Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the opposition to acknowledge the passing of a member of the Labor family, a former member of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Barry Cohen AM, who served as a minister in the Hawke government, who passed away, sadly, in December 2017. I commence by conveying the opposition's deepest sympathies to his family and friends and to all who knew him.

In many ways, Barry Cohen was a member of one of the lucky generations of Labor parliamentarians. He saw the rise and fall of the Whitlam government before being at the vanguard of the Hawke ascendancy, and it presented him with the opportunity to serve as a minister, most notably in the environment portfolio. Throughout his life in politics he always took an approach that seemed to acknowledge his good fortune, and we are very grateful—certainly those of us in the Labor Party, but I suspect the Australian community more broadly—that he never took the advice that Fred Daly gave him early in his career to 'cut the comedy'. It's to our benefit that he didn't take that advice, because he ensured his passion and achievements were accompanied by good humour.

Throughout his career, Barry Cohen retained his underlying zeal for fairness and his opposition to discrimination—greatly influenced by his Jewish faith and the treatment suffered by so many of his family who were killed in the Holocaust. As a minister, he seized the opportunity to be a part of nation-shaping reforms. After politics he continued to share the lighter side of political life with others. In his final act, he used his debilitating disease as a motivation to secure greater awareness and policy advancement for the benefit of others.

As Senator Cormann said, Barry Cohen was born in Griffith in 1935. His father was a dentist in the town, with the family later moving to Sydney where Mr Cohen completed his secondary education. His early adult years included aspirations to be a professional golfer, retailing sporting goods and as a TV sports commentator. Prior to his election, he was a small businessman, and he was always proud of this background, having opened his first menswear shop on the North Shore of Sydney in 1959, possibly not the typical foundation for a career in Labor politics, even in the 1960s.

For Barry Cohen, discrimination wasn't just something experienced by others; it was something he endured. But he recognised his cause was not a personal one and, whether it be against anti-Semitism, apartheid or the appalling treatment of our first peoples, he determined he would not sit idle, so in order to make a difference he joined the Australian Labor Party. He seized the House of Representatives division of Robertson—I note Senator O'Neill is here and, no doubt, may wish to speak about that history—a seat located then as now on the Central Coast of New South Wales, in 1969. Until his electoral success, it had been a Liberal-held seat for two decades. He built the seat into a personal stronghold, but it was never safe. He worked it hard. He was a formidable campaigner, evidenced by the fact that he held it through to his retirement in 1990. Since then, notwithstanding our best efforts, it has oscillated between the major parties.

In his first speech, Barry Cohen reflected on some of his motivations for entering politics, and the theme of discrimination was a strong one. He said, 'I've always been concerned with the question of prejudice, whether that prejudice be based on class, religion or race.' He went on to describe his opposition to racial unrest, particularly in the United States, parts of South-East Asia and in sections of communities all over the world. He also turned his attention to the home front, lamenting the lack of advancement in Aboriginal affairs. Of course, he came to this topic from a knowledgeable background, having served as an executive member of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. He highlighted the gap that existed between the myth that Indigenous people were making giant steps forward and the reality of the squalid living conditions on the outskirts of country towns in his home state of New South Wales. He knew from his personal experience of having visited such places how desperate the need was not just in housing but also in so many areas, including education, health care and employment. In the wake of the euphoria of the 1967 referendum, there is no doubt that electing people like Barry Cohen to the parliament helped to bring practical firsthand knowledge of the plight of Australia's first peoples, on which we still need to shine a light today.

During his time on the backbench, Barry Cohen had the opportunity to learn firsthand about success and failure in politics through the election and dismissal of the Whitlam government. At the same time, he prepared himself for future responsibility by completing tertiary qualifications at the Australian National University. From 1977 to 1980, he was in the shadow ministry in the portfolios of environment, sport and recreation, tourism and home affairs under Bill Hayden. Despite a hiatus over the next three years, he was restored to the frontbench following the election of the Hawke government. He entered the ministry in 1983 in the portfolio of Home Affairs and the Environment. In 1984, this became Arts, Heritage and the Environment, and he also gained responsibility for assisting the Prime Minister with arrangements for the impending bicentennial celebration in 1988.

Barry Cohen was fortunate to serve in a ministry that is still widely regarded as one of the most talented ever composed in Australia. At the same time, he also took on portfolios—especially environment—which were gaining importance in the national political landscape. We can see this in some of the remarkable decisions taken under his stewardship: the granting of full protection of the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru as well as World Heritage listing for stage 2 of Kakadu. Even today these achievements are remarkable. To be able to play a role in preserving these icons of Australia for future generations in perpetuity is a great legacy of executive office and serves also a reminder to us all of the importance of continuing to work for the protection of our natural environment.

In the arts portfolio, Barry Cohen worked hard to ensure art support was not compromised, despite tough budget policy and many competing pressures, which earned him praise from the sector. His capacities in the arts area were described in an anecdote in Bill Shorten's speech to his memorial service, where he tells a story of Barry Cohen starting his first menswear shop in 1959 and a friend of his told him, 'You should go down. There's another shop on the Pacific Highway that specialises in artwork. Add some character to the interior of your shop.' It happened that Barry had known the shop owners for a long time. He thought they were a respectable middle-class family, but he thought their 18-year-old son Brett was a 'five-star nutter'. Barry bought a few pieces on his way out. The owner asked if he was interested in purchasing some of his son's paintings. He pointed to five he'd had hanging in the shop and said, '15 quid or all five for 60 pounds.' Barry said, 'I don't know much about art and I wasn't about to be conned by an old codger trying to sell his son's paintings, so I replied, "It's kind of you to offer, but, no, thank you, Mr Whiteley."'

Mr Cohen's role in the organisation of the Australian bicentennial celebrations should not be overlooked. As Senator Cormann mentioned, he was very close to Bob Hawke. They shared an emotional attachment, a commitment to Israel and a very strong sporting rivalry on the golf course. Nevertheless, despite this, he was a victim of changing winds in his right faction and wasn't returned to the ministry after the 1987 election. He served his remaining three years in the parliament on the backbench.

Barry Cohen used his immediate post-parliamentary career to complete several books and write columns, including for The Bulletin and The Australian. This was a great outlet for his sense of enjoyment in many of the everyday occurrences of political life. His humour shone through in his collections of anecdotes and witticisms and in particular in his collections of stories about the former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Whitlamisms, as they are known, were the product of dedicated study from when he first entered the House in 1969. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007 in recognition of his service to the Australian parliament and the community.

When he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease Mr Cohen was shocked, and it took him some time to come to terms with being told he was at the early stages of dementia after being hospitalised after a series of falls. However, with characteristic courage, he recognised that he could be an advocate for the hundreds of thousands of Australians living with dementia and their families—in many ways his greatest realisation. He joked that he could employ some of the tactics that his constituents employed to lobby him when he was their local member to in turn lobby for action and encourage others to do so. His challenge he saw as a policy challenge for our country, and set about addressing it just as he had so many other challenges in his career, seeking a better deal for older Australians.

Barry Cohen deserves a lasting place in Labor history and a lasting place in Australia's history. He drew on his experiences of discrimination to pursue policy changes that would benefit countless others from all backgrounds and all walks of life. He served amongst some of the finest parliamentarians of his generation to deliver the preservation of some of the most iconic and valuable environments in our country. We are fortunate to have had such a dedicated, passionate but of course humorous servant to grace our parliament. Politics is a tough business, but laughter was his antidote to the pressures and tribulations of the job. He said:

To see the absurdity of some of the things we were doing; to laugh at myself and my colleagues.

Barry Cohen was indeed the life of the party. On behalf of the Labor Party, I again extend my and all of our empathies to Rae and all of his family and friends at this time.