Abbott, Tony, MP

Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (14:12): I move: That the House record its deep regret at the death, on 9 May 2015, of the Honourable Michael John Randal MacKellar AM, a former Minister and Member for the Division of Warringah from 1969 to 1994, place on record its appreciation of his long and meritorious public service, and tender its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement. Michael MacKellar was in fact my predecessor as Member for Warringah. He held the seat from 1969 to 1994—a record-breaking quarter century. When we last met just a few months ago he was spritely, energetic and engaged despite a long battle with cancer. Typically, he did not want to lament or to reminisce; he wanted to focus on the future. He wanted to talk about the issues facing the government and, more importantly, the policy solutions to those issues, because, as always, Michael MacKellar's focus was on the lasting and not the ephemeral. As a minister in the Fraser government his philosophy was straightforward. In his own words: 'You bring people with you and you govern from the centre.' His passion to address policy was evident in his very first speech to this parliament. The former agricultural scientist who was raised on a farm near Narrabri chose as the bill for his maiden speech, as we then called them, the Wheat Stabilisation Bill. And as he later said, it had caused a bit of controversy because Warringah is not known as a premium wheat-growing area. But he was shaped by his rural upbringing. He was shaped by his life on the land. 'Times were hard' he said, 'and it was too far to go to school, so my sister and I were taught at home by our mother. I earned my first money at the age of five running rabbit traps and picking wool from dead sheep.' It was a fitting upbringing for someone who served for so long in this House and who empathised with people from all walks of life. He was a fine tennis player, who chose to claim that his fame was mostly 'to have been beaten by all the greats: Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall and John Newcombe'—and John Newcombe was his lifelong friend. In fact, he paid his way through university by coaching tennis, painting houses and, it has to be said, punting on horses. His greatest local legacy is probably the TV repeater on North Head, which ended the grainy reception that for years bedevilled the people of my electorate and yours, Madam Speaker. His greatest national legacy was almost certainly as the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs where he oversaw the settlement in this country of tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees fleeing communism. This was in fact one of the finest achievements of the Fraser government. He presided over it and the Vietnamese people have added a rich dimension to our national life in all the years since. He was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001 and in 2011 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, not just for his service to the parliament but for his contribution to research and health organisations, in which he immersed himself after leaving this parliament. Madam Speaker, as you well know, Michael MacKellar was particularly proud of his children: Cameron, Maggie and especially Duncan, who is thriving and happy despite a significant disability. Michael MacKellar was one of the happy warriors of this parliament. His wife, Robbie, predeceased him. To his partner, Pamela, his children and his grandchildren I extend on behalf of the government and the people of Warringah our deepest sympathies.