Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its sadness at the death, on 28 November 2024, of the Honourable Thomas (Tom) Eyre Forrest Hughes AO KC, former Attorney-General and Member for Parkes and Berowra, 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 acknowledge the death of the former member of the House of Representatives and minister, the Hon. Thomas Eyre Forrest Hughes AO, KC, at the age of 101. At the outset of my remarks, I convey the government's condolences to the family and friends of Tom Hughes and, again, join you and others in acknowledging those joining us in the chamber today—Tom's wife, Christine; his son, Tom; and his daughter, Lucy Turnbull AO, and her husband, the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull AC, former Prime Minister of Australia. I also extend acknowledgement to all friends and relatives here today. I extend my personal sympathies to you all, as I do to Mr Hughes's loved ones who are not here with us today.

To be a centenarian puts one in rare air, and Tom Hughes was rare indeed. As the Prime Minister said earlier:

It takes considerable effort to fill a century of life to capacity, yet Tom Hughes certainly managed it. In his 101 years, he gave us many remarkable chapters, each revealing another aspect of a man of wit, intellect, courage, conviction and curiosity.

The narrative that coursed through those chapters was his family—a family flush with talent, a family grounded by civic duty and a family bound by deep love and affection.

Tom Hughes was born in November 1923 in Sydney. His father was a successful lawyer and wartime aviator. His grandfather and great uncles were members of the New South Wales parliament. His brother was the acclaimed historian and art critic Robert Hughes, who was once described in the New York Times as 'the most famous art critic in the world'. He was educated at Riverview, where the intellectual discipline of the Jesuits helped shape his character and work ethic.

As with so many of his generation, World War II interceded and upended his trajectory into adult life. He followed his father's footsteps, enlisting in the RAAF in Australia in 1942. He was a celebrated pilot, and when his service concluded in 1946 he held the rank of flight lieutenant. For his contribution to the war in Europe, he would be recognised in 2005 by France with its highest award, the Legion of Honour. Despite his military achievements, Lucy Turnbull recalled that her father 'did not dwell on his war service. He never told us stories of his flying or military adventures.' I think that says something of the character of the man—his respect for the suffering of war and the sacred memory of those who didn't return.

Returning to civilian life, Tom once again followed in his father's footsteps and completed studies in law at the University of Sydney. He was admitted in 1949 and took silk just over a decade later. I'm told it was on the same day as Gough Whitlam. Gough Whitlam and Tom always held each other in high esteem despite their political differences.

Tom Hughes had not long been Queen's Counsel before another family calling resonated. At the 1963 general election, won by Robert Menzies, he successfully contested the division of Parkes—then located in inner Western Sydney—defeating the Labor incumbent, Les Haylen. His campaign manager was future prime minister John Howard. In 1969, Tom became the first member for Berowra.

After a couple of terms on the backbench, destiny prevailed when Prime Minister John Gorton appointed Tom Hughes to the ministry as his Attorney-General. They shared a background as wartime airmen and an enmity for Billy McMahon. The strength of the relationship between them is evidenced by Tom Hughes delivering the eulogy at John Gorton's funeral in 2002. Theirs was a government grappling with change—a restlessness percolating through the Australian public, and politics was catching up with a prime minister orientated towards action. Tom himself, as Lucy recalled, 'became a more liberal Liberal during his time in parliament'. He certainly was 'way ahead of his time' and was 'at the vanguard of pushing to abolish the crime of homosexuality'.

Tom didn't have much time as Attorney-General, only until John Gorton's demise in 1971, but he spent that short tenure at the forefront of legislative reform, applying himself with his typical focus, especially in areas not regarded as the purview of Commonwealth government—pursuing divorce law reform, law reform in the ACT and trade practices legislation. In her eulogy, Mrs Turnbull said: 'Dad, like all traditional Liberals, was always a big supporter of free and fair enterprise. The "fair" bit was very important to him. Dad was very opposed to restrictive trade practices, meaning monopolistic or anticompetitive behaviour, and in those days the legal system didn't have enough power to prohibit or sanction it.'

Tom balanced public expectations with justice in electing not to indiscriminately prosecute antidraft protesters, at the same time as he notoriously confronted antiwar demonstrators streaming down his driveway—with a cricket bat.

Alongside reform inside the parliament, his talents as a barrister were not left idle, personally appearing for the Commonwealth on multiple occasions in the High Court during this time. It was a pretty good deal for the taxpayer, since—a young Malcolm Turnbull later recorded in a profile for the BulletinTom's daily rate at the bar was a thousand dollars a day in 1970s money. Perhaps most famously, he appeared for the Commonwealth in the Concrete Pipes case, which led to an expansive interpretation of the corporations power in the Constitution. Former High Court justice Michael McHugh reflected, 'This granted the Commonwealth government power to control and regulate most of the business and economic life, and much of the social life, in Australia.'

The ascent of William McMahon to the nation's highest political office brought about Tom Hughes's ministerial demise. The three airmen—John Gorton, Tom Hughes and their close friend, minister for the Navy Jim Killen—fell together, sacked by the new leader, whom he accurately described as 'a shocking little person'. Tom Hughes left parliament at the ensuing election and returned full time to the New South Wales bar, serving as president of the Bar Association from 1973 to 1975, and he built his reputation and became pre-eminent amongst those learned in the law.

I've read various nicknames and various adjectives for this period in his life: formidable, dominant, theatrical, the nickname 'Frosty'. But above all, unquestionably, he was exceptionally good—a leader at the bar, master of the courtroom—and he applied himself across a broad spectrum of the law. And he'd work his craft as adeptly before the High Court, in which he appeared on nearly 100 occasions in constitutional cases, as he did before the Supreme Court on a defamation trial or criminal matter. His clients included Lionel Murphy, as well as the Packer family, and even—no doubt to the delight of the current Prime Minister—the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Finally, he retired on the occasion of his 90th birthday. It's very impressive.

Tom Hughes was a gifted Australian. He excelled in his chosen field, and he ensured he never treated it like an occupation. Whether in law or politics, it was a calling, and our nation is richer for his pursuit of it. Tom Hughes was, as the Prime Minister said, someone with a sharp wit and a gift for language and persuasion. More importantly, he held a determination to use his talents for the service of others, for causes bigger than himself. And anyone who has had anything to do with the Hughes and Turnbull families would have observed how they treasured their loving patriarch. Lucy's eulogy reveals not just his family's sadness for his passing but also their pride in his life.

Tom returned to the shores of Sydney Harbour for his last days, so fitting when his brother had vividly described Sydney Harbour as 'the amniotic fluid' of Tom's memory. That iconic part of Australia so nurtured Tom Hughes's emotional and spiritual life, and Tom and his family have just as devotedly sought to shape the modern soul of Australia.

On behalf of the government I express again our condolences, following his passing, to his friends and family, especially to his wife, Christine; and his children, Lucy, Tom and Michael.