Mr MORRISON (Cook—Prime Minister and Minister for the Public Service) (14:00): I move: That the House record its deep regret at the death, on 15 November 2020, of the Honourable Christopher John Hurford AO, a Member of this House for the Division of Adelaide from 1969 to 1987, place on record its appreciation of his long and meritorious public service, and tender its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement. Mr Hurford's family are with us here today in the gallery. In 1949, after weeks of pushing through the salt and the swell of vast seas, a young Chris Hurford caught a glimpse of Rottnest Island before his ship made port in Fremantle. The Hurford family had just crossed the globe, from Liverpool to Perth, under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme. In our wonderful Australian vernacular, Chris Hurford was a 10-pound Pom, about to make his way in a new world for him and his family. As he looked on our shores, I'm sure he felt what every immigrant feels: the joy of arrival, the trepidation of what might lie ahead and, I hope, that an Australia as good as the one in his dreams lay ahead of him. Choosing Australia was no accident for the Hurfords. Chris's family felt a kinship with our land and the opportunities it represented. Chris's grandfather Dougie had travelled here in the late 1890s, prospecting and seeking to make his fortune. While in Australia, Dougie befriended an American named Herbert, who was also working in Kalgoorlie and elsewhere at the time. Eventually Dougie returned home to the States, as did Herbert. Herbert went on to be the 31st President of the United States—Herbert Hoover. The wondrous connections and stories of what can happen in Australia cascaded through the generations. In Australia, Chris found the life he had hoped for, a better life than in postwar Britain. He found Lorna, the love of his life and his wife of 45 years—tremendous. Their love prompted him to move to Adelaide, where they bought a home, started a family and raised five children. He trained as an accountant, joined the Labor Party and, in 1969, stood for and won the seat of Adelaide. He brought with him a pragmatism about government, business and the economy. As he said: 'Where in the world has socialism worked? Where has it brought anything but tyranny?' He was elected as the member for Adelaide nine times, retiring in 1987. During those 18 years, he served in several ministerial roles, including as Minister for Housing and Construction in the Hawke government, but it was as immigration minister, from 1984 to 1987, that Chris left a lasting legacy. As an immigrant himself, he knew how life-changing it could be to venture to a new land. He also knew how beneficial it could be for the welcoming nation, and he strongly believed that those who wished to join our country should share the same values and the same hopes for the future as their adopted land. He believed in what he called 'good settlement', meaning that you welcome people who will contribute to the nation, who believe in democratic values and who respect the pluralism that's at the heart of who we are as an immigrant nation. The views that he intrinsically held at that time we now express in the Australian citizenship pledge. As immigration minister, he was instrumental in formulating and codifying a new points based system for immigration, a policy that has withstood the test of time and is a truly great achievement—one that the rest of the world now looks on, in Australia's successful immigration program, with envy. It's a system that assesses people in a way that is fair, not subjective, and that prioritises our needs as a country, particularly as it relates to skills. Chris Hurford instinctively understood that character matters; it's part of what 'good settlement' means. At times, that requires very difficult decisions. As a former minister for immigration, I know, and other ministers for immigration who sit in the House on both sides know, that these decisions can be very difficult, as can the choices that have to be made about them. They affect individual lives. On one occasion, Chris Hurford had to make a decision about a particular visa for a community leader who was in Australia. He was lobbied. There were delegations. There were calls from colleagues. But he relied on his best judgement about what was right for Australia. He made the decision to deport that individual. Not long after, Chris Hurford was no longer the immigration minister. The decision was overturned, and the community leader was allowed to stay. I believe history vindicated greatly Chris Hurford's decision. It vindicated his willingness to put the values we share as Australians above the political pressures we might be subjected to. It was a great act of character. Maybe that is why he could say, after leaving the parliament, 'I got more than I deserved. I had my joys. I'm not disappointed about anything.' Australia has lost a good, decent and very honourable man and an honourable son of this nation. To Chris's children, Alex, David, Philippa, Kate and Richard, as well as his many grandchildren, which I am sure were a great blessing to him, I extend our heartfelt sympathy for your loss. May he rest in peace.