Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Today marks the last day on which the member for Bradfield, the Hon. Brendan Nelson, sits in this parliament. His distinguished 13 years of service will come to an end as he officially resigns his seat in the next few days. I thought it appropriate, therefore, to pay a tribute this evening to Dr Nelson on behalf of not only myself but, as I know, all my Senate colleagues, especially those on this side. I thank Senator Ian Macdonald for yielding his position on the speakers list to allow this tribute. Dr Nelson’s entry to the conservative side of politics was by any measure unorthodox but nevertheless indicative of the journey travelled by many. Dr Nelson highlighted this in his speech earlier this week:

I came to my Liberal belief through life, absorbing it through reflection upon and familiarity with the hard work, self sacrifice and idealism of just everyday people.

It seemed that, as he went along life’s journey, he got mugged by reality. Some of us get mugged a little bit earlier in life than others. But Dr Nelson’s presence in the party is indicative of the very rich and diverse threads that make up the wonderful and colourful tapestry that is the Liberal Party of Australia. His modest background included local general practice, where you get to see every side of life, to becoming a trade union official—oops, perhaps I should be saying the President of the Australian Medical Association. His passionate commitment to see justice for our Indigenous community, his experience, his talent and his genuine commitment—all of those things will be sorely missed. But whilst he was with us in the parliamentary party, he enriched us greatly over that decade or so, with all those qualities.

A parliamentarian’s first speech often provides a window into the person’s commitments and passions. Going through Dr Nelson’s first speech you saw youth unemployment, health care, debt, tax reform, the need for self-help and the plight of our Indigenous brothers and sisters—noting already, in fact, the wisdom of Noel Pearson. All those things were highlighted by Dr Nelson in his first speech.

Australia’s public life and policy development has been immensely enriched by Dr Nelson’s contribution. As a colleague, I always had the sense that he valued service above self, principle above pragmatism, and substance and detail above glib spin. He had insight into the plight of our fellow Australians, be it the need for pensions to be increased, whilst he was Leader of the Opposition, or exposing the fraud of Fuelwatch—both positions adopted, nevertheless reluctantly, by Labor. In the multitude of endearing features of Dr Nelson, one can point to his love of Tasmania. He told us in his last speech that on his demise, which he hoped would still be half a century or more away, his ashes would be scattered in Tasmania, on Bruny Island—for Senator Conroy’s benefit—at Adventure Bay.

I recall Dr Nelson as a general practitioner in Tasmania in 1991. Without going into all the details, he and I had a patient and client in common. In brief, the story is that somebody had been underpaid—and, guess what, people were underpaid even under a Labor Party regime; these things happened then and they will unfortunately continue to happen. The person complained about his underpayment, went to the appropriate authorities and, for his trouble, the employer went to the fellow’s home and assaulted him. He consulted me for legal advice and Dr Nelson for medical advice, and Dr Nelson wrote the medical report. I do not know why, but somewhere along the way I did not pay the account for the medical advice. Suffice to say, I got a very rude letter from the general practitioner, to which I responded by saying, ‘Look, next time round, just send an account rendered and it’ll be paid,’ and gave my apologies.

Shortly thereafter—I was state president of the Liberal Party at the time—I thought, ‘Dr Nelson might be a very good candidate.’ So I rang him a few days later, after the exchange of letters. I must say, there was a very hesitant Dr Nelson at the other end of the phone when I asked to speak to him, because he thought I would want to talk to him about our exchange of letters about the non-payment of the account. I said, ‘No, that’s in the past. Would you consider running as a candidate for us in the Liberal Party in Tasmania?’ Unfortunately he declined, but he did say that if he ever did run he would run with the Liberal Party. I am told that, shortly thereafter, he resigned from the Labor Party. That is something that I recall with some interest and, indeed, fondness.

I encouraged Dr Nelson—I can reveal this for the first time—after his decision to leave the federal parliament, and said, ‘You like Tasmania. Why don’t you come down and join the Tasmanian state parliamentary team?’ For reasons unknown to me, he decided to reject that offer and, for some foolish reason, has accepted an offer to be an ambassador to the EU and NATO instead! I cannot understand that, but I wish him well. More seriously, his humanity and humility took the parliamentary party through the vital months after an election loss. He did that with great patience and great perseverance, listening to everybody’s complaints, and that is why he is held in such high esteem by all his colleagues.

He has a wonderful list of achievements: voluntary student unionism, flying the flag at schools and teaching values. One of the important things that he said in his speech yesterday was, ‘A values-free education risks producing values-free adults.’ Amongst all his other achievements, putting values back into the education agenda was a very important achievement.

Time unfortunately always counts against you on occasions such as this because there is so much to say. Let me say that people who met Dr Nelson in the community or at forums were always impressed. He could recount facts, figures and details of local communities and threw them into his speeches, which he gave simply off the cuff. He had no prepared notes. He memorised the detail of a local school, a local road or something else that happened within that community. He oozed sincerity and a desire to communicate and link in with the audience to which he spoke. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, that persona and the interaction that he was able to get at community groups did not seem to come over on the TV screen. Those who met Dr Nelson were always impressed. I also was impressed that, as far as leaders go—and they always come from the House of Representatives—he had some understanding of matters Senate. I conclude by saying that, as Dr Nelson leaves public life, he can do so knowing that he has achieved and served with distinction. I wish him and his wife every best wish for the future, and I wish him God bless.