Helen Kroger (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to make some brief remarks. It was a great pleasure of mine to meet the local member for Holt, Bill Yates—as he was known to us all—in 1975, when I first joined the party. It was a memorable year, because it was the last year of the former Whitlam government. Bill was a flamboyant man and a man of incredible intellectual rigour, integrity and common decency who has left a lasting legacy in the Liberal Party and one that his family should be enormously proud of.

It brings a smile to my face to remember the first times that I met him, when we were holding local Holt electorate meetings in my family’s home. He was the only member of the House of Representatives who could claim that he had served both in the House of Commons and here in the Australian parliament. As a Conservative member of the House of Commons he was one of the government’s staunchest critics during the 1956 Suez Canal crisis, which saw the downfall of then British Prime Minister Eden. Holding a marginal seat, he was later defeated at the polls in the general election of 1966 and soon thereafter moved to Australia. Putting his marginal seat campaigning skills to the test, he stood for the seat of Holt in 1975 and secured a nine per cent swing to the Liberal Party and held the seat of Holt for two terms. He was a much appreciated, revered and combatant local member and was known to be a very eloquent advocate not only for the constituency of Holt but also here in Canberra. He was also very well known as the beekeeper of the Australian parliament and was known for the hives he kept in the grounds of Parliament House. He used to frequently share his observations on the merits of bees both for the pure honey produce and for the therapeutic effects, if you like, of the bee stings themselves.

It was later, when I entered this place, that I reconnected with him. He had moved to country Victoria to a place called Tallangatta. He would frequently get in touch with me and share his views on a number of subjects, very excited that one of his earlier branch members had ended up in this place. It was at the ripe old age of 82 that he undertook his doctorate in political science. So he did not take his retirement very seriously at all. In fact, rather than enjoying the simpler things in life, he worked very hard until the end. He had good reason to be very proud of his family. His family have great reason to be very proud of his achievements. The condolences and best wishes of all in the Liberal Party, but particularly those of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party, are sent to all his family.