QUEENSLAND GOVERNOR APPOINTMENT
The Hon. Dr B. P. V. PEZZUTTI [11.39 p.m.]: I bring to the attention of the House the appointment of Major General Peter Maurice Arnison, AO, as the next Governor of Queensland. He will take up that position and will be officially sworn in on 28 July. Major General Arnison was born in Lismore, was educated at South Lismore Public School, and completed his secondary education at Lismore High School. Following his graduation from the Royal Military College at Duntroon he was commissioned into the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. In his traditional regimental appointments Major General Arnison had two active service tours of South Vietnam with the Royal Australian Regiment, First Battalion from 1965 to 1966 and the Third Battalion in 1971. He was posted to the 11th Infantry Brigade, United States Army, at Hawaii on exchange duty in 1967-68.
Major General Arnison’s senior staff experience includes Chief of Staff, Headquarters First Division, Brisbane, and Director-General, Joint Operations and Plans, Headquarters Australian Defence Force, Canberra. His principal command experience includes Commanding Officer, Fifth Seventh Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment; Commandant, Land Warfare Centre, Canungra, Queensland; Commander, Third Brigade, Ready Deployment Force, Townsville; Commander, First Division, Brisbane; and Land Commander Australia, Sydney. Major General Arnison has undertaken national and international professional military and strategic studies. On his retirement from the Australian Defence Force, he returned to live permanently in Brisbane.
Major General Arnison is currently the executive director of Allied Rubber Products (Queensland), a manufacturer of customised products for the mining, agricultural, transport and local government sectors. He graduated from the University of Queensland in 1975 as a bachelor of economics. He holds a graduate diploma of applied finance and investment with the Securities Institute of Australia and he is a senior fellow of the Corporate Directors Association. He was appointed an officer of the Order of Australia in 1992. Major General Arnison is married to Barbara and has two adult children. From his biography, I have gleaned that his interests include golf and watching rugby and cricket. He is the model of a modern major general: he has an interest in and is an expert in computing.
A son of Lismore has been appointed to one of the high offices of Australia by Her Majesty the Queen to represent her in the governance of Queensland. When the appointment was announced the Northern Star carried a picture of his mother and his sister on the front page. The heading of the article was "Lismore ‘son’ Qld Governor". His mother, Mrs Norma Arnison, has retired in Lismore. She was bursting with pride for her eldest son. She remembered the efforts that she and her husband, Mr Frank Arnison, a well-known tailor in Lismore, made to provide a good education for their six children. She told the Northern Star:
I know Peter will relish the opportunity to continue serving his country. He can be on everyone’s level, from the youngest digger to the top brass.
I have met Major General Arnison on many occasions. He has been the guest of the City of Lismore on Anzac Day. He has been the guest of Legacy and he has visited the city on other occasions. I have also met him socially. I was impressed when I met him before leaving on my tour of Rwanda. He was keen to know whether we were prepared for what lay ahead of us as specialist medical officers. He was equally as keen to find out our thoughts when we got back. Major General Arnison is a man of enormous stature. He is respected in the military community and the commercial community, given his new role with the Brisbane company. No matter where one comes from, one can serve Australia at every level. That is something of which we should all be proud.
Motion agreed to.
House adjourned at 11.44 p.m.
Page 9377