Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

From Curtin to Kerr . . Page.. 1182 ..


dominated his personality and that left us all touched with a sense of the passing of a great Australian. I am sure that many of us thought about the comment passed by the press, in reporting Fred's memorial service in Sydney, that there were three great loves in Fred's life: His God, his party, and his family. We could all pause to think about those as being very great values.

Today we remember Fred's career as a member of the Federal Parliament, but I think we also remember Fred as being one of the very few Federal parliamentarians who have actually adopted Canberra as a place that they loved. As Ms Follett said, he made a better place for us all to live in via his support for the Raiders, his support for self-government and his support for us as Canberrans. Ms Follett has already spoken about Fred's political discovery tours of Canberra, which certainly became a major drawcard, and I am very pleased to hear that plans are under way to make sure that those tours continue in memory of him.

Fred's talents were many: His public speaking is legendary. Sir James Killen once commented, “Fred knew when to give, he also knew when to hammer, and he did both with consummate skill and finesse”. That is very true. He was also a talented author, as Ms Follett has said, with four successful books: From Curtin to Kerr, From Curtin to Hawke, The A to Z of Politics, and of course a book that I am sure most of us have read, The Politician Who Laughed, which is certainly a good read.

Fred will certainly be remembered in many ways by many people in Canberra from all walks of life, including for his jokes and for his commitment to a cause. The fact that he was at the Raiders game the Saturday before he died showed commitment to a cause and a love for our football team. Fred is survived by his daughter, Margaret, and his son, Lawrence, and I am sure that all members of this house would join with me in expressing sympathy to Fred's family and to his friends.

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, there are many people in Australia who will remember with great fondness various anecdotes about Fred, his sense of humour and his ability to cut to the heart of the matter that was really his trademark. I remain indebted to Fred for some very sound advice, and I suspect that many people actually received the same sorts of tips from Fred when they were first elected. He believed in parliamentary processes and he wanted those parliamentary processes to work as well as possible. I certainly remember the time prior to when I was first elected. The votes were being counted, as I recall, over a seven- or eight-week period. I was at the Bungendore Hall for an Irish Day celebration, and it was not surprising that Fred Daly was there. He took me aside and said, “Let me give you two pieces of advice, Michael. First of all, never make the mistake again of being other than No. 1 on a ticket”. That was the political advice. The parliamentary advice was very simple. It was advice that he said he had received from Chifley. It was, “Learn your standing orders”. Perhaps to the chagrin of a number of Speakers in this place, I did. I took that advice seriously, and out of respect for Fred I will certainly attempt to continue that tradition for my part, as indeed I am sure that many other people will.


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .