Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): Andrew Peacock certainly knew how to enjoy life, but he always gave the sense that he wanted you to be able to do the same. He could fully absorb the triumphs and the defeats of the race course, the footy field and the political sphere alike, and he strove to keep a sense of perspective. He may have lost the 1990 election against Bob Hawke, despite getting more votes, but he forever maintained that he had been more hurt by a Melbourne Cup loss. It's a sentiment Bob might have been able to identify with! It's doubtful the racehorses of Australia ever enjoyed such powerful bipartisan support as during the Hawke-Peacock period. Indeed, the Herald Sun's Patrick Carlyon wrote recently about them being together in the mounting yard at Flemington on Derby Day in 1988, Bob with his copy of the Sportsman, Andrew in his morning suit, the theatre of politics dispensed with as they stood side by side, absorbed in their love for horses. Andrew injected a sense of style and colour into Australian politics that befitted his surname. He even brought glamour. Only Andrew Peacock could possibly have starred in a story about UFO hunting with Shirley MacLaine. But, crucially, Andrew also gave the sense that all that was good in life had to rest on a bedrock of decency and humanity. Consider his rage about the execution of two young Australian men by Pol Pot's forces in Kampuchea in the late 1970s. As foreign minister he was determined to withdraw Australia's recognition of the regime in Phnom Penh, setting him on a collision course with his leader. Decades later his anger had not softened, making a declaration of principle that we would do well to carve into the walls here: our first duty is to our own bloody citizens. Then there was his unerring dedication to helping Papua New Guinea along its path to independence. When he was appointed Minister for External Territories in 1972, he flew to Port Moresby, only to find that there weren't any politicians around. An election was looming and they were off campaigning in their seats. As Donald Denoon wrote in his book A Trial Separation: He … drove to the university at Waigani and talked for hours with anyone available. The students and staff were amazed that he came at all, let alone debated subjects such as self-government and independence. … … … Papua New Guineans were bowled over when he sat with them, shared a beer or a meal or a party, and listened rather than lectured. At an official dinner in Port Moresby the following year, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam referred to Andrew's appointment as 'a piece of unexpected good fortune for PNG'. PNG eventually awarded him the Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu and made him an honorary chief. His sense of life was broad. He knew what mattered, he knew what to brush off and, importantly, he knew how to take the rough with the smooth in the adventure of life. Broadcaster Wendy Harmer recalls how mercilessly Andrew was sent up on the ABC's legendary satirical program The Gillies Report but that he was only too happy to sign her copy of The Gillies Report almanac. Indeed, the culprit himself, Max Gillies, says what a disarmingly good sport he was, even though Max cheekily played him as a bad actor with a dubious tan. Max tells me that Andrew's eyes lit up whenever he spotted him across a room, bounding over to greet him warmly, even introducing his tormentor like an old friend at a diplomatic function. It was that inclusive warmth that Andrew Peacock carried with him into his role as one of our most successful ambassadors to the United States, along with his acute antennae for the political currents there. His former shadow minister for foreign affairs, Ian Macphee, once described seeing him in action in Washington: 'There was a special warmth with which people greeted Andrew. I can't think of a better ambassador there. He'll hammer them with charm and determination.' The observation has been made that Andrew was a peacemaker not a warmaker. It seems somehow fitting that, when he gave his first speech to parliament, the first MP to stand and congratulate him, according to records, was my old mentor, Tom Uren. Andrew Peacock was a fine Australian, a man of principle, a man who never wavered from his small-l liberal values. On behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I offer my condolences to Andrew's family. We were blessed to have him. May he rest in peace. Honourable members: Hear, hear!