Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the coalition I am pleased to support the motion moved by Senator Evans and offer our own sincere condolences on the passing of former Senator Misha Lajovic. Misha, which was his accepted nickname, was first elected here as a senator for New South Wales in 1975, as Senator Evans noted, and served here for 10 years. Indeed, it was my pleasure to have met Misha on several occasions, and a wonderful and engaging human being he was. As Senator Evans noted, he was born in Slovenia, which was then Yugoslavia, in 1921 and came here at the relatively old age for a migrant of 30, in that post-war migrant boom that Australia experienced. No doubt having lived in Europe from 1921 to 1951 had an enormous impact on him and shaped his personal views and ultimately his great contribution to this chamber. I think none of us should underestimate the challenges that someone in Misha’s position would have faced not only in that dreadful wartime period in Europe but also in coming here as a new migrant in the early fifties at the age of 30.

He was, I think, one of the singular postwar migrant success stories. He joined the Liberal Party in 1958, some seven years after migrating here. And, of course, given his background in war-torn Europe and his strong opposition to authoritarianism and totalitarianism, it was natural that he gravitated to the party that I and my colleagues are proud to represent.

He was a first in this place. He commented in his valedictory speech on his uniqueness at the time, in being a migrant who had arrived at an adult age and then being elected as a parliamentarian in a country like Australia—an extraordinary achievement. He was, indeed, the first migrant of a non-English-speaking background to be elected to this Senate and, certainly, we on this side are very proud that he was elected as a Liberal. He noted in his valedictory that his election was a credit to the Australian people and proof that this is a country of a fair go for all. He of course did not say in his final speech that he got there on merit and it was he who won his election as a senator, and he worked extremely hard as a senator in this place. I think his background, his experiences, his commitment to the party, his commitment to the parliament and his innate integrity were the reasons why he was a great success as a Liberal senator for his 10 years here. He described his swearing-in as a senator as the proudest day of his life and the 10 years that he spent in this chamber as the most exciting years of his life. He was exceptionally proud of the role he was able to play in this great Australian democracy.

As Senator Evans noted, he was a great supporter of the Senate committee system. He highlighted that this is one of the advantages that we have over the House of Representatives, with our committee system allowing people from all backgrounds and all walks of life and those on the back bench to make a very direct and significant contribution to improving the legislation that we pass through this place. He played an active role throughout his time as a senator in the Senate Standing Committee on Industry and Trade and the Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Audit. He was, unsurprisingly, a very strong supporter of the Fraser coalition government’s establishment of the Special Broadcasting Service and, while he was here, participated in a Senate review of the SBS. He was, of course, during his tenure in the Senate, a very strong voice on the issue of migration, an articulate advocate of its benefits to the country and of how new migrants could best be assisted.

After his retirement, he was a frequent visitor to the gallery. Our records show he was acknowledged some eight times after his retirement, most recently in June of last year. Obviously, he was extremely proud to have served his nation as a senator. So, to Misha’s son Tom and his family and friends, the coalition places on record its appreciation of Misha’s diligent public service and his loyalty to the party that he represented here, and it tenders its profound sympathy to them in their bereavement.