Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to associate myself with the comments made by the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the honourable member for Cowan concerning the late Sir Reginald William Colin Swartz, a constituent of mine whom I came to know in recent years. He was quite a remarkable person, dying at 94 years of age, having lived a full and complete life. He was elected to the Australian parliament in 1949, one of the first Liberal members elected, and was returned in 1951 unopposed, in 1955 unopposed again—that certainly does not happen very much these days—in 1958, in 1961, in 1963, in 1966 and in 1969, retiring at the election on 2 November 1972.

Sir Reginald Swartz held a large number of ministerial appointments. I see listed amongst those ministerial appointments the position of Parliamentary Undersecretary for Commerce and Agriculture from May 1952 to 1956, and also the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade from May 1956 to December 1961.

I first met Sir Reginald Swartz at the dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the election of the Menzies government. That was held here at Parliament House in 1999. I then met him at an Anglican Church function where he was fundraising for the church. I visited him at his home, and he told me a very interesting story about when he was first appointed as a parliamentary undersecretary. That position apparently was not enshrined in legislation, but Prime Minister Menzies had appointed parliamentary undersecretaries notwithstanding. Apparently, Mr Speaker, at that stage they were not members of the executive council and your predecessor, Mr Speaker Cameron, took great exception to people whose positions were not enshrined in legislation actually having signs on the doors of their parliamentary offices. Sir Reginald Swartz told me about the tug of war he had over his sign. He had to wait until Mr Speaker Cameron returned to South Australia, when he had the sign erected. The Speaker heard about it. It was pulled down, put up again and then pulled down again. It sounds a bit pathetic in some respects, but Sir Reginald had a great sense of humour. I gather that Prime Minister Menzies, who had actually created the problem, did not want any part of it. I think he pointed out to Sir Reginald that he had to sort it out himself. Ultimately, Sir Reginald finally got a promotion, so he was able to be appropriately recognised on the door of his parliamentary office.

Sir Reginald Swartz really is an icon of Australian politics and a pioneer of modern politics in this country. After serving in the AIF during the Second World War—where, as we heard today, he was held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese for 3½ years—he returned to Australia and worked in the oil industry before being elected to the House of Representatives in the Queensland seat of Darling Downs in 1949. He had been educated at Toowoomba Grammar School and at Brisbane Grammar School. My fiancee’s two brothers are currently boarding masters at Toowoomba Grammar School and my son attended Brisbane Grammar School. Although Sir Reginald was a giant of Australian politics, he never forgot how important it was to have and enjoy local support. We heard from the Leader of the Opposition today how his legendary press secretary had a responsibility to keep Sir Reginald out of the Sydney Morning Herald and in the Toowoomba Chronicle.

Sir Reginald was a member of the first Liberal government. He took some time to attain full ministerial office but, when he did attain full ministerial office, he was treated with a great deal of recognition and respect. When he retired voluntarily in 1972 he was a person held in very high regard.

I have to say that Sir Reginald is someone who is an icon of Australian politics. I personally believe it was a great honour for me to get to know him. When I saw him at his home he was aged over 90. He sat in front of his computer and he was tapping away. He had this incredible legion of Australian political stories. Unfortunately, when someone of Sir Reginald’s vintage passes away, in some respects we lose a living national treasure and we lose so much corporate knowledge that is so valuable to us as a nation. His political career spanned an era that left an indelible influence on the nation that Australia had become. (Time expired)