Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the opposition to speak on the condolence motion. The Hon. John Charles Hodges rose to be a minister in the Fraser Liberal government in 1982, but, in many ways, it was his involvement in and contributions to his local community that he will be best remembered for. In fact, I suspect it was that connection to his community that he would have been most proud of.

John was a politician who never forgot where he came from or the people who put him there; that, of course, was the voters in his electorate of Petrie on the northern outskirts of Brisbane. He was born in Brisbane on 3 October 1937 but was actually raised in Cooktown in Far North Queensland. John was educated in Cooktown and Cairns and undertook a pharmacy apprenticeship after finishing school. Qualifying as a pharmacist in 1958, he pursued what he described as 'a very noble profession'. But pharmacy was more than just a profession for John; it was quite literally a labour of love. John, in fact, married fellow pharmacist Margaret in 1962.

While caring for his community by preparing medicines for them, John developed his interest in politics. No doubt this was fostered in his early years in Cooktown by his father, who was chair of the Cook Shire Council. John jumped into local politics at the age of 29, serving on the Redcliffe City Council as an alderman for nine years, including for six years as deputy mayor. The chance for a seat in Canberra came abruptly. Four weeks prior to the 1974 election, the Liberal Party threw its support behind John to contest Petrie in favour of Nelson Marshall Cooke, for whom John had been a campaign manager. John won almost 55 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. His campaign material for that election, which was obviously highly effective, celebrated his time on the Redcliffe council and said: 'John Hodges knows how to handle the awkward, awesome problems that affect people's lives. Married with three young children, he knows the battle families fight against rising prices, taxation and interest rates.' In fact, if you jump forward to today, those are exactly the sorts of election issues this country still looks for.

Coming to Canberra, he was actually six foot five and bespectacled. He had a baritone voice. When he arrived in Canberra, he joined the criticism of the Whitlam government, and he said:

This Government has presided over the worst inflation, the worst unemployment, the worst industrial strife and the worst economic crisis this nation has known since Federation.

…   …   …

It wants to reform, yet, in doing so it wants more taxation. The prosperity of this nation cannot be sectionalised.

In another speech, he said:

In my opinion there is nothing more uncertain than the uncertainty of this Government. I believe that the confusion and the uncertainty is breeding growing concern in the people of Australia. No wonder the country is in economic shambles. One might ask where is the plan of the Treasurer (Mr Crean) to combat inflation?

John was also a champion of free enterprise and lean government. He fundamentally believed in the Liberal cause of encouraging a person to be his own master, and he called out his opponents for creating the impression that 'big brother' government will be there to look after you. Many causes were dear to John's heart. On industrial relations, he said:

… there must be greater understanding by the business world and the labour force that one cannot survive without the other.

He declared that we must bury the idea that businessmen are mostly out to exploit the labour force. John also cared deeply for pensioners and widows, whom he saw as falling behind under the Whitlam government, and he was proud to be part of the Fraser government, which increased the age pension.

In 1982, Malcolm Fraser appointed John as his Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. John took forward his Prime Minister's multicultural agenda with energy and certitude. His fairness on family reunion was juxtaposed with firmness in cracking down on illegal immigrants and illegal workers, whom he saw as undermining the aspirations of genuine migrants and Australians. And, while recognising the benefits of a second language, John pushed back against an advocate-driven national language policy that sought to give equal status to all languages. John knew that the English language was central to our national cohesion, equality and love of country.

In 1983, Bob Hawke's Labor had been swept into power in the election that followed a double dissolution. Dean Wells, the new Labor member for Petrie, got to his feet to deliver his maiden speech and said:

I would like now to say a few words in honour of the gentleman who preceded me … Mr John Hodges is a man who has exerted himself with courage and conviction in both the local and the national arena.

…   …   …

I disagreed with my predecessor on a wide range of issues … However, I never at any time doubted the sincerity with which my opponent held the views he expressed … and I wish him well in his return to private life.

Wells had taken the seat of Petrie from John Hodges by just 720 votes.

But John did not return to private life for long. Just shy of 21 months later, in the timetable-correcting early election of 1984, John Hodges won back his seat from Wells by just 776 votes. John's great political comeback would not only cement Petrie as a key election battleground for decades to come; his return would culminate in more than 11 years of service to his nation at the federal level. When John's second stint in Canberra came to an end in 1987, he was a casualty of the infamous 'Joe for Canberra' campaign.

But John's service didn't stop. He and Margaret went on to own or partly own four pharmacies on Bribie Island. He and Margaret owned those pharmacies on Bribie Island until 2018, when they sold up to retire to their home on the Redcliffe peninsula. John also served his community as a patron and fundraiser for charities, sports clubs and schools. He told the local newspaper: 'I don't ever recall saying no to giving any organisation financial support. It's a two-way process, as they were supporting us.' John, who was also a type 2 diabetic, was a founding patron of the Bribie Island Diabetes Support Group, and was made an honorary patron after 22 years in the role.

Today we honour John Hodges' life of service and his dedication to his community and family. On behalf of the coalition, I offer my heartfelt condolences to John's colleagues, friends, family and community, and our thoughts are especially with his wife, Margaret, and children, John, Jane and Sarah. May John Hodges rest in peace.