Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The recent developments in Burma—or Myanmar—with Aung San Suu Kyi being released from 21 years of house arrest, being democratically elected to the Burmese parliament and finally accepting her Nobel Peace Prize in person and also travelling to the United States are moments that I feel compelled to acknowledge through this House—not so much for myself but for my close friend, mentor and confidant the late Colin McPhedran. Colin passed away a couple of years ago, and because I know how passionate he was about Burma I want to make this statement on his behalf in honour of his memory, for I know that, were alive today, the news of Aung San Suu Kyi's release and the resumption of democratic parliamentary debate in the country of his birth would have been welcomed with joy and thankfulness.

I have previously spoken in the House about Colin McPhedran and his interest in Burma. He was born of a Burmese mother and a Scottish father who prior to World War II was an executive of Burmah Oil. When the Japanese invaded Burma, Colin's father abandoned his family, who were forced to fend for themselves. The mother gathered his brother and sister and attempted to flee to India. During the course of their escape, both his mother and his sister died on the trek. Colin detailed those harrowing experiences in his book White Butterflies. It is a moving book, and for those who may not have read it I thoroughly recommend it. Colin was a vehement Burmese nationalist and a Buddhist. He took a great interest in events occurring in his birth country. He despaired of what he saw and longed for the day that the Burmese people would finally be freed of the dictatorship they have suffered under for so many years. That day has finally dawned.

The Burmese are fundamentally a placid, peace-loving people. Being ruled by a despotic military regime is inconsistent with their natural identity. Buddhists are not inclined to violence and so they were vulnerable to the draconian hand of the Burmese military. The only realistic prospect for freedom for these oppressed people lay with Aung San Suu Kyi and her peaceful protest, as protracted as it was. Buddhists subscribe to the view that patience is a virtue, and this was the case of Aung San Suu Kyi's passive resistance. Like Nelson Mandela's in South Africa, Aung San Suu Kyi's persistence and peaceful protest has finally been rewarded, although at many times there were moments of grave concern. By no means is Burma out of the woods, but it is a significant step, and one to celebrate. In doing so the world can show its approval and signal to the warlords that their day is over. But freedom is a fragile petal, and the Burmese need to guard against future attacks on their emerging democracy.

Colin was inherently a pacifist, and never accepted the eye-for-an-eye or fight-fire-with-fire approach as a meaningful solution. He always advocated patience, tolerance and understanding instead of confrontation. If Colin's attitude is generally reflective of the Burmese psyche then a coup d'etat was never on the cards as an option to overwhelm the military regime.

Colin's very good friend and close friend of mine is Mac Cott. Mac is a former editor of the Southern Highlands News, and at Colin's passing wrote a touching report from which I offer the following quote:

Mr McPhedran, who died in Perth last Thursday night, will be accorded a memorial service at St Jude's Anglican Church, Bowral, today at 11am. This will be followed by a mid-afternoon Buddhist ceremony at Sunnataram Forest Monastery, Teudt's Road, Bundanoon, when his ashes will be spread on the land dedicated to his late mother, Daw Ni, who died alone on the family's horror trek fleeing from their native Burma on foot to India in 1942.

It was Colin's dying wish to his children to have a Christian service in St Jude's Bowral, dedicated to his mother, a devout Burmese Christian who has no known grave, and that he later would have a Buddhist ceremony at the monastery of which he was a founding father.

Colin never lived to see the transitioning of his beloved Burma from military rule to the dawning of a new democracy but, given his firm beliefs that he would be reincarnated in a new life, perhaps his soul is now amongst us in a new form, quizzically casting an eye on the lot of Aung San Suu Kyi.

I intend to forward the Hansard copy of my statement today to Aung San Suu Kyi as a gesture to Colin McPhedran. Colin would be assured to know that his memory is held dear by many who knew him and that he remains as respected now as he was while he was with us. It was a pleasure today to have breakfast with the Myanmar parliamentary delegation that is here in parliament today—another big step forward for Burmese democracy.