Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I cannot help but think that tonight is one of those rare opportunities when Australians get to see the human face of the Australian Senate. I want to acknowledge Senator Macdonald's contribution reflecting on the contribution of the former members Mr Alby Shultz and Mr Don Randall, and, of course, Senator Waters's contribution this evening. I would like to add my reflections on the sudden passing of Mr Don Randall, a former Western Australian colleague and federal member for Canning.

As parliament has returned today from its winter recess, it has been the sad duty of our colleagues in the other place to pay tribute to the life and work of the late Don Randall MP, Member for Canning, who left us tragically and at far too young an age during the break. There have been many, many warm tributes paid to Don in the House today, and I was pleased during the course of the day to hear various snippets of contributions from our colleagues as they shared their own stories and memories of working with Don Randall over his many years as a member of this parliament. While its entirely fitting that the chamber in which Don served so proudly for so long has focused on honouring his memory, I did not want to allow today to pass without reflecting on Don's contribution here in the Senate—the states' house, as we were intended to be.

Don Randall was nothing if not a proud Western Australian. In his maiden speech to this parliament in 1996 as the new member for Swan, Don Randall emphasised his longstanding family history in Western Australia, noting his grandparents were among the founding families in the Wheatbelt town of Merredin, proudly pointing out that their success in the face of significant adversity was by dint of their own hard work, not government assistance. Don's maiden speech also underscored a commitment to federalism—something on which we are very keen in Western Australia. He said he wanted to get away from:

… the idea that every decision has to be made in Canberra in order for Canberra to justify its existence.

He then went on to replace it with the principle that:

… decisions are best made nearest the people that they affect.

Quintessential Don Randall; dare I say, quintessential Western Australian.

As we have heard time and again over the couple of weeks since Don passed away, he was a passionate advocate for his electorate—and I will come to a particular example of that in just a moment. But he was also a fierce advocate for Western Australia. In particular, he was a steady and longstanding ally in the battle for WA to get a better deal when it comes to a fairer GST distribution. As people in this place have been noting all day, you were never in any doubt where you stood with Don Randall. This was particularly so when it came to the important question—the crucial question, even—of WA's GST share. Because of the advocacy efforts on GST in which Don played such a significant role, we were able to obtain some additional money just this year for critical WA road infrastructure—an additional $499 million. I think it is fair to say this is probably one of the government's best investment decisions of recent times. Of course, the fight for a better and more sustainable GST deal for WA is a long way from being over, but, as we carry on, we will miss Don's commitment to the cause and his fierce and forthright arguing.

Don was not afraid of a fight, as we know. If he was, he would never have made it to this place. It is interesting to think that Don Randall won two different seats off the Labor Party in Western Australia. The first was the federal seat of Swan in 1996; he then defeated Labor in Canning in 2001. Neither of these were easy seats. I think it is a particular tribute to Don that after losing Swan in 1998 he was prepared to step forward to take on the challenge of winning Canning from Labor. Although the swing in 2001 ended up being towards the Howard government, at the time Don would have been weighing up preselection, as the political climate was generally not favourable to the Liberal Party or to the Howard government. It is a tribute to Don's tenacity that he was able to stage a political comeback in 2001. Many tributes in recent days have noted Don Randall's healthy margin in the electorate of Canning. It is not a seat that was traditionally Liberal territory. The fact that Don held it for so long is a tribute to the professional and committed representation he gave to his constituents.

As an example of that, I would like to pay particular tribute to Don's longstanding commitment to an issue that has been of particular interest to me since I came to the Senate in 2012. It is an issue which Don raised in parliament many years before that—that, of course, the plight of grandparents caring for their grandchildren in our community. This was something that Don first raised when the Howard government was still in office. He spoke out about it frequently during that time. As he made clear time and again, his first loyalty was to his constituents, not his party. Don was not afraid to take on Liberal governments—dare I say, Liberal leaders, state or federal—if he felt his constituents were not getting a proper and fair deal. Don worked for many years to draw attention to the very difficult circumstances faced by grandparent carers. He was particularly angered by the rigidities of a system that seemed to have little trouble recognising foster parents but could not extend the same recognition to grandparents acting as primary caregivers for their grandchildren.

Don spoke movingly in the House of Representatives about the difficulties faced by one of his constituents, Margaret Saunders, whose own daughter had become a drug addict and had left her with primary responsibility for her grandchildren. However, Ms Saunders was not of pensionable age and was, therefore, required to seek work.

Don set out how he worked with then Prime Minister, John Howard, and the then Minister for Human Services, the Hon. Joe Hockey, to get the Commonwealth government to look better at the circumstances of grandparents on a case-by-case basis and acknowledge instances in which grandparents below pensionable age should not have to seek work because their primary responsibility was taking care of their grandchildren. It is interesting to note that as much as things change they stay the same, and the issue is still far from over. That was a small but important step—one that we have built on in this parliament in the years since Don's work through the inquiry that the Senate Community Affairs Committee recently undertook, exploring grandparents raising grandchildren. I thought it was important to note that Don Randall was among the first to put this issue on the national agenda. I know groups such as Grandparents Australia, Wanslea in WA and other advocacy groups have been deeply saddened at the loss of such a passionate advocate for their cause.

I first met Don Randall in 1992 as a young campaign manager in the federal seat of Cowan, which at the time was held by Labor's Carolyn Jakobsen. The Liberal Party subsequently won that seat in the 1993 Fightback! election. At the time, Don Randall had been a fierce campaigner and a fierce fundraiser. At a very young age I learnt the power of what Don called the 'one percenters', meaning that giving your time and energy to one per cent of tasks and doing them well would, over time, give you healthy margins, and he demonstrated that in his federal parliamentary career.

All of us in this parliament have lost a valued colleague in Don Randall. The WA Liberal Party has lost an incredibly effective campaigner, and the people of Canning have lost an energetic and committed advocate. More than that, though, his wife, Julie, and his children, Tess and Elliot, have lost a devoted husband and father. I am sure the thoughts of all of us are with the Randall family at this very difficult time.