John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House records its deep regret at the death on 3 November 2006 of the Honourable Sir Allen Fairhall KBE, former Federal Minister and Member for Paterson (NSW) and the death on 21 November 2006 of the Honourable Sir Harold William Young KCMG, former President of the Senate and Senator for South Australia, and that the House places on record its appreciation of their long and meritorious public service, and tenders its profound sympathy to their families in their bereavement.

I will talk first about the late Sir Allen Fairhall. On my calculation, he was the last surviving Liberal forty-niner. I think the only other surviving forty-niner is Clyde Cameron, the former member from South Australia and minister in the Whitlam government.

Allen Fairhall was born on 24 November 1909 at Morpeth, near Maitland, in the lower Hunter Valley in New South Wales. He was educated at the East Maitland Boys High School and later at the Newcastle Technical College. He served an apprenticeship as an electrical fitter at the Walsh Island Dockyard, Newcastle, becoming a qualified tradesman in that field.

While at school, Allen became interested in radio and began broadcasting music on Sunday mornings from his family home, using a gramophone and borrowed records. In 1931 he founded the commercial broadcasting station 2KO Newcastle, operating with a 13-metre timber mast in his backyard. Radio 2KO grew to be one of Australia’s leading provincial radio stations. In 1942, he became President of the Australian Federation of Commercial Broadcasting Stations.

From 1941 to 1944, Allen was an alderman on Newcastle City Council. During World War II, Allen was also co-opted by the Ministry of Munitions to become supervising engineer of the Radio and Signals Supply Section in New South Wales. In 1947 he sold his broadcasting interests and took up dairy farming at Trevallyn, on the Paterson River.

Allen entered federal parliament as the member for Paterson in 1949 and held that seat for the Liberal Party until his retirement on 12 November 1969. He was appointed as the Minister for the Interior and the Minister for Works in 1956 by Sir Robert Menzies. He was appointed as the Minister for Supply in December 1961 and was reappointed to that portfolio, with cabinet rank, after the elections of 1963. When the Holt government was formed in 1966, after the retirement of Menzies, Allen Fairhall was appointed Minister for Defence, a position he held until his retirement.

It is fair to say that, when Harold Holt drowned in December 1967, there were many people in the Liberal Party, particularly in New South Wales, who saw Allen Fairhall as a possible replacement leader. He rejected overtures at that time from quite a number of his colleagues in New South Wales and from senior people in the New South Wales division of the party, and made it very plain that he did not see himself as aspiring to a leadership position. It is believed that he did not enjoy the most harmonious relationship with John Gorton during the time that the latter was Prime Minister. He retired from parliament in 1969.

In 1966 he was chosen by the Institution of Production Engineers (Australian Division) to receive the James N Kirby Medal for his role in the development of defence production industries. He was knighted in 1970 in recognition of his service to the public, to broadcasting and to the parliament.

I knew Allen Fairhall—not, of course, as a fellow member of parliament, as he left this place some five years before I entered, but in the party organisation I did come across him on numerous occasions. He was a very plain-speaking, likeable man who was possessed of a very practical understanding of situations. He always offered a pragmatic view of life. He always thought the best of people with whom he came into contact. He was a very popular colleague amongst his fellow parliamentarians. On behalf of the government, I offer condolences to his wife, Lady Monica Fairhall, his son, Allen, and his extended family.

Can I also record my sadness at the death on 21 November of Sir Harold Young, whom I did serve with for a number of years and who is well known as a former senator from South Australia and also as President of the Senate at the time of the defeat of the Fraser government in 1983.

Before entering parliament, Harold was a farmer based at Gilberton in South Australia. He was a strong advocate for the farming industry and served as a member of the Australian Wool Industry Conference, the Federal Exporters Overseas Transport Committee and the South Australian State Wheat Research Committee. He retained, throughout his entire life and career, a very active interest in farming, and he brought an understanding of that industry to all of his parliamentary work and parliamentary contributions.

Sir Harold was regarded very warmly by those on both sides of politics as a very fair and competent President of the Senate. The late Don Chipp is recorded in Hansard as saying that Sir Harold Young had done an extremely fair and creditable job as President, under very difficult circumstances. It is worth noting that, in the whole time that he was President of the Senate, not once was any motion of dissent moved against any of his rulings.

Sir Harold served in a variety of positions in opposition after the defeat of the Fraser government and also before. He was knighted in 1983 for his service to the parliament, being made a Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George. Our current President of the Senate, Senator Calvert, is absent today, attending Sir Harold’s funeral service as a representative of the Senate. On behalf of the government, I record my regard for Harold Young as a good friend and a good colleague, somebody who always took a very lively interest in the welfare of the government and the welfare of the Liberal Party in South Australia. I offer condolences to his wife, Lady Margaret Young; to his children, Sue, Scott, Andrea and Rob; and to his large extended family.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to support the remarks of the Prime Minister in regard to the passing of Sir Allen Fairhall and Sir Harold Young. They are, of course, two of our opponents’ substantial figures and, therefore, not necessarily well known to people on this side of the House—though, as it happens, over time, I met both of them.

As the Prime Minister said, Allen Fairhall was the last of the Liberal class of 1949, who entered federal politics in the election that started the Menzies ascendancy. He was born near Maitland in the Hunter Valley. He trained as an electrical fitter but his first passion was radio. He was one of the pioneers of the Australian radio industry and, as he founded a radio station, he performed the roles of engineer, announcer, disc jockey, copywriter and salesman. This led to a very unusual career, during World War II, after he had been rejected by the RAAF in World War II on medical grounds.

In 1941 he was coopted by the Ministry of Munitions as supervising engineer of the Radio and Signals Supply Section in New South Wales. He was responsible for the production of wireless signals and radar equipment for the armed services. In 1941, as Australia was rapidly gearing up for the Allied war effort, he was coopted by the Ministry of Munitions to become supervising engineer; and, in World War II, he was responsible for a fair proportion of the equipment that was produced in those new areas of technology, in particular in relation to radar. In those three years, he worked for the ministry in an honorary capacity.

He won the seat of Paterson in 1949 and, seven years later, was the Minister for the Interior and the Minister for Works. In 1961 he was promoted to cabinet as supply minister. When Harold Holt succeeded Menzies, during the turbulent years of the Vietnam War, he was moved to defence. In those days, I understand, the defence minister had three junior ministers beneath him. In Mr Fairhall’s time these included Malcolm Fraser as army minister and Peter Howson as air minister. Both were ambitious. Fraser was scathing about what he viewed as Mr Fairhall’s inability to resolve interservice disputes. That may well have said more about Mr Fraser than it did about Mr Fairhall; nevertheless, there was a clash of opinions.

That clash of opinions was not as substantial as the clash of opinions that occurred after the death of Harold Holt. That placed Mr Fairhall firmly in a position of disagreement with Mr Holt’s successor, Prime Minister Gorton. He was worried that Mr Gorton was going down what he perceived to be an isolationist road. He was concerned that Mr Gorton did not share the strong sense of commitment he felt for the Vietnam War effort. He also believed, of course, that Prime Minister Gorton was increasingly making announcements without consultation.

The upshot of all of that was that Sir Allen Fairhall left politics. He had a lengthy career in politics of 20 years. He has had a lengthy time since politics to enjoy a retirement which he identified as enabling him to devote himself to business interests, family life in Newcastle, amateur radio broadcasting and deep-sea fishing. On behalf of the opposition, I want to express our deepest sympathy to Lady Monica and their son, Allen.

South Australian Harold Young was elected to the Senate in 1967 and was Government Whip from August 1971 until the coalition lost office in December 1972. He was Opposition Whip during the terms of the Labor government and opposition spokesman on the media in 1975. He was Senate President from 1981 to 1983. Before his election to the Senate, he was a wheat farmer and grazier at Gilberton in South Australia. He was regarded as a tireless advocate for primary industry. On his departure from the Senate in 1983, Senator Button said:

Senator Sir Harold Young was, I think, regarded by all senators as a very fair and decent President of the Senate.

Senator Don Chipp said:

He was a great fighter for the Parliament and the Senate against the greedy clutches of the Executive. I think all honourable senators should thank him for that.

Senator Messner said:

To my mind he was one of the most popular politicians in South Australia. Whenever we travelled together throughout the State, however remote the locality, he would either have a relative in the immediate vicinity or be well known to people in the area.

Our sympathy goes to his widow, Lady Young, and his four children. Unlike Allen Fairhall, whom I met once or twice around Parliament House as a boy, Sir Harold I did know as a senator. In the very short acquaintance that I had with him—and in the acquaintance that I had with him at airports, where one meets folk around the country from time to time—those judgements made by Senator Button, Senator Chipp and Senator Messner have, in my experience, been amply borne out. Our sympathy is with his widow and four children.

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I support the condolence motion moved by the Prime Minister with regard to Sir Allen Fairhall and Sir Harold Young. Australia has a great history of inventors and engineers and people who start the most remarkable businesses from home. Every Australian knows the story of Merv Richardson and how he made the first Victa lawnmower in his garage and the story of Lance Hill, who famously built the first Hills hoist. Sir Allen Fairhall has to be counted amongst their company. In 1931 he founded 2KO in Newcastle. He built his own transmitter, studio and a 13-metre timber mast in his own backyard. I cannot help wondering what his power bill must have been in those days!

In the first month he sold only 80c worth of advertising, but he persevered until 2KO became one of Australia’s leading regional radio stations. During the war he was co-opted by the Ministry of Munitions as the supervising engineer of its New South Wales Radio and Signals Supply Section. Sir Allen entered parliament as the member for Paterson in 1949—indeed, the year that the electorate of Lyne was first constituted. He stood for parliament because he was concerned about the Chifley government’s plan to nationalise the banks. Throughout his parliamentary career he maintained his interest in technology and his vigilance against socialism at home and the threat of communist expansion overseas. It was not surprising that he ended up in the defence portfolio. Sir Allen held the supply portfolio from 1961 to 1966 and was then commissioned as the Minister for Defence. As you would expect, Sir Allen understood the difficulties involved in getting cutting-edge technologies into production. After all, he was responsible for building radar sets in the war at a time when radar was at the outside edge of what was technologically possible. He was a staunch advocate of the F111, even though Prime Minister Gorton was dubious about it and the Labor Party regarded it as a waste of money. At one point he described the F111 as the ‘Cadillac of the skies’. The passage of time has shown that he was right.

Sir Allen was a strong advocate of forward defence and had a series of disagreements with Prime Minister Gorton about Australia’s defence policy. He retired in August 1969. He was unwell and evidently tired of his constant disagreements with John Gorton at the time. Sir Allen was knighted in 1970 and returned to his private business interests, which included a printing firm that he operated with his son. Sir Allen also wrote two books, including a coffee-table book about Newcastle, called Newcastle: symphony of a city. His love for the city shines from every page of that publication. On behalf of my party, I express my condolences to his wife, Lady Monica Fairhall, his family and friends.

Sir Harold Young was a wheat farmer and a grazier before he entered parliament as a senator for South Australia in 1968. He was a great advocate for Australia’s primary producers. Most notably, he was a member of the Federal Exporters Overseas Transport Committee. This committee had the job of negotiating freight rates with the shipping industry, which was essentially a British monopoly at the time. The Australian shippers and the government had very little negotiating clout, and there was no way to rebut the shipowners’ claims about their costs because we just did not have the evidence. Today we would run a computer model of the trade between Australia and Europe, but that option was not available in the 1960s. In the end, the Australian government took over some empty watersheds and simulated every movement of the British and European merchant fleets, using model ships. The operation ran 24 hours a day for several months until it generated the figures that were needed by the Australian negotiators. As a result, freight rates fell substantially and shipping lines became much more efficient.

Sir Harold maintained his interest in primary industries after he entered the Senate in 1967-68, but he developed a strong focus on the procedures and management of the chamber. He served as Government Whip from 1971 to 1972 and then as Opposition Whip from 1972 to 1975. He was the Chairman of Committees from 1976 until 1981, so he was ideally placed to become the President of the Senate in 1981. It was a difficult time. The Australian Democrats had just won the balance of power in the Senate and made it clear that they were going to use it to ‘keep the bastards honest’, as they said many times. It was Senator Button, however, who said that Sir Harold’s success as President would be measured by the extent that they were ‘touched by the wand of tolerance, firmness and complete impartiality’. There is no doubt that Sir Harold had that magic touch.

The Prime Minister has already noted that there was not a single motion of dissent moved against any of his rulings during his time in office. He was knighted for his contribution to the parliament in 1983 and retired later that year. On behalf of my party, I join with the Prime Minister to express our condolences to his wife, Lady Margaret Young, his family and his friends.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to join with earlier speakers to pay tribute to Sir Harold Young, who died at home in Adelaide just last week. As earlier speakers have said, Sir Harold certainly is regarded as a man who did a very difficult job well, a fair man and, I think we would all say, a gentleman. Sir Harold served as a Liberal senator for South Australia, including a period as President of the Senate from 1981 to 1983. I thank the member for Barton, whose father, former Deputy President of the Senate, Doug McClelland, has been kind enough to pass on some of his experiences working with Sir Harold during his time as Senate President. He tells me:

Sir Harold managed to run the Senate without showing any favouritism and without incurring the rancour of his political opponents.

Doug McClelland describes Sir Harold as:

… a very down-to-earth and fair person who was respected by all sides, inclusive in the way that he ran Senate affairs.

Doug also credits Sir Harold as helping him develop his own skills in the Senate, and he remembers his involvement in the establishment of this new Parliament House. Perhaps as a very personal reflection, Doug and Lorna McClelland formed a very close friendship with Sir Harold and Lady Margaret Young and kept in touch beyond the conclusion of their respective political careers.

We in the parliament know that to be held in such high regard is a product of commitment and skill. Perhaps it is a reminder that Sir Harold was from another time in our history. He was the last President of the Senate to wear the wig and gown and the first to appoint a female attendant in the Senate. Along with earlier speakers, I express my condolences to Sir Harold’s family and friends.

I would also like to pay tribute to Sir Allen Fairhall, who died earlier this month. As others have said, he represented the Liberal Party for a long period. As the Prime Minister indicated, he was a possible candidate for Prime Minister in 1967, following the drowning of Sir Harold Holt, but I gather he withdrew on the grounds of ill health. However, he served in a number of portfolios and, in particular, I acknowledge his time as Minister for Defence in the difficult period during the Vietnam War.

He retired from politics just before the 1969 election. I gather that, on his retirement, he told the Sydney Morning Herald that he wanted a complete break—saying that he had had 20 years of heavy pressure night and day—and that his break had been complete. He said, ‘I don’t need a diary to tell me what I’m doing next Thursday; I know already: nothing.’ In fact, that did not turn out to be the case. His life, post parliament, continued to be a very active one, well into his 90s. He published two books. I think he will be very fondly remembered for all that he contributed. On his retirement in 1969, the then Labor member for Bass and shadow defence minister, Lance Barnard, said of Sir Allen:

He has made a tremendous contribution as a member and as a responsible minister in this parliament. We may disagree with him politically, but the fact remains that he has not spared himself in his efforts on behalf of the party he has represented with very great distinction. He has certainly not spared himself on behalf of the people of this country.

Again, I would like to express my condolences to Sir Allen’s family and friends.

Question agreed to, honourable members standing in their places.