Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

It is an honour for me to stand in the Senate and pay my respects to a great Australian, the Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser. I also join in expressing my condolences and the condolences of my wife Elaine to Tamie, Mark, Angela, Hugh and Phoebe and all of Malcolm's friends who would be devastated with this loss.

I was about to commence a doorstop interview on Friday at 10 am, when a journalist advised me of the death of the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia, the Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser. It was devastating news, as Malcolm was, despite its advanced years, one of the strongest and most incisive voices on behalf of human rights in Australia. The dispossessed, the vulnerable and refugees seeking protection have lost a great campaigner and champion for their cause. Malcolm, in my view, was a man of courage, conviction and intelligence. Paul Kelly has said that he was 'informed, formidable and constructive'. He certainly was formidable. Australia has lost one of its most significant political figures.

In 1973, I arrived with my young family in Australia. We arrived as the Whitlam government was reshaping the country: I was so proud to be a new migrant and a union activist, as the Whitlam government set about democratising and modernising the country—recognising Indigenous rights, abolishing conscription, releasing draft resisters from prison, establishing Medibank, providing benefits to the homeless, promoting equal pay for women, abolishing the death penalty, giving access for the poor to the legal system, establishing a Family Court, making university education available to the working class, replacing God Save the Queen with Advance Australia Fair, replacing the British honours system, building a sewerage system in Western Sydney, and so much more. Then along came Malcolm Fraser, John Kerr, and Reg Withers, and we had a constitutional crisis. I was in total disbelief that a Governor-General could dismiss a prime minister and a democratically elected government. It was then that Malcolm Fraser became public enemy No. 1, to me and to millions of other Australians. I reviled Malcolm Fraser and John Kerr. They epitomised all that was wrong with a political system based on power and privilege. I participated in strikes at Liddell Power Station to demonstrate against the sacking of the Whitlam government and the imposition of what I still think was an illegitimate government. I was a strong supporter of national strikes in defence of Australian democracy. History shows that the conservative forces won out, and the Fraser government became a reality. I will leave it to others to judge the success or otherwise of the Fraser government, but to me it always epitomised the start of the institutional attack on the trade union movement in this country.

I became a union official in 1981, and one of my first big campaigns was to fight against the Fraser government's 1982 wage freeze. After the excitement of the Whitlam years, the Fraser government was, in my view, pale in comparison. I was happy to see the Fraser government defeated in 1983. The evolution of Malcolm Fraser from reviled conservative politician to respected elder statesman and human rights activist is one of the great Australian political stories. It is a mark of the stature of Malcolm Fraser as an individual that the revulsion felt by millions of Australians towards him has now become deep respect and sadness at his death. Malcolm's consistent values and advocacy on behalf of multiculturalism, refugees, and human rights at the national and international levels was, in my estimation, the driving force to move him from being a divisive political figure to a respected national and international statesman.

In the intervening period, after the defeat of the Fraser government, many things changed as globalisation, economic reform, free trade, and individualisation became the dominant features of the political landscape. During this period, Malcolm Fraser was growing in stature with his strong views on apartheid, refugees, the environment, and Australia's place in the world. In 2002, when I was the national secretary of the AMWU, I was concerned at the growing vilification of refugees. I felt that Malcolm Fraser was one of the strongest and most persuasive voices in support of the human rights of refugees. It was in this context—and almost 27 years after the Dismissal—that the leadership of my union, the AMWU, made a big call and invited Malcolm Fraser to address the 2002 National Conference of the AMWU. This was not a universally popular decision within the union; many of my comrades were still maintaining the rage. I was actually surprised to receive a letter of acceptance from Malcolm. He agreed to address the conference. This was a decision that epitomised his commitment to human rights and multiculturalism. There were over 100 delegates at our conference in Parramatta's Park Royal Hotel; we all resented the Dismissal, and many were still hostile towards Malcolm Fraser. This was my first real engagement with former Prime Minister Fraser. As I understand it, it was also the first time that Malcolm Fraser addressed a union conference.

Malcolm was at his sartorial best: pinstripe suit, a pocket handkerchief, waistcoat; a tall and commanding presence. He presented as being aloof and privileged, something that did not go down well with AMWU activists. As he entered the conference, he was given a polite but subdued welcome. I wondered, 'what have I done?' He then took the stage and made the conference his own. He spoke about the history of Australia, moving from the Depression and the Second World War to a migration policy which changed the face of the nation. He recognised the statesmanship of Arthur Calwell in allaying the fears of a socially conservative community, which allowed the government to embark on a migration program that would build and transform Australia. Malcolm noted that the Curtin program was bipartisan and supported by the opposition political parties of the time. He said that the 1946 program was instrumental in developing a multicultural and diverse Australia—which is recognised as one of Australia's great strengths. Malcolm argued that the 1946 program brought great change to Australia and taught the policies of tolerance, and of the need for compassion and concern. Malcolm went on to speak about the provision of a safe haven for over 200,000 Vietnamese following what he described as 'a most misguided conflict'. Over 1.25 million Vietnamese and Indochinese resettled in the United States; 250,000 in Canada; well over 200,000 in Australia; and a significant number in France. This was, according to Malcolm, achieved through international cooperation and the establishment of transit points through Malaysia and Indonesia. Malcolm noted that many of the Vietnamese settling in Australia had no papers and would have been rejected under the then government policy. He went on to say:

If one had asked the people of Melbourne whether they wanted Melbourne to become the largest Greek city outside of Greece, they would have said No with a resounding majority. Now that it has happened, Melbourne is proud of the fact and Australia is much better off as a consequence of that migration.

He then asked:

How did we change? Why did we change? Why did both major political parties abandon leadership and reverse the policies which Australia had implemented so successfully for so many decades?

It is our task to reverse that attitude and to re-establish Australia as a compassionate and humane society.

He went on:

Australia's current policies are often attacked because they offend international agreements, which we helped draft and supported. They offend sections of the Convention on Refugees and on the Rights of the Child but we need to look at current policies on the basis of Australian values because they offend every decent fibre of our being. They offend every idea of a fair go. They offend the basic principle that we should do to others what we would like done to us.

he Government has attracted support by playing on insecurities, by emphasizing difference, by exaggerating numbers and by claims that in the event were totally untrue.

Malcolm argued:

There is much insecurity in the world at the present time. Many of those insecurities are shared by Australians but those insecurities do not relate to asylum seekers and refugees who come to Australia by boat. There are great insecurities as a result of economic globalisation and the failure of anyone to spell out where that process will end. That insecurity should be directed at government and not at a few thousand would-be refugees.

Malcolm went on to discuss the dehumanisation of refugees—the fact that refugees offered no threat to the integrity of our borders. He argued that refugees should be treated in line with the great Australian philosophy based on a fair go with basic human decency. They should be treated, said Malcolm Fraser, as human beings. Malcolm indicated:

When the policy of compulsory, mandatory, non-reviewable detention is ultimately abandoned, we will have ended a period of shame for Australia worldwide.

Malcolm finished on another contemporary issue—the need for more vigorous attempts to assist poorer countries as an essential part of the whole process. He indicated:

Foreign Aid from wealthy nations has fallen dramatically in the last 25 years. That trend should be reversed so the greater impact can be made in tackling problems of poverty and persecution at their source.

That speech, from 13 years ago, is still as relevant and as important as the day it was given. The best tribute, in my view, that this country could give to Malcolm Fraser would be to end the scare campaigns and the demonisation of refugees, with us working towards reconstituting the international and regional frameworks that worked following the Vietnam war.

I would now like to briefly recognise one of Malcolm's great passions—his Scottish heritage. I last met Malcolm on the occasion of the opening of the 'For Auld Lang Syne' exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, just under 12 months ago. I had been invited to be the keynote speaker, and Elaine and I were pleasantly surprised to see Malcolm, resplendent in his Fraser tartan dress kilt. He was an imposing figure, let me tell you. It should be noted, for the Irish here, that one third of all the prime ministers in this country have been of Scottish or Scottish descent compared to only one fifth Irish.

Malcolm and Ranald MacDonald presented an interesting dialogue at this opening. Ranald MacDonald was from the David Syme family, from The Age, and Malcolm was the grandson of Sir Simon Fraser. Sir Simon Fraser was a free trader and David Syme was a protectionist—things do not change a lot in politics, do they; there are some constants. They went through correspondence between Sir Simon Fraser and David Syme. In the beginning, all of the pleasantries were invoked in the correspondence—'My dear Simon' and 'My dear David'. Then 'My dear' disappeared from the correspondence and it became 'Simon' and 'David', and then it became 'Fraser' and 'Syme' as the correspondence became more polemic in terms of the arguments and issues being raised. The addressed was finished by Malcolm indicating that Mr Syme had written to Sir Simon Fraser and said—remember that Mr Syme was the owner of The Age'Your name will never again appear in the correspondence column of the Melbourne Age.' Sir Simon replied: 'You are wrong. Read the half'-page advertisement I have taken out on the front page of the Melbourne Age for tomorrow morning's issue.' It just shows what money and power can do.

This was an extremely interesting night. Malcolm was so proud of his Scottish heritage. That night, along with Tamie, his relatives and friends, he invited Elaine and I to go to a local pub. We went to the local pub, and we had dinner that night. We spoke about many things that night. We spoke about refugees, we spoke about human rights, and we spoke about Malcolm's forthcoming book—I think it came out the following Monday—called Dangerous Allies. Malcolm was an impressive man. Malcolm was an extremely intelligent person who understood a raft of issues that were important to this country. We had a fantastic night that night, and I am proud to say that I viewed Malcolm as a friend.

I would never have said that in 1975. I never thought that I would one day be a senator, nor that I would stand up in the Senate in Australia and say that I felt Malcolm Fraser was a friend and that I thought he was a great Australian. But I think his strength was not his previous political career; it was about the man himself. It was about having strong values, strong principles, strong commitments and the courage to take them to the Australian people. That was the strength of Malcolm Fraser. That was strength of a great Australian.

The great Scottish poet Rabbie Burns wrote Auld Lang Syne. Lots of people do not know what Auld Lang Synemeans. They sing it in Beijing, they sing it in America and they sing it Australia for the new year. It is a sincere expression of friendship. It is about times gone by. It is about remembering friends from the past and not letting them be forgotten. Well, Malcolm Fraser, you will not be forgotten. You have made so many friends in your long, distinguished political career. I will finish with the words of Rabbie Burns:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and auld lang syne?

Vale Malcolm Fraser.