Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to honour the life of the Hon. Anthony Austin 'Tony' Street, a distinguished parliamentarian, a thoughtful Liberal, a considered and humble man of effective engagement with both friend and foe alike.

Born in 1926 to Evora and Brigadier Geoffrey Street, a former defence minister himself, Tony was not unknowing of political life. His passion for sport also started early, having joined the Melbourne Cricket Club at the age of six. During the time of World War II, Tony attended Melbourne Grammar School and was made school captain. He left in 1945 and, following a call to service, joined the Royal Australian Navy serving upon HMAS Norman, HMAS Queenborough and HMAS Shropshire as an able seaman. As were many at the end of the war, he was demobilised in 1946. Tony then returned home to the family farm and also joined the Lismore branch of the Liberal Party, starting a trajectory to an ultimate parliamentary career.

Tony brought to the parliament his learnings of the land, noting that after 20 years of running your own farm you learn to take the rough with the smooth. Elected as the member for Corangamite in 1966, Tony served in numerous spokesperson roles following that period of opposition that he entered in 1972. He was then appointed to his first cabinet ministry, as Senator Wong indicated, in 1975 as Minister for Labour and Immigration under Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

Tony Street's stature, at 5 foot 4 inches—or thereabouts, depending upon which article you read—attracted some nicknames with the friends he made. Having a close, lofty mate in the Navy, he and the mate gained the duo name 'Dot and Dash'. But it was the press gallery that dubbed Tony Street and Malcolm Fraser 'the Odd Couple', owing to Tony's close accompaniment of Malcolm Fraser.

Nicknames aside, Tony remained polite and thoughtful throughout each of his cabinet positions, remarking that losing your temper impairs your capacity to think straight. But he always stayed true to speaking his mind when required. His diplomatic demure was no doubt most fitting in his final portfolio of foreign affairs—as, indeed, was his work in industrial relations.

It was within government, firstly in the portfolio of industrial relations, that Tony made a name for himself. He confronted the circumstance and reality of unemployment at the time, and offered a lowering of the confrontational approach to trade unions—an approach that he took with candid realism, which earned respect. He said at the time: 'It is impossible to be dogmatic about this very complex subject. Experience here and in other democracies shows that the lawmaking power of government, particularly where personal conflict is involved, must be used with fine judgement.' It was a judgement that he brought to try to ensure that parties could come together.

The speeches Tony would give across his portfolios came to be recognised as subtle but significant. Senator Wong has referenced some and, indeed, in 1982, as Minister for Foreign Affairs, he delivered a hallmark speech to the Australian Institute of International Affairs outlining Australia's role as a middle power. He stated:

Because of its very size, a superpower enjoys authority whether it deserves to or not. However badly it may behave, it will, by dint of its power, always command respect and even credibility from one quarter or another.

But a middle power must acquire those qualities by its own efforts and then it must make a conscious effort to maintain them. That job of maintenance becomes an important part of a middle power's foreign policy. Moreover, if a middle power is sufficiently determined, it can achieve significant authority by sheer force of political will.

The doctrine outlined by Tony Street is one that many Australian foreign and external affairs ministers have sought to hold true to, and our nation is better when they do hold true to that approach and, in doing so, seek to ensure that we are best able as a nation to influence our region and our world, and to do so from a position of respect and credibility. Tony Street took that approach and applied it in his engagement with others. He presented stances on matters of human rights and humanitarian issues that were ones of principle, as Senator Wong has referenced, in relation to matters sensitive at the time, such as apartheid in South Africa and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Tony Street's passion stretched beyond the parliament. Of course he was well-known for a passion for cricket, and a reputation as a leg break bowler was evident in the well-used cricket ball he always kept in his attache case. While not playing competitively in parliament, except in the Press Gallery versus politicians matches, he would grip and spin the ball most days, just in case.

Serving always with distinction, Tony made a humble exit from politics in 1984 in the election following the defeat of the Fraser government, announcing that it was time to give younger members of parliament a go. The member for Corangamite for an impressive 17 years, Tony Street served the Australian people with decency, integrity and the qualities of a gentleman—a passionate sportsman who worked the land and served his country and parliament. Tony Street's retirement took him back to the family farm. I think I'm safe in saying that he had a fulfilling 96 years of life, something that we can all but only hope for.

On behalf of the opposition, the Senate and the Liberal Party, to Tony's loved ones—his wife, Ricky, and sons Geoffrey, Alan and Phillip—I extend our gratitude for his service to our nation and to our party, and our deep and sincere condolences on your loss.