Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I join Senator Minchin and the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate in supporting the condolence motion for Sir Robert Cotton and Sir James Killen. I never knew Sir Robert Cotton, but I did know Sir James Killen very well as a former minister in the Fraser government and the conservative governments before that. He was a member of the Tattersalls Club and was seen at the racecourse. He was very up-front around Queensland. We have lost a great political character in Sir James Killen.

He was 29 when he was first elected to parliament as the Liberal member for Moreton in 1955. He was a great speaker, a great debater and a great practical joker. In 1961, one of his most famous quotes was that former Prime Minister Menzies sent him a telegram saying that he was ‘magnificent’ to hold the government at the time. His particular seat, which he won by 130 votes or so in 1961, held the government together by a very slim majority of one. During the 1950s and 1960s, Sir James Killen spoke frequently in the House and was well known for his wit and his oratory. While a member of the House of Representatives, he studied for his law degree and graduated in 1964, and immediately started building a criminal law practice. He actually continued that practice while he was a member of parliament.

Sir James Killen was commissioned as Minister for the Navy in 1969 and took a strong interest in the conditions of ordinary sailors. He was noted as saying that his years as Minister for Defence were an honour but a heavy burden. He was appointed shadow minister for defence in 1975. One of his more famous quotes was: ‘We would not be able to protect Botany Bay against the enemy on a hot Sunday afternoon.’ Sir James Killen got the opportunity to do something about it when he was commissioned as Minister for Defence in the Fraser government, in November. He prepared Australia’s white paper on defence and was the minister responsible for buying the FA18s. He was also responsible for setting up the Australian Defence Force Academy after a long argument with Public Works. These are all important achievements, but Sir James will be remembered above all as a great parliamentarian with a larrikin streak. Today I would also like to offer, on behalf of my colleagues in the National Party, our sincere condolences to the widow, family and friends of Sir Robert Cotton.