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

About three weeks ago at Macquarie Street Presbyterian Church we gave Ralph a great send-off. There were three ex-Prime Ministers there: Mr Hawke, Mr Fraser and Mr Howard. Doug Anthony gave the eulogy and he did an absolutely fantastic job. He knew Ralph and his family well. They had grown up together, they had worked together, they had been in the party system for many years. When I joined the National Party in federal parliament in 1983 Doug Anthony was the leader and he stayed there for approximately 12 months, then Ian Sinclair became the leader and Ralph Hunt was his deputy. Those were pretty tough years, particularly when we got to around 1988 and 1989 and we had the 'Joh for Canberra' move. That was hard on the National Party room. Loyalties were called on: either support the Premier or support the leadership. It was one of the most unpleasant stages a political party could ever have to go through. Ralph was a tower of strength and a calming influence. He was a deputy leader we were very fortunate to have.

He had a whimsical sense of humour and he used to tell great stories. One story he told was about when he went out to an old country pub and could not sleep because the guy in the next room was snoring. He got so desperate he banged the wall. There was an almighty crash and a picture fell on the ground and smashed to smithereens. The next morning, as you did in those days, he went out and talked to his neighbour over the balcony. Ralph said, 'How'd you sleep?' He said: 'I was sleeping well until some silly idiot knocked the wall, and then the person in the next room kept snoring and I couldn't sleep a wink after that.'

One time, in absolute desperation when the party room was leaking—and the party room had never leaked in its life, never in 80 years—Ralph decided there must be a bug in the room. So we decided we would call ASIO to have the room swept. And, of course, that was the headline the next day. That leaked out!

They were great days with Ralph. He was someone who absolutely epitomised what the National Party was all about. He was born a bushie, he loved the bush and he fought fearlessly and tirelessly for people in the bush. With Doug Anthony he established the Wool Commission when you could put wool in potholes in the road it was so worthless. With Doug, he put a floor price on wool and brought prosperity back to the wool industry. It got a bit overdone towards the end when, instead of making it a leveller, people went for it as a price setter and of course it fell over. But the floor price served the wool industry well for many, many years and it was Doug Anthony and Ralph Hunt that supported it and got it up. That was one of the many things he promoted on behalf of the Country Party and then the National Party.

I was very sad to see him go. He gave almost all his life to the National Party in one form or another: as party secretary, as party president, as the member for Gwydir for 20 years and then, when he left there, as treasurer of the party from the time he was 60 until he was 70 and retired from that position. His whole life was the National Party. As I said, he had this whimsical sense of humour. One night, I was listening to him speaking in the lower house on the fertiliser bill. Joan Child was in the chair—Ralph had a sort of love-hate relationship with Joan Child—and he inadvertently called her 'Madam Fertiliser'. I asked him, 'Did you mean that, Ralph, or did you just make a mistake?' He said, 'No, I was only joking with her.' That was the sense of humour that he brought to this place.

In those days, in Old Parliament House, we were a lot closer. The National Party went back every night and listened to the news together; there were always cups of coffee or tea on the table and we sat around and chatted. Because of the geography of this place, it is a quarter of a mile hike to get to the party room and a quarter of a mile back, so we do not have the closeness that we used to enjoy in Old Parliament House.

Ralph made a difference. He made a huge contribution to the National Party. He was a man of the bush and he fought for the bush all his life. He had a huge following. There were so many people at his funeral and from all walks of life, including the bush, business and politics. He will genuinely be missed by all his friends. He was one of the great friendly people of the parliament and he made friends with everyone. We wish his wife, Mim, all the best. She always stood by him and was an integral part of the Country Party and then National Party. Where Ralph went, Mim was always there. She will desperately miss Ralph and his dry, whimsical sense of humour, and we offer our condolences to her and all her family.

Question agreed to, honourable members standing in their places.