Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (14:00): I move: That the House record its deep regret at the death, on 14 November 2024, of the Honourable John Charles Hodges, a former Minister and Member of this House for the Division of Petrie from 1974 to 1983 and 1984 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. Through the long arc of his life, John Hodges encompassed the vastness of his beloved Queensland. He was born in Brisbane, was raised 2,000 kilometres away in Cooktown, entered political life in Brisbane and eventually settled on Bribie Island. All would become a bright thread through his life. Public spirited by instinct, John served his community as a pharmacist, taking on all that comes with that unique role of trust and reassurance. He served on Brisbane's Redcliffe City Council, eventually as deputy mayor. Then, having served as campaign director for Nelson Cooke in the 1972 election, he went on to replace him at the next election as the new Liberal member for Petrie at the 1974 poll. It was a seat he would hold onto until 1987, give or take a minor interruption in 1983, when the incoming Hawke tide swept Petrie into the Labor fold—only for one term, though. Like the good fisherman that he was, John had temperament and perseverance on his side, and he wrested it back at the first opportunity. While he served for a period as deputy whip, he made his greatest mark after he was appointed Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs in the penultimate year of the Fraser government. It was a brief stint in the ministry, but he made his time count. He oversaw the government's labour shortage program, which aimed to increase the number of skilled migrants living and working in Australia. John held to the view that it would be inherently good for Australia and good for Australian business. During his time as immigration minister, John led other changes to the immigration application process. Following the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, migration applicants could access their files to see the government's decisions and make changes to their application if they noticed errors or missing information. That act remains in place to this day. On John's retirement from politics, he and his wife, Margaret, bought a pharmacy, Bribie Island's first, and they went on to own or part-own four of the five pharmacies there. While Far North Queensland never lost its hold on him, Cooktown remained an important fixture on the Hodges calendar. He remained deeply involved in the community on his beloved Bribie. When local groups, sports clubs or schools came to John and Margaret for support, they always found the door well and truly open. As John put it when he retired six years ago, 'As a pharmacist in the community, you become friends with everyone.' Today, on behalf of the parliament, I offer my condolences to his family and to all who loved him, and I thank John for his faithful service in this place. May he rest in peace.