Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its deep sorrow at the death, on 10 August 2018, of James Philip (Jim) McKiernan, a former Senator for Western Australia, places on record its gratitude for his long service to the Parliament, and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

Beginning in County Cavan in Ireland, stretching through England to the dockyards of Fremantle and indeed all the way to the Australian Senate chamber, the remarkable life of former senator James McKiernan exemplified in many ways the unique promise that this great country, our great country, has offered to generations of migrants to Australia. Born in Ireland on 11 October 1944 as the third of James and Mary McKiernan's eight children, Jim's early life was one of great hardship. Initially educated at De La Salle College and Crubany National School, he concluded his studies at the young age of 14, with his father's debilitating illness forcing him to work a raft of different jobs in support of his large family. Harsh circumstance made Jim a jack-of-all-trades and he worked at various times as a messenger, petrol pump operator and abattoir assistant. In time he followed the example of his older siblings, Noel and Rosaline, and left for England, where he completed an apprenticeship in Stafford and qualified as a first-class machinist.

It was in 1969 that he finally made tracks for Australia, bringing with him his first wife, Jean, and their first son. In time two more children would follow. Seeking out work, Jim famously wandered around the Fremantle dockyards in a three-piece suit, braving sweltering heat of a kind not seen in his native Ireland. Eventually he found success and took on a role as a machinist, a fitter and turner, at the Dillingham Shipyards, where he worked for four years. That early exposure to the dockyards evidently left its mark, as Jim would go on many years later to be a passionate supporter of the Fremantle 'Dockers' Football Club.

It was in these early years that Jim first interacted with and joined the Australian union movement. Though a member of and campaigner for the Communist Party of Australia in the 1970s, the self-described rebel put that down more to his contrarian nature rather than any ardent communist sympathies. Indeed, he left the Communist Party for the Australian Labor Party and took on a range of party roles throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, including some roles and responsibilities on the WA branch's state executive for the Labor Party. It was not long before he made his pitch for parliament. Securing the No. 6 position on the WA Labor Senate ticket at the 1983 double-dissolution election, the following year he was preselected in the third position on WA Labor Party's Senate ticket and was subsequently elected at the 1984 federal election.

Jim married his second wife, Jackie Watkins, in January 1985. Jackie herself, a migrant from the United Kingdom, was then a sitting member of the WA Legislative Assembly, serving in the seats of Joondalup and Wanneroo. For a time both Jim and Jackie were the only concurrently serving married parliamentarians in the nation—and foreign born ones at that.

Jim was a prolific contributor to the parliamentary committee system throughout his career. Indeed, at its conclusion, he reflected that committee work often constituted the most arduous and yet rewarding part of his service. It was his keen interest in Australian migration policy that became his hallmark, and he served on a range of associated committees including the Joint Select Committee on Migration Regulations and its successors. Between 1993 and 1996, he served as chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration as well as serving on the legal and constitutional legislation and references committees, the latter of which he chaired from 1996 to 2002. Having arrived in Australia legally, Jim was a consistent advocate for the policy of mandatory detention of unauthorised arrivals and often invoked fiery language on this topic, a habit that landed him in hot water with his own party on more than one occasion. He stands on illegal immigration remained firm throughout his parliamentary career. Indeed, he supported the raft of legislation brought through by the then Howard government.

Yet Jim's political brief was far broader than one issue, and he took great interest in a number of matters relevant to his home state of Western Australia, including electoral reform and the development of Western Australia's burgeoning mining sector. He always knew what he believed in, and I'm reliably informed that he was often willing to use his internal heft as convener of the Labor Party's parliamentary left faction to impress that point. At times these views, such as his strident republicanism, saw him align very well with his party's leadership. At other times, I'm also reliably informed, they placed him at loggerheads with it, as seen in his open critique of Labor policy on visiting nuclear powered warships in December 1987. Whatever the topic or the time, when raising issues that he felt to be important, colleagues on both sides of the chamber could be sure that Jim would pull no punches. That tenacity matched a sense of humour that endeared him to many of his contemporaries and, when combined with his well-known penchant for unique neckties, ensured that Jim cut a distinctive figure on the Senate floor. But that was not all that set him apart. Though an active member in this place, he was known to remark that his true wish was to have served in the House of Representatives. Indeed, he was often quick to point out that he deliberately ran a bustling constituent office to keep the reality.

Outside of the committee space, Jim also served as deputy government whip in the Senate between 1987 and 1991, as well as being the returning officer of the federal parliamentary Labor Party from 1990 to 1996. Having chosen to retire prior to the 2001 federal election, Jim's Senate term formally ended on 30 June 2002. Among a range of achievements, in his valedictory speech he counted among his proudest his role in encouraging Australia to donate to the International Fund for Ireland, which sought to promote economic and social development and, crucially, foster a dialogue between unionists and nationalists. That effort formed just one part of Jim's lifelong commitment to his homeland. He was a reliable advocate for stronger ties between Australia and Ireland, both within these walls and outside of them.

Prominently, he had been a founding member and long-time secretary of the Australia-Ireland Parliamentary Friendship Group. In his first speech Jim noted that he was the 25th federal Australian parliamentarian of Irish descent. That he took the time to research that fact spoke to his keen sense of Irish identity. That the number was already so high over three decades ago highlights the scale of the contribution made by those of Irish descent to our nation. At the time of his retirement, that passion for Ireland was undiminished. He concluded his valedictory speech with a goodbye to his colleagues in Gaelic.

Those efforts did not go unnoticed. In 1991, Jim was named Irish Australian of the Year, and just last year he met the Irish President, Michael D Higgins, in Perth, who thanked him warmly for his efforts. It was heartening to learn that, upon the news of Jim's recent passing, President Higgins penned a letter that praised Jim's commitment to justice and courage.

The conclusion of Jim's parliamentary career did not signal the end of his public service. Over the years that followed he served in a range of roles, including on the board of the WA Disability Services Commission, on the WA Carers Advisory Council and as a seasonal member of the WA State Administrative Tribunal. His policy interest in migration was undiminished. He was a member of the Migration Agents' Advisory Board from 2009 until 2015. He was also a very active member of the management committee of the Irish Club of Western Australia.

Towards the end of his remarkable life, as he battled cancer, the boy from Cavan, having made his mark on both his original and adopted homes, spent time with those that he loved. It is to those people—his wife, Jackie; his children, Steven, Donna and Jimmy; his stepchildren, Kim, Ben, Lisa and Kate; his 14 grandchildren and his two great-grandchildren—that, on behalf of the Australian government and the Australian Senate, I offer my deepest condolences.