Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death on 25 February 2019 of the Hon. Dr John Joseph Herron, Officer of the Order of Australia, a senator for the state of Queensland from 1990 to 2002. I call the Acting Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Birmingham.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its profound sorrow at the death, on 25 February 2019, of the Honourable Dr John Herron, AO, a former Senator for Queensland, Ambassador and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in the Howard Government, places on record its gratitude for his long service to the Parliament and the nation, and extends its sincere sympathies to his family in their bereavement.

World-class surgeon, humanitarian, senator, minister, ambassador, husband, father and grandfather: having dedicated himself to the service of his nation, his state, his family and his fellow human beings, in the life and example of the Hon. Dr John Herron AO we see so very much of what true moral leadership means and of what it can achieve.

Born on 4 September 1932 in Home Hill, Queensland, John was the son of Irish immigrants James Herron and his wife, Elizabeth. By day they ran a family newsagency in Paddington and, for two years during his childhood, John would ride in the sidecar of a Harley-Davidson and deliver the morning paper, an experience that stoked a lifelong enthusiasm for that motorbike. Those formative years spent in a hardworking family setting shaped his own character and mentality and no doubt played a role in his future achievements.

A gifted student, after high school John secured a scholarship that allowed him to study a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Queensland. So began his enduring passion for medicine, the vocation that would become the clear, golden thread that ran throughout his life. In a testament to his good nature and portending his future political interests, John expressed his gratitude for that scholarship in a personally penned letter to the then Prime Minister and founder of the Liberal Party, Sir Robert Menzies. At university, he dove head first into student life. He was elected president of the university's medical society and as a student union councillor, while also being a prolific contributor to the university's medical school journal.

Upon his graduation, he set to work as a surgeon, first at Princess Alexandra Hospital between 1968 and 1974 and later as the senior surgeon at Mater Public Hospital from 1974 until the year of his election to parliament in 1990. Rising to become one of Brisbane's most prominent and well-regarded doctors, John served as president of the Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association from 1988 to 1989, and, commendably, in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps and the RAAF Reserve for a full three decades.

On 9 March 1958, John met the woman who was to become his wife. He married Jan Kenny less than a year later, on 30 January 1959, and they would go on to raise a large and loving family of 10 children: Maryann, Elizabeth, Nicholas, Samantha, Maryrose, Catriona, Annabel, Wilhelmine, Thomas and John, each of them loved dearly. Together they comprised the family that was always the light of his life.

Family life was not without its challenges. Maryann, their first born, was born with Down syndrome and was unable to talk. Former Senator Sue Boyce has told me that John used to frequently tell the story that at the time of Maryann's birth doctors said to her parents to put her in a home and definitely not to have any more children. John used to chuckle as he reflected that that advice was, of course, advice they clearly rejected, going on to have a further nine children. Through the Herrons' lives, they were, though, touched with the tragedy of Maryann's passing in 1997. Their love for her drove them through her life and after to advocate passionately for the rights and dignity of Australians with Down syndrome. They played a leading role in the formation of the Down Syndrome Association of Queensland in the 1970s and, throughout their lives, commendably turned their personal and family hardship towards the public good.

True to form, it was John's concerns about the direction of public health policy that first spurred him into political action. John was an active and well-regarded member of the Queensland Liberal Party for many years and served as its state president from 1980 to 1984. He entered the parliament as a senator for Queensland in March 1990 but returned to the state presidency in mid-2001 and played a key role in bolstering the Queensland Liberal Party in support of the Howard government's re-election, which was secured later that year.

In this place John served on a number of committees and played a key role in two major Senate inquiries, addressing breast cancer screening and the Australian tobacco industry. As a surgeon who often treated women who were battling breast cancer, he was a reliable advocate for additional funding and support for breast cancer detection at a time when it was nowhere near as prominent and successful in the public mind as it is today. John also served as shadow parliamentary secretary to the shadow minister for health and, later, also for human services from 1994 to 1996.

With the election of the Howard government in 1996, John was made Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. As minister, John's emphasis was principally on Indigenous health and welfare. For him, material improvements in the lives and fortunes of our First Australians were of utmost importance. Although he inherited the portfolio at a time when it faced sensitive and protracted issues, at his retirement he reflected not just on the portfolio's influence on his life and world view but on his contribution to making a difference in that important space.

John's outstanding moral character also shone through outside the walls of this parliament and, indeed, outside our nation. As the world reeled at the scale and carnage of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, John leapt into action and volunteered his surgical skills to save and rebuild lives. Taking leave from the Senate, he spent six weeks in Zaire's Katale refugee camp—a shocking experience that impacted him to his core. He let those experiences fuel his passion for justice. Once back home, he played an important role in ensuring that Australia ratified the creation of the International Criminal Court. He also advocated for additional Australian funding for the re-establishment of Rwanda's health services. His time in Rwanda tied him inextricably to its people. He keenly supported a young Rwandan refugee in starting their own medical career in Australia. Just last year, he served as guest of honour at the commemoration of the genocide's 24th anniversary in Brisbane. For his years of dedication he received the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal in 2000 and the Australian Service Medal. Rwandan community leaders have been amongst the many tributes and accolades that have flowed since John's death. It is clear that his love and care for Rwanda's people were richly reciprocated, and rightly so.

Those acts of kindness were the hallmark of his life in parliament and more broadly. When then Democrat Cheryl Kernot lost her home in a 1991 arson attack, fellow Queenslander John was on hand not simply to console her but also to give her practical advice gleaned from the loss of his own home in a fire years earlier. It was unprompted acts of kindness like that which leant John such moral authority and earned him the respect of colleagues on all sides of politics.

Departing from the Senate in 2002, John's service to the nation was not finished. He went on to serve as Australia's Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See from 2002 to 2006. Having been born into a family of rich Irish heritage and having concluded his senatorial career with a famous Irish blessing, there is no doubt that John's personal affection for Ireland helped him to serve ably as Australia's representative there.

After his diplomatic posting, he leveraged his decades of medical expertise as chair of the Australian National Council on Drugs and brought down a landmark report dubbed the Herron paper, which called for strong action on the growing use of ice and amphetamines. My wife, Courtney Morcombe, recalls serving alongside John as a member of the ANCD and remembers fondly his work, leadership, insight and compassion in that role. He also served diligently as the chairman of the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital Foundation from 2007 to 2010.

As a devout Catholic, John also worked as a World Youth Day ambassador in 2008. He relished the chance to guide and counsel young Australian Catholics in that role. John's deep and abiding personal faith and his lengthy service to the Catholic community saw him appointed as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and as a Papal Knight of St Gregory years earlier. This was later complemented by his receipt of the Australian Catholic University's highest honour, Doctor of the University, in May 2012. Finally, in recognition of a life given selflessly to the service of his nation and his fellow human beings, in 2012 John was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Upon reflection, it is clear that John Herron lived many remarkable lives all in one. The scale and diversity of his achievements speak to a man of drive and energy and also to one of kindness and generosity. Nowhere was that kindness more on display than in his family life. For all of the success that he enjoyed, it speaks volumes of John's humility and character that he always held his 60 years of devoted marriage to Jan to be his greatest achievement. It is to his large and adoring family that I speak in concluding. To Jan, John's nine surviving children, his 24 grandchildren, their extended family, and all those whose lives were touched by his, on behalf of the Australian government, I offer our sincerest condolences on the passing of a loving husband, a wonderful father and a truly great Australian.

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

I rise on behalf of the opposition to express our condolences following the passing of the Hon. Dr John Herron AO, former senator and minister, at the age of 86 years. As I begin, I wish to convey the opposition's sympathy to his family and his friends, particularly those present in the Senate today.

John Herron served our nation at home and abroad. He was described by the Prime Minister he served, John Howard, as a devout Catholic and dedicated humanitarian but a hard-headed pragmatist. He fulfilled a distinguished career in medicine before entering politics. His timing was good. Of the 12 years he spent in the Senate, six years were in government and mostly on the front bench. As Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, he tackled one of the most difficult and contentious portfolios in the first two terms of the Howard government. He was liked and respected by his colleagues and was described by a former Labor senator, John Faulkner, as 'a pretty avuncular sort of bloke, affable and easygoing around this building'. He went on to serve as an ambassador before returning again to leadership in medical causes.

A lifelong Queenslander, John Herron was born in the Burdekin shire at Home Hill. He completed his school education at the former Christian Brothers College in Townsville, which, I understand, was known as Our Lady's Mount, a Catholic boys school at Stanton Hill, which has been succeeded by Ignatius Park College. His first vocation was in medicine. He graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery in 1956. He went on to practise as a surgeon, notably at the Princess Alexandra and the Mater hospitals in Brisbane, becoming chief surgeon at the latter.

At the time he began his first representative career, Dr Herron served on a number of medical councils, including with the Australian Association of Surgeons and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. After serving as the state chairman of both these organisations at various times, he was President of the Australian Medical Association, Queensland branch, in 1988 and again in 1989. In 1974, he received the Justin Fleming Medal from the Australian Association of Surgeons. Prior to entering parliament, Dr Herron also served for over 30 years in the Australian Defence Force, including in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps reserve and the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve.

His first significant political office was President of the Queensland division of the Liberal Party from 1980 until 1984. He would fulfil this role again in 2001 and 2002. The first period in office was marked by a determination to improve ministerial accountability and attack the corruption that had enveloped the National Party state government. It was a demonstration of Dr Herron's moral leadership that John Howard and others would come to value. Along with Senator Macdonald, John Herron was first elected to represent Queensland in the Senate in 1990. He was twice re-elected, in 1996 and in 2001, before resigning his place in 2002.

His first speech concentrated on health policy—his area of professional expertise—while also setting down the importance of what he described as 'family life as the basis for civilised living'. He believed that 'the standards of a free society should support family ideals'. On both matters, he saw the philosophy of liberalism as the most convincing and humane answer to the problems he saw in Australia at that time. Critically, in a demonstration of his pragmatism, he favoured not what he said was 'an appeal to moral values or adherence to the Ten Commandments' but policy responses in line with these values that would make a practical impact where they were needed.

He only had a brief career on the back bench, being promoted into the opposition shadow ministry in 1993. As a shadow parliamentary secretary, Dr Herron served in the health portfolio, well aligned with his medical qualifications and experience. At the same time, he served as Chair of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee. He took part in what were described as two groundbreaking Senate inquiries—one into breast cancer screening and one into the tobacco industry. The legacy of the recommendations was not to be outdone by what Dr Herron saw as another signature achievement—the limitation on the Senate hours of sitting. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his part in that!

Dr Herron also maintained a practical engagement in medicine by volunteering as a doctor for CARE Australia in Rwanda during the course of his first term as a senator. This gruelling eight weeks was traumatising but also moving. As a consequence, he became an advocate for the International Criminal Court.

The election of the Howard government saw John Herron move into Howard's first ministry. Dr Herron took on the role of Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs from the beginning of the Howard government in 1996. He held that portfolio until January 2001. When he gave his farewell remarks in the Senate in 2002, he described these years as 'the most fascinating years of my life'. They were also controversial and divisive. Not everyone saw Indigenous policy in the same way as the Howard government. Dr Herron took on his role not long after the passage of the Native Title Act 1993, something that was highly contentious for those in the Liberal and National parties. The High Court decision in the Wik Peoples v Queensland in December 1996 would ensure that native title remained at the forefront of the debate in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. The court found native title rights could coexist with pastoral leases. The response was the 10-point plan, which only passed the Senate after substantial debate and amendment. While Dr Herron was not directly responsible for the policy and the legislative response of the High Court's decision, there's no doubt that this was a pivotal event in the relationship between the first peoples and the government.

Dr Herron saw the Aboriginal affairs portfolio as an opportunity to inject a mantra of self-sufficiency into Indigenous policy. He was the architect of practical reconciliation. As the then Leader of the Government in the Senate, Robert Hill, said following Dr Herron's farewell remarks in this place:

John Herron, in his typical way, went out and visited the communities and assessed in his own mind what their real needs were.

He wanted to address basic needs—jobs, health, education and housing. Recognising the particular challenges that came with remote living, he wanted to ensure that the acute problems of lack of basic services and infrastructure were properly addressed, even if this meant a decline in funding for urban and rural services. This approach was not without its critics. A critical working relationship in his portfolio was with ATSIC, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. Early on, he sought to form a constructive working relationship with its senior officers in the face of strained circumstances, although this was not always achieved. Further evidence that life in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs portfolio was not smooth sailing can be found in the decision of the Senate to twice censure Dr Herron—in 1996 and 2000.

Another significant event was the release of the Bringing them home report in 1997. In response, Dr Herron announced $63 million in practical assistance for those affected by the former practices of separating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. This included funding for the development of Indigenous family support and parenting programs, boosting culture and language maintenance programs, and professional counselling and support, although not compensation, nor a formal apology. While he hoped the response would enable people to 'move together in a more positive, more harmonious and fairer future, in the true spirit of reconciliation', the idea of reconciliation itself was not a matter of political unity. Dr Herron stood up against then Independent member of the House of Representatives Pauline Hanson, now Senator Pauline Hanson, for her comments that reconciliation was being 'forced down mainstream Australia's throat'. He was appalled by these comments. Speaking in 2002, Labor senator Trish Crossin—noting that at that time some 28 per cent of the population living in the Northern Territory, which she represented, were Indigenous—acknowledged his significant contribution to Indigenous people—sometimes despite the attitudes and constraints within his own government.

John Herron's resignation from the Senate in 2002 precipitated his appointment as Australia's Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See—a terrific combination, Mr President, but, unfortunately, no longer together—at a time when the incumbent held office in Dublin and the Vatican simultaneously. I'm not sure how you do that, but that's what he did. This was quite the full circle for the Catholic son of an immigrant Irishman. Dr Herron served in this role between 2003 and 2005. On Dr Herron's return to Australia, he was chair of the Australian National Council on Drugs. His lifetime of distinguished service in the Parliament of Australia, international relations through diplomatic and humanitarian roles, professional medical associations and the community was formally recognised in 2012, when he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. In further recognition of his contribution, he also received the Australian Service Medal, the Humanitarian Overseas Medal and, from the Australian Medical Board, the Bancroft Medal.

John Herron died in February and was honoured with a state funeral at St Stephen's Catholic Cathedral in Brisbane. John Howard said this about Dr Herron:

John Herron gave a lifetime of service to the medical profession, his nation and the Liberal Party … he brought sincerity and dedication to everything he did.

Again, on behalf of the opposition, I express our deepest condolences to his family and friends.

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My friend and colleague the late John Herron AO was a wonderful man in so many ways: a great family man, husband and father, a skilled surgeon, a real Liberal leader, a caring and contributory parliamentarian, an effective minister and a demonstrative humanitarian—in fact, an all-round lovely man. John and I came into the Senate together in 1990 and worked together until John resigned in 2001 to become our ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See. John and his lovely and gracious wife, Jan, and Lesley and I, spent many long hours together, often on long drives campaigning and working around Queensland, and we got to know each other very well. We shared many a thought, many a laugh and many experiences. I always remember Jan's amazement and wonder at the unique landscape on the drive from Winton to Boulia in north-west Queensland. I saw John's compassion in volunteering to use his surgical skills to help in war-torn Africa while still serving as a parliamentarian, and I remember well the trauma, which he couldn't hide, when he returned to parliament. John's wisdom and calmness was of benefit to all who served with him.

John and I contested a very interesting preselection back in 1989. I know John had his moments at the time, particularly when a new contestant was thrown into the election at the last moment, in the form of a wife of a Knight of the Realm, who, curiously, had previously been a contestant with John's wife's Jan in a Miss Queensland competition in the early 1950s. In that earlier contest, Jan did not prevail. But, on a night that I will never forget, John won No. 2 position on the Senate ticket fairly and squarely, and Jan, who was sitting next to my wife, was heard to exclaim to all in earshot in her excitement and pride how 'this fairness had not occurred in the earlier contest', or words to that effect.

I could go on for hours extolling John's virtues and the contribution he made to his community, to his family, to the medical profession, to the Liberal Party, to parliament, to government and to the nation. John would never be a slave to time and he accordingly made it a habit never to wear a watch. But as the professional that he was in everything he did, John would be first to appreciate on the day of the federal budget, with only a few days left in this parliament, that time is precious. Accordingly, I will curtail my remarks there. I did speak to Jan at the state funeral but I now publicly extend to Jan and John's nine surviving children my condolences.

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

I ask honourable senators to join in a moment of silence to signify assent to the motion.

Question agreed to, honourable senators standing in their places.