Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to comment, albeit briefly, on Ron Walker's passing. Ronald Joseph Walker was a great doyen of the Melbourne establishment, a great Liberal, a businessman and a successful promoter of sport and culture in Melbourne. I first met Ron Walker in about 1989 or 1990 when I was on the federal executive of the Liberal Party as the federal vice-president of the Young Liberal Movement. Of course, the president was Marise Payne, who's now the Minister for Defence, and I'm now the Minister for Defence Industry—we have mirrored each other throughout our careers. Ron Walker was legendary in Melbourne and in Australia but also overseas, particularly in the UK. He was a great promoter. He was an activist, an advocate for his city and his state, a great successful businessman, a self-made man and a spruiker for his home town.

He did more than anyone between 1983 and 1996 to keep the Liberal Party alive as a political force. Over that time, in those 13 years, we had a number of changes of leaders and we lost several elections and we almost won a couple. One of the constant attributes of that period was that the organisation of the Liberal Party was very healthy and maintained its health with federal presidents and federal executives who ensured that we could run campaigns and hold the Hawke and then the Keating government to account. One of the main reasons that that happened was the finances that Ron Walker attracted to the Liberal Party of the time. As we all know, in opposition it's very hard to raise money; it's much easier in government. Without finances for campaigning, you can't really run the kinds of campaigns that the Australian public expect. Much has changed since 1996 in terms of fundraising and disclosure laws et cetera. They are good changes that should have happened. Ron Walker, as the treasurer of the Liberal Party throughout that period, did more than almost anyone else that I can think of to ensure that we had the finances that were necessary. He attracted the largest donation to a political party in the history of the Commonwealth up till that time, which was only surpassed by the donation to the Liberal Party by the current Prime Minister at the last federal election. The donation was from the United Kingdom. He worked very hard in the Thatcher government to convince businesses in Britain that had interests in Australia that having a strong opposition on the non-Labor side and a non-Labor government eventually—the Liberal Party and National Party government of John Howard—was important enough for them to take an interest in Australian politics. That was an achievement all its own. He supported and loved the Australian Liberal Party.

He was a great friend of many of my friends: Andrew Peacock, Michael Kroger, Peter Reith and, particularly, people like Jeff Kennett. These are the people in Victoria who have transformed Melbourne over the nineties, noughties and teens. They have completely transformed the economy of Victoria. They decided that after the Cain-Kirner period, when Victoria was in up pretty bleak place economically, they would change and modernise Melbourne. Melbourne is now the fastest growing of all the capital cities. In fact, on the current projections, it is expected that Melbourne will surpass Sydney and be our largest city in the decades in the future. Of course, in the early part of the 20th century it was the largest city in Australia and one of the largest cities in the British Empire. So Melbourne was transformed by these men, and women like them, who invested in sport, stadiums and competitions. Unfortunately, they stole the grand prix from Adelaide, where the grand prix had been lured, but that's competition and that's what happens. They have done a great job with the grand prix. Many of the great sporting events that we love in Australia, whether it's the AFL grand final or the Australian Open tennis, are placed in Melbourne. They had been of course for a long time, but these gentlemen—people like Ron Walker—made them into blockbuster events, like the Melbourne Cup, that put Australia on the map. They could see the transformative nature of sport, arts and culture. Melbourne therefore owes him a great deal, and Australian politics owes him a great deal. We are the people who get to be elected to parliament, which as we all know is a great privilege and a great honour, and we all work very hard in preselections and then in general elections to get here, but the people behind us are critically important to the health of the polity. Ron Walker was one of those people who contributed very much to the health of Australian politics, whether it's on the Labor Party side or the Liberal Party side.

On a personal level, he was an unfailingly courteous, polite and engaging personality. He was very tall, very imposing, with a tremendous mane of hair. For a young person he was somewhat intimidating, but he defused that because he was unfailingly courteous. He was very generous and very encouraging of young people. He was very encouraging of me. As a Victorian Liberal he would probably be closer to my position on the political spectrum than many others, although you certainly wouldn't have described him as a leftie under any circumstances. But he was very encouraging of young people in the Liberal Party. He saw us very much as the future and that they needed to be nurtured.

He would go to the trouble, which I know is quite old-fashioned these days, of writing handwritten notes to me to congratulate me on speeches or lectures, like the Menzies lecture I gave a few years ago, or even after a performance on Q&A or Insiders. Not necessarily sharing our political viewpoints, Q&A can be quite torrid for Liberal and National members of the government. He would write me short hand-written notes saying he'd watched me the other day and was very impressed. It was a very touching thing for someone to do. I do it myself when I can. It's old-fashioned and there is something very special about it. He did that even when he was very ill.

His last great campaign was against cancer. He was claimed by cancer, but for six years he fought it. I saw him many times during that period, but a couple of times I saw him when he looked very much close to death's door, and I thought, 'Ron's in bad shape.' But he would come back; he would fight back. After six years, sadly, he was finally claimed, and has gone to God.

I do wish his family every condolence. To Barbara, and Candice, Joanna and Campbell: you should be very proud of your husband and father. I, as a friend of Ron, was very proud to be able to call him a friend. He very much encapsulates the final lines of the poem by Tennyson called Ulysses, which is very well known, but I will read it into the Hansard:

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield

I thank the House.

Debate adjourned.