A Great Australian from the Greatest Generation

Neville Bonner personified the qualities of the World War II Generation to which he belonged, says Julian Leeser, as he reflects on the time he spent with the late senator during the 1998 Constitutional Convention.

When I joined the Liberal party 30 years ago, it was basically an article of faith that while Labor was obsessed with its history, we as Liberals had done too little to acknowledge our achievements and celebrate the heroes of our party. And while I think that was certainly true of the world 30 years ago, I think it's now less true due to the wonderful work of my illustrious successor, Nick Cater and the wonderful work that he's done with the Menzies Research Centre. He's helped to tell Liberals and the broader community that we have a history which is worthy of celebration and that is what tonight is all about.

Having a sense of where you come from I think is so important. The reaction to the passing of Queen Elizabeth, who was the last leader in public life from what's known as the Greatest Generation reminds us of that. Her loss was so keenly felt because it was a loss connected to that generation which did so much to shape the world we live in today.

Neville Bonner, who tonight's dinner honours, is someone from that same generation. In our political history in this country, there are two important firsts. Dame Enid Lyons becoming the first woman elected to this place, and Neville Bonner becoming the first Aboriginal person elected to this place. It should be a source of pride to all of us as Liberals that both of those people came from our party.

It's great to be here tonight at Old Parliament House. 24 years ago I had the privilege of serving with Neville Bonner here for two extraordinary weeks in February 1998, that great experiment in Australian democracy, the 1998 Constitutional Convention. Neville and I were both elected as No Republic ACM delegates to that convention. It was the first time since the building closed in 1988, that it had functioned in any way like a parliament. Many of those who'd made their reputations here had returned. People like Don Chipp, like Reg Withers, Jim Killen, and Bill Hayden. Among those giants of Australian politics was the great Neville Bonner. Neville was warm and friendly, and he encouraged this then 21 year old law student trying to make my contribution here in this famous building.

I remember a few distinctive things about Neville. His hands were full of distinctive rings that he wore. I remember his contributions to tactics meetings that we had each morning. He was always strongly of the view that we as monarchists were elected to vote "No" and we should vote "No" to all models, and not try and play games and shape particular models that were coming forward from the republicans.

But mostly I remember Neville ducking out the back of the building for a smoker and a chat. It was obvious in that February 1998, that very hot February 1998, that Neville wasn't well. Indeed, he was suffering from the cancer that would end his life the following year.

Neville and I served on a very important subcommittee in that constitutional convention. It was a group comprising both monarchists and republicans and was really the only bipartisan subcommittee of the entire convention.

It was a subcommittee that also comprised every Indigenous delegate to the convention. It produced the only bipartisan recommendation of that convention about having a referendum on Indigenous constitutional recognition regardless of your position on the republic. That committee was the genesis of my personal involvement in that issue, and I have Neville to thank, or somebody may say to blame, for my involvement in that issue over a long period.

Neville and I both arrived at the constitutional convention with deep conviction in our bones about the need to preserve the best of our institutions. We came from different perspectives. I saw the good, he saw the imperfect. I was eager, earnest and young, and he was already a giant.

On the afternoon of Wednesday the 4th of February, the convention was treated to its two best speeches by two greats of personal politics. Neville Bonner, and following him, Sir James Killen, and I were privileged to be in the chamber to hear those great orations. Killen always had a great turn of phrase and a wonderful sense of the dramatic.

He described Bonner's speech as, and I quote, "a gracious indictment," and it was. Bonner charged the proponents of change. He said, "You told my people your system was best. We've come to accept that. We've come to believe that. The dispossessed and despised adapted to your system. Now you say you were wrong, and that we were wrong to believe you. How dare you."

Neville Bonner called on Australians to focus on solving issues that haunted the people. The problems of land, of health, of unemployment, and as I quote, "of despair and hopelessness, which leads even to suicide."

And unfortunately, 24 years later, those problems are still with us. And in particular, the problem of Indigenous suicide has gotten much worse, not better in the 24 years since. And then, and this was the really magic bit of the speech, at the end of the speech, Neville Bonner sang the Jagera Sorry Chant.

The convention stood and applauded him. It was the only standing ovation of the entire convention. And this was at a time when the standing ovation was not the commonplace it's become in Australian politics. The power of Bonner's words and the heartache of that Jagera chant still give me goosebumps today.

Neville Bonner arrived in this place 51 years ago with only one year of formal education. He was raised under a lantana tree in the Northern Rivers region and orphaned at the age of 12. He talks to all them and who they truly were. And that's also true of Neville Bonner. In truth, Bonner was often a fly in the ointment of our party. He crossed the floor over 30 times. I'm not sure if there are any whips here tonight, but that would be a hard man to handle. And ultimately, sadly he lost his pre-selection and ran as an independent.

Throughout his career, he stubbornly pushed the party in ways that weren't comfortable, but that shouldn't trouble us. He didn't trouble John Howard who always celebrated his contribution. In 1998, the year before Bonner died, John Howard was responsible for one of the most important acts of reconciliation in the history of our party. At the Liberal Party national convention, he conferred on Neville Bonner life membership of our party. It was a great coming home for Neville Bonner.

This is an edited transcript of the remarks given by Julian Leeser at the Neville Bonner Gala Dinner on Tuesday. Julian Leeser is Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians.