Senator HARRADINE (4:23 PM) —Madam President, I was honoured to be with you and other honourable senators and members of the House of Representatives at the funeral of Neville Bonner—this great Australian. I was also honoured to have served with him in this parliament from 1975 until the election of 1983. Neville Bonner said, in his first speech to this parliament:

Too long, too long, we have been crying out and far too few have heard us.

Although Neville Bonner knew, and his heart cried out for his people, he did not at any time attempt to undermine the fundamental institutions of a democratic society to achieve that end. He worked with one and all to achieve that objective. Even though he was criticised on the one hand by certain militants and on the other hand by racists, he sought and pursued the goal of what is right. He hungered for what is right. Very often, he would talk about his people and the years gone by.

On a personal note, my young children, on the odd occasion when they came up to Canberra, were fascinated by Senator Neville Bonner and they learnt a lot from him. He took the time to talk to them. On their behalf, I am so grateful that he did take that time because it reinforced in them the importance of achieving justice for the Aboriginal people of Australia.

He did not attempt to undermine the institutions of a democratic society. He did believe that a critical mass of moral virtue was indispensable for the proper functioning of a democratic society. He believed, very firmly, in the transcendence of individuals in society over the government—in other words, the government was not there other than to act in the best interests of those who are governed. The basis of that was his belief in the inherent dignity of every human being. He realised it to be untouchable by the state because it was God-given.

He not only exercised his functions as a parliamentarian, as was described here a moment ago, on behalf of the Aboriginal people. He did so for all citizens of Australia. And not only Australia but also others in the world who experienced persecution, racial discrimination and the thuggery of dictatorships. He went to refugee camps in Kampuchea. When he came back he expressed that these were the worst living conditions he had seen human beings subjected to. Here was a man who had been through pretty poor sets of living conditions where he was brought up, but he came back and said that he had never seen anybody living in such deplorable conditions. He also criticised government on the Timor matter. It is interesting to note that he was a person before his time.

I would like to congratulate the Liberal Party for their foresight in nominating Neville Bonner, which could not have been terribly easy in Queensland in those days. I think they deserve recognition on the occasion of this condolence motion for Neville Bonner. Unfortunately, in 1983 Neville Bonner got third on the ticket and decided to stand as an Independent. If I recall correctly, in 1983, before the election, I had something to do with the balance of power situation. Had Neville Bonner been returned, Neville and I would have exercised that, no doubt very responsibly. The Democrats benefited from Neville's defeat in that regard. I am not saying that you campaigned against Neville, but that is the fact of political life.

But he did not go out with too bad a result. On that occasion, as an Independent, he got 92,000 votes, almost 100,000 votes. Somebody says: why did he not get elected? I have heard people talk about the number of primary votes I got too. But I wonder who of those elected from the second position in political parties got more. Unfortunately, despite getting nearly 100,000 votes, he did not get in. That did not deter him. There was no lasting bitterness. He was prepared to forgive, as he forgave that person for refusing him and two of his friends a drink in the pub. He was a man, poor in spirit, whose essential humility came out. He was a man who mourned for what happened to his people. I just hope and pray that he and his family—I pray for Heather and for all of the extended family—are comforted.