Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of particularly my Queensland colleagues to express our condolences on the passing of former member for Griffith and Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Northern Australia Benjamin 'Ben' Charles Humphreys. I wish to pay tribute to Ben's significant contribution to our party, our state and the country. I also wish to echo the comments of both Senator Wong and Senator Cormann in extending our sympathies to Ben's family and friends.

I must admit I didn't really know Ben personally, but I do count his daughter Sharon, his son Jason and his granddaughter Claire as friends, and I trust that their pain in losing their father and grandfather is balanced with loving memories and pride in his achievements. Ben was a lifetime member of our party and a Labor man through and through. From starting out as a mechanic on Brisbane's south side to being a minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, Ben's passion for and commitment to social justice remained constant. A member of the great Australian Labor movement, Ben was a member of the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shipwrights Union as well as branch secretary of the Amalgamated Engineering Union in 1965.

Ben was a strong advocate for workers' rights and, indeed, dedicated much of his first speech to parliament to highlighting the achievements of Labor governments in this space. When you think about it, he was quite ahead of his time in arguing in his first speech for things like age pensions for women at 60, means tested free maternity allowances, vocational training for those with disabilities and the need for government to continue striving to make improvements for workers and those who are disadvantaged within our community.

Ben served the people of Griffith diligently for almost 20 years. Listening to Senator Wong and hearing those statistics about unemployment, I was reflecting on the fact that, in Ben's time as the member for Griffith, that was a very working-class part of Brisbane. I remembered that that area of Brisbane, not far from where I grew up, used to be a very working-class part of Brisbane, populated by wharfies, painters, dockers and all sorts of other characters. Of course, that area, being an inner-city area, has changed markedly in recent years. But in the time that Ben served as the member for Griffith, as I say, it was a very working-class area and particularly in need of a Labor representative of the quality of Ben.

To quote former Prime Minister and member for Griffith Mr Kevin Rudd: 'Ben was a kind, gentle, and good man who saw every person he met as his equal. He would go out of his way to help people in need, making him a much-loved member to his constituents.' He may have been the member for Griffith, but that didn't stop him railing against what he described as the harsh policies of the Bjelke-Petersen state government in Queensland at the time.

As Minister for Veterans' Affairs in the Hawke and Keating governments, Ben fought hard for the rights and recognition of our veterans and, most notably, for the recognition of Vietnam veterans—that they should receive medical treatment and counselling, and have the right to participate in Anzac Day ceremonies. Ben later added to his responsibilities with the portfolio for northern Australia, a privilege which I now share, although he managed to do it in government. He travelled far and wide across Queensland and the Northern Territory—something I've also come to experience—earning him the moniker of 'the bushman's friend' and, later, even having the honour of being appointed to the board of the Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach.

In 1996, Ben retired from parliament, but that didn't mean that he slowed down. In his tribute, Kevin Rudd described Ben as a mentor and thanked Ben for all the support he gave during his election campaigns, and to him and his family. And I know that the now member for Griffith, Terri Butler, has also paid tribute to Ben's efforts as a strong community representative. In 2000, on Australia Day, Ben was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and, the following year, awarded a Centenary Medal for his service to parliament. In 2001 he was appointed to represent Australia as a member of the United Nations Fijian Electoral Observer Mission which oversaw the elections in Fiji that year.

In Ben's final speech to parliament, he used much of it to thank those around him—his family, his staff, his colleagues, the opposition and the Public Service. Today is our chance to remember Ben and to thank him for never giving up on those who were less fortunate, on the rights of working people and our veterans, and on social justice more broadly. The labour movement, the Labor Party, Queensland and indeed the country are better for the service of Ben Humphreys. He will be missed.

Question agreed to, honourable senators standing in their places.