Page 2778 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 September 1994
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Mr Acting Speaker, we can only speculate at the moment about the reasons for Mr Newman's murder, and I do not intend to add to the speculation which has occurred over the past week. Time will tell whether this crime is ever understood and the perpetrators caught. But, whatever the reasons, I believe that we can and should make our response clear. I believe that the Australian community overwhelmingly supports the principle that violence is not a solution to differences between people, whether those differences are personal or political. In a country that prides itself on open and non-violent resolutions to political and other conflicts, the concept of a political assassination has always been anathema. The reality of such an act is a rude and disturbing awakening, and one which we must not allow to silence our freedom of speech, our political opinions and the pluralist nature of our society.
Mr Acting Speaker, I am sure that all members will join me in extending support and sympathy to all of those who, through this unthinkable act, have lost a friend and a loved one in John Newman. Our thoughts are especially with his fiancee, his mother and his family at this time.
MRS CARNELL (Leader of the Opposition): It is with much sadness that I and my colleagues support this motion of condolence and in doing so express our deepest sympathy to the friends, colleagues and family of John Newman. Words cannot adequately convey the sense of loss and the utter pointlessness of such a cruel and vicious murder. John Newman certainly had known tragedy. He had been through the grief of losing his wife and son in a car accident some 15 years ago; but, with strength, commitment, courage and lots of support from family and friends, he rebuilt his life to the point where he committed himself to serving the special needs of the people of his area, in particular the people of Cabramatta.
John was very community minded. He cared about people and was devoted to improving the well-being and opportunities of those around him. That was what drove him into public life. He was very active in encouraging participation in sport. He went out of his way to assist the local ethnic community. He served for many years as an alderman on the local Fairfield City Council, and he entered the New South Wales State Parliament in 1986. As a natural outcome of his concern to do the best for the people he represented, he became, as we all now know, an outspoken and vigorous anti-crime campaigner in the Cabramatta district.
Mr Acting Speaker, tragic as John Newman's assassination was, it is now up to everyone in the community, including us, to make sure that his life and death were not in vain. He stood up for what he believed in. He spoke out against the evil of organised crime. He strove to protect his people from intimidation and violence. He might have been unconventional in his methods sometimes. Indeed, some of his colleagues thought he took too many risks, but no-one doubted his commitment. He was the first person to be killed for standing up for what he believed in, certainly in the political arena. There is no doubt that the Cabramatta community is a community with lots of troubles. There is massive unemployment, drug trafficking, associated crime and gang warfare; but Cabramatta is not alone. There are many areas of Australia which have similar problems.
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