Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate expresses its sadness at the death, on 20 December 2020, of the Rt Hon. John Douglas 'Doug' Anthony AC CH, former Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Interior, Minister for Primary Industry and Minister for Trade and Resources, and former member for Richmond, places on record its admiration and appreciation for his service to the Parliament and the nation, and tenders its deep sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

The Rt Hon. John Douglas 'Doug' Anthony was an Australian icon who humbly served our nation in a life of public service. Doug Anthony was born in Murwillumbah, New South Wales on 31 December 1929. Tales abound of Doug's early exposure to federal politics and the federal parliament as a young lad, foretelling his own path of a prominent political career. His father, Hubert Lawrence Anthony, had been elected to the parliament in 1937. From the age of seven, Doug would join his father in Canberra, often staying in the Kurrajong hotel, where he got to know many members of parliament and ministers of the era on a personal level. Rumour even has it that much of young Doug's time spent at the Old Parliament House saw him utilise the lower floor of the building for rollerskating.

Doug was at King's School in Sydney and Gatton College in Queensland before going on to become a dairy farmer until 1957, when his father, a then minister in the Menzies government, passed away. At the age of 27 Doug left farming to contest and win his late father's seat of Richmond. The electorate of Richmond would reward the hard work and dedication shown by Doug Anthony by returning him as their local MP for a further 11 elections.

Doug's parliamentary career stretched more than 26 years, 16 of them spent as a minister of the Crown. He held responsibility for a variety of portfolios, serving as minister for the interior, primary industry, trade and industry, overseas trade, minerals and energy, national resources, and trade and resources. When the then Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, first promoted Doug Anthony in 1964 to become Minister for the Interior, the youngest member at the time to be made a minister, he said, 'That'll keep you out of mischief!'

Doug Anthony assumed much responsibility for the advancement and establishment of this nation's capital, the seat of government here in Canberra. As Minister for the Interior, he played a role in the development of the Anzac Parade and the construction of the National Library and National Carillon as well as the opening of Lake Burley Griffin as we know it today. Later in life Doug reflected on how happy and proud he was of his connection to the city of Canberra, to which he believed no other capital in the world would compare. Today those of us who serve in this place and the many who live in Canberra enjoy the fruits of his leadership and those who worked alongside him.

On 2 February 1971, almost 50 years ago to this day, Doug Anthony, at the age of 41, became the youngest leader of the then Country Party. As leader, Doug took steps to modernise the party, recognising that the party had to broaden its base. This included a change of name to the National Party in 1982. In testament to Doug's leadership style, throughout his tenure the National Party was able to enjoy strong unity and, of course, build its reputation across many parts of Australia.

Doug Anthony served the country as Deputy Prime Minister for nearly 10 years, marking the longest such tenure of anyone in the role. He was deputy to Prime Ministers John Gorton, Billy McMahon and Malcolm Fraser, serving under Malcolm Fraser for the full period of the coalition government from 1975 to 1983. This tenure is a demonstration of Doug Anthony's commitment as a great coalitionist, setting the standards of engagement between the great National Party of Australia and the great Liberal of Australia that have served very many coalition governments thereafter.

As Minister for Primary Industry, Doug regarded those years as some of his hardest. Yet through that period he was a fierce advocate for Australian farmers in regional Australia, particularly in tough meetings, for example, over European farming policies. Among his achievements in the role were upgrades to export abattoirs to maintain the beef trade, the introduction of the wool reserve price scheme and the reconstruction of the dairy industry. Doug served as Australia's 33rd minister responsible for the trade portfolio. I'm proud to have shared a passion for trade with Doug, having until recently served in the role myself as Australia's 53rd trade minister. As we reflect on Doug Anthony's achievements in the trade portfolio, it's important to note the role he played in expanding particularly our strong trading relationship with Japan. These were leading pioneers of the era in establishing and deepening those relations with nations like Japan, especially in the export of major commodities such as iron ore and coal.

Doug Anthony also showed enormous leadership and insight in focusing on creating opportunities across the ASEAN countries and in the Middle East. He was the first senior Australian minister to visit the Middle East, where several important trade related agreements followed with countries across the region. Perhaps most notably Doug Anthony made history as the minister responsible for negotiating the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement. In 2003 Australia and New Zealand commemorated the 20th anniversary of the signing of the 1983 agreement. In a joint publication marking the occasion, former Prime Minister John Howard described the success of the CER, saying:

It is powerful testimony to the vision of both governments, and of their negotiators, that the CER remains one of the widest ranging and successful free trade agreements in the world even today. That enduring success, from which every Australian and New Zealander now directly benefits, reminds us in tum how important it is to continue pursuing the goal of further liberalisation of world trade.

Eighteen years on from former Prime Minister Howard's remarks about the CER and the bonds that it has established between Australia and New Zealand, it remains our most important trade agreement and the most significant pillar in terms of an example of true openness and cooperation.

The beginnings of the CER can be traced to an informal discussion with New Zealand ministers in 1979, where Doug Anthony brought to the attention of the room the limited prospects for trade growth for either nation under their then existing multilateral trade negotiations or strategies. Doug went on to speak of the success achieved by other nations which cooperated economically to take advantage of the trading potential within their region. He suggested that it was time for Australia and New Zealand to take advantage of the new global circumstances and, in doing so, to form a closer union of economic cooperation. The positive reception by New Zealand ministers of Doug Anthony's proposal at this meeting marked the beginnings of the formal process of the closer economic relations trade agreement. Although the agreement was finally signed off just a few weeks into the life of the Hawke government, Doug Anthony was acknowledged as the engineer of the agreement and, indeed, was conferred an honorary doctorate from New Zealand's University of Canterbury. Since then, the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement has become a model for trade agreements across the globe—a fact I can attest to in my own undertakings of similar negotiations.

Doug Anthony was Australian through and through. Perhaps few stories better illustrate this than when then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser would take his annual summer holidays, leaving Doug in charge of the nation. Doug Anthony's choice of office was a caravan by his cottage at New Brighton on the New South Wales North Coast, which caught the attention of the media. In his own words Doug said:

I'll probably be remembered for the caravan more than anything else in my political career. When the nation heard I was running the show from my caravan it sent a message that it was Christmas, time to relax, everything was on hold, but also everything was being looked after.

Doug retired from the federal parliament of January in 1984. He left on his own terms, as Father of the House, with a record of accomplishments that few could match, and returned to his dairy farm. He remained active in public life, including campaigning for an Australian republic at the 1999 constitutional referendum. Echoing the words of our current Prime Minister, the right honourable John Douglas Anthony was a quiet giant of Australian political life, a man who left an indelible and positive mark on our nation, our coalition of Liberal and National Parties and particularly upon his beloved National Party. Doug Anthony led a long and meritorious life of public service. We express our deepest thanks and profound sympathy to his wife, Margot, his three children, Dugald, Jane and Larry, and his nine grandchildren. I thank the Senate.