CONDOLENCES

Senator McDONALD (Queensland—Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate) (15:49): I rise on behalf of the National Party senators and the National Party of Australia to extend our condolences upon the death of former senator Stanley James Collard OAM to his family; to his children, Ian, Sue—and her husband, Steve—and Annette and their families; and to all of those who loved, admired and respected him.

Whilst he may not have reflected on this, it was Senator Collard who was absolutely responsible for me standing here today, so I owe a great debt of gratitude. Senator Collard was elected to the Senate from the National Country Party in Queensland in 1975. Senator Collard—as I first knew him, and later as Stan—represented everything great about the 1970s in my mind, with a distinctive safari suit, often a long sock, fabulous 1970s hair and sideburns.

I thought he was quite the epitome of style. He obviously had many other contemporary and relatable qualities, because he was re-elected in 1977 and in 1983, by which time he represented the National Party of Australia in the Senate under that freshly minted role. Stan and his wife, Gloria, became firm friends of my parents when they lived in Cloncurry during the 1960s and seventies after he was posted there by Queensland Rail.

His Christian values, his convictions of equity and fairness and his deep regard for family and community—qualities that were born of hard work, resilience and humility as the son of dairy farmers—translated well to the north-west of Queensland, where he and Gloria were much loved and valued. I desperately want to pay warm tribute to Senator Collard, to Stan, but, after attending his beautiful memorial service with Senator Canavan and Senator MacGrath recently, the stories of his childhood time on the dairy farms, amongst others, were fabulous.

We don't always get to hear those personal stories in the Senate, but Stan and Gloria's children have reminisced about their own early memories of living in Cloncurry—two having moved there as just tiny children with their parents and one born there. Gloria taught at the school while Stan was a shift-working train driver. By the somewhat good fortune of different parental working hours, Stan was also a regular hands-on father who opened playtime to exploring the endless horizons and vast red soils of the west.

In his order of service there was a wonderful photo of a steam train in those red hills of north-west Queensland. I think it is an interesting and exceptional story that he was probably one of the last of the train drivers to drive stream trains in north-west Queensland but also one of the first to drive those incredible modern electric trains—the beneficiary of the Bjelke-Petersen government's plans to electrify the coal lines of Central Queensland.

North Queensland presented Stan with an unusual intersection of beliefs and philosophies. After he married Gloria in Brisbane in 1958, the couple first moved to Herberton on the Atherton Tablelands to manage a Methodist church hostel where Stan was a lay preacher. He carried his faith throughout his life, but it was the family move west to Cloncurry that developed his interest in politics—firstly, as an employee of Queensland Rail, where he became secretary and then the chair of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen and the combined railway unions.

One of his proudest union achievements was to air-condition the quarters of railway men so that they could sleep comfortably during the heat of the day as shiftworkers. Stan placed enormous value upon hard work, just reward and fair conditions in his union activity and equally in his membership of the Country Party, whose values reflected those that he grew up with on the family dairy farm.

He was firmly committed to the local Country Party in Cloncurry. I remember it was the trains coming out of Cloncurry that delivered the bread and the mail to the tiny little towns of Malbon and Bungalien and all of those along the rail. Sadly, those services have now been lost in remote parts of Queensland.

But it was in Cloncurry and in his political acuity, sharpness and sensitivity that inspired my parents to also become involved in local Country Party politics, and that is my connection. Stan went on to represent the Country and National parties in the Senate for almost 12 years, which roughly coincided with my father's terms as both National Party state and federal president.

In both families, it was widely acknowledged there were team efforts between husband and wife, as evidenced by Stan and Gloria's establishment of the Conservative Breakfast Club along with Kerry Heron and Craig Porter in 1991, to encourage interaction and exchange between business, industry and politics during the dark years of Labor government in Queensland.

I was also privileged to support the Conservative Breakfast Club when I was state secretary of the National Party, and I'm so pleased that it continues to flourish under new stewardship. Stan's generosity of community spirit laid the foundation for fair and honest political representation which continued long after his retirement from this place. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2014 for diverse contributions to Queensland that stretched well beyond his unionism and politics but were reflective of his regional roots and Christian purpose.

We are indebted to him for his service as deputy chairman of the Library Board of Queensland, president of Lifeline state council, treasurer of Lifeline state council, president of Life Ed Queensland, president of the Maleny Cultural & Historical Society, lay preacher in the Methodist and Uniting churches for over 50 years, president of the CSR Hinkler bicentennial air race and foundation member of John Flynn Place in Cloncurry.

Senator Collard's maiden speech and subsequent speeches preceded many of my own remarks by a good 40 years, making me certain that he would be disappointed that we still call out many of the same issues today. He spoke of the north, of isolation, of the need for reliable transport and communications. He was fiercely proud of Queensland and its contribution to our nation, and he strongly believed in the role of the Senate in keeping electoral balance.

In espousing measures and merits of living in Queensland in his maiden speech, he also highlighted its economic strength, quoting from figures for the year 1972 to 1973 which showed that Queensland's surplus of $994 million was 47.5 per cent of the national surplus. He went on to compare the heavily weighted urban representation in the House of Representatives and the vital role of the Senate in keeping a balance between areas of production and the areas of population.

He is directly quoted as saying: Some of our major highway systems are still little better than dirt tracks. The Townsville- Mount lsa, Winton Boulia, Winton-Cloncurry, Georgetown Norman ton Karumba Burke town roads … require completion at the earliest possible date. Just because people are living in isolated areas, it does not mean that they are entitled to fewer facilities than those in the metropolitan areas.

We must remember that the people in these areas provide a large amount of the bulk of the revenue for our Commonwealth. How very well said. Now, whilst those roads were sealed under the Bjelke-Petersen government, it is almost playbook text from a conversation I had with the Winton Shire Council in my parliament office just yesterday, after nearly 30 years of no new sealing and successive Labor governments.

Stan Collard has been accurately described as conscientious, diligent, reliable, humble, clever, witty and greatly respected, regardless of differing political allegiance. His family recall visits to Old Parliament House, where, aside from the white linen and silver in the dining rooms, their surprise was how many true friendships their father had from both sides of politics.

They have also shared how well they all knew that he loved them deeply and supported them in whatever they did and that he would be so stoked to be honoured in this way today. Thank you for your most honourable service and contribution to our nation. Vale, Stan Collard OAM.

We are indebted to you and your family, and your warmth and mark upon Queensland will be long remembered.