Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the great, unexpected joys of this job is the ability to bring other people's words, feelings and ideas to life in this place. I did not know Gary Nairn particularly well. He was in his second term as the highly respected member for Eden-Monaro, the exemplar of a local member, when I first trod the blue carpet at the other end of this building. Sometime later I worked for who somebody who loved Gary, truly loved him, and I feel so lucky that in my early years of service in this place, the Australian parliament, I saw real, meaningful, enduring friendships and loyalties between politicians, both on the same side and across the aisles.

Brendan Nelson would've lain in front of a train for Gary Nairn, so high was his esteem for him. So it was with humility that I reached out to Brendan in London earlier this week to ask if I could read his words about Gary Nairn today, and I'm honoured to read them out now. By word of warning, I should note Brendan has always had an ability to make me cry—so exceptional is he in giving voice to matters of emotions, spirit, what it means to be Australian and, indeed, what it means to serve. I suspect this particular speech may be no different, but here goes:

Decent, intelligent, thoughtful, ethical, honest, earnest, loyal, hard working, humble, analytical and methodical.

Gary Nairn manifest these qualities over the almost thirty years that I was blessed to know him.

Indeed, I am a better person for Gary Nairn having been a part of my life.

We first met in 1995.

I was the Liberal Party candidate for Bradfield and he, candidate for the then sprawling Labor held bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro.

Bradfield and I were to provide him whatever support we could in fundraising and electioneering over five elections.

We were colleagues, but we were also friends.

As a marginal seat member, Gary was on the backbench placed strategically behind John Howard.

As such he would be seen regularly on news reports of parliamentary question time, nodding approvingly with whatever the prime minister was saying.

On one occasion when I was attending a Liberal Party meeting in the south of Gary's electorate, he was confronted by one of the party members, "why do you agree with the prime minister all the time?!!"

Three days before the 2001 election in which the Tampa controversy had dominated, I was campaigning with Gary deep into his electorate.

A large truck arrived delivering freshly minted oversized billboards for placement in proximity to the polling booths.

We both pulled the top one from the rear of the truck.

An enormous black and white photograph of an emphatic John Howard beneath which was his statement days earlier, "we will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come".

Gary and I looked at one another. He simply said, "I think Saturday will be a good day".

Gary's wife Kerrie died in 2005 from the cancer she had battled.

She had asked to see me at their home.

I was privileged to share those last hours with her and Gary.

Her love for him was such that she wanted him to continue in every way to build a better Australia, continue what they had built together and in due course, find happiness again.

Although Gary was a stoic man, we both shed our tears with Kerrie.

Gary did find love. True love, in Rose. The Liberal Party has had many 'servants'.

Gary Nairn came to serve the Liberal Party, not to be served by it.

So too, the people of Eden Monaro were to be served. We are a better nation and a better people for Gary Nairn.

In that, the love and support he received respectively from Kerrie and Rose were the foundation of his life and service to us.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Many members of parliament in the House of Representatives adorn their front windows next to their office doors with all manner of posters—some are propaganda, some deride the other side of politics and some are promotional material for their own electorates. If you walk down the corridors, you'll see some Liberal members have put up a blue poster with the words 'Liberals for regional Australia'. It's in exactly the same font and in the same fashion that the National Party has long had its material printed in. The reason I say this, rather cheekily, is that my predecessor, Kay Hull AO, always considered that the late Gary Nairn was some sort of Nat—a closet National Party member—because he was so very much in tune and aligned with the issues, feelings and concerns of regional Australia. That's not to say that Liberals aren't—they indeed are, and we know that.

Kay served with Gary Nairn for some time, and, as such, I reached out to Kay the other day, to ask her to express her feelings about the late Gary Nairn, and she had this to say. 'It was a huge shock when, at 9 pm on the first of June, I received a message that Gary had passed away a few hours before. I had the privilege of serving with Gary from 1998 to 2007, when he lost the bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro that he had held, through enormous dedication and commitment, since 1996. He was a shining example of a true gentleman who treated everyone with respect and value. We were quite close, as his beloved Kerrie, who, sadly, passed away in 2005, was a Leeton girl. Gary attended every National Party Christmas party with me, often claiming he was really a true National'—and she's emphasised that with a couple of exclamation marks! She says: 'I was so happy when he married Rose and together they took on enormous family responsibility.' And I love this—her last line: 'Gary Nairn epitomised what we all aspire to be: that is, a decent, respectful individual; a great loss to his beautiful family and to our entire nation.' Lovely words; beautiful words—typical Kay Hull words.

Gary Nairn was an AO. He was awarded that high honour, on a similar level with Kay Hull, because both of them—both of them—contributed mightily after their parliamentary careers were over.

As Kay pointed out, the late Gary Nairn was elected to the House of Representatives in 1996. He was re-elected in 1998, 2001 and 2004. He came into the parliament with Kay Hull—or Kay came into the parliament with Gary, pardon me, in 1998. And they were good mates, as Gary was very close to many National Party members, and, of course, his own Liberal Party family.

Not only do I express my condolences for his widow; I also express them for their children, Ben and Deborah.

When the last drought was at its worst, I was the Deputy Prime Minister. Scott Morrison was the Prime Minister—the former member for Cook. On the eve of the National Drought Summit, Scott and I visited Mulloon Creek, near Canberra. It runs through the Southern Tablelands near Bungendore, 50 kilometres or so east of here—east of Canberra.

Mulloon Creek had been recently promoted on the ABC's Australian Story, and those Australian stories are so insightful. We went to see a creek that was still flowing, despite the drought; green with vegetation, in spite of the drought—which had been going for seven months, I might add.

Mulloon Creek was the legacy of a very long collaboration between prominent agriculturalist Peter Andrews and the owner of the property, Tony Coote, who had died that August, 2018. For decades, Mr Andrews and Mr Coote had implemented the natural sequence farming system, that Mr Andrews was so fond of, at Mulloon Creek.

I say all this because Gary Nairn, continuing on his fine public service, was the chairman of the Mulloon Institute; he was giving back. That is a powerful legacy, when a member of parliament—having done their utmost to serve their local communities, to represent the interests of local people, in this place—can then, after their parliamentary careers, continue to give, continue to contribute, continue to turn up and continue to advocate, fiercely and passionately and proudly, on behalf of local people. And that was Gary Nairn. That is Kay Hull. And I pay tribute to his record of service. I pay tribute to him. He very much welcomed both Scott Morrison and me on that day. He declared that the Mulloon Creek was a model that should be replicated across the nation.

Of course, now, with the member for Paterson, as the co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Soil, we know firsthand that the answer to climate action is in the very dirt that we stand on. We can do so much. Gary knew that. He identified that. He was a fine regional member, an outstanding human being and a friend to all. He will be very greatly missed not just by his family but by all of those who knew him. Vale Gary Nairn.

Debate adjourned.