legacy in this place of amazing generosity and a gentleness that we should all live by. Vale, my friend.

See this speech in context