Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to contribute to the condolence motion for former deputy prime minister Timothy Andrew Fischer. I rise to do so both in honour of his service and as a fellow New South Wales resident and a Catholic. I will come to both of those shortly.

Mr Fischer came to this parliament having already served his country during the Vietnam War and his community in the New South Wales state parliament. He was held in high regard by parliamentarians from both sides of the chamber, who recognised his immense convictions and dedication to his constituents. During his time in Canberra, he was a tireless advocate for rural Australians, particularly those from the Riverina, where he was born and lived much of his life. Many of the tributes we've seen since his passing have touched on Mr Fischer's immense passion for his community and the tireless energy he spent meeting those who he represented. His press secretary, David Kelly, once remarked:

No-one would believe that somebody could pack so much into one day, do so many things and still come out at the end of the day with some sense of where he'd been, what he'd said and who he'd said it to.

It was this dedication to his constituents and his duties, his authenticity, that made him an important and valued voice both in this parliament and the broader community. Upon Mr Fischer's retirement as The National Party leader in 1999, Labor leader Kim Beazley said of Mr Fischer:

You are one of the very genuinely loved people in this place … You are going to be very much missed by us.

These traits that earned him this universal respect didn't fade with time. Mr Fischer was interviewed in 2013 by British comedian John Oliver. Oliver was visiting Australia to film a short series on our gun laws and went to the former Deputy Prime Minister's farm to speak with him. Oliver recounts that he and his film crew arrived to find that Mr Fischer had made vegemite sandwiches for everyone. Halfway through the filming, Mr Fischer got up and excused himself. He had to unload some livestock that had just arrived. Oliver remarked:

It's the first time I've ever had an interview stop because a truck of cows turned up.

Such was his way—a man of genuine humility and warmth, complete unpretentiousness. They were traits which endeared him to his community and the Australian people.

That interview with John Oliver was on a topic that would be part of Mr Fischer's enduring legacy. As we know, he held the office of Deputy Prime Minister on that fateful Sunday in April 1996 when 35 people lost their lives at the hands of a gunman in Port Arthur. That shocking massacre would be a turning point in our nation's history. In the aftermath, the government responded swiftly with a significant suite of reforms that were designed to tighten our gun laws in this country and prevent further tragedies. Even today, these gun laws remain a catchcry around the world for the very best that we can achieve in politics.

However, they were not without controversy. Mr Fischer was at the front line of the campaign to win support for these reforms. The strongest opposition often came from Mr Fischer's own core constituency: rural Australians. Footage from the time shows the level of vitriol this debate fomented. Signs labelling Mr Fischer a traitor were splashed across the media, and a group in Gympie even erected an effigy of the then Deputy Prime Minister, but he was undeterred. He appeared in front of extremely hostile crowds and argued in favour of the exact thing they opposed. No amount of personal abuse swayed him. He even visited Gympie, despite the welcome he must have expected that he would receive. It's difficult to understate the importance of Mr Fischer's voice in this debate. An extremely well-respected rural MP lending his weight to the push for gun control was pivotal to the successful passage of these reforms. This is true both with his efforts within the public arena and inside his own party room. His efforts have undoubtedly saved countless lives and made our country a safer place for all Australians.

The truth is that Mr Fischer could have stayed silent in this debate. The bipartisan support for the legislation in the Liberal Party and the Labor Party could have carried the day, but he made a conscious decision as a leader not to. As Kim Beazley remarked at the time:

But you chose not that easy road out; you chose to lay your leadership on the line and persist in a course of action which was right for the country.

Our current Deputy Prime Minister said on his predecessor's role on the gun control debate:

A lesser person perhaps might have wilted, a lesser person might have said this is a bridge too far, might have objected, and we wouldn't have had the tough gun stance that we took necessarily then.

Fortunately for our country, our friends, our family and our children, Mr Fischer was not a lesser person. His resolve in the face of concentrated opposition, especially from the very communities he so often championed, was immense, and we, as a country, owe him a great deal for his bravery and determination.

Mr Fischer retired from the parliament in 2001 but would remain active in the public square. He served as chair of Tourism Australia and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and he was appointed as Australia's first resident Australian Ambassador to the Holy See, in 2009. This is when I first came to know him, as I had the honour of serving as the government spokesperson for World Youth Day in 2008 when his appointment as an ambassador was announced. As a devout Catholic, Mr Fischer served not only as an ambassador in service of his country but also in service of his faith. He played a vital part in bringing those two strands of his personality together—his commitment to his country and his faith—in organising the canonisation ceremony for Mary MacKillop, our country's first saint, in 2010. After this appointment he went on to serve as an envoy to several countries for the Australian government until 2012.

In his retirement, Mr Fischer continued his work on perhaps his greatest passion—his love of trains. Few people write one book; he wrote several. It's a testament to his immense intellect, passion and energy that this was a constant theme throughout his life. It was appropriate then that he took one last train ride to his funeral in Albury in New South Wales—a farewell that echoed with kind words about the man who lived such an exceptional life and changed so much for those around him. My condolences are with his wife, Judy, their sons, Harrison and Dominic, and his extended family and friends. Mr Fischer was an extraordinary Australian; indeed, an extraordinary New South Wales person. He will be remembered equally for his character as for the immense contribution he made to our country.