Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for everybody's contributions. As Leader of The Nationals in the Senate, I rise today to acknowledge the passing of the former leader of our party and deputy prime minister and Minister for Trade, Timothy Andrew Fischer AC, who passed away on Tuesday 22 August, 2019, at the age of 73—too soon. I'd like to acknowledge Judy and Dominic and Tim's brother, Tony, who are in the chamber today, and I'm sure Harrison's listening at home. We know Tim Fischer was an admirer of the great Australian leader Sir John Monash, a cause many of us in this place supported him on. I note that it was Sir John Monash who said:

Adopt as your fundamental creed that you will equip yourself for life, not solely for your own benefit but for the benefit of the whole community.

Those words from so long ago describe well the life of Tim, almost universally regarded as a great modern Australian leader. Tim Fischer was first foremost a dedicated family man, and I say to his family: I hope you can all take solace in how much he loved you and how well our nation loved him.

After serving in the Vietnam War, Tim Fischer farmed at Boree Creek in the Riverina before beginning his public service as the member for Sturt and then Murray in the New South Wales parliament, the first Vietnam veteran elected to an Australian parliament. Tim represented the electorate of Farrer for 18 years, nine of them as Leader of The Nationals, and he served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1996 to 1999. He will be remembered as a stoic leader of The Nationals who acted with integrity and intellect. He was able to connect with people from all walks of life. He had a truly great gift as a communicator. He was respected by all sides of politics, and he was a fearless and ferocious advocate for rural and regional Australia.

Tim Fischer set the standard for doing what he believed was right rather than what was easy when he championed sensible gun reform in the wake of the Port Arthur tragedy. His stand in that chapter can never be overestimated. He remained strong and presented his case in the face of hostile crowds and angry constituents he vowed to represent. It was real courage under fire, as was his fight against One Nation during this period of Australia's political history. Tim never wavered, he never backed down and he never changed his stance. It was hard. It was a challenge he was willing to accept and one he was unwilling to postpone. He did both of these things, as Senator Wong alluded to, because he believed it was right and it was in the national interest.

After politics, Tim continued to promote Australia at home and around the globe. He worked tirelessly for St Vincent de Paul, the Fred Hollows Foundation and Autism New South Wales and as Australia's first resident Ambassador to the Holy See. Whether chomping on a Stanley-grown apple, checking his cattle at Mudgegonga or developing strategies to secure food for humanity, agriculture was never, ever far from Tim's mind. In 2013 he joined the Crop Trust, and he was vice chair of the board till 2017, when he became chair. He was elected for a second term as chair in 2018 but stepped down on doctors' advice. Tim delivered seeds from Boree Creek, of course, to the Global Seed Vault in Norway, and he often spoke to me of how it was this unbelievable facility for the world to secure seed banks. He was deeply passionate about that contribution. He was also patron and a former chairman of the Crawford Fund, which supports international agricultural research. He was a consultant, author, broadcaster and bushwalker. He was envoy to the Himalayan nation of Bhutan, to Eritrea and to South Sudan and, of course, an avid train enthusiast, which people have spoken about already. His tremendous contribution to Australia was recognised in 2005 when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia.

In his maiden speech, Tim Fischer outlined his vision as a National Party member for Farrer. On Tuesday 26 February 1985 Tim said his intent was:

… not only to provide full-time representation for all electors in Farrer but also to seek better the wellbeing of our nation through less government and less taxation and the encouragement of individual enterprise—

A principle those in the National Party all uphold. As the rookie member for Farrer did in his first address in parliament, I too quote a long-serving Australian conservative leader, former Prime Minister Menzies, who said:

The great race of men is that one in which each individual develops his fullest individuality, in which ambition is encouraged, in which there are rewards for the courageous and enterprising …

Tim Fischer epitomised this and more. Ambitious? No doubt; you don't step off the tractor in the Riverina and become leader of Australia's second oldest political party without a certain level of personal drive and ambition, and Australia knows that Tim Fischer was a man of incredible courage. He had a sharp mind attuned to finding new solutions to old challenges—an enterprising leader if ever there was one. As an individual, he was one of a kind. In an environment dominated by egos and extroverts, Tim Fischer stood out and stood tall—a giant of humility, compassion, hard work and leadership. In parliament, he endeavoured to stand up for the have-nots, be they farmers from Balranald or Berrigan, or the young unemployed from the Lavingtons and the Liverpools.

As a politician, he knew the value of relationships with the media. He was universally loved by the fourth estate, especially those journalists across rural and regional Australia. Some in the media coined a phrase for those in public life who seemed overly fond of seeing their name in print or on the telly. They referred to them as 'dial a quote'—talent the media can always count on to get a headline or grab a story whenever they dialled. But, as usual, Tim Fischer was different. Perhaps Tim was the master of reverse psychology with the media, because he always used them to get his message out, rather than the other way around.

For his beloved ABC Radio Tim would often phone on a Friday or a weekend, because he knew Monday bulletins were often light on content. He would say: 'Greetings, Tim Fischer here. Are you ready to record? Okay; 3, 2, 1,' and then he'd deliver a fault-free 30-second grab on what he had decided was to be tomorrow's news of the day. There was no need for cutting or editing, nor any option; he'd given them his gold. He'd then repeat the process for the 15-second grab. He'd do that just once and expect the ABC to share the audio; Tim would phone every region with a message tailored to their particular audience—a very National Party response, because all politics is hyperlocal. Then he'd repeat the process with the papers, instructing the reporter who answered not to record but instead to: 'Take this down. Ready? Start.' Tim knew rural and regional media needed content years before the 24-hour news cycle. I'm talking back in the days when multiplatform publishing meant he was reading train timetables from Sydney and Melbourne rather than what we're used to today.

The Border Mail in Albury-Wodonga was Tim's local paper, serving the readers of Farrer during his parliamentary career and the north-east of Victoria following his retirement. Among their many pages dedicated to Tim Fischer recently was an account which showed his masterful grasp of messaging, networking and the art of maintaining a positive relationship with the media. The writer, Jodie Bruton, recalled a day in the spring of '94, arriving late to the Berrigan Community Golf and Bowling Club and therefore missing the National Party leader's talk entirely. Off the stage, Tim Fischer was busily scribing notes before he gathered up his belongings and, on his way to the car park, he handed her a beer coaster on which he'd noted the key points from his speech. It must have been Tim's trial run for Twitter, more than a decade earlier. He passed the pub test that day as he did every day of his life, and that was Tim—enterprising and making sure his message reached as many as possible.

Many families across the Riverina in northern Victoria had heard of Tim Fischer the farmer long before he became a national household name. Former National Party member for North Eastern Province in the Victorian Legislative Council David Evans told me of the story of how he'd come to hear of Tim Fischer. It was actually a strategy that David employed later in life as well. He recalled listening to the local radio in northern Victoria, 40 years ago, as callers rang in from around the district with their rainfall figures—your local ABC, no doubt. Mrs McCormack from Cheshunt South phoned in, having reported 3½ inches—I wish she could do it today. David told me that the caller he heard on immediately after Mrs McCormack went something like this: 'Greetings, Tim Fischer here to report 26 points at Boree Creek.' That was really the start of Tim connecting with the broader community and using the media positively to do that.

Tim was forever a gentleman and a diplomat. He always made it his duty to thank his hosts at country functions he attended across the country. He was a generous and trusted sounding-board for me and for many inside the National Party and beyond, providing perspective and sound counsel on issues affecting rural and regional Australia. He even helped out in the recent federal election, despite his health difficulties, and he was inspiring at every single moment—yes, authentic; yes, courageous; his commitment to agriculture and the growth and development of trade in this country can never be underestimated.

Thank you for your comments today—the genuine love for a man who loved his nation. He loved his party and he loved his family. The Australian Senate and the Nationals—the Australian parliament—are forever changed and are better for his contribution. Thank you for sharing him, Judy and the boys. Our sincerest condolences—a great patriot.