Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in honour of the former member for Eden-Monaro, the Hon. Gary Nairn AO. Gary was elected to the House of Representatives in 1996. He was then re-elected in 1998, 2001 and 2004. He served as the member for Eden-Monaro for 11 years, losing his seat in 2007. I was a staffer at the Liberal Party and in this place throughout his tenure, and I had the great privilege of working with him and his wonderful team during this time. I came to greatly respect him as a man and also as a very, very passionate local representative. He carried himself with great respect and great passion and commitment for anything he turned his mind to. He was an incredibly passionate representative and member of his local community in Eden-Monaro.

In his first speech, he acknowledged the many battlers in Eden-Monaro whom he personally identified with, being from a rural and regional electorate. In that first speech, he identified the importance of rural and regional Australia. He provided a number of very important reminders to us all here today. There is a great tribute I saw today from a former member for Monaro, Nichole Overall, who said 'He was a well-respected man, a great friend of our family for many years, and, like many others, particularly in Eden-Monaro, we have such fond memory of Gary both personally and professionally.' I know that those sentiments reflect the widespread sentiment of his community.

He truly did care about his electorate and remained a committed community advocate, as we've heard from other speakers here today. He was also very passionate in this place, in parliament, and was a member of many committees, including chair of the electoral matters committee in 1997, chair of procedure in 2000, and chair of science and innovation in 2022, and we have heard several times here about the importance of the report that he delivered as chair of the recent Australian bushfires report in 2003. I think it is such a shame that so many of the important observations and recommendations of that report have not yet been fully implemented. The same recommendations have been the subject of many reviews since then, not just in New South Wales and the ACT but across the country, and I think that was something that he no doubt felt very sad about.

Gary was also a parliamentary secretary to the prime minister John Howard, and they had a very close bond, as I suspect Senator Fawcett will be talking about shortly in relation to that relationship. He served with distinction as a special minister of state. Gary was appointed chairman of the national board for the Duke of Edinburgh awards in 2018 and for six years was its leader. His personal endeavours were keenly focused on ensuring as many young Australians as possible would have access to the Duke of Edinburgh awards. In 2023, in recognition of this commitment, His Royal Highness Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, acknowledged the awarding of the gold Distinguished Service Medal to Gary—the most prestigious recognition of eminent service to the Duke of Edinburgh's International Awards in Australia. It was well-deserved, and another demonstration of Gary's commitment and his passion.

I extend my deepest condolences to Gary and his family, including his wife, Rose, his children Ben and Deborah, his grandchildren, his friends, his former staff, and his former colleagues. Thank you for your service to your country and to your community—you will be greatly missed. Vale, Gary Nairn.