Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to mark the passing of and to honour the life of a prominent Canberra who, sadly, died a few weeks ago.

I refer to the long-time CEO of the ACT and Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Christopher Peters, AM, OI, JP. Dr Peters was a most extraordinary figure, who made a contribution in so many areas of ACT life that simply to read some of the things that he was involved in sounds almost a strain on the credulity of those who hear the many things that he was involved in.

He was a South Australian originally. He came to Canberra in 1991 with his wife, Josephine, to take up the role of CEO of the chamber of commerce, having pursued some 21 years of business and other interests in other parts of Australia. His role at the chamber of commerce made for a springboard for many other areas of activity in this community. I want to run through some of those areas.

He represented the ACT on the board of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and ACCI paid tribute to Chris recently by describing him as:

a man of character, a leader of business, respected by governments, a servant of his community and honoured by the nation.

He was also very active in the diplomatic community based in the ACT; he had close connections with many, many members of the diplomatic corps and provided invaluable assistance in facilitating international business activity both within the ACT and wider Australia.

He was interested in education. He was the deputy chair of the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies and, indeed, spent 15 years in that role. He was passionate about vocational education and training, and mentored many young people. He never missed a meeting of that board, even in the last stages of his illness. The ACT Association of Providers of Training Services has referred to 'his history of distinguished service and his contribution to vocational education and training, practice and leadership having a lasting impact'.

He was instrumental in helping establish the Canberra Institute of Technology Vocational College and was a long-serving member of its advisory boards. To quote the institute, 'He understood the power of education to change lives, enable business growth and community development.'

He was chair of the GreaterGood foundation. They noted on his passing 'his leadership, generosity, cheerful demeanour and sensible advice'. He was involved in many, many other organisations: the ACT Business Council, as its chair; the ACT Default Insurance Fund; the ACT Accreditation and Registration Council; the ACT Bushfire Recovery team, after the devastating fires of 2003; the ACT Land and Planning Authority—specifically, its Commercial Advisory Committee; the ACT Electric Vehicle Council; the ACT Defence Support Reserve Council; and the ACT Vocational and Educational Training Advisory Group.

He was on the Australian Federal Police Crime Prevention Group, he was an adviser to the ACT Council of Social Service, he was an adviser on corporate and governance issues to the ACT Palliative Care Society and he was a commissioner of the ACT Skills Commission.

In his spare time—and remarkably, he had some—he was a very great and passionate lover of music. For years he was the finance officer of the Friends of the School of Music. He was involved in the International Music Festival here in Canberra since its inception. He was on the board of the School of Music Foundation, and spearheaded the attempt to broker a better outcome for the institution when it came under attack recently. He supported the Canberra Symphony Orchestra in all its endeavours in the ACT and delighted in its recent increase in patronage. And he loved the National Folk Festival held every year at Easter.

Madam Acting Deputy President, it might be easy to assume that I am talking about half a dozen people. I am not; I am talking about a single man—who you might think was passionate about collecting titles. But can I assure the Senate that he was invited to serve on each and every one of these organisations because he was a doer, because he was effective and because when people asked him to contribute, he contributed and he made a difference.

That difference was acknowledged in a number of ways in recent years by the ACT and the broader community. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Canberra for his services to business and the community of Canberra. He was made a member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to business in the ACT. Behind his name were the letters 'OI', which stand for Order of Isabel de Catolica, an award made personally by the King of Spain for his contribution to the celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of the Spanish landing in Australia in 2006. Perhaps most significantly, he was awarded Canberran of the Year in 2012. In his various roles, from time to time he clashed with government. He had occasions to upbraid the government that I led in the ACT and he clashed with the present ACT government on a few occasions. The fact that his capacity to clash with governments of all persuasions said a great deal about the fact that he said what he said and did what he did because he believed that what he said and what he did was the right thing to say and to do, not for the reason of simply causing conflict.

Even during the days and weeks after he contracted cancer of the liver, when he was undergoing very intense chemotherapy, he was invited to join the committee of the new ACT Cancer Centre and put forward many practical suggestions for enhancement of the environment for the benefit of future patients. He kept a large number of us on an email list describing the various stages of his treatment, in a very frank and very personal way, but one which opened up, for me at least, an amazing insight into what people go through when they experience cancer. Of course, many people choose to make that a very private experience. Chris saw the benefit of talking about what he was going through in order to dispel myths and help people to understand what they might face in the tragic event of facing cancer.

Chris was a man who solved many problems who could be approached at any level with any kind of issue and usually had a helpful suggestion to make, or if he did not he would come back a few days later with practical ideas of how to solve a particular problem. I want to put on record my thanks to him for helping me deal with many, many problems dealing with my constituents in an effective way. When, at one stage, I wanted to enlist the help of the business community in helping people with mental illness obtain employment, he put together a large panel of people who were prepared to sign up for that concept, and we worked very hard to ensure that a number of people in the Canberra community with a history of mental illness were able to be placed in suitable employment with members of the ACT business community.

With his passing, this city has lost an extraordinary contributor, a passionate lover of the national capital, an unflinching advocate of the business community and a generous soul. I thank him for what he has done to change the lives of so many people in this community and I believe that he stands head and shoulders above so many people for the difference that he made to the lives and the life of this city. I extend my condolences to his wife Jo and to his very many friends and colleagues in this city.

Senate adjourned at 22 : 25