CONDOLENCES
Senator FARRELL (South Australia—Minister for Trade and Tourism, Special Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) (15:53): by leave—I move: That the Senate records its sadness at the death, on 5 June 2026, of the Reverend the Honourable Professor Michael Carter Tate AO, former Special Minister of State and Minister for Justice and Consumer Affairs, and former senator for Tasmania, places on record its gratitude for his service to the Parliament and the nation, and tenders its sympathy to his family in their bereavement.
I want to pay my personal respects to the honourable Michael Tate AO and extend my condolences to his family, his friends and his parishioners. That includes his brother Richard, his sister-in-law, Helen, Monica and some other friends of Mr Tate. I welcome you here today for this particular commemoration of Michael's life.
Michael Tate lived an extraordinary life of service. His deep commitment to his community was apparent in his contributions as an academic, as a senator for Tasmania, as a minister under the Hawke and Keating governments, as a diplomat and, perhaps most importantly from my point of view, as a Catholic priest. Michael served in this chamber for 15 years.
He brought to the Senate a formidable intellect, a lawyer's precision and a willingness to engage seriously with difficult questions. He was never afraid to take principled positions, and, throughout his parliamentary career, he displayed an independence of mind that earned respect across party lines. As Minister for Justice in the Hawke and Keating governments, Michael helped shaped important reforms in Australia's legal and justice systems.
He played a key role in establishing the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. He led efforts to strengthen Australia's response to organised crime and money laundering, and, following the Hoddle Street and Queen Street shootings, he initiated a national review of gun control laws. He approached those responsibilities with determination and seriousness because he believed government had an obligation to protect both justice and human dignity.
But, for all those achievements in politics, it's perhaps his later vocation that revealed most clearly the person that he was. After service as Australia's ambassador to the Holy See and to the Netherlands—interestingly, not Ireland but the Netherlands—and after receiving one of the nation's highest honours as an Officer of the Order of Australia, Michael walked away from public office to answer a calling that had been with him for much of his life.
He entered the priesthood, describing it as 'an early vocation, long deferred'. Ordained in the year 2000, Father Michael Tate devoted himself to pastoral service in Tasmania. He became a trusted spiritual guide, a teacher and a pastor.
Those who knew him in those years have spoken not simply of his intellect but of his generosity, his compassion and his genuine concern for ordinary people. Following his passing, Archbishop Tony Ireland described him as 'one of a kind, gifted intellectually, a powerful communicator and an extraordinarily generous pastor who loved his people'. Others remembered his kindness, his integrity and his determination to stand with those who felt forgotten or overlooked.
What stands out about Michael's life is that, whatever role he occupied, he approached it wholeheartedly. He believed deeply in public service, he believed in conscience, he believed in justice, and he believed that life carried responsibilities beyond just personal success. On a personal note, I was hosting Father Tate in Adelaide the day I was informed that my own father had passed away in March 1993.
Today, as we remember Michael Tate, we honour not only a former senator and minister but a man of faith, conviction and service. May he rest in peace.