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

I rise on behalf of the opposition to join with the government and support the motion moved by Senator Farrell in honouring and speaking to the life of Philip Ross Lightfoot. Philip Ross Lightfoot, known to all as Ross, was, as Senator Farrell said, born in 1936 to Thelma and John Lightfoot in Port Lincoln, South Australia. He was educated at Port Lincoln primary school and high school before attending the Adelaide and then Kalgoorlie School of Mines. But Ross left the school at the age of 13 and held a number of jobs, including in an abattoir, until he was 16, when he made the decision to up his age to 19 and join the Army under the National Service Act that had been brought in after World War II. He served in the 43rd/48th Infantry Battalion from 1953 to 1956.

Throughout his life, Ross would return to the land, reminding others that he was a country bloke after all. Ross took to being a plasterer and a jackaroo following his Army service for a short time, and in that era joined the local Liberal Party branch in Port Lincoln. Ross then took on service with the South Australian Mounted Police, which he would later describe as the most exhilarating time—in particular, as Senator Farrell mentioned, and one of the most memorable events in Ross's life, being selected as part of the late Queen Elizabeth II's personal escort upon her visit to South Australia in 1961.

Leaving the Mounted Police in 1963, Ross Lightfoot would hold a number of jobs over the decades that brought him back to farming as well as into mining, where his interest in politics deepened and took him firmly into Western Australia. In Western Australia he served in the state parliament, firstly as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the seat of Murchison-Eyre, from 1986 until 1989, until the seat was abolished under redistribution. Such a fate did not dissuade Ross from politics, as he went on to contest the election and be re-elected to the Western Australian parliament as a member of the Legislative Council for the North Metropolitan Region in 1993. This turn in the Legislative Council would be short, as Ross sought and gained endorsement to fill a vacancy in the Australian Senate following the unfortunate passing of Western Australian senator John Panizza in 1997. It is notable that Ross Lightfoot stands among a very small number of Australians to have served in not just one or two but, in fact, three different parliamentary chambers across our Federation.

Ross reflected in his first speech that he shared many of the interests and aspirations of his predecessor, former senator Panizza, in farming and mining. It was a first speech emboldened with Ross Lightfoot's strong beliefs and fierce opinions on what he believed was in the best interests of Western Australia and ultimately Australia. In what would have been merely minutes into his first speech, Ross stated, to the surprise of some, that he was in fact a republican. Yet he also stated that, if such a debate on whether Australia became a republic or remained within the Commonwealth threatened to divide the fabric of what makes Australia such a successful democracy, he would advocate for the monarchy.

Direct and forthright, Ross Lightfoot certainly was. But he was also a classical farmer gentleman in many ways. His views may have been unfashionable, his approach direct, but, based on all feedback, he was unfailingly polite to staff and those who worked with or for him. During his 11 years in the Senate, Ross made extensive contributions serving on numerous committees, as we've heard, and as a patron of organisations, including the Disabled War Veterans Association of Australia.

Ross Lightfoot also made the tabloids from time to time for his strong views and sometimes controversial stances or actions. A notable headline occurred when he had what some would call a tussle with two Greens senators following US President George W Bush's address to a joint sitting of the parliament. Perhaps it was the old policeman background in him, but Ross Lightfoot was under the impression that there was something sinister afoot, and, therefore, he intercepted an unplanned audience between the Greens senators and President George W Bush, which then apparently broke into a bit of a bigger biff or tussle, as reported by the newspapers of the time. This tussle between members of parliament, later called 'the charge of the Lightfoot brigade', supposedly meant that the President and then Prime Minister Howard avoided involvement with the Greens and their desire to make whatever point it was thanks to Ross Lightfoot's actions.

Following this time, as Ross went to seek re-election to the Senate he found himself in a fierce contest. Though never usually one to back away from a contest, ultimately, with a certain Mathias Cormann challenging him, Ross made the final decision not to re-contest at the 2007 election. I served briefly with Ross, and I particularly recall in this place the presence he brought to his time in the chair as an acting temporary chair on many occasions. He would fill that role with aplomb and, indeed, had a substance and presence in presiding over Senate procedure, reflecting somebody who had provided such long service not just in the Senate but across multiple parliamentary chambers.

In his valedictory to the Senate, Ross reflected what I believe, I'm sure, is the great admiration we all have for Australia's very special democratic system—that Australians of all backgrounds can become members of parliament:

I will close by saying that my first job in my life was in an abattoir and that … my last job will be as a senator … It is testimony not so much to the tenacity that I showed in climbing up that sometimes steep cliff to get to this heady and elevated plateau but more to the system in Australia that allows people like me, from an extremely modest background, to end up in an august and wonderful chamber such as this, amongst wonderful people and great Australians. I have been fortunate enough to do that.

It was a customary flourish, a sign of his gratitude for the opportunities provided to him and the work he was able to undertake in pursuing his beliefs and acting on behalf of his constituents. On behalf of the opposition in the Australian Senate, to Ross's wife, Annie; his children Mark, Belle, Jo, Sam and Alix; and grandchildren: we extend our sincere condolences.