Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the Australian Greens to pay tribute to the life of former deputy prime minister and Leader of the Nationals Tim Fischer, and of course we send all of our thoughts and sympathies to his wife and children.

I didn't know Tim personally. Others in this place are far more qualified to speak to his life than I am, but I'll keep it brief. Suffice to say that my impression of Tim Fischer is of a thoroughly decent and honourable human being. Of course, the legacy that is most often attached to his time in public life was carrying his party through what was at the time a hugely controversial piece of legislation—that is, tightening up the gun control laws following the Port Arthur massacre. No doubt there would have been some on his own side who, at the time, were accusing him of politicising the tragedy, but he showed guts and determination. He stood up to some of his colleagues and of course to some of his political supporter base. But it seemed to me that Tim Fischer drew strength from knowing it was the right thing to do for the broader Australian community, and I never doubted for a moment that, even where we may have disagreed, he believed he was fighting for Australia's national interest.

And that's what leadership is. Leadership is being prepared to take a stand, sometimes on an issue that is unpopular with your own constituency, and it's leadership that is so often missing from today's political debate. Again, he stood up loudly against the politics of hatred and division. He stood up against extremists who were prepared to use race in their effort to divide our community. He was a strong supporter of multicultural Australia and recognised the huge contribution that many communities made to Australia and particularly to regional communities. He clearly drew courage from his convictions, even in post-political life. I came across a quote from his wife Judy, where she told the ABC that he 'finds it hard to hold back'. She said:

Tim has found it hard to retreat when there are so many really critical issues, particularly in rural Australia with the drought, climate change and all the things we see every day as farmers.

He clearly was somebody who was committed and was prepared to take a stand on the things he believed in. We disagreed with him on his approach to the Wik decision, which found that native title could co-exist with pastoral leases. I often wondered whether, over time, his view on that may have changed, seeing the way that legislation had played out. Perhaps that's a discussion for another time.

His interests were really wide and eclectic. Of course, he's well known as parliament's biggest train enthusiast. There was the strong association with the Kingdom of Bhutan, street names and so on—his advocacy for more support for children with autism. The list is long. He clearly was a person who was fascinated by the world. He soaked it all up, and he was here because he wanted to make the world a better place. We could all learn from that. It's something we should respect and that will resonate with many of us. I hope to see him at the next train station sometime soon—perhaps not too soon, but sometime soon.