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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 04 Hansard (Tuesday, 30 March 2004) . . Page.. 1246 ..

challenging that stigma, although I would say that I think that there is a lot more work to be done. I know that he said that as well.

As people have said, he was involved in the 1970s in getting housing for people who were marginalised in our community and that work was further progressed in terms of getting accommodation for people with mental illness and the respite facility that he got after the tragic loss of his son. As has also been said here today, one of the things that people always commented about was his capacity to love and respond with love and care, not with anger and hatred, in the face of tragedy.

I know that many people associated with him after the tragic death of his son were very impressed and in awe of the fact that, even though he obviously was being torn apart inside, he always had a calm, gentle and caring composure. That is a very special quality to have. He will be missed. I extend the sympathy of the Greens to his family and loved ones.

MR WOOD (Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and Minister for Arts and Heritage): I wish to share with other members in expressing condolences to the family. Brian I’Anson was one of the first people I met when I came to Canberra—of course, it was through Labor Party politics—and he was immediately impressive. He was a unique character, as we have heard today, not someone you would commonly find in the political realm.

I heard Brian described at the funeral service—I think accurately—as pure of heart. That resonates with what we have heard other speakers say today. Not for him the intrigue and the clamour that may sometimes be associated with political parties. In fact, he was a great lesson on how you may achieve a vast amount without noise, without making a big fuss. He set out to achieve things in his determined way because he had a great sense of strategy. He was not outspoken in the sense that we tend to think of it, but he was absolutely determined as he quietly worked through the many issues that he faced.

My particular involvement with him beyond Labor Party politics was in housing issues and disability issues. I know how sound his considered advice was. He achieved a great deal by his integrity, by his determination and by his constant activity. You have heard today the results of all that. Brian I’Anson was a fine citizen of Canberra and the world and a fine person. He will be missed, but he will be very well and long remembered.

MS DUNDAS: The Democrats add their support to this condolence motion for Brian I’Anson. He did have a very strong reputation as a tireless advocate for the rights and needs of people with mental illnesses and he was a carer who became an activist due to tragic circumstances. As has been mentioned, his son’s death at the hands of the police followed a number of other police shootings of mentally ill people elsewhere in Australia and encouraged Brian to become passionate about working to fix our mental health system so that consumers would get the support they needed and violent incidents could be avoided in the future. I think that we need to reflect on the number of tragedies that still occur and the amount of violence still, unfortunately, perpetrated through the mental health systems and what we need to be doing to address that.

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