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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 5 Hansard (10 May) . . Page.. 1334 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

I had the pleasure of meeting Sir William on a number of occasions and admired him greatly. His statesmanship and contribution to the community were appreciated and will be remembered.

He had previously fought and won a battle with prostate cancer, an experience which he recalled in his book Flowers in Winter, a book that I had the great pleasure of reading and a book that I am sure inspired other cancer sufferers to fight and win, as he did. This time, however, he was not so fortunate. He died in the ACT Hospice just last week.

I am sure all members join me in acknowledging the contribution Sir William made to Australia, the contribution he made to Canberra and the contribution he made to multiculturalism. In expressing our sympathy to Sir William's family, especially to his wife, Lady Dulcie, and daughters, Elizabeth, Amanda and Tammy, we can all say very genuinely that he will be missed.

MR STANHOPE (Leader of the Opposition): I support the motion that the Chief Minister has moved in expressing condolence at the death of Sir William Keys. I share the views expressed by the Chief Minister. It is well known, particularly to those of us who did have the pleasure and the honour of meeting Sir William Keys, that he was indeed a genuine, kind-hearted and compassionate man and that he had an emotionally strong commitment to principles of fairness, equity and social justice.

As the Chief Minister has indicated, Sir William Keys had a very distinguished history of service to Australia in times of both war and peace. He served firstly in New Guinea during World War II, where he was wounded at the significant battle of Tarakan. He then volunteered to serve in Korea, where he was again wounded in the course of action and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry.

Sir William Keys is remembered not only for his significant war service but also as a result of his long and dedicated service to the Australian community, particularly to veterans, through his role with the Returned and Services League. He served as secretary of the league for 17 years before ultimately becoming president of the league, a position which he held for 10 years.

It is a fact that Sir William took a very early interest in the RSL and a commitment to serve those men and women he had served with firstly in the Second World War. Sir William became an official of the RSL for the first time in 1947, before he served in Korea. After returning from Korea he again joined the RSL and was active in an uninterrupted fashion from 1953 until 1987.

It is probably fair for us to mention and to acknowledge that Sir William brought a leadership and a perspective to the role of the RSL in Australian life that was not always embraced or applauded by some of his fellow officials within the RSL. It is a matter of public record that Sir William embraced a range of issues and adopted a range of positions, particularly in relation to the need to come to an accord with former enemies and in relation to the links that Australia needed to forge with Asia and the concomitant need for Australia to embrace multiculturalism in a serious way.

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