Vale Michael Beahan
Today I join with other members in recognising the contribution of an Australian Labor Party stalwart, Michael Beahan—I was going to say he was a Western Australian stalwart, but it's clear from all of the contributions that he is loved across the party and across the states. I start by acknowledging Michael's family: his wife, Margaret; his children, Daniel and Kate; his stepchildren, Georgia and Michael; and his grandchildren. I'd also like to acknowledge Michael's brother, Terry, a long-serving member of the Joondalup branch in Western Australian. Terry still attends branch meetings and volunteers to elect Labor governments wherever he can. I know this is very sad news for the Joondalup branch, and for Terry and friends in particular.
Like Michael, my career path into this building included sometimes serving as the state secretary of the WA branch of the Australian Labor Party, something that Stephen Smith and Chris Evans also had the privilege to do. And like Michael, I was proud to help deliver WA Labor electoral success. But Michael's challenge when he started as state secretary was that the Western Australian Labor Party had won just one of the previous eight state elections. He turned that around. He elected a solid long-term state government and at the same time made a huge contribution to the election and re-election of the Hawke government. In that office, which has moved around a few times over the years, there still remain reminders of Michael's time in that role, as well as of the party machine that he helped build and of the electoral success that he helped deliver.
He came to that role having had a life that was as diverse as the policy interests which he pursued in this place. He was born in London on 21 January 1937. He migrated to Perth in 1954 with his parents and three of his four brothers. He worked as an apprentice, an electrical fitter and then as an electrician for 10 years. Following quite a tragic car accident, he retrained as a teacher. While teaching in Bunbury, he became active in politics, becoming a member of the great Bunbury branch of the Australian Labor Party. The Bunbury branch is still a powerhouse of the Australian Labor Party in Western Australia. He was elected president of his local branch and grew its membership, through legitimate means—which was how we did things back in the day—from 30 members to 150.
He really inspired people to the cause of Labor. He worked as an education officer in the union movement and served as the state secretary of WA Labor, then the Australian Labor Party WA branch, from 1981 to 1987. He was a strong advocate of the rights of rank-and-file members. That wasn't something that he just believed in to get himself to one position or another; it was something that continued throughout his entire time as an active member of the Labor Party, in Western Australia, in this building and in Victoria. He believed that our policy was better and stronger where it had been developed in consultation and in partnership with party members and the trade union movement.
That consultative and collaborative approach is probably why, when he entered the Senate in 1987, he became heavily engaged in the committee system. In his work on the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters, he supported the full disclosure of all political donations. He believed that was vital to the integrity of the political process. In other committees he advocated for stronger regulation and to ensure a more level playing field for small investors, and, earning the respect of his colleagues, he was elected in 1994 as the 19th President of the Senate, serving until 1996.
As others have said, he was at times critical of the Senate, and he had long memories of the Senate's role in the events of 1975. But his experience overcame those criticisms and that scepticism, to where he eventually said, 'Much useful work is done in scrutinising and critically appraising the decisions and activities of government,' as he backed in the important work of the Senate committee system. Recognising also that they were there to do work, not to play dress-ups, he was influential in the Senate advocating for the removal of wigs and gowns.
After leaving politics he married his second wife, Margaret, and together they moved to Victoria. He remained active in a number of roles, including with the Pharmacy Guild, continuing his passion for making sure that people have access to health care and health services. In 2011 he was appointed, rightly, as a Member of the Order of Australia for 'service to the Parliament of Australia' as well as service 'to the promotion of international bipartisan political debate, to the pharmacy profession and to the community'.
He was, as we've heard in speeches by the member for Wills and the member for Brand—and I'm sure we'll hear this from the member for Burt—so much more than that. As I mentioned before, in the WA Labor offices there are many things that remind party members of the time that he ran the party organisation. Similarly, through the art collection in this building, there are many things that remind us of Michael's time in this place. As he said in his valedictory speech:
I was very pleased … with the support of the Speaker and others, I was able to introduce the art acquisition program to redress an imbalance that was created by the budget cuts … There was almost no Western Australian art, very little Queensland art, no urban Aboriginal art, and very little Northern Territory art.
Every day that we wander through this building we can be reminded of the broad, diverse impact that Michael Beahan had not just on the building but also on the fabric of Australia. Vale, Michael Beahan.