Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a great privilege to rise to honour the memory of Ben Humphreys, the former member for Griffith and a man whose integrity this House has recalled since his passing last month. In recent weeks, we have heard touching bipartisan tributes to Ben's character. Ben's successor in the seat of Griffith, Kevin Rudd, released a statement in which he expressed gratitude for his mentor's support. Kevin wrote that without Ben he would never have become the 26th Prime Minister of Australia. Kevin praised him as a kind, gentle and good man, and said:

There was a decency and authenticity to Benny that was rare in political life.

I personally didn't know Ben, but it's clear that many of us, on both sides of the aisle, recognise in him something of the greater sense of purpose and love of country that inspired many of us to come to this place, whatever our values, to try to make our country even better. I'd like to focus my remarks today on the substance of Ben's work.

A native son of Queensland, Ben was close to the Northern Territory. While travelling across rural Queensland and the Northern Territory in his role as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Northern Australia, Ben earned the moniker of Bushman's Friend. Ben's most long-lasting achievements were in his role as Minister for Veterans' Affairs—his first portfolio in the Bob Hawke government. Ben was far ahead of his time in terms of understanding the role of Australian soldiers on the western front in the First World War. In 1992 he unveiled a 2.3-metre bronze statue of an Australian soldier by a Melbourne sculptor, which was shipped to Bullecourt in France to be displayed at the Australian memorial there. As minister, he also organised a return to the western front commemorative mission of World War I veterans to France. Ben was also responsible for implementing the Labor policy of carving out a separate Department of Veterans' Affairs, which endures to this day.

Ben lived and breathed veterans' issues. He was a son of a World War I veteran who was totally incapacitated after being run over by a horse-drawn cannon. Ben had himself been conscripted into the Navy for national service in 1953, which he welcomed as a chance to serve his country. When Ben started out as a mechanic in Brisbane he was helped out by World War II veterans, including a former POW—prisoner of war—captured by the Japanese Army and one who had served in Bougainville. His father-in-law, who had served in the RAAF, had a 100 per cent disability pension. These experiences shaped Ben's understanding of veterans' issues and the importance of adequate and ongoing government support.

In one of his important reforms in 1990 Ben axed a controversial lifestyle report, which older veterans would remember. This was basically a complicated questionnaire which screened veterans from accessing government support services. When he announced that Labor would axe this unnecessary bureaucratic hurdle, the Queensland RSL conference erupted into rapturous applause. Those were the days! That same year Ben oversaw another reform which saw all hospitalised veterans gain the status of private patients, giving them access to a greater number of hospitals, greater choice of doctors and specialists, and access to more services, without prior DVA approval.

In 1991 Benny delivered on Labor's election promise to enhance the entitlements of veterans, dependants and members of the ADF. In another landmark reform, in 1992 Ben introduced legislative amendments which empowered veterans to choose how they wanted to be assessed for veterans purposes. This dismantled a notoriously inflexible and intrusive system, which subjected veterans to a patronising, top-down approach that took away the agency of some of the most heroic Australians, who endured terrible suffering so that we might walk free in this land.

One of Benny's proudest achievements was to get legislation through that allowed veterans who were totally or permanently incapacitated, like his father, to receive payments for life. This victory vindicated his faith in our parliamentary democracy. Benny said:

We live in the best country in the world and for that we owe much to the veteran[s] who fought to give us peace and a true democracy.

Ben was immensely proud of the veterans system he oversaw, which he also saw as one of the most progressive in the world. Ben had this to say about his Labor government's veterans policy:

I am not saying that we can't improve. And while we might not please everyone, we endeavour to do our best to provide the fairest and most equitable care programs for a very deserving group of citizens.

In one press release, Ben asked a wonderfully important and enduring question about emergency personnel responding to Queensland floods, which also revealed his attitude to veterans:

Who's helping the helpers while the helpers help us?

Ben is not only notable for how closely connected he was to the veterans community and for how much he earned the admiration of the diggers with whom he interacted closely for many years, both in his local RSL sub-branch and as Minister for Veterans' Affairs; he's also a significant political figure for just how much he achieved. In my own electorate of Solomon, the North Darwin RSL club benefited on his watch from a DVA grant of $7,640 to provide it with new kitchen facilities for meal service. This helped entice older members of our Top End community back into the community and the clubhouse, to socialise and to exercise a couple of times a week.

Under this same joint venture scheme begun in 1985, more than $2.7 million was allocated to ESOs to set up 389 programs in Australia. He also oversaw the establishment of multiple new facilities for Vietnam and other veterans and their families in Darwin, including in Casuarina, where my office is today. This was part of the Labor government's plan of having shopfront counselling centres for veterans around the country. The Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service provided a relaxed, informal setting in which veterans and their families could talk about their problems, socialise, support one another and access a medical officer, a psychologist, training workshops and other activities.

As Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Ben Humphreys did enormous amounts of important and often behind-the-scenes work for veterans. In this, and in his Northern Australia portfolio, Ben did a lot for Darwin and for the Northern Territory. Today at a time of focused public discussion on how to provide the best and fairest social support and services to our veterans, we can do worse than look to Ben Humphreys for inspiring leadership. The then Labor government's concept of veterans hubs spotted around the country in areas of greatest need—as in Darwin, where Ben launched its centre—remains topical almost 20 years on. In Ben's understanding of and love for veterans and their families, we are reminded of the great heights of Australian statesmanship. I acknowledge and thank the government for their bipartisan tributes to Ben last month in recognition of this shared tradition. We can have no better model than Ben as we do our best to seek the fairest deal for veterans and their physical and mental health as well as for their families. Vale the Hon. Benjamin Charles Humphreys.

Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's an honour to follow on from the member for Solomon to pay tribute to the late Hon. Benjamin Charles Humphreys AM. I think it's probably fitting that the member for Solomon contributed to this debate today, because I think that, if there's one place where Ben Humphreys was known outside of his beloved inner south electorate of Griffith, it'd be the north of Australia. I follow on from the member for Solomon and his fitting words on a great Australian, Ben Humphreys.

I was privileged to attend the memorial service for Ben alongside many of my colleagues, including the current member for Griffith, Terri Butler. At that service, we heard about Ben Humphreys's life as a businessman, a member of parliament and a cabinet minister. But, most importantly, we heard about his achievements of being a husband, a father and a much-loved grandfather. We also heard about a wonderful Australian who was also a cracking storyteller.

Ben Humphreys was born in Brisbane in 1934 and grew up in the community in and around where he lived for his entire life. He worked as a local mechanic before joining the Labor Party, and we heard at his service and his funeral the wonderful story about how he met his beloved wife, Beryl, by attending church. I heard at the service that Ben was a regular attender of church once he'd met Beryl and caught her eye. That was a beautiful marriage that lasted many decades and provided much support through Beryl for his career as a businessman and also, of course, as a member of parliament. As we all know, we can't do these jobs in this place without the love and support of our family, and Ben had that in spades.

He grew up and set off into a business career. Locals still call the garage he owned at Galloways Hill 'Ben's garage'. Following on from this he had an entrepreneurial streak and set up an outfitters. He sold many items across Northern Queensland and northern Australia. As we heard from the member for Solomon, he was a successful entrepreneur.

He entered parliament in 1977. It was a difficult time for the Labor Party. I was interested to hear about the preselection that Ben contested before the 1977 election. It would be fair to say that the Queensland Labor Party was difficult to operate in, following on from the defeat when the famous cricket team was elected under the Bjelke-Petersen government. I understand that Ben contested preselection against the late Denis Murphy and the late Clem Jones, a former great Lord Mayor of Brisbane. Ben prevailed. I know he had strong support from the industrial and union base, which Ben was particularly proud of. All of the old unions—the ETU and the Federated Storemen and Packers Union—backed Ben to the hilt. Ben never lost support from those unions during his time in this place and, of course, in the former house as well.

I joined the Labor Party 28 years ago. The 1990 campaign was one of the first I worked on. I remember being in awe of Ben Humphreys even before joining the Labor Party. He was a larger-than-life figure. He had enormous respect amongst branch members. I watched the election where he triumphed. Since 1977 he served in this parliament for almost two decades. He served alongside prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. We heard in the contributions from the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister about his distinguished service as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. He also served as Deputy Opposition Whip, and as Government Whip after Labor's victory in 1983.

He served in the ministry from 1987 to 1993. Ben Humphreys remains Australia's second-longest-serving veterans' affairs minister. I've heard from many people about his dedication and devotion, it would be fair to say, to veterans. He was a tireless and devoted advocate over many years. His career pinnacle was when he travelled with our frailest diggers to Gallipoli for the 75th anniversary of Anzac Day. He described it 'not as a journey but a pilgrimage'. He was, indeed, deeply affected by that visit.

He wasn't someone who looked for a lot of accolades, fame or glory. I would say he was old-school Labor—someone who wanted to do the job and got in and did the job. Support for him amongst branch members was legendary. A great friend of mine, a former Brisbane City Council colleague of mine and Leader of the Opposition, former councillor Shayne Sutton told me today that branch meetings were always well attended whenever Ben was the special guest. People loved hearing the stories from the Hawke and Keating years. He was simply a great storyteller.

He always took time to nurture, support and show interest in newly elected representatives, not just at the federal level but also at local and state levels. I understand that Ben instilled in his family that how-to-vote cards would always be at the Humphreys family booth at the Morningside Uniting Church and would be always staffed by the Humphreys family. He always made sure that he was available on election day, until he was physically unable to do so. My family also has a connection with Morningside. My father and my grandmother ran a greengrocer store along Wynnum Road in Morningside, so I know how important it is to have locals on your side, and the Humphreys family booth is still staffed to this day.

The other issue that we heard at the service, from John Brown AO, was Ben's connection with a lot of his colleagues. John Brown gave a beautiful tribute at the funeral about Ben's commitment to his colleagues here and how he reached across the aisle when he was veterans' affairs minister to make sure that he was respectful of all different views but also remained dedicated to those veterans.

The legacy of Ben Humphreys is enormous. On the south side of Brisbane, people still regard him as one of the best federal members that the south side of Brisbane has had. We've heard from the member for Solomon that the members for Griffith have included former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and, today, shadow minister Terri Butler. I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the Humphreys family, who are wonderful stalwarts of the Labor Party, to his five children—Sharon, Jude, Brenda, Ben Jr and Jason, who all are remarkable people who have gone on to support the Labor Party over many, many years—and of course to his grandchildren: Beth Edwards, Hannah Nolan, Amy Nolan, Claire Atkinson, Hunter Hanson and Lola Humphreys. I know he was a much-loved pa to all of you. You could see that beautiful love and connection at his funeral, with his grandchildren paying tribute to their wonderful role model and pa. I know it's a sad time for the Humphreys family, but I wanted to give my support and strength to them. I know they will continue to serve. I send my deepest condolences to Ben's beautiful widow, Beryl, who was a mainstay of Ben's career, particularly his political career. She was always there by his side, enabling him to do his job in this place and in the former house as well. With those few words, I say: Australia has lost a wonderful son. His legacy will remain with us for many, many years. Ben Humphreys, rest in peace.

Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand it's the wish of honourable members to signify at this stage their respect and sympathy by rising in their places, and I ask all present to do so.

Honourable members having stood in their places

I thank the Federation Chamber.

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That further proceedings be conducted in the House.

Question agreed to.