Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its sorrow at the death, on 15 November 2023, of the Honourable Gerard (Gerry) Leslie Hand, former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs, and former member for Melbourne, places on record its gratitude for his service to the Parliament and the nation and tenders its sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

I rise on behalf of the government to express our condolences following the passing of a great servant of our nation, of the parliament and of the Australian Labor Party the Hon. Gerard Leslie Hand, better known as Gerry, at the age of 81. As I begin, I wish to convey the government's sympathies to Gerry's family, especially his widow, Faith, and children, Michelle, Vicky, Leigh and Lorcan, as well as to his former colleagues and many friends.

Gerry Hand represented a new generation of the Left in the Labor Party. He was, in the words of his successor as the member for Melbourne, Lindsay Tanner, 'a unique amalgam of passion and pragmatism'. He played a crucial role in the return of the Labor Left from the fringes of influence inside the party and the labour movement to the very centre of decision-making. Ultimately, Gerry Hand's politics prioritised, above all else, improving the lives of the poorest, most disadvantaged in our society. For him, that was the responsibility of government and the Labor Party's core reason for being. A politician of conviction, he advocated passionately for the overwhelmingly working-class and migrant communities he represented in the parliament.

Gerry elevated the status of Indigenous issues within both the Labor government and the country's political dialogue. As the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, he introduced the legislation to enable the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, ATSIC. He remained stoic in the face of sometimes-harsh criticism that came from implementing tough immigration policies, and he championed Australian multiculturalism as the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs from 1990 to 1993.

Gerry Hand was born and raised in Warrnambool, in south-west Victoria, the eldest of seven children. The son of shopkeepers, Gerry worked first in his family's tobacconist shop before taking up full-time work in the Warrnambool woollen mills. It was there, on the shopfloor, that he developed his political consciousness, as so many have done before and so many have done since. He went on to establish the South-West District Trades and Labour Council in 1972. He served as the council's first secretary and drove its growth in size and influence throughout the Whitlam years.

In 1979 Gerry Hand sought preselection for the federal seat of Wills, in Melbourne's inner north—a safe Labor seat. Hand was a strong candidate put forward by the party's Socialist Left faction. Hand sought to move from organising within the labour movement and the ALP, as he had done remarkably successfully throughout the 1970s, to making a broader contribution in Canberra. Unfortunately for Gerry Hand, though, another trade unionist had set his sight on Wills, and Gerry lost preselection in 1979 to none other than Bob Hawke. It was an at-times-bitter contest between the two men, one which encapsulated many of the roiling ideological and personality conflicts of that era of Labor politics.

Gerry Hand did not have to wait long to enter the parliament, though. He gained preselection for the seat of Melbourne at the 1983 election—a community he would represent for a decade. He described his inner-city electorate as a rich melting pot of modern Australia, from a substantial Greek population in Richmond, an Italian influence in Carlton and a mixture of nationalities in Brunswick to poverty-stricken communities who occupied high-rise estates in Richmond, Fitzroy, Collingwood, North Melbourne and Kensington, and more affluent groups moving into the area.

What was most striking about Gerry Hand in his early parliamentary contributions was his strident progressivism. A self-proclaimed democratic socialist, he was unabashed in his calls for a dramatic redistribution of resources to create a fairer society. He championed the Hawke government's commitment to eliminate poverty and gross inequality, and he saw delivering on this commitment as the responsibility of government—a responsibility that he believed should be met through generous social services, from child care and unemployment benefits to support for the sick, widowed and those with disability.

Gerry Hand was elevated to the position of Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the Hawke government, serving from 1987 to 1990. His vision of Aboriginal affairs prioritised self-determination for our country's First Peoples. He was the minister with carriage of ATSIC, an initiative designed to ensure the place of the Indigenous peoples of this country in the decision-making processes of government. Indeed, it was remarked of Gerry Hand that, in his role as Aboriginal affairs minister, he prioritised listening to, rather than lecturing at, Indigenous communities. This is, of course, the approach the Albanese government has pursued both in advocating for constitutional recognition through a voice to parliament and in determining the path forward, since that referendum did not succeed. As we well know, the vital work of reconciliation continues so, in Gerry Hand's words, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians can 'take their rightful place as full and equal participants in the richness and diversity of this nation'.

As the Minister for Immigration from 1990 to 1993, Gerry Hand didn't shy away from difficult decisions. He advanced tough policies on immigration detention while stressing the importance of compassion for refugees and those seeking asylum. As the Minister for Ethnic Affairs and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs, he promoted Australian multiculturalism, bringing his famous enthusiasm for people to his engagement with multicultural communities. Some politicians may have shied away from portfolios as challenging as Aboriginal Affairs, Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. For Gerry Hand, these were the only portfolios he wanted, because, in his words, they were 'people portfolios'. To him, they were areas where politics and politicians could make a real, tangible difference to improve people's lives. In these roles, Hand engaged extensively with and advocated for the most disadvantaged in our community. He lived his commitment to challenge injustice and to fight the national shame of poverty.

A journalist profiling Gerry Hand in 1985 wrote:

Nobody who has spent more than a few minutes with Hand doubts the sincerity of what he is up to—working through the party to improve the lot of the poor and disadvantaged.

Sincere, committed and passionate—may Gerry Hand long be remembered this way. On behalf of the government, I would like to again express our condolences following the passing of the Hon. Gerry Hand, and we once more convey our sympathies to Faith, Michelle, Vicky, Leigh and Lorcan; his wider family; and all those beyond who knew him well.