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

None . . Page.. 1185 ..

I suppose the other thing that stood out was that it was not really a funeral; like Fred Daly's life, it was a celebration. Anyone who knew Fred Daly - and I was fortunate enough to know him quite well - knew that Fred celebrated life and celebrated everything he did. Ms Follett was right. There was never any malice. I do not think there were any enemies. Two things that Fred said really stood out to me. When I was first preselected to come into this place some concern was expressed by certain people about the fact that the Liberal Party had discovered things called tickets. I can remember Fred coming up to me and saying, “Good on you, son. There is no such thing as a bad ticket. In fact, the only bad ticket is the one that does not have your name on it”. That was something that stood out.

The other thing he said to me was when I was elected. He said, “Listen, I think the attitude you should take is clock on, get in there, go for the political jugular, clock off, and then shout the first beer”. In fact, I think that is the way Fred Daly lived his life, whether it was politics, whether it was sport, or whether it was anything else he did. Do it properly, do it to the best of your ability, but do not take it personally and, last but not least, shout the first beer. I think he would have probably gone on to say, “But shout the first one only because that is when not so many people are in there and it will cost you less”, although Fred was very generous in everything he did and everything he said. That is all that I have to say about Fred Daly. I think he will be sorely missed by everybody, but I think Fred Daly lives on in our minds because of the advice he gave many of us here in this place and also because of the way he lived life.

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training): Like a number of members present, I too had the honour and pleasure to know Fred Daly. As several members have said, he was always ready to give encouragement to people in politics, even if they were on the other side. As he did to other members who knew him, he gave me encouragement on a number of occasions. Probably Fred Daly's greatest political friend, and opponent, Jim Killen, observed:

There have been few in history who have been able to turn humour into a political weapon. An exceptional human being has left this world; a very precious part of my life has passed away.

Another political opponent, John Howard, observed of Fred:

He was witty and entertaining in parliament and had a capacity to deal generously with his political opponents without compromising his own side. Australia has lost a rare politician - one loved and respected by all sides of politics. He once observed that he never made an enemy he could not be friends with.

I think those words very much sum up Fred Daly. He was also the Raiders’ No. 1 supporter. The Raiders have given this town a lot of soul. Fred was a great Canberran indeed. I remember Fred very well, in his later years especially, when I had the privilege to work with him for the Australia Day Committee at Speakers Corner in Commonwealth Park. I did the last two Speakers Corners as MC, with Fred starting the

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