Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

It is an immense honour and privilege to be able to make a contribution, to commemorate the life and, indeed, contribution that our friend and colleague Jim Molan made in his time on this earth.

We've heard it through the contributions of colleagues here today, the extensive reflections that were in the media after his passing, those beautiful testimonials of his beloved family and his friends at the celebration of his life, and, importantly, the recitation of that immense record of service at the end of the ceremony last week—highly decorated and something to behold, truly.

All of these things paint a picture of a man who was amazing, in every respect, and one that I can say on behalf of my colleagues, I know, who had a great privilege in serving with him, and we are grateful for that. For those who had the privilege to work with Jim, we can see proof of everything that was written about him, from his time in the Defence Force, in authoring Operation Sovereign Borders, to his role as a father and husband. All of those things came home to us when we were able to work with him, be it on Senate committees or here in this chamber. It was clear to us that he was a decent and honourable man—two words that are sometimes hard to apply to people we know, but certainly in the case of Jim we could do that. He was a man also of conviction and very much of compassion.

Jim's credentials have all been very well-established through the things we've heard and read: as a leader in our Defence Force, as I've said before, as the author of the successful border protection policy we've talked about here, as an authority on national security, but also as a father and husband and an active member of his community.

My dealings with Jim, though, were around him being a strong and active advocate for his community, particularly when it came to matters forestry. It's sometimes said though in this place, and I think very unfairly, that senators can be seen as out of touch with their community. Now I think all of us here would agree that is not the case. Certainly, in the case with Jim, he was very much in touch, especially when it came to matters that impacted the regional communities he represented across the state of New South Wales and, in particular, on this very important industry, forestry. It's when I worked with him on matters forestry that I saw all of these things that people have been talking about, on this niche issue, an important one. But all of those characteristics that have been used here to describe Jim and his passion, his commitment, came to the surface and were on full display.

After the disastrous Black Summer bushfires, Jim put his full force into doing his best to help a community suffering the impact of bushfires. I remember he invited me down to his patch, to come and have a look at the damage of the bushfires—quite extensive—particularly when it came to forestry but also to other parts of the economy. Indeed, all of the communities that were affected suffered greatly.

But one meeting that we went to stands out to me in my memory. As has been talked about quite extensively here—and I didn't realise that that would be the case—I recall Jim was always known to be smiling, exhibiting this warmth and putting people at ease. He was very much smiling the day of this meeting. We arrived at this meeting of farmers in the community of Lower Bago. As the meeting started, it dawned on me why Jim was smiling so much. At the time I thought, 'Well, he's happy to be spending the day with me!' But, as the meeting got underway, it was in fact because these less-than-happy farmers had discovered they had fresh blood. For once in his life he was able to probably watch on as someone else took the hits. In all seriousness, though, at that meeting, these farmers who had felt abandoned by successive state and federal governments and by other industries that had become a greater priority to government—he was able to give them voice. He was able to seek ways to resolve the problems they were facing.

That visit demonstrated to me, and in particular that meeting demonstrated to me, something Senator Birmingham talked about before—that relentlessness, the commitment and the consistency that Jim applied to clearly every element of what he did. Despite the difficult nature of that meeting, which did get a little heated—I don't think I left with many friends that day, apart from Jim—it was clear that Jim was intent on ensuring that those farmers, like the rest of his community that he served every day in this place, the people he fought for, got the answers they deserved and the solutions and support they needed. And, while Jim was allocating so much energy to significant matters like national security and our nation's defences, no matter was too small or too trivial. Indeed, again in the area of forestry, it was Jim's hard work that spearheaded the securing of funding for the Eden forestry hub, something that will secure the future of that industry for years to come and the hundreds of jobs that depend on that industry in small communities that don't often get talked about here in Canberra but rely on us for leadership and for our backing. Jim did his bit. He was relentless in his phone calls until he was able to make an announcement with funding, and he secured it for them. He has an amazing legacy, and that is just a small part of it.

Jim was also a generous man, and much has been said of the below-the-line campaign. I recall there was a time when an article surfaced in the Tasmanian media about me, perhaps, finding myself in the third spot on the Tasmanian Liberal ticket. And Jim, with that smile we mentioned before, pulled me aside in the corridor just outside our offices and said: 'Johnno, I've been in this situation before. Perhaps you and I should have a cup of coffee, and I can give you a few pointers.' Thankfully, I didn't have to draw on his knowledge and experience, but it is one great regret, because I would have loved to know how Jim Molan managed to secure the number of votes that he did, in the way that he did, in that campaign. That's one regret, as I say, I will always have.

Listening to Jim's first speech back in February 2018, it was his reference to Psalm 144 and his view about the Judeo-Christian culture that we have in this country that struck me most—how it has made Australia the country it is in terms of facing adversity and challenges. Jim's attitude towards challenge and adversity was something to behold and something that many of us in this place wish we could replicate. It was something that clearly set him apart from so many. We're grateful to Jim for his service. We're grateful particularly to his family for sharing him with us, and I offer my condolences to his family and his team, who are here today. Vale, Jim Molan.