Mr HOGAN (Page—Deputy Manager of Opposition Business) (09:12): On behalf of the opposition I join the Deputy Prime Minister in extending our condolences on the passing of Allan Gyngell AO. Allan was a highly regarded foreign policy expert, and his expertise and intellect were sought out, a measure of the regard in which he was held. The tributes for him have been extensive and effusive. The foreign minister described him as 'the finest mind in Australian foreign policy' and 'the definitive historian of Australian foreign policy'. Former prime minister Rudd has described him as 'a curator of our history' and 'a champion of the next generation'. Former DFAT secretary Peter Varghese noted in his tribute that Australia has lost an 'original foreign policy thinker'. In equal measure, beyond his enormous capacity as a deep thinker and foreign policy analyst, someone who cared about ideas, debate and inquiry, he is also being remembered for his modesty, his humour, his compassion, his wit and his generosity to enable and encourage others as a champion of the next generation of foreign policy experts. He commenced his career, as the Deputy Prime Minister said, in the department of foreign affairs in 1969, went on to hold postings including Rangoon, Singapore and Washington, and served as a senior adviser for international policy to Prime Minister Paul Keating. He was a founding executive director of the Lowy Institute, acknowledged as guiding it from its start as a handful of analysts to establish it as a leading presence both in Australia and internationally. He was called back to the Public Service in 2009 as director-general of the Office of National Assessments, now the Office of National Intelligence. The current head of ONI, Andrew Shearer, in his tribute noted that his deep thinking and policy experience guided ONI work and that he fostered contestability through collaboration of all that is foundational to ONI's efforts today. Allan was also a founding board member for China Matters and later became an honorary professor at the ANU. In 2009 he was recognised as an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to international relationships. Beyond the titles of diplomat, senior advisor, director-general and executive officer, he was also an author, writing many books on foreign policy. His seminal work, Fear of Abandonment, about Australia's place in the world, has been compared to Donald Horne's The Lucky Country in its significance. It is a book that seeks to reconcile our history with our geography, and a practical policy thesis that remains incredibly relevant to the challenges we confront and the decisions we must make as a nation in response. In more recent times, Allan sought to broaden the reach of foreign policy debate and discussion through his presidency of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. He also took up the role of podcaster by hosting 112 episodes of the Australia in the World podcast. It's been noted that Allan believed that public understanding of policy was the surest path to public support for policy. His thoughtful and engaging approach to discussing international affairs through the podcast went a long way to achieving that aim. Someone told me once that you could say that of any employee of DFAT walking around Lake Burley Griffin, a large number of them were tuned into his podcast. Allan was a singular individual with enormous capacity to see Australia's place in the world and our role in shaping global life. He once said: Australians need to see themselves as the actor, not the audience, in the drama of the changing world. The world of foreign policy and soft diplomacy has a language and a tone of its own, but in Allan we had a person who understood the nuance, thought about the context and practised the statecraft of foreign policy required by our nation. His passing leads to a massive void in foreign strategic policy and clearly in the hearts of his family, friends and the many colleagues that remember him with such warmth and kindness. We thank him for his great service to our nation and to his long-lived legacy. We send our condolences to his family, especially those who are present here today, and his extended family and friends. Rest in peace.