Mr DUTTON (Dickson—Leader of the Opposition) (14:03): I join the Prime Minister in honouring the life of the Hon. Robert James Brown. Bob was elected to the House of Representatives in 1980, serving as the member for Hunter. In 1984 he ran for and won the newly formed seat of Charlton, and he remained in it until his retirement in 1998. Under Prime Minister Hawke, he was appointed the Minister for Land Transport and Shipping Support in 1988. A testimony to his work is that he maintained his ministerial responsibilities for land transport under Prime Minister Paul Keating. Bob grew up in the Hunter as part of a working-class mining family, as the Prime Minister pointed out. A recipient of a scholarship to study at the University of Sydney, he completed a Bachelor of Economics followed by a DipEd. It was during his first teaching placement in Broken Hill that he met Joy, whom he married in 1960. Having unsuccessfully run for the seat of Paterson, Bob was not deterred. He would take the long road to Canberra through local and state politics, and on 2 December 1980 Bob delivered his first speech in this House. Those words continue to provide a window into the man—a man who was honoured to represent the people with whom he had personally associated with for so long. He was a man who stood against our involvement in Vietnam and against tax increases for workers and wanted to make sure that there would be a crackdown on tax evasion by those that sought that path. As a minister, Bob instituted uniform road transport regulations. He improved road safety and improved and certainly championed random breath testing and the mandatory wearing of bicycle helmets. He's been described as an old-style Labor hero and a true believer, and it is obviously the case that he remained true to himself and trusted by his constituents. Such qualities clearly ran in the blood, with Kelly Hoare taking up the baton from her father as the member for Charlton. Bob's contributions to the nation were acknowledged with his being made a Member of the Order of Australia. On behalf of the coalition, I offer my heartfelt condolences to Bob's colleagues in the Labor Party, to his community and friends and especially to his children, Kelly and Brad, who only last year lost their mother, Joy. May Bob and Joy both rest in peace. The SPEAKER: As a mark of respect to the memory of the Hon. Robert James Brown, I ask all members to rise in their places. Honourable members having stood in t heir places— The SPEAKER: I thank the House. Debate adjourned.