Senator FAULKNER (5:22 PM) —I wish to associate the opposition with the condolence motion that has been moved by the government on the death of former Senator Cleaver Bunton. There is one sense in which I believe we should not actually be having this condolence debate, and that is that Cleaver Bunton, in the view of the Labor Party, should not have become a Senator. But having said that—and I will return to those events of 1975 in a moment—it is important that we acknowledge the extraordinary civic and community contribution that Cleaver Bunton has made.

The controversy in relation to Cleaver Bunton was that he was appointed at a joint sitting of the New South Wales parliament on 27 February 1975 to take the seat of former Senator Lionel Murphy who had resigned after his appointment as a High Court justice. This was an event in politics at both state and Commonwealth levels which caused an enormous amount of debate, concern and disquiet. Not because of the capacity of Cleaver Bunton—I don't think anyone was ever going to argue that here was a man who had not made an extraordinary commitment during an enormously long period of time in public life—but because, in the view of the Labor Party, ex-Senator Lionel Murphy should have been replaced by the Labor nominee at the time.

I reminded myself by looking back at the Hansard of the joint sitting of the New South Wales parliament about the nature of the debate that took place there. It was a very acrimonious debate indeed, as you could imagine. At one stage there was an attempt to eject the former Labor Premier of New South Wales, Jack Renshaw, from the joint sitting. The police were called but he refused to go. Jack Renshaw was a pretty quiet bloke, but he refused to leave the joint sitting and eventually voted against Premier Lewis's nominee. Mr Wran, the then Leader of the Opposition, said in that debate in the Legislative Council chamber during the joint sitting, `I regard Mr Bunton as a minor figure in a gross political tragedy.'

Apart from the nature of Cleaver Bunton's appointment by the New South Wales Premier, Tom Lewis, to that casual vacancy, it is appropriate in a debate like this that we acknowledge the effort and work that Cleaver Bunton has put in on behalf of the people of Albury. He has made an extraordinary contribution to Albury and its environs. He played a very significant role—I think the most important role—in seeing Albury grow from a country town in New South Wales to a major inland centre.

His dedication was just extraordinary. At the age of 22 he was the youngest person ever elected to Albury council or to a local government authority at the time in New South Wales. He served as an alderman for 45½ years and he was mayor for almost 30 years. These are just amazing statistics. He was first elected mayor in 1945, stayed as mayor until 1972, except for a six-week break in the early 1960s. He was again elected mayor in 1974 and continued until he resigned from the council in 1976. This sort of record is unlikely to be repeated again by any individual.

During his lifetime he was appointed secretary to more than 40 organisations. He was just involved in so many aspects of community life. For example, he was an executive member of the New South Wales Local Government Association for 27 years and an office holder of that association. So this was a remarkable career, particularly at the local government level.

To give this balance, even though I am critical of his appointment to the Senate, I think we need to make the point that, during the period when the budget was effectively before this chamber and the then Malcolm Fraser-led coalition opposition would not pass the budget, Cleaver Bunton, throughout that crisis of October-November 1975, on all occasions consistently voted—as Gough Whitlam recalls in his book The Whitlam Government—with the government to pass the budget. I happen to believe, even though I have made my comment about his appointment, that is the action of a very principled person and I think it ought to be acknowledged in a debate like this.

As time went on after the joint sitting in February 1975, the Bjelke-Petersen Queensland government nominated Arthur Patrick Field to fill the vacancy of Senator Burt Milliner who had died on 30 June that year. These are events that many of us recall in our history; they are, I think, very important events. At a time like this, I think we do remember the nature of Cleaver Bunton's appointment to the Senate. The fact that, when Cleaver Bunton came into this Senate, he did, on all occasions, vote to pass the Whitlam government's budget should be acknowledged.

Also, I think we ought to properly acknowledge what has been a most significant contribution in local government and in his support for the Albury community. It is absolutely unparalleled not only in Albury but also in the history of country New South Wales—if not more broadly. He is a person who genuinely has stamped his mark on the state of New South Wales. I know that he will be long remembered by the people of Albury for, literally, a long lifetime of dedicated service to that community. He was a remarkable man; there is no question about that. On behalf of the opposition, I extend our sincere sympathy to his family and friends on his passing.