Mr HARDGRAVE (Minister for Vocational and Technical Education and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister) (5:12 PM) —by leave—After listening to the member for Maranoa, I almost feel it is right-of-reply time for members who occupy the front bench in this place. Nevertheless, I welcome the opportunity to associate myself completely with the remarks made by members on both sides of the chamber. I do not come from a rural constituency—quite the opposite. I am a city based Liberal Party member and I am proud to represent the federation seat of Moreton. In an indirect sense, my first dealings with John Anderson were through my in-laws, who lived in Wee Waa in the electorate of Gwydir. I remember their excitement at the time with the bright young bloke who was replacing Ralph Hunt as the member for Gwydir. I think we can reflect on the fact that Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson has certainly realised the potential that people in that area saw in him.

I remember in the 1991-92 period the difficulty of explaining the then opposition’s reform packages built around the Fightback project, which articulated a way ahead for Australia, which obviously, in so many ways, has been consistently adhered to whilst we have been in government but which, from opposition, was difficult to explain. I remember that at the Wee Waa Golf Club matters were settled down in a very engaging, direct and down-to-earth way by this bright young bloke who happened to be the member for Gwydir. So I had heard a lot about this fellow from afar, and it has been an enormous honour to be elected to this place and serve alongside John Anderson as part of the Howard government since 1996.

Not wanting to damage his reputation within our coalition partner’s history, John Anderson did come to my electorate on a number of occasions. The first occasion was, I think, at the invitation of Nationals Senator Ron Boswell and was unbeknownst to me, which is of course a cardinal sin in the government party rooms. I will out him as having gone to the Brisbane Markets at the invitation of Ron Boswell, so we have dealt with that matter now that it is on the public record.

I was delighted that he took up the opportunity to engage very completely with my local community, as indeed the Prime Minister has on a number of occasions, on a core issue built around his portfolio responsibilities—that is, the Brisbane urban corridor. The fact that a man with responsibility for setting in train the internodal operatives of a national transport strategy could still spend the time to come and directly see for himself what I as a private member, and now as a minister, had been on about for years is a credit to John Anderson. B-double trucks are using this Brisbane urban corridor through Kessels Road and Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road, going past people’s letterboxes. It was an idea set up by federal Labor and state Labor in the early 1990s—and how pathetically bad it is. John Anderson took the time to drive the route to understand completely. I know that the member for Bonner, Mr Vasta, would agree with me that having John Anderson see for himself the impact upon homes along Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road at Wishart was in itself a fantastic investment by a man who cares about his coalition partner colleagues as well as his own National Party colleagues, whom I know he would have been enormously proud to have led.

The Royal Queensland Aero Club in my electorate would have a range of views about John Anderson’s time as transport minister, because of the savage amount of close work that had to be done on air safety and general aviation and the complexities of that. Interestingly, for the record, the former President of the Royal Queensland Aero Club through much of that debate was John Anderson’s namesake and always referred to ‘the other John Anderson’—as in our Deputy Prime Minister. The then President of the Royal Queensland Aero Club at Archerfield Airport, John Anderson, and so many others who worked hard to get the detail right on aviation safety and the cost structures that underpin it were constantly in my ear. The John Anderson whom we are reflecting upon today, to his enormous credit, made it possible for us to express those views and to get them across to him.

I want to say rather loudly, proudly and very publicly a thankyou to John, Julia and their family. As I remarked to Julia and John’s kids earlier today, ‘Thanks for lending us your father. He’s returned with enormous thanks.’ I think one mark of enormous success for whatever time any of us happen to spend in this place is the opportunity to choose your own time for departure. Whether any of us will ever be afforded similar political eulogies time shall tell. We should delight in the close, detailed and effective service this man has brought to all parts of Australia, not just in the strong work he has done in rural and regional Australia—as the members of his own party, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have reflected upon—but also in areas such as the one I represent.

I do not want to presume the deliberations of the inner sanctum of The Nationals party room later in the day, but I would say that Minister Vaile is no stranger to my area either. Should he be appointed to the position to replace John Anderson, in a pro tempore sense I guess, for the short term, I know that we will have good service for the electorate of Moreton and we will be seeing someone who is no stranger to our area put to work for our area, not simply for his own or indeed for the broad ministerial responsibility he has.

Mr Deputy Speaker Scott, I know that you as the member for Maranoa spoke very rightly and proudly of your electoral neighbour and the work that he did for you. I simply want to associate myself with your remarks and with those of others in the sense of saying thank you to Gentleman John for the work he has done for me and, indeed, for all Australia.