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 express our condolences following the passing of a former member of the House of Representatives and a minister, Benjamin Charles Humphreys AM, at the age of 85, and commence by conveying the Labor Party's condolences to his family and friends and, in particular, our sympathies to Beryl, his wife, and to their children and grandchildren. In addition—and I note my colleague Senator Watt will make some remarks after me—our thoughts are with our comrades in the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party.

Ben Humphreys was a decent man, an authentic figure who rose from being a mechanic on Brisbane's south side to being a member of the federal cabinet—someone who saw all he met as his equal. He served with both humility and dedication for nearly 20 years in the House of Representatives, including six as a minister. One of his successors as the member for Griffith, my colleague in the other place Ms Butler, said:

Ben was an amazing and loyal servant of our community and the Labor cause, and he will be missed by all.

His love for Queensland and northern Australia extended well beyond his period of parliamentary service.

Ben Humphreys was one of that generation born in the midst of the Depression and growing up during World War II. Born in Brisbane in 1934, he commenced a year of national service in 1953 with the Fleet Air Arm of the RAN and would remain in the Navy Reserve until 1961. He was a member of the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shipwrights Union and became branch secretary from '65 to '66. He was also an auto engineer and a small business man. As Senator Cormann has pointed out, he earned the nickname 'the Bushman's Friend' as a result of his extensive travels throughout Queensland and also his amiable nature. On the advice of Lionel Bowen, he maintained ownership of his business after entering parliament, both of them apparently concerned his parliamentary career might be short lived. Obviously that was not to be the case—in fact, he was re-elected six times after first being elected to the House of Representatives in the division of Griffith in 1977.

His parliamentary service began at the beginning of the Fraser government's second term. If you read his first speech, you see that he took up the argument against the Fraser government and what he described as the coalition's administrative heartlessness. Also battling the corrupt Bjelke-Petersen regime in his home state of Queensland, he described his electorate as 'one of the first to feel the chill of a government which puts social justice at the tail end of its priorities'. He lamented the way in which the coalition fomented social disorder by throwing compassion and decency to the wind in its implementation of welfare policies. One wonders what he might have thought of robodebt.

Appealing to those on the government benches to awaken their social consciences, he identified the challenges faced by young people, families and pensioners alike in his inner suburban electorate, which at the time included a large industrial area. He spoke of facilities being built to assist people with disability and noted the impetus that the Whitlam government had provided for their construction. He noted that the development of rehabilitation centres was not limited to Brisbane, with another facility being built in Townsville. He would continue to look beyond the banks of the Brisbane River throughout his career.

In the late seventies, unemployment was a scourge in the inner suburbs. Griffith contained one-third of all unemployed in Brisbane. Mr Humphreys noted the devastating human effects of this fact, including family breakdown, mental and physical illness, alcoholism and crime. In keeping with his attitude, which saw him maintain throughout his career a perspective of those who suffer disadvantage, he invoked Ben Chifley's words, recalling:

… the duty and responsibility of the community … to see that our less fortunate fellow citizens are protected from those shafts of fate which leave them helpless and without hope.

That was, and remains, at the core of the Labor mission. In fact, just as the Fisher Labor government introduced invalid pensions for incapacitated and blind Australians, the age pension for women at 60 and a means-test-free maternity allowance, 100 years later the Rudd Labor government would raise the age pension and lift a million Australians out of poverty.

Mr Humphreys chronicled the failures of conservative governments and did not limit his withering attack to social and economic policy. He also criticised the inertia of the coalition when it came to building and maintaining infrastructure required adequately to service Far North Queensland and the NT. At the same time as conservatives were squandering the chance to foster opportunity for the people of Brisbane, so too they were turning their backs on the needs of those in remote Australia, including Indigenous Australians, who confronted multiple challenges including impassable roads and inadequate communications infrastructure. Mr Humphreys gave the Fraser government no quarter and continued a tradition of strong and vocal representation by Labor members and senators from Queensland.

However, as I think the parliamentary entry shows, he didn't remain completely loyal to his home state and found a factional home in the New South Wales Right. That's an unusual experience for a Queenslander. It is fair to say that the politics of the FPLP was an eye-opening experience for Mr Humphreys, who recounted his experience of his first caucus and a stoush between Labor senators Doug McClelland and Diamond Jim McClelland, saying, 'God, I thought all these blokes were mates down here.' He was a member of caucus through both the Hayden-Hawke and the Hawke-Keating leadership challenges, backing Hawke against fellow Queensland Hayden and, despite Hawke's best persuasive efforts, eventually Paul Keating the second time round.

Ben Humphreys became Minister for Veterans' Affairs in 1987 in Bob Hawke's government and continued to hold this role until 1993 under Paul Keating. He was the second-longest-serving minister in this portfolio and had great affinity for the work and responsibility of being the representative of veterans. Northern Australia was added to his responsibilities in 1992, and he also entered cabinet. In his final speech in the House of Representatives, he reflected on the fine colleagues he'd been fortunate to serve with, who included Paul Keating, Brian Howe, Kim Beazley and Michael Duffy. He also noted the importance of a highly skilled and professional Public Service. As a minister, he remarked that he was fortunate to have worked with some secretaries of a high standard, and we are reminded today that the work of the APS is so important to the lives of Australians, and the enduring and apolitical nature of the Public Service means that it can play an essential role in maintaining public trust in democratic institutions.

This was especially important in Veterans' Affairs. It was a portfolio that held special significance for Mr Humphreys, given his own military service, and a particular feature of his work was to build acknowledgement and recognition for the efforts of Australians who had served in the Vietnam War. This, as we all know, was a divisive conflict in Australia. Ben Humphreys went about supporting commemorations and initiatives that built respect and admiration for the people who did the duty that was asked of them but who did not receive adequate appreciation and support on their return. He moved a motion in the House in 1987 to acknowledge the national welcome home parade of Vietnam veterans and expressing the appreciation of the House and the Australian people for their individual and collective commitment, effort and sacrifice. He also directed policies to remedy deficiencies in the repatriation system, which included extending full medical and hospital treatment entitlement to World War II returned servicewomen in 1988 and a counselling service for Vietnam veterans. He oversaw the 75th anniversary pilgrimage to Gallipoli in 1990, ensuring World War I veterans and widows, as well as junior legatees, could attend the Anzac Cove dawn service. Ben Humphreys reflected on the personal impact the pilgrimage had, saying he returned a humbler person and even more determined as to what he could do as the responsible minister to support veterans and their families.

Ben Humphreys retired from parliament at the 1996 election. He was a mentor and supporter of the Labor candidate who succeeded him in that seat, Kevin Rudd. In a difficult election for Labor, Mr Rudd failed to win Griffith on the first attempt, but he persevered and returned in 1998 before going on to become a Labor prime minister. Of course, you have to be an MP before you can be a PM, and Kevin described Mr Humphreys as a mentor for how to be a good MP.

Mr Humphreys had the opportunity to represent Australia overseas in 2001. He was appointed as a member of the UN electoral observer mission to Fiji to oversee the elections in 2001. Closer to home, he was a board member of the Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach, which wasn't a bad feat for a Labor politician from the inner suburbs of Brisbane, an indication of the esteem in which he was held throughout his home state. Of course, on Australia Day 2000, he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia. The following year, he was also awarded the Centenary Medal.

Kevin Rudd also described Ben Humphreys as a kind, gentle, good man who would go out of his way to help people in need. As a parliamentarian, from the outset Mr Humphreys forcefully advocated for those less fortunate than himself. Never did he blame those in situations of despair for their predicament. He took up the cause in the same way that so many have done within Labor and sought out ways to improve opportunities in their lives. He was a minister under two great Labor prime ministers. He brought about reforms that benefited veterans and ensured they were appropriately honoured and respected for their service. So too, today, we should acknowledge the service of Ben Humphreys to our parliament and to our country. In closing, I express again Labor's deepest sympathy to his family and friends.