Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make some brief remarks in addition to the very generous words that have already been offered this afternoon about John Fahey. Like many people who have come to New South Wales and to Sydney, John Fahey did not come from Sydney or from New South Wales, which again shows that this is a fantastic part of the world where anyone can make it. Ultimately, John Fahey went on to lead the state and serve with distinction here in Canberra. I spoke to close personal friends like John Brogden and Peta Seaton in preparation for these remarks. The summary really was that John Fahey was a believer in hard work but that he had a very big heart and a very soft heart. Everyone has remarked very eloquently about his contribution to the state of New South Wales. Certainly securing the Olympics was a great thing for our country, and anyone who attended the Sydney Olympics would recall that. I attended as a young man from Shepparton, and that was like going to Hollywood. The Sydney Olympics were a great and enduring contribution to the state of New South Wales.

People who knew John Fahey well, like John Brogden, would often say that he had a photographic memory. He would remember exactly what was in every page of every brief and he would pull people up for not actually knowing all the detail of the brief that they had had some role in pulling together, which is a remarkable thing to be able to do. But it was necessary in the role that John Fahey performed with Peter Costello and John Howard in delivering a very important passage of fiscal consolidation in the 1990s, where every single line item in every single budget needed to be known. As Senator Cormann has said in our own time, the detail is where you win these arguments and the detail is where you can make some really important fiscal improvements.

I want to briefly read this great quote from John Brogden and some other New South Wales colleagues that was published recently in The Sydney Morning Herald. I thought that this was the nicest thing I had ever read about anyone in politics. This is about Mr Fahey:

He inspired loyalty and his patience, kindness and above all, his willingness to chat with everyone created an army of people willing to go the extra mile. More than one staff member despaired of his schedule as he genially derailed meetings with questions about rugby, family and life in general. It was a mark of the man that his interest was as deep and genuine in the humblest worker as the most senior person in the room.

That is a very generous quote.

Post politics, John Fahey went on not only to play a very important role in his own family but also to lead the Australian Catholic University. I can see that, as a man of deep faith, he was also very committed to pluralism. The ACU's work, especially in Indigenous affairs, has gone well beyond its direct mandate. He was a great contributor and a very good and warm man. May he rest in peace.

Question agreed to, honourable senators standing in their places.