Condolence

Cameron, Hon. M.B.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:23): I rise today on behalf of the Liberal Party of South Australia to pay tribute to the late Hon. Martin Bruce Cameron, former member of this place and Senator for South Australia, and to extend our sincere condolences to his wife, Barbara, to his children, Mary, Jane, Kate, Sandy and Robert, and to all who knew and admired him.

Born in Millicent in 1935, Martin Cameron brought to this place not just the voice of the South-East but the fire of a political reformer. Mr Cameron was a man who took seriously the obligation of elected office and never lost sight of the people he served. Before entering politics, Martin worked the land as a farmer, a grazier and a proud son of the South-East. He understood rural communities because he lived amongst them. He studied agriculture at Canterbury Agricultural College in New Zealand before returning home, and with his wife, Barbara, built both a family and a life rooted in hard work, principle and, importantly, a life of service.

Martin Cameron's political career was as bold as it was principled. He first ran for parliament in 1968. As the Leader of the Government in this place pointed out, he famously lost the seat of Millicent to Des Corcoran by a single vote. Undeterred by this loss, he went on to briefly serve in the federal Senate before winning election to the South Australian Legislative Council in 1971, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1990.

He will long be remembered as a founding member of the Liberal movement: the spirited push for reform within our party that helped shape the modern South Australian Liberal tradition. For Martin, principle was never optional, it was the compass by which he navigated public life. He fought for full adult franchise in the Legislative Council, an achievement he considered amongst his proudest. It was a stance born of deep conviction and a belief that representation should be equal, inclusive and fair. He took risks to advance that cause, and in doing so strengthened our democratic institutions. We should all be thankful for his efforts in this reform.

Martin served as Leader of the Opposition in this place from 1982 to 1990 and as shadow health spokesman through a critical time in South Australia's health policy debates. He was relentless, often the first voice on the airwaves each day, an advocate who brought energy and focus to the issues that mattered. He never stopped fighting for country hospitals and for those left behind by bureaucratic indifference, something which resonates with me strongly today as we so often see our regional communities left behind.

But Martin Cameron was more than a parliamentarian. He was a character. He was a bagpiper. He was a collector of porcelain insulators, of all things. He was a man whose sense of humour and larrikin streak brought levity to this chamber. He once joked that his wife preferred he only practise the bagpipes while she was in the shower, and by all accounts that advice was heeded, I am told.

He also served the community in many roles outside of parliament: he chaired multiple fisheries boards, supported Aboriginal health work and dedicated himself to organisations like the Sailing Ship Trust and the Australian Republican Movement. Martin Cameron once said he had no intention of dying in politics—and he did not. He lived fully, served passionately and returned to the South-East with his dignity, his integrity and his friendships intact.

Let us remember Martin as the passionate reformer, the principled Liberal and the fierce advocate for rural South Australia that he was. He leaves behind a legacy not just of policy but of purpose. He leaves a reminder to all of us in this chamber that political service, done well, demands courage. Vale the Hon. Martin Bruce Cameron.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:27): I rise to place some remarks on the record in relation to Martin. I knew Martin quite well because in the middle of the 1990s he and I served together on the state executive of the Liberal Party. That was post his parliamentary service. I had the pleasure of attending his memorial service recently, at which there were a huge number of anecdotes from a range of people. It has already been said that Martin was a character. He had a keen sense of the ridiculous and he had a great twinkle in his eye. He was a really, really funny bloke.

As state president during that period he was a calm leader. I think it was under his leadership that we had the issue of the gun lobby post the Port Arthur massacre trying to stack the Liberal Party and we went through the process there of rejecting all of those memberships. One of the many anecdotes that came from his memorial was that, after he had served in the Senate, it was understood between himself and his beloved wife, Barbara, that he was done in politics, so it took a phone call from Steele Hall as leader to twist Barbara's arm into allowing him to run for parliament, which he did. He served for a very distinguished career in this place, including as leader of the Liberal Party.

At the memorial service, unsurprisingly, there were a lot of anecdotes, but his love of the land, his down-to-earth nature and his love of family certainly came through. While I will not speak to a number of the matters that other people in the chamber will, there are a couple of anecdotes that I think are worth placing on the record from my own discussions with Martin and with a long-serving party member, Mr Peter Emmerton, who would be known to most people on our side of the chamber.

I got to know Martin quite well through serving with him, and we would speak from time to time. I knew that he had a wicked partner in crime by the name of Mick Gillman, who was on a property at Woodside, and they spent a lot of time together. I cannot remember the reason why I had spoken to Martin, but I called him up on an occasion and he said, 'Barbara is overseas and she is having a birthday while she is away, so Mick and I are going to have a drink for her in the pub. But it's not just going to be us with a glass each. We are bringing a Barbie doll and we are going to stick it in the pub in the front bar and have a glass for Barbara.' At that stage, I think he and Mick would have been in their late 60s or early 70s, and he was very well aware of how that would come across to the locals as quite different.

Peter Emmerton also attended his memorial and he describes being a very young person. He was actually at the Burnside Kindergarten, and his first memory of Martin was Martin with his bagpipes descending through the mist to the Burnside Kindergarten. All the children were obviously enthralled. Peter as well enjoyed a very strong friendship with Martin over the years. He was a great bloke and he will be missed. Vale Martin Cameron.

The Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:31): I rise today to offer my condolences on the passing of Martin Cameron, a former member of the Legislative Council, a committed servant of the South Australian people and, above all, a very good man. Martin was someone I came to know and admire, not only for his contribution to public life but for his strength of character. Principled, gracious and quietly formidable, he represented a generation of Liberals who believed deeply in personal responsibility, individual liberty and power of community, and he gave his life to serve on those ideals.

He was always a pleasure to speak with. Engaging, insightful and generous with his time, Martin had a rare ability to put people at ease and make them feel heard. I remember visiting his farm in Millicent during my own preselection. He and his wife, Barbara, were incredibly warm and welcoming, and that visit left a lasting impression on me. You saw there the full measure of this man, connected to his land, to his values, and to the people around him.

Over the years since, I have always enjoyed speaking to Martin. He was always encouraging of me and so many people here in this chamber. The final time I spoke to Martin was at the funeral of another Liberal great, Steele Hall. He was positive and engaging to the very end. Martin also had a sharp eye for talent and a deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of political leaders. One of the people he gave an early opportunity to was Lynton Crosby, now known for his success right across the world in political strategy.

As a very close family friend of Lynton's, I can say with absolute confidence just how much pride Martin took in Lynton's achievements and how much their friendship meant to them both. What began as a professional and political connection turned into a many decades long bond built on mutual respect and trust. Martin never sought the limelight, but he took quiet satisfaction in seeing those he mentored go on to achieve great things. His was a life of service, loyalty and integrity.

While he leaves behind a significant political legacy, it is also his personal legacy, including his family, the relationships he has built, the values he has lived, and the lives he has touched that may be remembered most fondly to those who knew him best. To Martin's family and loved ones, we extend our deepest sympathies. In this parliament we mark the passing of a colleague and a statesman of real substance. Vale Martin Cameron. May you rest in peace.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:34): I rise to associate myself with the remarks made by the previous speakers and to also support this condolence motion and extend my deepest and sincerest condolences to Martin Cameron's friends and family.

Martin Cameron was actually a colleague of mine. We worked together for a year, so it was with great sadness that I heard the news that he had passed. We worked for the Republican Movement back in 1999 in a long-defunct, even then, Video Ezy store. It was very dusty, full of lots of empty video store racks. Martin was, of course, the chair of the Australian Republican Movement. I was there as a young Australian Democrat, coopted into the campaign by the office of Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, who was an ambassador for the Republican Movement back then, working with Cathy King of the Labor Party, Tony Cocchiaro of the Liberal Party and Greg Barns of most parties, actually, but at that time a former Liberal who was employed by Malcolm Turnbull, who was the ruler of all those who worked for the Republican Movement.

I remember Martin as a most compassionate, sincere and kind man. He often told me that story about losing an election by one vote and how you have to just keep knocking on every door and walking down every street and attending every single event. He would tell that story in a way that I think probably covered some of the pain and the trauma. Of course, I now have second referendum trauma, but the referendum trauma of that first republican referendum was made much more palatable by the effect that Martin had when he was in that campaign office or heading those campaign events.

I learnt a lot from him about kindness and compassion in politics. I also deepened my understanding of the Liberal movement in particular. I was also chuffed to see—I had not realised this—that he very happily handed over the Liberal Party leadership to the former Hon. Rob Lucas. For me, that just sums up what a wise man Martin Cameron really was. With that, vale Martin Cameron.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.