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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-03-24 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

Fraser, Hon. J.M.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:46): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement in relation to Malcolm Fraser.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Last Thursday, 19 March 2015, the nation's 22nd prime minister, Mr Malcolm Fraser, passed away aged 84. Although Malcolm Fraser was Australia's prime minister for more than seven years, many remember him most for the constitutional crisis he created that resulted in his appointment on 11 November 1975 as caretaker prime minister. There is not another date in Australian political history quite like it. In fact, the former prime minister Paul Keating has said that the events of 1975 rewrote the rulebook of Australian public life, amongst other things reinforcing the power of the Senate, a legacy we still live with.

Historic as this day was, Malcolm Fraser's life should be remembered as a whole. At the age of just 25, he was elected to parliament. He held the portfolio of minister for education and minister for defence and, by the age of 45, became prime minister. In retirement, he was a keen contributor to important debates in this nation and in the world.

With the passing of Gough Whitlam and now Malcolm Fraser we have lost a link to an era. It is not hard to imagine that he and Gough would be in some other place comparing notes about our current political environment. Although I did not personally know Malcolm Fraser, I think that the words of another former prime minister, Kevin Rudd, outline his legacy, and that is, 'He will be remembered as a compassionate Australian, who cared for people at home or abroad, who had little to protect them.'

It has been said that, in terms of environmental policy, he was a kindred spirit to the Greens. Under Mr Fraser, Kakadu National Park was formed, whaling was banned, the Great Barrier Reef was protected and, of course, Fraser Island was saved from mining.

Some other defining moments of his term saw the first Aboriginal Land Rights Act passed, which allowed for a claim if evidence of traditional association could be established. This would lead to about 50 per cent of the Northern Territory becoming Indigenous-owned.

In 1977, he introduced a policy to allow the export of uranium. The policy mandated that exports would only be made to countries that were signatories to the international nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Mr Fraser was the last prime minister to have a referendum passed. Despite 44 attempts to change the constitution, only eight referendums since Federation have been carried, and Mr Fraser secured three of his proposed four in a single day.

From 1975 to 1982, a commitment to diversify Australia saw about 200,000 migrants arrive from Asian countries, including nearly 56,000 refugees from the Vietnam War, and more than 2,000 boat people who arrived with no documentation were also resettled. Malcolm Fraser also began the Australian Refugee Advisory Council. In 1979, the Australian Federal Police was formed, combining duties previously carried out by the commonwealth police, the Australian Capital Territory police and the federal narcotics bureau.

On 5 March 1983, a double dissolution election was called and a tearful Malcolm Fraser bowed out of politics, replaced by Bob Hawke. Although leaving public office, he never retired from public life. In fact, during the last month of his life he tweeted about the death penalty, women's pay, the Israeli elections, Russia, Iran and the Islamic State.

Malcolm must also be remembered for his powerful contributions to our national life. He was obviously a man who made his decisions in the administration of this nation based on a basic understanding that people must come before ideology. This was a man who made his political achievements by being a leader who actually changed history by doing things that were different.

The national and international community has lost a statesman. Malcolm Fraser laid the foundation that made Australia stronger, leaving a legacy of support for multiculturalism that defines the modern Australia that we know today and that many of us take for granted. Our nation not only has lost one of the great architects of modern Australia but also owes a great debt for a life of such distinguished public service. Malcolm Fraser leaves behind his wife of almost 60 years, Tamie, and their four children, Mark, Angela, Hugh and Phoebe. Our thoughts are with them at this very sad time.

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