Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Upon their passing, many leaders are described as great. Sir Llew Edwards is someone who richly deserves the epithet of being a truly great man. He was a giant of the Liberal Party and a champion of all things Queensland.

Sir Llew started his career as an electrician, pursued a passion to study medicine, and became a well-respected doctor in Ipswich. Sir Gordon Chalk, Queensland Liberal Party leader at the time, landed in his surgery's waiting room one day in 1972 and convinced Sir Llew to stand for the state seat of Ipswich. So it came to be that, in the same year that Gough Whitlam stormed Canberra, Llew Edwards won the state seat of Ipswich and then held it through four elections until he retired, unbeaten. He remains the only Liberal over 1½ centuries to have held the state seat of Ipswich for more than a single term.

Sir Llew was a popular and successful MP. He served as the Minister for Health, Treasurer, Leader of the Queensland Liberal Party and Deputy Premier during Queensland's booming 1970s and early eighties. After politics, he was equally successful as the long-serving Chancellor of the University of Queensland and as the chairman for Expo 88. There were many early detractors and sceptics when it came to Expo 88, yet it is now credited as being a catalyst for contemporary Brisbane. Sir Llew had strong beliefs, and he not only believed that Brisbane could do a better job than anywhere else in the world; he then made sure that Brisbane did. More than 18 million people went through the gates of Expo 88. The public artworks, transportation overhaul, and rejuvenation of the Southbank area are still celebrated in Brisbane today.

Above all, Sir Llew was a true gentleman in politics. With an ever-present twinkle in his eye, he seemed to enjoy all his interactions with others. He notably avoided unnecessary conflict. He engaged with everyone honestly; he often reached out to work with those in other political parties; and he earned his significant achievements and his magnificent legacy through sheer hard work, perseverance and deft negotiation. I count myself genuinely fortunate to have enjoyed the encouragement of Sir Llew and Lady Jane since first being elected. In my view, his important legacy includes the example he provided of service in public life, conducted forthrightly and with dignity. I extend my heartfelt condolences for their loss to Lady Jane, Sir Llew's children and grandchildren, and family and friends.