Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death, on 18 December 2017, of the Hon. Barry Cohen, AM, a former minister and member of the House of Representatives for the division of Robertson, New South Wales from 1969 to 1990. I call the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its deep sorrow at the death, on 18 December 2017, of the Honourable Barry Cohen AM, a former member of the House of Representatives for the division of Robertson and Minister for Arts, Heritage and Environment in the Hawke Government, places on record its gratitude for his service to the Parliament, and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

Barry Cohen's life was one of remarkable achievement in public life, defined by his persistent concern for the good of others and an unflappable—and very Australian—sense of humour. Born on 3 April 1935 in the regional centre of Griffith, New South Wales to local dentist Louis Cohen and his wife, Phyllis, Barry undertook schooling at Griffith High School, Sydney Grammar School and North Sydney Technical High School. Following this, he went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University.

Barry's grandparents left the Polish region of Russia in the 1890s at a time of a wave of Jewish immigration to countries like Australia, which welcomed them with open arms. Decades later, in one of the darkest chapters of human history, several members of his extended family perished in the horrors of the Holocaust. A proud and active member of the Jewish community, Barry remarked about his time at Griffith High School, 'Seven Jewish children in a school of nearly one thousand made us a curiosity.'

From an early age, Barry's commitment to public service was clear. In 1953, he enlisted in what was then the Citizen Military Forces, today's Australian Army Reserves, and he served ably with the Scottish Regiment until 1957. Two years later, in October 1959, Barry married Rae McNeill, with whom he had three sons, Stuart, Adam and Martin. Running a gentleman's outfitters prior to entering federal parliament, he occasionally considered pursuing his dream of becoming a professional golfer—so I'm told. Barry's work running a modest retail business might seem unremarkable, but it was a significant part of what shaped Barry's strength in his subsequent political career. As one of the few people on the Labor side to have experienced owning a small business, he was a strong policy counterweight to the union voices in the Labor Party. Even after his retirement from parliament, he often took Labor to task in his prolific newspaper columns whenever he felt that the parliamentary party was becoming detached from realities.

One of Barry's most important contributions to public life was his work as the deputy campaign manager for the 'yes' campaign in the 1967 referendum on Indigenous Australians. That referendum involved a significant public discussion on the treatment of Indigenous Australians that built the momentum towards a resounding result of over 90 per cent support. Knowing his opinions, the suggestion of a friend prompted him to join the Australian Labor Party in 1964. From there, Barry's deepening party involvement, coupled with his passion for the New South Wales Central Coast, led him to run as the Labor candidate for the district of Robertson at the October 1969 federal election. Barry was elected the first Labor member for that seat since Thomas Williams' election defeat in 1949.

Only a few years after his entry into parliament, the election of the Whitlam government saw Barry exposed to a period of substantial reform. After serving in the shadow ministry between 1977 and 1980, the election of the Hawke government saw Barry appointed to the role of Minister for Home Affairs and Environment, retitled as the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Environment only a year later. Barry was also made a Minister assisting the Prime Minister for the Bicentennial in 1984, continuing in that role until 1987 when he left the ministry.

During this time, he became quite close to the then Prime Minister Bob Hawke, with the two having bonded over shared appreciation for the state of Israel and the fierce passion for golf. That friendship was on full display at a 1986 dinner celebrating Barry's career, with the Prime Minister noting—tongue in cheek, I'm sure: 'All of us in the Labor Party have had cause to be grateful that he chose politics over the glittering promise of life on the pro golf circuit.'

Barry's most enduring legacies can be found within the environmental space. As Minister for the Environment, he stewarded the processes that came to protect some of our nation's greatest natural wonders, including legislating additional protections for the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. In addition, Barry played a prominent role in securing the stage 2 listing of the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park as a UNESCO World Heritage site, a process that would reach its completion a few short years after his retirement from parliament.

His commitment to the environment was a truly personal one. This was most evident after Barry's retirement, when he threw his life savings into building a wildlife sanctuary. This involved years of toil for Barry and his son Adam to build the park, and he ran the facility until 2005. Of equal significance were the stands that Barry took in his continuing fight against discrimination. His early life experiences instilled in him a passion for justice that was first articulated in his maiden speech. Barry passionately advocated for an end to discrimination in South Africa and Rhodesia, which he charged had raised the dogma of racial superiority 'to a fine legislative art'. However, his efforts extended beyond words and into action. Of particular note was Barry's role in shining a light on the suffering of the Soviet Union's Jewish population.

Following his departure from the Hawke ministry in 1987, Barry retired from parliament just prior to the March 1990 federal election. The years after Barry's retirement were spent as a prolific writer, penning numerous opinion pieces in leading Australian newspapers alongside eight light-hearted books on the nature of Australian politics. Throughout that time, his larrikin spirit shone through, with Barry once noting that 'the only thing that kept me sane during the pressure of the last 20 years was to have a good laugh'. Isn't that something that all of us should always remember?

In recognition of years of dedicated service in both the Australian parliament and a wide range of other community roles, Barry was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday honours in 2007. But Barry's commitment to public service did not end with his parliamentary career. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2014, and his final years were spent campaigning for greater awareness around Alzheimer's disease and for additional resources towards a search for a cure and the care for those that it affects.

Beyond his advocacy, Barry's candid and frank public writings on his experiences battling the disease helped to bring the tragic reality faced by hundreds of thousands of Australians further into the national spotlight. In the life and service of Barry Cohen we find so many of the traits that are most prized as part of our national character—good grace and humour, hard work and an unfailing commitment to those around him.

To Barry's wife, Rae; his sons, Stuart, Adam and Martin; all of his grandchildren; and his whole family, on behalf of the government, I offer my most sincerest condolences.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the opposition to acknowledge the passing of a member of the Labor family, a former member of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Barry Cohen AM, who served as a minister in the Hawke government, who passed away, sadly, in December 2017. I commence by conveying the opposition's deepest sympathies to his family and friends and to all who knew him.

In many ways, Barry Cohen was a member of one of the lucky generations of Labor parliamentarians. He saw the rise and fall of the Whitlam government before being at the vanguard of the Hawke ascendancy, and it presented him with the opportunity to serve as a minister, most notably in the environment portfolio. Throughout his life in politics he always took an approach that seemed to acknowledge his good fortune, and we are very grateful—certainly those of us in the Labor Party, but I suspect the Australian community more broadly—that he never took the advice that Fred Daly gave him early in his career to 'cut the comedy'. It's to our benefit that he didn't take that advice, because he ensured his passion and achievements were accompanied by good humour.

Throughout his career, Barry Cohen retained his underlying zeal for fairness and his opposition to discrimination—greatly influenced by his Jewish faith and the treatment suffered by so many of his family who were killed in the Holocaust. As a minister, he seized the opportunity to be a part of nation-shaping reforms. After politics he continued to share the lighter side of political life with others. In his final act, he used his debilitating disease as a motivation to secure greater awareness and policy advancement for the benefit of others.

As Senator Cormann said, Barry Cohen was born in Griffith in 1935. His father was a dentist in the town, with the family later moving to Sydney where Mr Cohen completed his secondary education. His early adult years included aspirations to be a professional golfer, retailing sporting goods and as a TV sports commentator. Prior to his election, he was a small businessman, and he was always proud of this background, having opened his first menswear shop on the North Shore of Sydney in 1959, possibly not the typical foundation for a career in Labor politics, even in the 1960s.

For Barry Cohen, discrimination wasn't just something experienced by others; it was something he endured. But he recognised his cause was not a personal one and, whether it be against anti-Semitism, apartheid or the appalling treatment of our first peoples, he determined he would not sit idle, so in order to make a difference he joined the Australian Labor Party. He seized the House of Representatives division of Robertson—I note Senator O'Neill is here and, no doubt, may wish to speak about that history—a seat located then as now on the Central Coast of New South Wales, in 1969. Until his electoral success, it had been a Liberal-held seat for two decades. He built the seat into a personal stronghold, but it was never safe. He worked it hard. He was a formidable campaigner, evidenced by the fact that he held it through to his retirement in 1990. Since then, notwithstanding our best efforts, it has oscillated between the major parties.

In his first speech, Barry Cohen reflected on some of his motivations for entering politics, and the theme of discrimination was a strong one. He said, 'I've always been concerned with the question of prejudice, whether that prejudice be based on class, religion or race.' He went on to describe his opposition to racial unrest, particularly in the United States, parts of South-East Asia and in sections of communities all over the world. He also turned his attention to the home front, lamenting the lack of advancement in Aboriginal affairs. Of course, he came to this topic from a knowledgeable background, having served as an executive member of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. He highlighted the gap that existed between the myth that Indigenous people were making giant steps forward and the reality of the squalid living conditions on the outskirts of country towns in his home state of New South Wales. He knew from his personal experience of having visited such places how desperate the need was not just in housing but also in so many areas, including education, health care and employment. In the wake of the euphoria of the 1967 referendum, there is no doubt that electing people like Barry Cohen to the parliament helped to bring practical firsthand knowledge of the plight of Australia's first peoples, on which we still need to shine a light today.

During his time on the backbench, Barry Cohen had the opportunity to learn firsthand about success and failure in politics through the election and dismissal of the Whitlam government. At the same time, he prepared himself for future responsibility by completing tertiary qualifications at the Australian National University. From 1977 to 1980, he was in the shadow ministry in the portfolios of environment, sport and recreation, tourism and home affairs under Bill Hayden. Despite a hiatus over the next three years, he was restored to the frontbench following the election of the Hawke government. He entered the ministry in 1983 in the portfolio of Home Affairs and the Environment. In 1984, this became Arts, Heritage and the Environment, and he also gained responsibility for assisting the Prime Minister with arrangements for the impending bicentennial celebration in 1988.

Barry Cohen was fortunate to serve in a ministry that is still widely regarded as one of the most talented ever composed in Australia. At the same time, he also took on portfolios—especially environment—which were gaining importance in the national political landscape. We can see this in some of the remarkable decisions taken under his stewardship: the granting of full protection of the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru as well as World Heritage listing for stage 2 of Kakadu. Even today these achievements are remarkable. To be able to play a role in preserving these icons of Australia for future generations in perpetuity is a great legacy of executive office and serves also a reminder to us all of the importance of continuing to work for the protection of our natural environment.

In the arts portfolio, Barry Cohen worked hard to ensure art support was not compromised, despite tough budget policy and many competing pressures, which earned him praise from the sector. His capacities in the arts area were described in an anecdote in Bill Shorten's speech to his memorial service, where he tells a story of Barry Cohen starting his first menswear shop in 1959 and a friend of his told him, 'You should go down. There's another shop on the Pacific Highway that specialises in artwork. Add some character to the interior of your shop.' It happened that Barry had known the shop owners for a long time. He thought they were a respectable middle-class family, but he thought their 18-year-old son Brett was a 'five-star nutter'. Barry bought a few pieces on his way out. The owner asked if he was interested in purchasing some of his son's paintings. He pointed to five he'd had hanging in the shop and said, '15 quid or all five for 60 pounds.' Barry said, 'I don't know much about art and I wasn't about to be conned by an old codger trying to sell his son's paintings, so I replied, "It's kind of you to offer, but, no, thank you, Mr Whiteley."'

Mr Cohen's role in the organisation of the Australian bicentennial celebrations should not be overlooked. As Senator Cormann mentioned, he was very close to Bob Hawke. They shared an emotional attachment, a commitment to Israel and a very strong sporting rivalry on the golf course. Nevertheless, despite this, he was a victim of changing winds in his right faction and wasn't returned to the ministry after the 1987 election. He served his remaining three years in the parliament on the backbench.

Barry Cohen used his immediate post-parliamentary career to complete several books and write columns, including for The Bulletin and The Australian. This was a great outlet for his sense of enjoyment in many of the everyday occurrences of political life. His humour shone through in his collections of anecdotes and witticisms and in particular in his collections of stories about the former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. Whitlamisms, as they are known, were the product of dedicated study from when he first entered the House in 1969. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007 in recognition of his service to the Australian parliament and the community.

When he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease Mr Cohen was shocked, and it took him some time to come to terms with being told he was at the early stages of dementia after being hospitalised after a series of falls. However, with characteristic courage, he recognised that he could be an advocate for the hundreds of thousands of Australians living with dementia and their families—in many ways his greatest realisation. He joked that he could employ some of the tactics that his constituents employed to lobby him when he was their local member to in turn lobby for action and encourage others to do so. His challenge he saw as a policy challenge for our country, and set about addressing it just as he had so many other challenges in his career, seeking a better deal for older Australians.

Barry Cohen deserves a lasting place in Labor history and a lasting place in Australia's history. He drew on his experiences of discrimination to pursue policy changes that would benefit countless others from all backgrounds and all walks of life. He served amongst some of the finest parliamentarians of his generation to deliver the preservation of some of the most iconic and valuable environments in our country. We are fortunate to have had such a dedicated, passionate but of course humorous servant to grace our parliament. Politics is a tough business, but laughter was his antidote to the pressures and tribulations of the job. He said:

To see the absurdity of some of the things we were doing; to laugh at myself and my colleagues.

Barry Cohen was indeed the life of the party. On behalf of the Labor Party, I again extend my and all of our empathies to Rae and all of his family and friends at this time.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Innovation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a sad occasion on which to rise, but I absolutely appreciate the opportunity to put on the record remarks around the amazing Barry Cohen. I recall the first time I met Barry Cohen. I was considering running for preselection and I was advised that I should go and meet him. In all the years I had lived on the coast, and being only a fairly recently joining member of the Labor Party, I hadn't had the pleasure of making his company. So I went to the bottle shop on the way at the bottom of the hill, I picked up a bottle of red and a bottle of white and I proceeded up to the top of the hill to what's now known as the Walkabout Wildlife Park but was Barry's Calga Springs Sanctuary at the time. I was greeted first by a wallaby and then by Barry, emerging from the back of the house at the call of his wife, Rae. He stood on the balcony and he looked me up and down; I had the two bottles in my hand. He said, 'Oh, well, what have you got there?' I said, 'Barry, I didn't know if you liked red or white, so I brought one of each.' He said, 'I don't know anything about you, darling, but I like your style.' That was our first encounter.

What a generous and wise mentor he was for me on so many occasions. That evening we sat as the sun set, and the wallabies jumped around in a free and open environment, which was quite a radical departure from the way in which engagement with our native animals is often experienced by tourists to Australia. Barry had vision there and he created this wonderful sanctuary that is a hallmark of the tourist industry that is part of the Central Coast. I'm very pleased to say that just last week I was in a local shop, talking to a young girl who has undertaken some training at TAFE and is on a disability support. She loves animals and she is going to work at the Walkabout Wildlife Park. It has been a great place of engagement for people in our local community.

I wanted to acknowledge that Barry's passing on 18 December was something that really affected so many people on the Central Coast who have been long-term residents. Barry was very much a part of the furniture. I know that, when he retired from politics and when he finally sold the business that he had up there on the Central Coast and moved to Bungendore, he was still very much enamoured of the political process, for all its flaws—and I noted Senator Wong's comments about his capacity to critique and to laugh at the lunacy of some of the things that happened around this place. He was still a passionate believer in the power of democracy to improve people's lives, and the passion that it is possible to bring to politics, to bring about change.

Much has been said of Barry's contributions to a range of policy areas, particularly the environment. In my conversations with Barry, the one particular issue that he spoke to me most commonly about was his efforts to improve and change practices to enhance road safety. There was always this profoundly practical dimension to the ideas that Barry wanted to advance, and he spoke with great joy about the changes that he was able to make and the lives of Australians that had been saved as a result of that policymaking that he was part of.

On that very first meeting that I had with Barry, he gave me some reading to take away with me—which shouldn't surprise people. Amongst the reading—also no surprise—was one of his very own books. In fact, it was How to Become Prime Minister, which Barry wrote in 1990, six years before I even joined the Labor Party. It was a wonderful entry for me, through him, into his perspective on what happens here in Canberra.

Barry married Rae McNeill in October 1959. To Rae and their three sons, Stuart, Adam and Martin, and to Barry's grandchildren, I convey my deepest condolences, as a long-term resident of the Central Coast, for and on behalf of the people of the Central Coast. Certainly, as a Labor person, he is writ large in our history. But I also wanted to acknowledge that the community remembers some remarkable local contributions that Barry made. Many of you would have heard of the RED scheme, which was a very significant way of getting funding into the local community. The RED scheme on the Central Coast, on Barry's watch, delivered the very first versions of our surf lifesaving clubs up and down the coast. That was the way in which Barry engaged with the local people on a very, very practical level. Those surf clubs became the foundation institutions and the foundation places in which the community gathered at Copacabana, where I live; at Macmasters Beach; at Terrigal; at Avoca. That section of Robertson that he represented relied on those buildings to create spaces in which we could become a community in what was a very much a growing area at the time.

As Senator Wong has indicated, Barry Cohen won the seat in 1969. He wrested it from Liberal control, which it had been under for 20 years, and then held onto it till his retirement in 1990, no small feat in what is still declared pretty much a bellwether seat. Barry was part of the community. He read it very well, he appreciated the people who were there and he had an amazing set of allies. In fact, I recall him talking to me about a local real estate agent by the name of George Brand, who has real estate offices right across the coast. George Brand comes from the area of Copacabana where I live. Barry said that one day this fellow rolled up in his office wearing his stubbies shorts and a T-shirt, and he said he didn't know who he was. He walked in and just said, 'I'd like to contribute to your campaign, Barry,' and just put the money straight down and helped him out. Local businesses really understood that, to grow their businesses, they needed a great member who was going to make practical enhancements to our local community and deliver the roads that enable communities to function and enable businesses to function. They had a great friend in Barry Cohen.

Before, during and after politics, Barry Cohen was very true to his cultural and faith tradition. He championed always a very strong and enduring friendship between Australia and Israel, and he never resiled from his commitment to that end. He certainly shared with me on a regular basis his thoughts about pressing matters with regard to our international relations.

Barry's determination to try and help shape the debate, both at a local level and the national level, continued, as has been indicated, well after his parliamentary career. He continued to write books and he continued to go around the country. I'm sure that there was a powerful educative impact from Barry telling the stories of the human interactions that happen in this place, revealing the flawed nature, but also the possible nature, of the work that we do. I noted in the comments that Bill Shorten made yesterday—and I'm very sad to say that parliamentary business prevented me from being able to attend that memorial service yesterday as a former member for Robertson—when he paid tribute to Barry's record in the parliament by indicating Barry's response to his final illness of Alzheimer's, his turning it from a personal struggle into a policy challenge. He certainly communicated with me, at least early in his illness, his ideas about what needed to be tackled. As Bill Shorten said, he did not go gently into that good night. Instead, he took up the fight on behalf of every Australian living with dementia, urging politicians from all sides to deliver a better deal for older Australians. I think that passion that he embodied in his last policy push remains a signature for a life lived in great service of the Australian people. I am proud to have called him my friend.

Question agreed to, honourable senators standing in their places.