Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its sadness at the death, on 24 January 2025, of the Honourable Grant Ernest John Tambling AM, former member for the Northern Territory and former senator for the Northern Territory, 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 after the passing of former Northern Territory senator the Hon. Grant Ernest John Tambling AM. Grant Tambling, or Tambo as he was known, was born in Wondai, near Kingaroy, in Queensland, in 1943. His parents, Ernest Tambling and Edna Williamson, were both teachers and married in Darwin in 1941. They returned to the Top End to work after the end of World War II. Grant was named after the USS President Grant, the ship his parents were evacuated on out of Darwin to Queensland during the war.

He was a student at Darwin Primary School, Darwin High School and Adelaide Boys High School. He went on to join the AMP Society as an insurance sales agent. It was during his time in Sydney that he met trainee nurse Sandra, who he went on to marry in Sydney two years later. Grant Tambling continued his career, covering Darwin, Gove and Arnhem Land, until, in his words, 'Cyclone Tracy blew away all my clients in December 1974.'

He became an alderman for the Darwin city council and served from 1972 to 1974, before becoming a member of the first fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, holding the seat of Fannie Bay from 1974 to 1977. He was the leader of the NT Country Liberal Party and he served on the consultative committee on constitutional development of the Northern Territory from 1975 to 1977—a cause he strongly advocated for throughout his political career.

Grant Tambling was elected to the House of Representatives on 18 October 1980. His tenure as the member for the Northern Territory lasted only one term. During that time, he focused on statehood, advancing the Northern Territory, defence and building a stronger relationship with South-East Asia. He became a casualty of the 1983 election, with a landslide Labor Party victory. Grant Tambling was next elected into the Senate on 11 July 1987, completing the rare task of having served at all three levels of government as well as both houses of the Commonwealth parliament.

In his first speech to the Senate, he said, 'I will never be apologetic about being parochial in my advocacy for the Northern Territory,' remaining committed to the Northern Territory throughout his service. When the coalition returned to government in 1996, under John Howard, he served for six years as a parliamentary secretary. Grant Tambling was National Party Whip in the Senate from 1987 to 1990 and the deputy leader in the Senate from 1990 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001.

In one of his final speeches to the Senate, Grant Tambling offered an apology to Aboriginal Territorians for not getting enough done. He said, 'There is still a hell of a long way to go,' and that, despite his 20 years of work in the area, not enough had been achieved.

After politics, Grant Tambling continued community service. He was appointed administrator of Norfolk Island from 2003 to 2007. After his retirement as administrator, he returned to Darwin and worked with the Northern Territory's Development Consent Authority, a body with planning responsibilities for the City of Darwin Council. He was honoured during Australia Day in 2011, being made a Member of Order of Australia for his service to the parliament of Australia, to the community of Norfolk Island, and to the Northern Territory through contributions to local, state and federal government.

Grant Tambling was a strong advocate for the Northern Territory. We pass on our condolences and we again convey our sympathies to his family, including his wife, Sandy, son, Coryn and daughter, Amalia.