Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

The coalition joins with the Leader of the Government in the Senate in supporting the condolence motion for the Hon. Francis Walker QC. His was a life devoted to public service, with 18 years in the state parliament and six years in the federal parliament, and he served as a minister in both jurisdictions.

After his parliamentary life he became a judge and involved himself in issues of mental health after his departure from representative public service. I will briefly quote from a foreword that the Hon. Frank Walker QC wrote for a publication by the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia. He said:

Life is full of turning points and I have experienced a few of them personally and politically.

One of the very special turning points is the birth of a child, a child of your very own to nurture and love. Here is the future so full of promise and possibility.

For some, another turning point comes when you are told that your child has a mental illness. This can be a place of fear, uncertainty and confusion. It can be the beginning of a long and difficult journey for both you as a parent and your child. Yet there is and should be hope. All mental illnesses are treatable.

The Hon. Frank Walker QC was well able to speak personally and with great authority because of the personal tragedies that he confronted and that the Leader of the Government referred to in his contribution. It is often forgotten that those in public life also have personal and private lives and there is no doubt that the Hon. Frank Walker was greatly impacted by the issues faced by his two sons. I am sure that Senator Faulkner will provide a longer and more personal account of the life and times of the Hon. Francis Walker QC, who can be rightly seen as a Labor luminary. The coalition simply yet sincerely salutes the Hon. Francis Walker QC's contribution to public life. We extend our condolences to his widow Pam, extended family and friends within the Labor movement.