Mr CHESTER (Gippsland) (14:14): I want to thank the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Nationals for their very kind words—much kinder, in fact, than the words the member for Page uttered to me as I was coming up here, which were, 'That was the last time Gippsland had a decent member of parliament'! Don't worry, Member for Page: Peter Nixon would have appreciated your quick wit more than I did. I rise to offer my condolences to the Nixon family, who join us in the chamber today, and to the broader National Party family, on the passing of a giant of our side of politics in the Hon. Peter James Nixon AO. When we celebrated Peter's life at a memorial service—we were overlooking the Punt Road Oval in Richmond—the guest list, I think, gave an insight into the remarkable diversity of the people he had touched during his 97 years. Of course there were his proud children and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren as well, but they were joined by former prime minister John Howard, Tamie Fraser, the wife of the former prime minister Malcolm Fraser, Lindsay Fox, Bill Kelty, Professor Geoffrey Blainey and the master of ceremonies, ABC's Back Roads host Heather Ewart, who was a personal friend of Peter Nixon. It was a celebration of a rich and varied life. As we've heard, Peter was born in Orbost. For those who are not familiar with God's country—as in Gippsland—it's about a five-hour drive east of Melbourne on the banks of the Snowy River. These were the Depression years, and times were tough, but a young Peter Nixon filled his days hunting, fishing and working on the farm. While Peter's political and business interests took him to Canberra, to Melbourne and around the world, it was the Snowy River that ran throughout his veins, and he always maintained his connections with the land and the people of the Orbost region. It's the Snowy River which brings life and prosperity to the families farming on those flats, and, as the Prime Minister noted, Peter and his family famously took refuge in the Snowy River during the Black Saturday bushfires of 1939. The Snowy River country is synonymous with flooding rains and the occasional bushfire, experiences which no doubt toughened Peter for his more than 20 years in federal parliament. Peter grew up as the fourth generation on the family farm, but he also attended secondary school at Wesley College in Melbourne towards his final years. He said he found the move daunting, but he actually later credited it with broadening his worldview. He completed his leaving certificate from his hospital bed after a serious football injury left him incapacitated for six months. His presence in Melbourne during those formative teenage years also no doubt contributed to one of Peter's enduring passions—probably rivalling the family, I'd have to say, Chris—the Richmond Football Club. He recalled playing footy for his school in the mornings and then catching the bus to Punt Road for the Tigers' games. One day he was taken to the change rooms, with two of his mates, by the legendary 'Captain Blood', Jack Dyer. 'The three of us remained Richmond for the rest of our lives,' Peter said of that experience. But in this case he was also a club patron and also served on the Victorian Football League Commission, because Peter Nixon never did anything by halves. But I am getting ahead of the story. I'll move along! Peter returned to the family farm after finishing his schooling and became active in community groups as well as golf tournaments. It was there that he met and later married the love of his life, Sally Dahlsen, and they had three children. Peter's involvement in politics started with driving his father to Country Party meetings and state conferences. The seat of Gippsland had only elected five MPs prior to 1961, when Peter became the Country Party candidate for the election. Apparently, he'd been reluctant to nominate for preselection, but he was encouraged by his father, who, I think, accused him being a 'squib' if he didn't nominate, and also urged by his wife, who said, 'You're not going to win the preselection anyway.' In any case, the presumed nominee suffered a fatal heart attack just days before nominations, and the rest is history. As others have outlined, what followed was an extraordinary political career as a senior minister, where he served under five prime ministers. As the Leader of the Opposition said, he became part of the 'Mulga Mafia', a colourful nickname bestowed on the trio of Doug Anthony, Ian Sinclair and Peter himself to reflect their very influential positions in the chamber in those years. Peter remained faithful to his real constituents from the day he took office. In his first speech, after extolling the virtues of Gippsland's beautiful rivers and lakes and beaches—and even inviting the entire House to come on a holiday in the seat of Gippsland, which I repeat again today—Peter made the following point: It is in the main a primary-producing electorate, and it is as a farmer that I, a newcomer to this House, would like to direct attention to the fears that are in the minds of farmers, not only in my electorate but generally throughout the nation. They want to know where they are heading and what their long-term prospects are. In that speech, he also railed against the continuing fight against the rising cost of production. That was February 1962, and it's as true today as it was then, 63 years ago. Throughout his political career, Peter was renowned for his astute legal judgement and his willingness to engage in vigorous debate with those opposite. He was known as a tough negotiator and enjoyed the ministerial power of making decisions to improve the lives of regional Australians. I do say with complete bias that the people of Gippsland are great judges of character! I couldn't help myself! The seat of Gippsland is one of only two divisions in Victoria that have had the good sense to never elect a Labor member of parliament. Honourable members interjecting— Mr CHESTER: Protect me, Speaker! Protect me! It is the only seat the Country Party, now the Nationals, have held continuously since our party was created in 1922. At the peak of his popularity, Peter won the 1975 election with a vote of 64.7 per cent. To be clear, that was his primary vote—64.7 per cent. When Peter left politics at the age of 54, he went on to pursue a highly successful business career, and he also served as chief commissioner of the East Gippsland Shire Council. It was in that role that I met him for the first time. I was the shire's media manager. I can recall walking into a meeting room with the piercing blue eyes of Peter Nixon on me. I learnt very quickly—just give him the facts, never waffle, and a quick meeting was a good meeting. About 15 years later, when I became the member for Gippsland, Peter was a perfect former MP. He never lost his interest in public life, and he would text me occasionally with some information or advice. But, unlike some other former pollies on both sides of the chamber, he was never a commentator on the issues of the day. I think there's a lesson in that for all of us. There are another couple of critical lessons I took from Peter which are appropriate to share in a week when we have seen some truly fantastic first speeches. Those lessons were to never forget where you came from and never forget the people who sent you there to represent them. Finally, in that same vein, I'd like to quote from Rudyard Kipling's famous poem what were actually the final words of Peter's autobiography, which was called simply An Active Journey: If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run— Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son! Vale, Peter Nixon. May he rest in peace. The SPEAKER: As a mark of respect to the memory of the Hon. Peter James Nixon, I ask all present, including in the gallery, to rise in their places. Honourable members and those in the galler y having stood in their places— The SPEAKER: I thank the House and those in the gallery. Debate adjourned.