1. Home
  2. Hansard & Papers
  3. Legislative Assembly
  4. 8 June 2005
Contact Print this page Reduce font size Increase font size

Death of Mr Ian Doric Glachan, a Former Member of the Legislative Assembly

Printing Tips | Print selected text | Full Day Hansard Transcript         « Prior Item | Item 36 of 36

About this Item
Subjects -  Australian Labor Party: ALP: New South Wales; Members of Parliament; Obituaries
Speakers - Burton Ms Cherie; Brogden Mr John; Aplin Mr Greg; Allan Ms Pam; Page Mr Donald; Torbay Mr Richard; O'Farrell Mr Barry; Andrews Ms Marie; Tink Mr Andrew; Price Mr John; Debnam Mr Peter; Mills Mr John; Seaton Ms Peta; Stoner Mr Andrew; Skinner Mrs Jillian; George Mr Thomas; Armstrong Mr Ian; Hopwood Mrs Judy; Humpherson Mr Andrew; Richardson Mr Michael; Fraser Mr Andrew; Hickey Mr Kerry; Maguire Mr Daryl; Speaker
Business - Condolence, Motion


    DEATH OF MR IAN DORIC GLACHAN, A FORMER MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
Page: 16705


    Miss CHERIE BURTON (Kogarah—Parliamentary Secretary) [7.52 p.m.], on behalf of Mr Bob Carr: I move:

    That this House extends to the family of the Ian Doric Glachan the sympathy of members of the Legislative Assembly in the loss sustained by the death of Ian Doric Glachan, a former member of the Legislative Assembly.

    Mr JOHN BROGDEN (Pittwater—Leader of the Opposition) [7.53 p.m.]: It is an occasion of great mourning for the Parliament as the friends and family of Ian Glachan are present for this motion of condolence this evening. It was only a few weeks ago on 20 April that we all received the shocking news of Ian's unexpected and untimely passing. I again express, on behalf of the Liberal Party and The Nationals as well on this occasion as the Parliament of New South Wales, our deepest, genuine and heartfelt sympathies to the Glachan family. Present in the Gallery are Helen, Ian's beautiful wife, two of his three daughters, Ann and Alice—Jane having had to return overseas—and two of Ian's grandchildren, Oscar and Fergus. We are joined also by two people, Janette and Frances, whom—and I know I speak on behalf of my colleagues in particular when I say this—we have always regarded in a parliamentary sense as part of our extended families. Frances and Janette worked with and for Mr Glachan—never Ian Glachan—in the 15 years that he was the member for Albury.

    Ian was elected in 1988 and retired in 2003. The one thing that can be said of Ian Glachan, while not unique but certainly rare, is that he entered the New South Wales Parliament as a gentleman and he left the New South Wales Parliament as a gentleman. He was always enormously respectful of this Chamber, which for him was a shrine to our democracy. It was a place that he always felt deserved, although it did not always receive, the dignity that the people of New South Wales expected it to receive. His great work was over 15 years of working for the Albury electorate. He has countless achievements to his credit in working for a community. I say very confidently that in 15 years in Parliament, I know that Ian Glachan changed for the better the lives of thousands of individuals and, through groups and communities, the lives of tens of thousands of people. He made their lives better because he really did care.

    Fundamentally Ian Glachan always held to the fore the tenet that the real reason we are all here and the real reason he was here was to serve his community and to make it a better place. It can be said confidently and accurately of Ian Glachan that Albury is a better place for his 15 years of service. What was typical of many people of his generation, but particularly strong in his case, is that he had a wonderful career after leaving Parliament but more particularly before Parliament. He was an apprentice fitter and turner and a merchant marine officer. He was a small businessman and a farmer. He was a member of Parliament. After his retirement from Parliament he became a councillor for the newly formed Greater Hume Shire Council and its first mayor. He had a wonderful and incredibly varied career.

    Ian Glachan was farewelled at a beautiful service in Albury after a very private funeral attended by his family at their wonderful home. Some of the tributes that have been paid to Ian Glachan are worthy of recording in Hansard. A former Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer, who shared representation of the Albury community with Ian Glachan, said, "Mr Glachan never knew when to stop giving to the community locally, State-wide and nationally." The Anglican Bishop of Wangaratta, the Right Reverend David Farrer, said that Mr Glachan had been a significant figure for the St Paul's Church at Jindera, the northern Albury Parish and the Trinity Anglican College. A former Labor member for Albury, Harold Mair, said that, despite being on opposite sides of politics, he had enjoyed a long personal friendship with Ian Glachan. He said, "I am very sorry to hear this news. He did a great job as a parliamentarian." From an opponent, that is indeed high praise. The Mayor of Albury said that Mr Glachan had been a dedicated campaigner for the betterment of his region. He said:

    Ian was never scared of hard work and was always involved in some community or charity work. He was one of the instigators of the Mercy appeal, which is nearing its target.

    Ian was also a person who was able to bring the importance of Parliament to his local community. As someone who had the honour of serving as the Leader of the Liberal Party with Ian as a member, it is important to take a moment to note that a number of former Liberal Party leaders are present this evening—Kerry Chikarovski, the Hon. John Fahey and, earlier, the Hon. Nick Greiner. They all came here this evening to join the New South Wales Parliament in honouring Ian Glachan. Of all the tributes paid to Ian, there is no doubt that the most emotional and the most wonderful tribute was paid by Ian's grandson, Fergus, who spoke at the funeral.

    In a simple but moving tribute, Fergus said that he knew 10,000 great things about Ian Glachan but would especially remember his cricket and tennis tips, and the fact that his grandpa always listened to what he had to say. Earlier this evening, we welcomed the Glachan family and friends with refreshments before coming down to the Chamber and I reacquainted myself with Fergus, who is present in the gallery. I said, "Hello Fergus." He said, "I don't know who you are." I said, "I'm John Brogden." He said, "Oh, that's right. You're the Leader of the Liberal Party." He said, looking me straight in the eye, at eight years of age, "I am a Liberal fan." That is good news—we might drop the voting age to eight—and something I know his grandfather would be very proud of.

    In conclusion, I will talk about Ian's final speech. This Parliament has allowed members to develop the traditions of making not only a maiden speech but also a farewell speech. In Ian's farewell speech on his retirement in 2003 he spoke of his electorate, as one would imagine, and of achievements—not his personal achievements but more particularly those he had achieved with and for his community. At that time he said:

    Finally, let me talk about the most important person in the world as far as I am concerned. That young girl I met at the Hornsby scout hall, way back—many years ago—has been a wonderful help and support for me. She has been a great gift that God has given to me and has enriched my life in a remarkable way. God has been really great to me. I have been blessed in many ways. First, to be given by His grace and through no merit of my own the great gift of faith that I can believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and, second, this great gift of my wife, of my three daughters, of our three fine sons-in-law and our six wonderful grandchildren. They are great blessings that God has given to me and I am most grateful for them.

    I know of nothing that better describes Ian Glachan to me than his own words; I cannot think of anything more. However, I can say that with Helen and his family he was always comforted by their deep belief in Jesus Christ, a belief that was critically important to Ian and to Helen; it was the glue that kept them and their family together. For Ian and for Helen that belief also dictated how they undertook their public life. Of all the achievements of Ian Doric Glachan I know that his greatest achievement was his family. We all know that his greatest achievement was his family and with his passing I know that their grief and their sorrow, shared by literally thousands of people in the State of New South Wales, is some comfort to them. You are his greatest achievement, we always knew that, do not ever worry about that. Those of us who worked with Ian in this building and around New South Wales always knew that his greatest achievement was his family. He never stopped talking about the girls, about Helen and the grandchildren; and we knew that was important to him. There is no doubt that he left us too early but there is no doubt that he knows that he is in a greater place today.

    Mr GREG APLIN (Albury) [8.02 p.m.]: On 20 April 2005 the Shire of Greater Hume, the electorate of Albury and our State lost one of its finest representatives. But much more than that, we lost a true man of the people and his family lost a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Ian Doric Glachan was a gentleman, the very embodiment of a gentleman. Many of the senior members of this House, together with the parliamentary staff who had occasion to work with Ian, to meet and talk with him, all said the same—he was the gentleman of Parliament. What made a man like Ian Glachan such a gentleman? It was his humility, his loyalty, his strong sense of public duty, his respect for others and his devotion to a loving family.

    It was these qualities, combined with his rich experience of life, that Ian Glachan brought to this, the oldest Parliament in Australia. He liked nothing more as a guest speaker than to tell his audience the history of this institution and its importance to our Australian democracy. Ian Glachan was a member of this Parliament for 15 years: from 19 March 1988 to 20 March 2003. I moved to Albury in early February of 1988 so I was part of his constituency for his parliamentary career and our paths crossed many times. The Albury electorate, whatever its geographical configuration, was his community. He loved the people. He was equally at home on the farms in the country as in the towns and the city of Albury itself, for his background was so varied that he could relate to people from all walks of life. This was one of his greatest attributes. He loved nothing better than a cup of tea and a chat with people and wherever he went there was always a genuinely warm greeting and a friendly exchange.

    Tonight the public gallery is filled with his family and friends, those who have travelled from Albury in the south, Lennox Head in the north, Gilgandra in the west and from many places in between. For their memories and for the benefit of members present I will trace a brief personal history drawn from Ian's own words and those of Howard Jones, local historian and senior journalist for the Border Mail. In his valedictory speech Ian observed that his life had been a very fortunate one and he expressed gratitude to all the people who had assisted him along the way. He was born in 1934 and although he grew up in a home where there was not a lot of money, it was a happy home. As a child he lived in a tiny house in a dead-end street in the working class suburb of Waverley at a time when Australia was at war. He remembered his mother taking him to see a Japanese submarine that had attacked ships in Sydney Harbour. One of the memories passed on by his mother is of the little boy who would put the poker in the fire whenever the copper was on. When it was red hot he would run out into the small yard and watch it fizzle in a bucket of water. A granddaughter asked his mother if she thought this was a bit dangerous, but she laughed and said it kept him busy for hours. It was probably good training for an average day in this place.

    Ian attended Sydney and Homebush boys high schools and at the age of 15, on the advice of his father, he began an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner in a workshop near Darling Harbour. During his apprenticeship, when he was 16, Ian went to the Hornsby scout dance and there he saw a striking young woman, who was 14 at the time. This was to be a defining moment in his life, for the young lady was Helen Margaret O'Brien and he fell in love with her at first sight. Ian would always say that this was the most important night of his life for Helen was to be with him for the rest of his journey through life. It was a romantic story told with the same passion and admiration for over 50 years.

    Ian was called up for National Service in the Air Force at Canberra for five months and when he was discharged he studied at night at technical college to gain a marine engineer certificate. As a Sydneysider he hankered to go to sea far beyond the heads and at the age of 21 he joined the Merchant Navy as a marine engineer and worked on ships for five years, mainly in the Pacific, visiting the United States of America and most countries bordering the ocean. During this time he married Helen in 1958 and left his seafaring life before the first of his daughters was born. Ian and Helen bought a farm at Uralla, New England, struggled for a while and shifted to a Gilgandra wheat property. After 10 years of farming, they sold the property and opted for a more reliable business in a town where they could educate their daughters. This brought them to the newsagency in Olive Street, Albury, which they operated for 18 years, living above the shop for some of that time.

    To this point, Ian had never given any thought of entering politics until a retired Liberal member for Albury, the late Mr Gordon Mackie, suggested he might consider a political career. The Leader of the Liberal Party in the upper House, the Hon. Lloyd Lange, rang him and urged him to nominate for the 1984 election, but sitting member, Harold Mair, proved too strong. Ian continued to work in the newsagency for a daily 3.45 a.m. start, often working 80 hours a week but he was still politically ambitious. He made Albury marginal and won handsomely in the New South Wales Liberal landslide of 1988, when he was 53. In all aspects of his life but especially in politics, he believed "integrity is the basis of the whole thing—the only thing a politician can offer".

    This small insight to Ian's life highlights a man who came from humble beginnings, a working class man who worked hard, travelled widely, raised a family and made a most significant contribution to his community. Ian's Christian faith sustained him through the rough and tumble of political life—he was an active member of the Anglican Church, served as Parish Councillor in four parishes, as Rector's Warden and licensed Lay Reader and he was the inaugural secretary of Trinity Anglican College which recently named a new classroom wing in his honour. As fellow board member, Professor David Mitchell, said on that occasion, Ian was quick to volunteer for the low profile job of secretary, eager to perform the tasks—but it was really Helen who prepared the minutes!

    Those who knew him well knew that he was not very big on technology. Frances Colquhoun was his electorate officer for almost 15 years and Janette Weber was in his office for 14 years, and both are here tonight. They told me that Mr Glachan—he was always Mr Glachan to Frances and Janette—hardly ever used things such as his mobile phone and when he retired and had to return his laptop, they noticed that the carry case had not been opened and in fact still contained some after dinner mints, which had been included as a gift to him. I enjoyed those mints. When he had to attend a parliamentary information and technology training session he had to send an email to the office as practice. He wrote, "Hello Frances. I don't like this much!" He also tried to learn how to type, but not very successfully. But he was most diligent as a correspondent and he wrote to his mother every week of his working life once he had moved out of the family home. His mother told her granddaughters that he never missed a week.

    I mentioned earlier that Ian was fond of a cup of tea and a chat and it was no different when he was in his electorate office. Come mid-morning, he would announce to Frances and Janette, "Come on, it's 10 o'clock, must be time for our meeting." This would usually mean that it was time to sit in the back room for a cup of tea and a biscuit and discuss the previous night's episode of Seinfeld or The Bill, or he would tell stories about his days at sea, the farm, or Gilgandra, or work in the newsagency. He loved The Bill. If he and Helen were out to a function, the family was always asked to tape it and the first thing he would ask on the phone the next morning would be, "Did you tape The Bill?" At his home he would be out working with the sheep, in his garden or feeding the chooks and he would regularly come to the kitchen door, opening it just enough to get his head in, and ask, "Is it cup of tea time yet?" Once he retired from Parliament he came to the door numerous times a day, so the family bought Helen and Ian a set of walkie talkies so he did not have to trek up from the paddocks to ask if it was "cup of tea time yet".

    Telephone communication is an important part of any politician's life. It was no different for Ian, except that he preferred the fixed variety to the mobile. There were times when urgent messages had to be relayed and action taken to rescue him from difficult situations, such as the time Ian and Helen were in Sydney and due to present the debutantes at Henty's Debutante Ball that same evening. There was an airline strike and they could not fly back, so they arranged for a friend to collect clothing from their house and deliver it to the house of an acquaintance in Henty. They hired a car and drove directly to Henty where they hurriedly changed and made it to the ball just in time. Mr Glachan was the type of man who did not want to let anyone down by not showing up for a function. As the friend who undertook this mercy dash later remarked, "Ian and Helen soon learned to keep a wardrobe in Sydney as well as at home."

    There was also the time when Ian drove himself to Albury airport on his way to Parliament and, without thinking, left his Volkswagen in the drop off area at the front door of the airport. Airport personnel rang his office and his staff had to go and move the car to the overnight car park for the week. That VW was his famous trademark. He had used it to deliver newspapers and he used it to great effect to deliver his campaign messages. Ian had a wide range of interests and a huge involvement in community organisations such as the Albury and District Historical Society, the Albury City Band, St Matthews Bellringers, the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association, the Albury Branch of the New South Wales Justices Association, the Albury Base Hospital Race Auxiliary and the Mercy Hospital Building Appeal Committee.

    Ian was a dedicated Rotarian, the first new member inducted into the Rotary Club of Albury Hume in 1978, and he used to deliver the Rotary Club bulletins in the same manner in which he had delivered newspapers—early in the morning while it was still dark and if the garbos had preceded him there was a good chance he would run over the lid of your garbage bin or give your bin a good nudge. Many a meeting on Rotary affairs was held in Ian's small office at his newspaper shop. Due to a lack of chairs and the large amount of magazines and newspapers stacked on the floor, a popular place to sit was on the office safe. Ian was always very careful to ensure that the safe was well and truly locked and bolted to the floor whenever Rotarians were in his office. As one later told me, he would have made an excellent State Treasurer.

    Ian and Helen were the founders of the Rotary Club's debutante ball and they both received Paul Harris Fellowships for their dedication to service. He was a man who loved to serve his community, and he loved doorknocking. In fact, his office staff would suggest going doorknocking if they thought he was at a loose end in the office. He enjoyed the face-to-face contact with constituents and he would often be invited in for—you guessed it—a cup of tea. He would rarely talk politics on those occasions. Instead, he chatted about their garden or their family pets. He told me a story about a doorknocking experience when no-one appeared to be at home, so he slid a campaign leaflet under the door only to have it pushed back. He tried again and, once again, it was pushed back. He then heard some sniffing on the other side of the door and realised that there was a little dog guarding the house and it was not going allow anyone to push anything under that door.

    His family often accompanied him on his doorknocking expeditions, in particular Helen, but when she was unable to be with him he would take one of his daughters. On one such occasion he was talking to someone at the door and mentioned his lovely wife Helen and made a gesture in the direction of his youngest daughter, Ann, who was standing behind him. When he saw the look of amazement on the face of the householder he realised his mistake and hastily explained that this was his daughter and not his wife. Ian was the first chairman of the Health Care Complaints Committee, a member of the Public Accounts Committee and Acting-Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

    He listed among his achievements significant infrastructure developments for his electorate—a new Albury Base Hospital, police station, the school at Jindera, a hall for the school at Lavington and a new bridge at Borella Road. Ian was continually frustrated by the lack of progress on the upgrade of the Hume Highway at Albury. He referred to the long-awaited project in his maiden speech on 3 June 1988 and he reiterated this frustration in his valedictory speech in November 2002. He was delighted when the issue was finally resolved. In his valedictory speech Ian paid tribute to his colleagues and associates in Parliament and said that, despite media denigration of people in politics, his experience was "that they are all hard working and determined to do all they can to help the people they represent in their electorates". He said:

    There would not be a person in this Chamber who works less than a 60-hour week, and many work even longer hours than that. They put their constituents before themselves and their families. I have the highest admiration for them all.

    He was a positive person and it was no surprise that he adopted a sentence used by the Hon. John Fahey, who is with us tonight, as his closing paragraph in letters sent to constituents. The sentence was:

    My aim is to make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today for everyone in our electorate.

    After a few years Frances tried to get him to replace it with something new but he would not hear of it, as it truly defined what he wanted to achieve for the people of the Albury electorate. Ian stood for council. He stood for election to the council of the new Greater Hume Shire. He was successful and was elected by his peers to be the first mayor. He was the only councillor not to have served on a previous shire council, a tribute to his popularity and to the level of respect with which he was held. This ability to relate to people transcended all age groups and his eight-year-old grandson, Fergus, who is in the gallery tonight, wrote his own tribute, which he read at his grandfather's thanksgiving service. This is what he said:

    I know 10,000 great things about Grandpa but I will only say 5.

    1. He showed respect to his belongings and other people's belongings.

    2. He was always giving me cricket and tennis tips.

    3. He was always listening to what I had to say.

    4. To prove all the things I said are true he was elected Mayor.

    5. He was the best friend a boy could ever have.

    One cannot talk about Ian's achievements without including his lifelong love, supporter, confidant and best friend Helen. They formed an unbreakable team built on faith, respect and devotion. After he retired from Parliament he and Helen embarked on a huge project to extend the garden on their property by an acre. It was good that he had time to indulge his passion for gardening, along with sailing on a freighter to relive the old days and, most important of all, he spent many hours with his grandchildren. His daughter Alice said that he died at the peak of his life, a truly happy and accomplished man. I would like to conclude with a piece of Ian's wisdom expressed in his reassuring, deep, resonant voice at his farewell function held in Albury and attended by Federal, State and community leaders. Ian said:

    It's all about people—it's as simple as that.

    Ms PAM ALLAN (Wentworthville) [8.18 p.m.]: As we just heard Ian Glachan was succeeded by another gentleman—the current honourable member for Albury. Ian and I were both elected in March 1988 but, quite extraordinarily, I hardly knew him until 1999. I think that says a lot about this Parliament. I got to know Ian very well after I left the ministry as he, the honourable member for Northern Tablelands and I served on the Public Accounts Committee from 1999. I want to say a number of things about Ian and Helen. I have already seen Helen this evening and this is a very difficult speech to make.

    The period from 1999 to 2000 in the Public Accounts Committee was quite a turbulent one. It was at a time when the then chairman was under attack. To the disappointment of Ian's Liberal colleagues, he was very supportive of the then chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and formed a very strong bond, which I believe continued for many years. It was also during that turbulent period that we got to know Ian very well through our ordinary business as committee members. On a trip to Albury we had the chance to visit his home, meet Helen and have morning tea. We visited Albury for committee purposes but one of our first priorities was to inspect the farm of Ian and Helen Glachan—and we did so. We looked in the cabinet with all the curios and statues and we looked at their home and the farm. It was certainly evident how proud Ian was of his home.

    I have thought a little about why I did not get to know Ian in the previous 10 years that we shared this Chamber. The obvious reason, of course, is that we were on opposite sides of the political fence. Some incredibly controversial issues were debated during the period from 1988 to 1999, and I took the opportunity this morning to scroll through all the speeches that Ian made in Parliament following his election in 1988. For the life of me, I could not find one personal attack by Ian upon me as a Minister, although he might have taken the opportunity to do so on many occasions. I found his contribution to the debate on the infamous bill to ban duck shooting in November 1995. Even then, when every other member of the National and Liberal parties was probably launching strong attacks against me, Ian made his point so politely it was quite obvious that I would not be seared by the heat of his argument. But he certainly represented the views of his constituents. I must admit that one of the wildest political meetings I ever experienced took place at Albury airport during that period. It was organised by Victorian duck shooters, and I am sure that Ian had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

    This is a special week for many reasons. Of course, it is the Shires Association week and it is also the week when Helen and Ian had intended to visit Sydney and mingle with Ian's new colleagues, the presidents of the Shires Association, following his election earlier this year as mayor of Greater Hume Shire. When I spoke to Helen and Ian on the telephone about six weeks ago—I think it was in the week prior to his death—they said they were looking forward to spending this week in Sydney as attendees of the Shires Association functions. It is an enormous tragedy that we are talking about Ian in this place rather than Ian and Helen celebrating his new career as mayor of the shire and Helen's role as his partner.

    I spoke to Ian several times after he left Parliament and he was finding the period between leaving this place and being elected to local government a little difficult. I think that is common for many people who leave politics. I thought he would be incredibly relaxed and totally preoccupied with all the things he had to do on the farm and in the community. But, in fact, he missed some of the stimulus, hence his successful run in local government that culminated in his election as mayor of Greater Hume Shire. I was absolutely delighted for him. I can only concur with his granddaughter: The only comfort we can take is that Ian was incredibly excited and happy about the fact that he had won that position. I saw him at Albury airport the week before the ballot. They do not hand out how-to-vote cards or election leaflets in those elections, and Ian said, "If they're going to vote for me, they're going to vote for me." And of course they did vote for him.

    Earlier this week my nine-year-old daughter asked me, "Who's your best friend at work, mum?" I thought, "Children do ask you the toughest questions." I think we can delete the word "best" from that question because I do not think there are too many best friends in politics. But there are friends in politics. Not that many friendships transcend the multiple sides of politics that exist these days, but I considered Ian to be a dear friend from 1999 on. He was a kind, gentle and supportive person. We know not only from the comments that have been made this evening but from the experiences of the many people in the public gallery who probably knew Ian a lot better than I that he was a loving husband, father and grandfather. When the honourable member for Albury and I visited Albury in February we wanted Ian to accompany us to a function but he was babysitting that night so he could not come. But he made sure that he met us at the airport the next day. As has been said, his family was constantly his first priority.

    I do not think Ian was nearly as conservative as people are trying to make out. I believe there was a little mischief in Ian, and I wonder why that was. He certainly had a close relationship with his mother, who influenced him very heavily. The honourable member for Albury referred to the weekly letters that Ian wrote when he left home. Of course, Ian had only daughters, which has a profound effect on fathers. Alex Mitchell's piece in today's edition of the Sydney Morning Herald does not do Ian justice completely because it makes him appear to be much more conventional than I suspect he was. In a speech in 1994 Ian talked about his excitement about the announcement by John Fahey and Bruce Baird regarding the Olympics. He expressed genuine excitement about meeting the Governor and his wife, Mrs Sinclair. He also mentioned that it was the International Year of the Family, and went on to discuss the changes that had occurred in families over the years. Ian referred in many of his speeches to his personal experiences growing up, for example, going to visit his mother and finding that the price of petrol had risen by 10¢. He constantly referred to his personal experiences. Ian compared what life and families were like when he was a child with families in 1994. He said:

    I guess we can never go back to those old values. It is impossible to hope that we could, so we have to adjust to the way things are today and the way they may continue to change. We have to accept that our old definitions are quite meaningless now, make adjustments, and see that those who need the help receive it. In my view the people who need the help most are children …

    He continued in that vein. I suspect that Ian was more radical than many people who are currently on the other side of the Chamber, but he certainly presented his views in a far more conventional and conservative fashion. As I said, Ian was very friendly to me after I lost the ministry. He did not approve of many of the things I did. He probably would not have approved of my hair colour and he certainly did not approve of the clutter in my office. But Ian was always supportive. He invited me to lunch one day with Opposition members, which was quite extraordinary, but I went and enjoyed myself. I wish Helen all the very best. It is an incredible time for her. Ian was an outstanding human being, and she knows that. Helen has many years of life ahead of her. Ian and Helen were both great contributors and great collaborators, and I certainly wish Helen and their family all the best in the future.

    Mr DONALD PAGE (Ballina—Deputy Leader of The Nationals) [8.28 p.m.]: As Deputy Leader of The Nationals, on behalf of my wife, Morag, and on behalf of members of The Nationals, I extend my sincere condolences to Ian's wife, Helen, and to his daughters, Jane, Alice and Ann, and their families who are in the public gallery this evening. I attended Ian's funeral in Albury and it was a big affair. It revealed just how widely respected Ian Glachan was in his electorate. I understand that Ian was not big on having a large funeral and would have preferred a small, private gathering. But I am really glad, and I think the community is grateful, that the family gave us the opportunity to say goodbye to Ian in an appropriate fashion. We are also doing that this evening.

    I came to Parliament at the same time as Ian, in March 1988, under the Greiner-Murray Government. We subsequently served together in the Fahey-Armstrong Government and, of course, in Opposition for far too many years after that. We served 15 years together until Ian's retirement in 2003. Other speakers have mentioned some of his contributions but I got to know him reasonably well during those 15 years and I want to reflect on how I found Ian. I valued many of our conversations, inside and outside this Chamber. During divisions it is a bit of a lottery as to where you sit; it depends on what seats are available. Over time, I was proactive in trying to sit beside Ian and have a yarn to him during the division. Quite often that yarn would turn into quite a deep and meaningful conversation well after the division had finished and everyone else had gone back to their offices.

    Ian was easy to talk to and surprisingly interesting in many ways. He had a wide range of knowledge and interest in a variety of subjects that you would not suspect he had until you got to know him. When I was first elected I heard that the new member for Albury was a former newsagent. It was not until I got to know him that I realised that he had a wide range of experience in the Merchant Navy, farming in the New England area and later at Gilgandra, where he was involved in wheat production. He was a practical person in lots of way, although he would maintain that he was not. He seemed to know a lot more about machinery than I did; he was interested in anything that was relevant to life. Ian was a thoroughly decent human being; he was humble and in no way consumed by self-importance. He was not into self-promotion and did not particularly want to be recognised. As other members have said, he was a real gentleman.

    How many members of Parliament would drive an old model Volkswagen around their electorate like Ian did? That was the sort of person he was. He had a lot of commonsense in life experiences, in dealing with people and also in relation to policies. When I was Assistant Minister for Roads and Transport in the Fahey-Armstrong Government, Ian was chairman of a backbench transport committee. Often he would provide very sage advice in relation to a Government proposal and on some occasions his view prevailed and the proposal did not go ahead. In his own quiet way, Ian made quite a contribution in meetings that will probably never be recognised in the public forum.

    As the Leader of the Liberal Party, John Brogden, and the honourable member for Albury, Greg Aplin, said, he was not only a very good listener but a clear-thinking speaker and a person who observed very keenly what happened in life and learnt from it. If anyone was interested he was happy enough to impart and share what he had learnt from his life. He was also a dedicated family man. I have many memories of our families and children, but they will remain private. His daughter Ann and her husband, Charles, live in my electorate. From time to time, Helen would organise something for the grandchildren, baby clothes or whatever, and Ian would bring them up from Albury on the plane and give them to me at the end of a sitting week. I would take them to Ballina and Ann would pick them up from my electorate office, so we had a good arrangement to make sure that the grandchildren were looked after. That is the sort of bloke Ian was: he tended to the little things behind the scenes that made people happy. Obviously a big part of Ian's life was Helen. In his valedictory speech I was rather taken by this comment:

    During my apprenticeship, when I was about 16, I went to the Hornsby scout dance one night—the first time I had been to the old Scout Hall in Hornsby. There I saw a striking young woman—14 at the time—Helen Margaret O'Brien. I fell in love with her at first sight. It was the most important night of my life, and she has been with me for the rest of my journey through life.

    That is marvellous. I am sure Helen will not mind me reading this, but he showed what a real gentleman he was when he said:

    I can still remember quite clearly the night I met Helen and exactly how she looked. She has not changed at all.

    That is marvellous as well. He also said about Helen:

    When we went wheat farming I had this old international diesel tractor that was a cow of a thing to start. She would be out early in the morning in the truck with a chain pulling me around the yard so I could get the tractor started and off to plough the paddocks. She has been a great support to me. We went into a newsagency business and lived above the shop in a tiny little flat.

    I can imagine Helen dragging Ian around on a chain to get the tractor started. They had a common purpose and goal: to make the farm work. That says a lot about good marriages and relationships. Ian and Helen's relationship, and the way their family is so tight, is a lesson for a lot of people today about the benefits of making things work. Ian was a bit disenchanted and genuinely concerned about the fact that politicians today are not regarded in quite the way they were in the past. We are not held in the regard that we would like to be or should be. One of Ian's legacies that we should think about on his passing is his attempt in the political arena to always address the issues. He was not into personal attacks, as the honourable member for Wentworthville said.

    Those of us in public life should take something from the good example Ian set in relation to those issues, and if we are serious about restoring the reputation that politicians had 40 or 50 years ago, we should take a leaf out of Ian Glachan's book in the way we conduct ourselves in this place. Ian was respected on both sides of this House. He was proud and honoured to be the member for Albury. He never became a Minister, and I do not think he aspired to be one. He was proud to be in the Coalition team. His family should be proud of Ian as an individual and as a parliamentarian. He was a good friend to all of us who knew him, and we will certainly miss him. I offer my condolences to Helen and Ian's family.

    Mr RICHARD TORBAY (Northern Tablelands) [8.40 p.m.]: I join with other speakers in offering my condolences to Ian's wife, Helen, and his family and friends who are in the public gallery. Like the honourable member for Wentworthville, I knew Ian for a brief time. I was elected in 1999 and appointed immediately to the Public Accounts Committee, on which Ian was well known, having been a significant contributor to that committee. As the honourable member for Wentworthville said, the Public Accounts Committee was a very good committee and its members got to know each other quite well. However, those were turbulent times. Many of the stories told about Ian this evening come as no surprise to me now, but as a brand new member of this Parliament I could not imagine being fortunate enough to have met anyone better than Ian Glachan. Ian spoke fairly and generously about everyone, no matter what their political standing in the Parliament or whom they represented. He was a fair, very decent and highly respected person. That observation of Ian never fluctuated in the whole of the four years that we served together in this place and as members of the Public Accounts Committee.

    Ian often spoke in that forum about his family. And he also spoke often about his garden. I was unavailable for the trip on which I would have got to see the garden. I never did see it, but I heard all about it on many occasions. Ian also spoke openly about his passion about being the member for Albury. When I asked Ian for advice, the advice I got was always constructive. He was a man who always stuck to the issues, and would say it was about getting the outcome that would help the community. I do not know of anything unpleasant in his dealing with people. He was a thoroughly decent person. That was my first impression of him as a new member, and I never observed him to be any different from the day I met him to the day he retired from this place.

    As a former local government representative, I was not surprised that Ian left this place with the respect of all members of this Parliament and was elected mayor of his community, because he loved his community. I know, from the few people who spoke to me, as has been well articulated by a number of members who spoke in this debate, including the honourable member for Ballina, that his local community was proud of him. Perhaps that is a fitting tribute to a very worthy parliamentarian and citizen.

    Mr BARRY O'FARRELL (Ku-ring-gai—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [8.42 p.m.]: Before I join my colleagues and members opposite in speaking to the motion, I acknowledge the presence in the gallery of a number of people—I know I do so at the risk of offending some—who have taken time from their schedules to be here. I particularly acknowledge Senator Bill Heffernan; Sussan Ley, the member for Farrar; the State's newest Senator, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells—or Connie Fierravanti, as I knew her at university; the President of the Liberal Women's Council, Helen Wayland; Marie Ficcara, a former colleague of Ian's and mine, who is now on the State Executive; and Rhonda Vanzella, the female vice-president. I also acknowledge John Cameron, who has done so much unpaid work, over many years, to support people in this place, including Ian Glachan.

    There are three types of columns used by the Greeks in the construction of the magnificent buildings that still exist across this planet. The most ornate, and highly decorate, are the Corinthian columns. Then are the slender, scroll-topped Ionic columns. Then there are my favourites, those that are found in the Parthenon, which are straight and simple and sturdy—the Doric columns. I never understood why Ian's second name was Doric, but as a student of ancient history, both in my higher school certificate years and subsequently, it fascinated me how Ian ended up not just with the name Doric but with the classic Greek spelling of that name.

    I think the Doric column and its description—oldest, by which I mean wisest, sturdiest and simplest—sum up Ian Glachan. Ian was wise. In a profession obsessed with the here and now, Ian always had the ability to take the longer-term perspective. In working for his electorate, time and again he demonstrated the fundamental truth of the allegory of the tortoise and the hare. Ian and I, in many senses, could not have been more different. I was fat; he was fit. He was married the year before I was born.

    Ms Pam Allan: He was nice!

    Mr BARRY O'FARRELL: He was nice, he was a gentleman, he never uttered a nasty word or an angry word in this House—things I cannot say about myself. He imparted wisdom to those who came to know him. The honourable member for Ballina spoke about searching Ian out in divisions because he had a special way of talking to people about the here and now. But not only did he leave part of himself, as the honourable member for Wentworthville said, and not only did he teach us a few lessons, but he made you feel good about yourself. And, I have to say, perhaps in those moments when those opposite think that I am almost nice, he may well have shaped and knocked off some of the rough edges.

    Ian was also sturdy. He exhibited all the vigour and determination needed to succeed in this place and in this profession. I would say it is a rare member who tries to be elected, fails, then fronts up a second time four years later and succeeds. On our side of the House would be the honourable member for Gosford; the honourable member for North Shore, who fronted three times before being elected, which only demonstrates that women are far stronger than men; and Ian Glachan. What is extraordinary about the challenge that poses is that not only do you want to have to do it, as Ian did following his 1984 defeat, but your local branch members have to want you to do it, and those who run the party must be prepared to have you do it. In 1988 branch members, Nick Greiner and head office were all delighted that Ian was prepared to have another go. He was endorsed almost immediately after the 1984 election campaign, and he campaigned full time.

    I remember him telling us, when we were in Opposition, that each week he would get a telephone call at the newsagency from someone who worked for Nick Greiner. It was often a woman who would ring up and say, "Mr Glachan, Mr Greiner has asked me to call to see what is happening down there." He would say, "Barry, I knew that Nick had not asked any such thing, and that they just wanted feedback." He was always able to indicate this great way of dealing with candidates in the field, and he always proffered it to those in positions of influence to continue with newer candidates. I have to say Ian the sturdy relied on that strength when, in the 1999 election, because of a Federal funding issue affecting a local matter, he ended up having a very tightly run contest. I recall scrutineering for him. I remember searching him out in that funny little office he occupied down the back, with his cup of tea, and with his pad in front of him as he worked the numbers as we brought to him the latest reports. He remained stoic throughout. He remained upbeat, even though I am sure Helen could tell us that underneath it was turmoil, because it was a close thing.

    Another thing about Ian that demonstrates the wisdom of the man was the work he did between campaigns, which I think got him across the line in that close result. This was a fellow who, as we have heard before, loved doorknocking and was a self-starter in that sense. This was the fellow who invented what I subsequently exported to my Liberal colleagues as the how-I-can-help brochure, which all our electorate secretaries hate, but which, combined with Ian's invention of a random letter issued on a weekly and monthly basis, over many years prior to that election, ensured that he was held in such good stead by his community. I think that demonstrates the wisdom of the man.

    Ian demonstrated simplicity in a profession that we too often complicate and confuse. Ian thought spin was what something did when you turned it. It was not what Bob Carr and those other spin merchants do on a daily basis, which is to try to twist the truth to cast shadows where shadows perhaps do not exist, where you are simply trying to get out of a bad spot. Ian was as straight as a die. What you saw was what you got. Classically, his word was his bond and, quite frankly, his practice of politics was as far as possible from the image that most of us give to the profession. I have to say, as Don Page said, that if more of us engaged in that sort of politics perhaps we would not have the problem with reputation that we have. As others have said, being an MP for Ian was not about personal advancement and power, it was about working with and for his community. He was always quick to credit that community with any of the achievements he delivered to Albury during his term of office.

    For the record, in his final speech he listed as his proudest achievements the new base hospital and police station in Albury, the new school in Jindera, the school hall at Lavington and the new bridge over the rail line at Borella Road. Of all the things that members of Parliament do I thought it was interesting that it was about bricks and mortar, improving people's lives and delivering the sorts of services that we, as State members, are meant to be doing. Ian's time in Parliament was about service and duty. As he said in his valedictory speech and as Alex Mitchell, to his great credit, picked up in the paper today, "Let me say what a great pleasure it has been simply to be Ian Glachan MP, Member for Albury." Helen, I have to say, as I wrote to you, that Ian was also a terrific role model, not just in how to be a conscientious, decent and hardworking MP, but in how to be a loving husband and father.

    Ian was incredibly proud of his daughters, Alice, Jane and Ann, and their families. If drawn, if one inquired, because Ian did not always volunteer, Ian would expansively recount the latest developments with the three daughters, the sons-in-law or the six grandchildren. We traded stories, he about the latest achievements of Fergus and Oscar and me about the latest antics of my boys. And, as I told Fergus earlier, I confess to shedding a tear when I was sitting in London in an Internet cafe reading the Border Mail about Fergus' tribute at Ian's funeral. Ian was especially proud of Alice's success in local government. Since last year's council elections our talks always contained updates on the latest glowing report he had received from others about Alice's progress in that job in the community.

    Indeed, our last extended talk was two months ago when he accompanied Helen to Sydney for what is the now famous annual general meeting of the Women's Council of New South Wales, held in the theatrette of this building. I met him downstairs and I took him up to the office, and over tea we spoke about his venture into local government, the challenges confronting him as Mayor of the Greater Hume Shire, and he indicated, as the honourable member for Wentworthville said, how much he was looking forward to the challenge and how much he was enjoying it. He enjoyed helping with Alice's campaign. He loved his own campaign, and he was looking forward to the next four years. During that chat Ian recalled that when he left here he said in his valedictory speech that whilst it was sad for him to be leaving after 15 years it was simply that one era was closing and another would open up, and it had opened up.

    We were then joined by the Leader of the Opposition and we spoke about Alice and her political future, although I have to confess that we thought her political future was north of the border and that it would not be as a member of the Victorian Parliament. But I wish her well for her preselection for Benambra in August. Perhaps if she succeeds it would be a fitting trade for Sussan Ley, whom we procured from south of the border and who now sits in Federal Parliament as Parliamentary Secretary doing great things for the Liberal Party in the seat of Farrer. Sussan Ley was another of those great achievements that Ian Glachan was proud of. He regaled us with lots of stories about the Farrer van, the portable campaign caravan used during the Farrer campaign. He was as pleased as punch with the results and, unlike myself, he managed to exhibit his pleasure without incurring the displeasure of our State colleagues in The Nationals.

    I cannot ever remember a conversation with Ian that did not include an inquiry by him about my family. It was not just the usual courtesy, it just reflected Ian's genuine interest in people's welfare and their activities. Ian was a terrific Liberal, a State director's dream: a hardworking member who required minimal care and attention. Bill Heffernan knows how rare that can be. He tended to his branches. He was a regular attendee at party forums, although in all the State Council meetings that we have all been to over so many years I can never consciously recall Ian rising to speak. He was one of those people, along with yourself, Helen, who attended and got around amongst the delegates, but he did not feel the need to stand up and thump his chest to demonstrate to everybody he was there and that he had all the wisdom in the world. Some of our regular delegates could take a few lessons. He confined most of his opinions to the party room and ultimately he did what all good members should do, and that is deliver us in Greg Aplin a worthy successor in the seat.

    Ian was always loyal to his leaders, and I regret that in the last few years he had too many leaders, but he was always loyal to them. Although Ian was a gentleman and he was quietly spoken, as has been said, he was always keenly listened to when he rose in the party room to speak. I particularly remember his contribution in a Liberal party room at a difficult time for those of us who had a genuine country representation when gun law reform was being discussed following the Port Arthur massacre. Perhaps it was understandable that Ian, given his experience in 1984 and 1988, should regard Nick Greiner as his ideal leader and Premier, although in recent years it was clear that John Howard had certainly joined him in the pantheon of Liberal gods. I always remember the story that Ian told of one of Howard's visit to Albury when the Federal party was in that terrible period of Opposition. Ian was the State member. John, I think, was only a shadow Minister. He visited Albury and the media were at the airport to meet him. They were trying to trip him up on an important local issue that he could not have been briefed on.

    John Howard was asked, literally as he walked through the door of Albury airport, what was his view on X issue. As Ian told the story, without blinking an eyelid he said, "I share the same position as Ian Glachan. Ian Glachan is standing up for his community and I am behind him 100 per cent," and he just kept walking. Ian, who did not engage in that sort of quick repartee, who thought about what he was going to say and meant what he said, was impressed not just by the way in which Howard had handled the media but, indeed, by the way in which Howard had clearly summed up Ian Glachan as someone who was in touch with his community and whose views would be safe to endorse regardless of whether or not you knew what those views were.

    Greg Aplin mentioned the Volkswagen. Ian was very polite. Ian was a gentleman. I suspect I killed the Volkswagen. Helen, I remember two visits to Albury in close succession and, as some of you might remember, a few years ago I had a bit more weight on. On the first visit Ian met me and we travelled around in the Volkswagen. I tend to get in and out of things pretty quickly, slam doors, jump around and do all that sort of stuff. I remember parking outside the office and there was a bit of noise from my side of the car. The next time I came down I said, "Ian, where's the Volkswagen?" He said, "It's gone." He was too polite, I suspect, to tell me that I killed it, but I am happy now to stand and apologise for the death of one of those things that was characteristic of him. I turn now to someone who was an important part of Ian's life for 54 years, 46 of them as his wife. In his final speech, as has been said, he referred twice to meeting 14-year-old Helen Margaret O'Brien at a dance in a scout hall in Hornsby. Helen, I knew that you were a Waitara girl but I never knew you were Irish. Congratulations!

    During Ian's valedictory speech Helen was sitting in the adviser's lobby of this Chamber where Kerry Chikarovski was sitting earlier, and I was sitting in the Whip's place, where the Whip is currently seated. As Ian paid his tribute to Helen as the love of his life, a gift from God, as someone who enriched his life, as a wonderful mother to their three children, as an uncomplaining companion in a life that encompassed his careers as a merchant navy marine engineer, a Uralla farmer, a Gilgandra wheat grower, an Albury newsagent and finally as a member of Parliament, not surprisingly Helen cried, quietly and in a dignified way, during Ian's remarks, and I will never forget the embrace they shared when Ian left the floor of the Chamber. Theirs was a great and inspirational partnership. I can only hope that the passage of time dissipates the sense of loss that undoubtedly Helen is feeling.

    Before I conclude, I must mention that Bruce Baird, Kerry Chikarovski, who was here earlier, and the honourable member for Baulkham Hills, Wayne Merton, wanted me to place on the public record their respect and admiration for Ian, and their condolences. Helen, Wayne has his own travails at the present time but spoke to me last Friday and especially asked me pay his respects to you. Earlier I met one of the unofficial members of this place, Brian Ross, who told me that he was coming in this evening because, as Chairman of the Harness Racing Authority of New South Wales, he met Ian during his many visits to Albury. As an illustration of the things that country members do, Brian said that Ian never missed a meeting of the Albury sub-branch of the Harness Racing Authority, for which the authority is grateful. Brian is attending this evening, not just because he knows that Ian was a good bloke, but out of admiration for Ian's efforts on behalf of an important industry in country New South Wales.

    Helen, as I left the house this morning, Rosemary asked me to extend her love to you. As I said earlier, I had always wondered about the origin of Ian's middle name. I discovered that if Ian was allowed to speak and if people listened eventually we would get the answers to most things. When Ian was speaking on the Community Relations Commission and Principles of Multiculturalism Bill 2000 he spoke of a number of matters. He recounted the history of the German and Polish settlement of Albury and the surrounding settlements of Jindera, Burrumbuttock, Holbrook and Bonegilla. Ian spoke of his school years, of his classmates whom he described as having British surnames, and of his fellow students' shabby treatment of a classmate whose family had fled Nazi-occupied Norway and whose only misdemeanour was to have an unusual name in those days, Carl. On that occasion Ian also spoke of his middle name—a name of which on that occasion he declared he was very proud.

    Both of Ian's parents were born overseas. His father was born in Scotland and his mother was born in New Zealand. His mother's family were Cornish and were from Cornwall in the British Isles, and his mother's father, his grandfather, had been born on the high seas as his family emigrated. The name of the ship on which his grandfather was born was the Doric. The vessel had been built in Belfast in 1883 for the famous White Star Line and it steamed from Britain to Australia and New Zealand, bringing people to the Southern Hemisphere until 1895. I have no doubt that the vessel was steady and safe as it brought people such as Ian's grandfather to Australia.

    Ian Doric Glachan touched people's lives—the lives of his families, his friends, his colleagues, his constituents and those who continue to enjoy, as the Leader of the Opposition has stated, the fruits of his 15 years of service to the people of Albury and its surrounds. May Ian rest in peace, and may his family take comfort in his achievements.

    Ms MARIE ANDREWS (Peats) [9.03 p.m.]: I join with my colleagues on both sides of the House in extending my condolences to the family and friends of the late Ian Glachan. When I was first elected to this House in 1995 one of the first members from the opposite side I met was Ian Glachan. I must say that I was very impressed by Ian. He certainly was a true gentleman and was always very kind toward me. It did not matter on which side of the political fence one stood; Ian always extended his friendship and was always ready to assist in any way he could. Ian and I served on the Joint Committee on the Health Care Complaints Commission and Mr Acting-Speaker, the honourable member for Wallsend, was the chairman of the committee at that time. I must say that the committee was run very well.

    Ian, as was his nature, always made an invaluable contribution to the work of the committee. He always came to the meetings with something worthwhile to contribute. He took his parliamentary duties seriously. I well appreciate that after he left this place he chose to go into local government because his life was all about being of service to his community. Whenever I could, which was not very often, I attended the parliamentary prayer group and I think I am correct in saying that for some time Ian was the convener of the group. In that role also I was very impressed with Ian. He had a very true Christian commitment. He led his life through an adherence to his deep Christian beliefs. I think that is something that today is pretty rare, and unfortunately it is becoming rarer.

    I must say that I was very shocked when I heard of Ian's sudden death. He was not old by today's terms at 70 years of age, and he always looked to be in the best of health. But one never knows. Ian left us quite suddenly, and I imagine that would have been a traumatic period for his widow and family. I join with my colleagues in placing on the record my appreciation of the service of Ian Glachan to this place and my appreciation of being able to regard Ian as a friend. It was nice to be able to serve with him as a member of this Parliament. I extend to Ian's widow, Helen, and to his daughters, Jane, Ann and Alice, and to his six grandchildren, two of whom are in attendance, Fergus and Oscar, and to Ian's many friends who are also here, my deepest condolences. I think the fact that there are so many of Ian's friends attending in the public gallery speaks volumes of the high regard in which Ian was held. He certainly was held in very high esteem by members on both sides of this House. May Ian Glachan rest in peace.

    Mr ANDREW TINK (Epping) [9.06 p.m.]: Ian Glachan and I came into Parliament on the same day, and I have no doubt that from that first day we were fated to remain very good friends. The first day we arrived in this place was a day of great celebration. It was the first day in this Parliament of the great Greiner-Murray Government after an election landslide victory. We all came into this chamber with high hopes and, as we found out rather quickly, not a few challenges. The honourable member for Ballina, Don Page, shared that first day with Ian and me, and he knows what I am talking about.

    One of the matters I used to speak to Ian about was how to handle the latest Terry Metherell initiative in education. Terry was known for some very challenging policy initiatives which tested local members who held Government seats extremely sorely. I was often very interested to see how Ian and Don and others handled what I often regarded as something that was little short of a crisis in my own electorate. Ian was always a source of very calm advice distilled from very simple but firm principles about life. For somebody who had life experience to be able to impart some of his wisdom to somebody like me who was still a little bit young, raw and ambitious was terrific. It was wonderful to take my bearings from Ian because his background in the merchant navy and his general experience of life provided me with a perspective on some of the more challenging policy initiatives emanating from some of our ministerial colleagues.

    The first three years of the Greiner Government passed with much excitement and great work was done, but I think it is fair to say that at the end of the first three years we were all shocked. There was a significant electoral price to pay for very necessary reforms that Nick Greiner and Wal Murray led. But from the end of the first three-year period from 1991, as Helen knows, things became very difficult for the Government. Although we still had a very strong heart as a parliamentary team, there was great instability and challenge in the Parliament. Of course, a year later Nick had to leave us. I have never said this to Helen before but personally that was a very challenging time for me. My father had become extremely ill at the beginning of 1992 and died on 24 May, a relatively young man, younger than Ian was. It was a great shock to me at that stage of my life, and put me on the back foot. I was not well prepared for what happened after that in the parliamentary party. After Nick left there were extraordinary challenges, changes and stresses in the parliamentary Liberal Party that caused me grief because I was emotionally challenged at a personal level at that time.

    Ian was a source of quiet but enormous strength to me and that came from, again, those basic principles that he held in his own life, the simple points that he made. Ian was probably 12 years younger than my father, so he certainly was not of my father's generation, but he was sufficiently senior to me to provide me with advice and guidance to get me through a very difficult personal time and a difficult time in my career in this Parliament. Because of the age difference between Ian and my father I hesitate to call him a father figure, but there were elements of that in the advice he gave me. I wanted to tell Helen about that tonight and put it on the public record, something I have not done previously.

    After the changes in 1992 Ian and I went on to the Public Accounts Committee. This is not something we like to boast about these days, but as members of that committee we actually saw the world—on two occasions! I would like to think that at the end of that time we produced some important outcomes. As far as I am concerned Ian was much more to this Parliament than the member for Albury; he was an outstanding member for Albury and in addition did some very important work on the Public Accounts Committee in three areas. First, I refer to the area of public-private partnerships in infrastructure. It has become commonplace these days to talk about public-private partnerships in infrastructure, but nobody talked about that in those days. The committee did some groundbreaking work in that area.

    Quite a few fortunes have been made at Macquarie bank and other places as a result of some of the work that we did. I understand that those who remain in the industry—and what an industry it has become—still refer back to those reports that Ian played a vital part in helping to co-author. Second, I attended the recent Bench and Bar Dinner, where judges and barristers gather together. I was talking to the Senior Public Defender, Peter Zahra, QC, who reminded me that in Ian's time on the Public Accounts Committee we published an important report on public defenders. As a result of that report the law of New South Wales was recast and a new bill was put through this Parliament, reconstituting the public defenders on a statutory basis. They still talk about that outcome.

    The third area, which is relevant to the then Director of the Public Accounts Committee, concerned an internal audit report, perhaps not a high-profile area but one which was very much involved in the good governance of this State. In more recent times the Director of the Public Accounts Committee, who helped Ian and the other members of the committee with that report, has become the Director of the Internal Audit Division of the United Nations, based in New York, Patricia Azarias. Patricia would want me to pass on her best wishes to you, Helen.

    Yesterday I came into contact with Joseph Imrich, who was another member of the staff of the Public Accounts Committee. Joseph was quite shocked when he heard of Ian's passing and he asked me to extend to you, Helen, his condolences, as has Caterina Sciara. Another thing that Helen would know that Ian and I shared in common, apart from the Public Accounts Committee, was spending time as the Acting-Speaker of this House. Ian did a great job in that position. As a lawyer, I had difficulty carrying out that job because I tended to approach it from a legal point of view. I thought that members of this House understood the concepts of important rulings, and perhaps I adopted the Rozzoli approach. I assumed that there was a judicial aspect to the job. What a fool I was!

    From his life experience Ian understood that the job involved basic commonsense, and over the years he taught me to have a little commonsense. He did the job of Acting-Speaker superbly. It was a demonstration, if ever there was a need for a demonstration—and there was in my case—that the job of chairing this House is one of commonsense, not the job for hifalutin concepts. The best Speakers of this House understand that lesson and produce rulings and dispense discipline using commonsense and balance. In this Chamber Ian's behaviour was impeccable. I cannot remember him ever being called to order, except on one occasion—and that was a bit of a trick. Jim Small, his good friend and the member of an electorate not far down the river, and Ian had an impeccable record for not being called to order.

    On one occasion towards the end of Ian's career, and when John Murray was in the Chair, Andrew Fraser somehow concocted to get Ian and Jim into trouble. They were both called to order by Speaker Murray. Ian was mortified, I have no doubt that it was the worst single moment of his parliamentary career. Jim Small was similarly devastated. Helen, what I am telling you is that that incident highlights the way in which Ian treated this Chamber. It is a pity that a lot of other members of Parliament do not treat it in a similar fashion. I regret to say that Barry O'Farrell and I are probably the worst offenders. Whatever guidance I received from Ian over the years, and there was much of it, it certainly did not include bad behaviour in the Chamber.

    Helen, I am so sorry that Ian has passed away, and it came as a terrible shock to me. I was in Albury for the sixtieth anniversary of the Liberal Party. I will never forget the time that I spent there with him. Greg Aplin has made available the photographs that were taken on that day and I find myself going back to those photographs taken on the corner opposite where Robert Menzies organised the first meetings of the Liberal Party. It is extraordinary to have those mementos of the commemoration of an historic occasion of many decades ago. The photographs are far more important to me—and I do not mean to be morbid, but we are human beings—to remember my last time with Ian and speaking to him after a joint career in Parliament over 15 years. Those photographs are very special to me for very special reasons.

    Helen, I pass on to you the very best wishes of my wife, Kerry, and wish you all the best for the future. I look forward to your ongoing and very strong contribution in the Liberal Party in the important position you now hold. I am sure Ian would be proud of you for continuing in that increasingly important role. I am very sorry and sad to be speaking to Ian Glachan's condolence motion tonight. I did not think it would come for many years and I am sorry it has come so soon. However, I am delighted to be able to publicly record my thanks to Ian for his assistance to me personally during some pretty appalling months in 1992.

    Mr JOHN PRICE (Maitland) [9.19 p.m.]: I acknowledge the life of Ian Glachan and extend my condolences to Helen Glachan and her family. My knowledge of Ian was different from the knowledge that Opposition members had of him. I came into Parliament one term before Ian and I was delighted to find another marine engineer in this place. It was somewhat unusual—it was not a craft one would normally find in the Parliament—but it was nice to be able to talk to a soul mate. I found out about Ian's career because he had served for some time with the Australian Shipbuilding Board and I had come from the State dockyard in Newcastle. Although Ian was about four years my senior he and I had been involved in the same sorts of drawings and engineering material. To meet him again after almost 25 years was significant from my point of view.

    Ian and I were not close, but we had a comfortable arrangement. We could talk together about things outside Parliament. Sometimes it is not always easy to speak about parliamentary things with members of the Opposition or members of the Government. I acknowledge Ian's local government service and his period as mayor. Ian came into the Parliament in an older age group, much as I did, and brought with him a wealth of knowledge that many younger members do not have—not of parliamentary practice but of life, the way it is lived and what people expect from public representatives. I think that accounted for Ian's quiet firmness and particular style. Anybody who loves doorknocking has to have a particular style. Ian enjoyed doorknocking and he often spoke about the people he had met and the problems he encountered during that period.

    I never heard Ian utter a nasty word about anyone and I do not know whether that was part of his lifestyle. In this place where the trading of insults is part and parcel of life he did not utter a nasty word. Ian always won his point through quiet argument and a sensible comprehension of issues. Harold Mair, his predecessor, always spoke well of him. My wife, a Victorian, comes from Yackandandah. She has relatives at Talgarno and Tallangatta and all those odd places. She has an aunt, Wilma Drummond. I think Peter Drummond and his father knew Ian and enjoyed his company. It does not matter from what part of the world we come, we always run into somebody who has met or has known a friend, or who was a friend of a friend.

    The 93 members in this Chamber are privileged. They have been asked to represent their respective electorates, just as Ian represented his electorate. Community members place their trust in us and expect us to perform as best we can and to obtain the best advantages for them. Ian was well known for that. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, Mr Barry O'Farrell, outlined earlier a number of projects with which Ian could be well identified—projects that improved the life of constituents in Albury. I also knew Ian through his interest in the Anglican Church. I was involved in the diocese of Newcastle. My wife and I were on a plane with Helen and Ian—my wife's father was canon of the cathedral in Newcastle—and I just left the pair of them to it. It was easier that way and I just danced around the fringes. Ian had a love for his church, his community and his family. He will be remembered publicly for those three things—significant icons in anyone's life. His quiet way of dealing with individuals in this place will be sadly missed. With great respect I say: Vale, Ian Glachan.

    Mr PETER DEBNAM (Vaucluse) [9.24 p.m.]: As a number of people want to speak in this debate I will be relatively brief. I say to Helen and her family that my wife Deborah and I very much regret not having been able to attend Ian's funeral service. I said to Helen earlier this evening—Helen was in tears again—that tonight we are celebrating Ian's contribution to Parliament and also his life. It is a clear tribute to him that so many members of Parliament want to speak in this debate. After someone's death people speak about that person and we often hear new things, which is disturbing. I am sure we would all like to know more about those people while they are still with us. We all knew and enjoyed Ian. We loved the way he did his job and the way he befriended us all.

    Most of us already knew all the things that we have heard tonight about Ian. John Brogden said earlier that Ian's family came first. His family was way out in front and community service came a close second. That was demonstrated again when Ian left Parliament and did what most of us would not think of doing: going again into local government. Everything else was way behind. There was clear daylight between family, community service and everything else, unless it was property investment. Clearly, property investment was up there somewhere. Ian and I often talked about the navy and the sea. Ian enjoyed being thrown around at sea far more than I did. He often talked with great affection about it.

    He spoke also about tractors. One honourable member referred tonight to the fact that there were umpteen conversations in this Chamber about tractors and Ian's garden. Ian was an inspiration to everyone who knew him. He was a consummate public servant and community leader. Not many members of Parliament like doorknocking, but he did and I do. That really demonstrated the fact that Ian loved people. Earlier tonight someone mentioned the fact that Ian frequently said, "It's all about people." It is. Ian constantly reminded us of that. Tonight a number of members referred to an incident in this Chamber involving Ian and Jim Small and their horror at being called to order. The person relating that incident did not refer to the fact that during the whole of question time Ian and Jim did not stop talking.

    Ian was a good listener, but the two of them chatted away throughout the whole of question time, and goodness knows what they were talking about. So it was fitting that somebody finally called them to order. When I first came into this place Speaker Kevin Rozzoli told me—the only words of advice he gave me—"Come in, sit down and shut up for as long as you can." Beyond that he gave me no further advice. But the advice for all new members of Parliament was, "Watch how Ian works the Parliament, the community and his colleagues." To many of us Ian was the source of sound advice. Reference was made earlier tonight to bad language. We had an outbreak of bad language in the Chamber this afternoon when John Price was in the chair, something in which I might have participated.

    If Ian had been here we would have felt his eyes through the back of our heads. He would not have said anything in the Chamber but later we would have had a quiet visit from him and he would have talked about parliamentary standards. He would make the point that the public expected a great deal of everyone in this Chamber. He reminded us of that every day. He would also make the point that while doorknocking one had no hope of meeting every constituent. A vast number of our constituents hope that whenever we are called upon to make a decision in this Chamber or we do something outside this place, we do the right thing by them. That is one guiding principle that we should follow. Ian constantly reminded us of what we had to do. To do it well we had only to emulate him.

    The Deputy Leader of the Opposition said that most members do not do the right thing by the Parliament, the Liberal Party or anyone else when choosing a successor. But it was clear from the speech by the honourable member for Albury tonight that Ian provided the perfect successor. Behind the scenes—whether during private conversation or in the party room—Ian told us frequently what was right and wrong and made sure that we knew which direction to take on many issues. Community service was very much at the forefront of Ian's mind and of everything he did, as was demonstrated in his move from State Parliament to local government. It was clearly a pleasure for us all to know Ian and to work with him. It was equally a pleasure to know Helen and her family. As every speaker has said tonight, it was a real shock to lose Ian. We are going to miss him very much but I give an assurance that not one of us will ever forget him.

    Mr JOHN MILLS (Wallsend) [9.30 p.m.]: It is my view that if there were more members of the New South Wales Parliament like Ian Glachan—people of decency and moderation—the reputation of all politicians would be better and the people of New South Wales would be better represented. I say that as someone who does not come from the political party of which Ian was a member. I respect very much people who make a commitment to a political party, with all the necessary compromises that that entails. It is relatively easy to be an Independent; it is much harder to accept the compromises and disciplines of belonging to a political party. We recognise that politics and public life are about having the numbers to win votes, so we accept the compromises and work with others for the common good. Ian understood that very well.

    Ian came into this place some nine months before I did. My predecessor, Ken Booth, passed away nine months into the first term of the Greiner Government. I did not meet Ian until we discovered, across the Chamber—he in Government and I an Opposition backbencher—that we shared a common interest in health matters. We debated the Health Care Complaints Commission legislation that, despite arguments about amendments, was supported by both sides of the House. The Fahey Government chose Ian to be the first chairman of the joint oversight committee of the commission, which had very coercive powers. I found myself the leading Labor spokesman on the committee and soon discovered what a decent man Ian was.

    When the government changed in 1995 our roles were reversed: I became the chairman of that committee and Ian became the leading Opposition spokesman. I never left my Labor Party membership outside the door and he did not leave his Liberal Party membership outside the door, but we both knew that our job was to do what the Parliament expected of us—applying our understanding of health issues and of the powers of the body that we were oversighting—without adopting partisan political points of view. I think we worked together well in the early years of that committee while the commission was new. I thoroughly enjoyed our bipartisan working relationship. I learned something from Ian that I hope I was able to carry on when it was my turn to be chairman when the government changed.

    Ian introduced me to Helen in his office—which moved around a bit, as did mine. As a Labor member from outside Sydney I felt that I had more in common with members from rural and regional New South Wales. The city rat Liberals, such as the honourable member for Vaucluse and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, were not natural friends in the way that people from outside Sydney were, whether they were Labor, Liberal or National. We seemed to have more in common and perhaps took a more relaxed approach to life than the city people from any political party. Ian and I had a lot in common and we would often chat in corridors and across the Chamber during divisions. I thoroughly respected the decency of the man, the good behaviour of the man and the strong contribution that he made in representing his constituents. I extend my condolences, and those of my wife, Trudy, to Helen, their three daughters and their grandchildren. They will have long and proud memories of Ian's contribution to his family, the district and, I trust, to the Parliament of New South Wales. Ian will long be remembered in this place as one of the champions of democracy.

    Ms PETA SEATON (Southern Highlands) [9.35 p.m.]: To Helen, Ann, Alice, Jane, Oscar and Fergus, we are here to honour a special man in Ian Doric Glachan. Much has been said about Ian and his devotion to Helen and their daughters and his pride in Oscar and Fergus. I know all that to be true and I count it a privilege to have known Ian and to have learned from him as a Liberal, a colleague and a friend. I first heard of Ian by reputation: the Liberal candidate for Albury, whom Nick Greiner—my then boss—admired for his great hard work, his humility and the understanding and experience that Nick knew Ian could bring to his place of business and the Albury region. Albury and its people were always Ian's genuine priority in this place.

    It was only in 2002-03, when I found myself sitting next to him for a year, that I really got to know him. Sitting through question time, day in, day out, is a good way to get to know somebody. He and I loved the television show The Kumars at No. 42. I think he loved about the show the idea that the family was obsessed with business, independence, hard work, scrimping and saving, and taking pride in the rewards that hard work brought. Ian valued those who worked hard and did their best, but he was also genuinely compassionate to those who needed help. Ian was always sartorially perfect, and would notice details about what others wore—someone's shoes not polished, someone's cufflinks not correct or someone's tie too short—because I think he believed members should make every effort to represent their communities appropriately in this place.

    Fergus and Oscar featured in our conversations. He was so proud of them. I think I heard every detail of every sniffle and every grazed knee. We would compare notes because my daughter is only a year older. Ian was also the head of a household of women and, as I am one of three daughters, we shared that experience—although I have no doubt that he knew exactly who was the boss at home, where it really counted. He was very proud of his girls and very happy for things to be that way. I also got to know about the farm owned by Ian and Helen, and heard daily reports of sheep, ducks, trees, foxes, dogs and debates about which trees were right and which were wrong, and what would happen in the future.

    Ian was also a proud and unapologetic capitalist. He believed strongly in the value of hard work, the value of property investment and of making provision for a secure future for his family. He was a great defender of the taxpayer and believed government should be disciplined in the way it spends taxpayers' money. But Ian was also generous with his good fortune. We have heard much tonight about his work in the community and with his church and the many occasions when he used his resources to help people in need. They are the things we probably hear least about because they are the things he would just do because he knew it was right.

    One day I took a particularly dark attitude to something that had happened in the political rough and tumble, and I said words about how I "hated" this particular thing that had occurred. Ian pulled me up short and said, "You shouldn't hate—you can deplore, despise or not respect but don't hate; it will consume you and it does you no good." He was, and is, right, and I thank him for that. As has been said, Ian was more socially liberal on many issues than people might have suspected, driven, I think, by his real concern for the welfare of people and the idea that government should play a role only in certain things that government was good at and that other things should be left to the individual to account for. I think, for Ian, it was about individual responsibility.

    I miss Ian very much. He taught me a great deal about patience and finding the best thing in something or someone, and he reinforced the value of hard work. I feel an ongoing connection with him in that I now have the office that Ian occupied. There is a little bit of Ian with me every day in room 1009. I know he would disapprove of the way I have filled up every single corner. When he had that office it looked more like a ship's cabin: neat as a pin, sparse and orderly. To Helen, Alice, Ann, Jane, Oscar, Fergus and the family, my sincere condolences on your great loss, but please be very proud of a man who made an exceptional contribution to our democracy and our community, and to his beloved Albury, and most of all to the family we know he loved above all else.

    Mr ANDREW STONER (Oxley—Leader of The Nationals) [9.40 p.m.]: With great sadness I offer my condolences on behalf of The Nationals on the untimely passing of my colleague and friend Ian Glachan. I use the word "friend" advisedly because I counted Ian Glachan as a personal friend. We sat together on the back bench for three years from 1999 to 2001. It was a time when I, as a new member, very much appreciated the great wisdom, integrity and encouragement shown in the advice and support that Ian freely offered me. I must confess I also occasionally sought Ian's advice on the back bench about the odd crossword clue. Whenever I became stuck on the more difficult or obscure word in the crossword of the Sydney Morning Herald invariably Ian was able to enlighten me as to the correct solution.

    Ian and I also served on a Coalition back bench policy committee upon which we studiously observed our responsibilities until about 6.25 p.m., when Ian would declare the meeting closed in order to rush back to his office to watch what I thought was his favourite program, Seinfeld. As well as having a great general knowledge, he also had a very keen sense of humour. Indeed, when I was standing next to Ian in the Chamber during the prayer that begins each day's sittings he would often remark to me, "You didn't have your eyes closed during the prayer. I saw you." The breadth and depth of Ian's life experience never ceased to amaze me. He was a marine engineer, a successful farmer, a very successful small businessman, a Rotarian who was awarded a Paul Harris fellowship, a revered local member and most recently the first ever mayor of the new Greater Hume Shire Council.

    Just as remarkable was the success in each of his fields of endeavour and the high regard in which he was unanimously held, even by his political opponents. We have heard some members of the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal Party and The Nationals who held Ian in the highest regard. I am of the view that Ian Glachan's remarkable life was in no small way connected to his strong Christian faith. Ian was a very strong member of the Anglican church and contributed much to the good works of the church in Albury. He also fulfilled the role of lay reader in the church. Ian and I attended weekly meetings of Christian members of Parliament, together with Fred and Elaine Nile, and later Gordon Moyes and several other members of Parliament from both sides of the House. It was there that I fully appreciated the deep humility and integrity of this gentle man. Ian was, indeed, a true gentleman in every sense of the word.

    In a tough and uncompromising field he remained true to his faith. I have no doubt that he is now in a better place where he was greeted with the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I know too that Ian's character was also one of a devoted family man. I saw ample evidence of that when I visited Ian and Helen after The Nationals conference in Albury a few years ago. There I saw Ian's abundant love for his wife, his three daughters, Jane, Alice and Ann, and grandchildren, Emma, Robert, Fergus, Oscar, Grace and Isobel. I know that in them Ian's legacy of love and faithfulness lives on. The great tragedy of Ian Glachan's passing is that he was 70 years young, in good health, enjoying new challenges and treasuring his time with his family. He had so much more to offer. However, the Lord decided it was time to call Ian home. We do not know why, but we must have faith in God's word, expressed in Isaiah, chapter 55, verse 9, which states:

    As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

    With those few inadequate words, I offer my heartfelt condolences and those of The Nationals to Helen, daughters Jane, Alice and Ann and their families.

    Mrs JILLIAN SKINNER (North Shore) [9.45 p.m.]: I want to make a few personal reflections upon my friendship with Ian Glachan, the former honourable member for Albury. Ian and I met many years ago when I was a candidate for this Parliament and was unsuccessful, but I really did not get to know him until I was elected in 1994. Ian, as has been said by many people in this place, was a true gentleman, always a person of great integrity, a quiet man but a man with a great sense of humour. Even though he portrayed himself as a fairly conservative man, he had many modern characteristics. He was tremendously supportive of women, which my colleague the honourable member for Southern Highlands pointed out, and I suspect that reflected upon his great love for his wife and daughters. I want to talk about some of my trips to Albury to assist Ian to identify and raise issues to do with my shadow portfolio responsibility at the time, which was health.

    Ian was passionate about health issues, particularly his local hospitals. We visited them on a number of occasions. He was loved by all we met on the rounds, whether they were doctors, nurses or nuns—the nuns adored him. He was respected for what he had done for his local community in the health sphere and in many other respects. As we drove around he nattered and told me the story of his life. In many ways, we had many things in common. I am married to a person who was in the Australian Navy for 30 years, and even though it is the Royal Australian Navy nevertheless it is a navy and that started off the things we had in common. I am also a keen gardener, so we talked about the garden.

    He told me the great joy and the greatest blessing in his life was meeting Helen. I heard about how he met her at a dance, how he took her out—I think I heard about the first kiss, Helen. He absolutely adored you. I think to myself that it is a great blessing in life to know that you had such a relationship with a person that they will go on feeling that way about you forever, and you can know that. I was very fortunate to have been invited to stay at the Glachans' house. Helen and I discovered that we had a love of needlework in common. I think I stayed in your bedroom, Alice—thank you very much. I felt a great affinity with the Glachan family because it reflected very much mine, and the way I feel about my family. I understood where Ian came from.

    The honourable member for Southern Highlands mentioned something that I do not think the blokes in this place know: that Ian was a great connoisseur of women's clothes. He always asked me where I bought my clothes. He always said, "I think Helen would like that" and asked me what brands they were. He had a great deal of interest in them. I must say he always looked superbly turned out himself. Yes, you would never sit next to Ian Glachan with dirty shoes. He was somebody who took note of all the detail. Helen, I hope that you will for the rest of your life know how much he truly adored you, the girls and his grandchildren. He made a great contribution to the people of Albury and to this place. Helen, perhaps you do not know how much time he spent in this place talking about you and his family. I express my condolences to you.

    Mr THOMAS GEORGE (Lismore) [9.49 p.m.]: I join my colleagues in expressing our condolences to Helen and her family, Ann, Alice and Jane—who, sadly, is not here tonight—her grandchildren Charles and Nicholas, and friends. Prior to coming to Parliament in 1999 I was tutored by the person I believed to be the gentleman of the Parliament, the late Bruce Duncan. By the time I was elected to Parliament in 1999, Bruce had retired. Before I became a member, everywhere I went I was told Bruce was the gentleman of Parliament. But on my arrival here I had the honour and pleasure to meet Ian Glachan, and soon realised there was another gentleman in the Parliament, a person that I would become very close to. I and my colleagues who came here in 1999 had the pleasure of sitting on the back bench. Some of us still have that pleasure. But it was in those times that I got to know Ian personally. In ensuing years I met his family.

    Helen and Ian were always hospitable, and made you feel welcome and wanted. I will never forget the thrill of learning that Ann and Charles were moving to the electorate of Lismore. I thought, "This is great. I've got some of the Glachan blood coming to my area. No doubt they will be great workers for me." They loved the area and soon settled in. I know I carry the best wishes, prayers and thoughts of the electorate for Ann and Charles. Not long after they probably realised there were some even nicer parts of the North Coast in which to live, and they moved to Lennox Head, in the electorate of Don Page. That was Don's gain and my loss. But I had had the pleasure of Ian and Helen coming to visit while they were in Lismore.

    I have had the honour of visiting the Glachan family home in Albury. One thought I will carry for the rest of my life involves running into Ian and Helen at the Sydney show this year. It was a great thrill to see them. I made the comment, "Ian and Helen, you are proof to me that there is life after politics." They looked so well. The following Tuesday I saw them here in Parliament, where I think Helen was attending a meeting. When I heard the news that Ian had been elected mayor of the Greater Southern Shire I dropped him a note in which I said I thought he would have been very honoured to be elected to that position. In saying that, I realised he would not have achieved the position without the love and support of Helen and the family.

    Ian dropped back a handwritten note, typical of the Ian, which will be framed. In it he said, "Yes, Thomas, it is an honour to be elected to this position. I was a little lonely at times. I missed my times at Parliament and missed the company of a lot of good people there. You were one of those people." That is a thought that I will always treasure. Ian Glachan was a man of high principles, a man of great integrity and a man who devoted a great deal of time to newer members to this place, enriching us with his experiences, advice and counselling. He encouraged me to continue the tradition of trying to be a gentleman. I know that upsets some of my colleagues at times, but I have tried to live up to the good advice of the late Bruce Duncan and Ian Glachan. I trust that God will continue to bless Helen and her family all with good health and happiness. I know she will understand that Ian is now in the place that he was probably always destined for. We are the sadder for his passing.

    Mr IAN ARMSTRONG (Lachlan) [9.54 p.m.]: I pay tribute tonight to the life of Ian Doric Glachan. I do so with a sad heart, but also with a great sense of honour in that I was able to share for some years a business and professional partnership, as well as a personal friendship, with a truly great man. Politics is an interesting profession, and this is an interesting place in which to work as one of the 93 members of Parliament. Democracy, Churchill once said, is a flawed system of government, but it is superior to anything else that is available.

    What we have in this place is a microcosm of a broader society. Through our 93 members we share and reflect every aspect of the broader community—introverts and extroverts, all standards of education, ambitions and lack of ambitions. We are all here representing a facet of society. Ian Glachan, as many honourable members have said tonight, was clear and frank about his opinion of his place in society, and about the particular values that he brought to this place. He was a gentleman, a man of extraordinary principle, a man of education, a man of great purpose and of great love for his family, as well as his profession, and he very much respected his environment. He was successful in virtually every aspect of his life—his business life, his personal life, his professional life—and he never lost the passion to work. After his retirement from this place he went on to serve in local government and was elected mayor of his shire. Unfortunately, he served and enjoyed that role for only a short time before he unexpectedly died.

    The presence here tonight of so many leading luminaries and individuals from the city and area of Albury, where Ian spent most of the latter years of his professional life, is testimony to the strength and values of Ian Glachan and his contribution. As others have said, Ian had a loving family. His wife, Helen, and I went to primary school in Boorowa, where Mrs Flannery was our teacher at one stage. So we have known each other for a long time. Yes, Ian chose wisely when he married Helen O'Brien.

    It is important that we have role models. As has been said tonight by a number of members, Thomas George being the last to do so, Ian was a role model for new members. He was for Thomas when he came here. That was one of Ian's great contributions to this place. He remained on the back bench, but the respect given him was much higher than that of many who have sat for years on the front bench. That has been universally acclaimed by members of this place. The Parliament is the richer for his presence, the community is the richer for his endeavours, and his example in a society that is going through very rapid and continual change will be a linchpin that will serve many of us and generations well into the future. I join other members of this Parliament in extending my personal sympathy to Helen and her family. I thank her for allowing us to share part of the life of Ian Doric Lachlan.

    Mrs JUDY HOPWOOD (Hornsby) [9.58 p.m.]: I, too, join with members from both sides of the House in expressing sincere condolences to Helen, Ann, Alice and Jane, the extended family, and friends present in the gallery this evening. I met Ian before I was elected to this place. I first met him at the fiftieth anniversary of the Liberal Party in Albury, and saw then how well loved and valued he was in his community. I met him again in Albury in the lead-up to the election of Sussan Ley, at a function for her that Ian hosted, and noted how supportive he was of his wider community and of Sussan, who obviously had learned a great deal from him and benefited from his great wisdom.

    When I first became a member of Parliament I sat with Ian on the back bench for one year. I am sure I was placed beside him for a reason. He was a good mentor and I learned a great deal from him. He gave me good advice and instructed me in the ways of this place based on his 15 years experience. He gave me one piece of advice that I will never forget. He told me, "When you go to church you have to walk in and you have to go right to the front and sit in the front pew because that is your right." You could model yourself on Ian; he was a man I will never forget. When he retired from this place I would send him an occasional note just to let him know how I was going. I knew that he really cared about everyone here and about how the new member was getting on. He took a lot of care and attention in his successor. I know how proud Ian was of Greg Aplin and how he nurtured his career, which is going from strength to strength. We can see that Greg was a wonderful choice. I know that Ian would have taken great pride in his choice of such a wonderful person to follow in his footsteps.

    I feel privileged to have been able to sit here and learn a great deal about Ian's life. He brought tremendous experience into this place as a fitter and turner, a national serviceman, an engine draftsman, a marine engineer, a farmer and an owner of a small business. His career in politics in this place was followed by a career in local government that was only beginning. He was proud to have been elected mayor. I saw him when he came to Sydney with Helen to attend the Women's Council meeting. I greatly value the words we exchanged on that day in the hallway not far from my office. He was truly a gentleman. He was trustworthy, he had integrity and he was faithful in every sense of the word. He was a Christian. I repeat the quote given earlier by another member, "It's all about people, it's as simple as that." I adhere to the same tenet when I work in my electorate. I greatly appreciate the relationships I have built up over the years, and I believe they are similar to the ones that Ian built up over many years. I represent the electorate of Hornsby and I am proud that Ian met Helen in Hornsby and that she was a Waitara girl. I quote from Ian's valedictory speech:

    During my apprenticeship, when I was about 16, I went to the Hornsby scout dance one night—the first time I had been to the old scout hall in Hornsby. There I saw a striking young woman—14 at the time—Helen Margaret O'Brien. I fell in love with her at first sight. It was the most important night of my life, and she has been with me for the rest of my journey through life.

    Many people would look at that beginning, at their relationship and at their journey through life with great envy. Not many people get to share their life with someone they love so sincerely and to value a family as dearly as Ian did. He talked about Helen, the girls and his extended family many times. I certainly enjoyed hearing about all of their adventures. I will conclude by quoting the last paragraph of Ian's valedictory speech:

    I just want to say what a great privilege and honour it has been to be among all of my colleagues, every one of them, irrespective of the party they belong to. They have all touched my life in some way or another, and I am grateful for that. I will never forget them. Let me say also that it is a great privilege to be elected to serve in the Parliament by the people among whom you live, and I have treasured that privilege. Let me also say what a great privilege it has been to simply be Ian Glachan, MP, Member for Albury.

    Mr ANDREW HUMPHERSON (Davidson) [10.05 p.m.]: On behalf of myself and my wife, Vicki, I convey our condolences to Helen and Ian's family. We were shocked and saddened by their loss, which is our loss too. We appreciate just how deeply Helen and her extended family feel this loss. I hope that in some way Helen can take some consolation from the contributions of members this evening who have expressed their deep affection and respect for Ian and their fond memories of their time with him in this House. The people of Albury were fortunate to have been represented by someone of such great character who was so passionate and so caring about their community. He was very much a gentleman in carrying out his responsibilities and performing his tasks in this place. As a couple of members have said, he was fairly conservative but at the same time he was also compassionate in everything he did. He reflected his own strong values and the strong values of his community. I can remember debate during which he displayed a strong sense of compassion and the belief that young people particularly should be given a second chance. He believed that an opportunity should be provided for those who had not always had the same opportunity as others.

    I first got to know Ian early in my time in this place when I was a member of the Public Accounts Committee. In many respects he was a father figure. He was not necessarily forthright in providing advice, but he was always willing to provide it if I asked. He was always available, and he was always willing to discuss parliamentary matters and one's role as a member of Parliament. As an earlier speaker mentioned, he always asked about our families. He always asked about my boys and my wife, Vicki. I always regarded him as a team player. Sometimes issues bridge city and country and some members find that difficult. He was always very loyal to the Liberal Party and the parliamentary party. I recall occasions that possibly were difficult for some members, but Ian always stood strongly and loyally by the party.

    I recall, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has mentioned, his enthusiasm and respect for Nick Greiner and how much he appreciated the support he got, being a remote candidate, from the regular phone calls in the period from 1984 to 1988, when he remained the candidate and ultimately contested the election and became a member of Parliament representing Albury. He had a great belief in the good government that was coming with Nick Greiner, and he was proud to be part of that. We all know that he was not one to engage in personal confrontation and conflict. He liked to try to work things through. He was the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee for about a year or so. I recall on one occasion we had to complete a report on the Port Macquarie Hospital in a matter of days.

    Clearly the issue did not have bipartisan support. Because parliamentary committees have a long-established tradition of consensus, Ian cleverly and masterfully managed to craft a report which encompassed various points of view and cleverly cast the final resolution as "That the report be noted", which was unanimously endorsed by members of the committee. The committee made no recommendation but simply noted a diverse range of views. In that way, Ian preserved the non-partisan traditions of the committee system.

    I recall being present in 1999 in Albury during a close election contest when Ian won by a narrow margin. I had been scrutineering and was in Albury on the last day of vote counting. Ian seemed relaxed. Having seen other members of Parliament in similar circumstances not being very relaxed, Ian seemed very relaxed at that time. I recall progressively receiving reports as the Labor preferences were counted and the Labor candidate was excluded. There was a strong flow of preferences which indicated that voters had not followed the Labor ticket but had directed their preferences to Ian ahead of the Independent candidate. At the end of the day when the votes were counted and one would normally expect someone who won to be breaking open the champagne, Ian was relaxed and matter of fact, and his attitude was that it would be business as usual and he would be getting on with his job. That accurately reflected his commitment to his electorate.

    Ian probably would not have wanted the formality of a motion of condolence, but all of his colleagues believe that he certainly deserves acknowledgement in the strongest terms. We are all proud to have worked with him and to have had the opportunity to speak tonight. In my view, members of Parliament should not be judged by the number of projects they dedicate in their electorate or even necessarily by their words, but by the quality of the contribution they make. Ian Glachan's contribution as a parliamentarian was second to none.

    Mr MICHAEL RICHARDSON (The Hills) [10.11 p.m.]: I first met Ian Glachan when I entered Parliament in 1993. I was elected as a result of a by-election and at that time I was the sole member being sworn in as a member on the Coalition side of the House. Ian performed something of a mentoring role for me, which I very much appreciated at the time. Parliament is a fairly daunting place, particularly when a member does not enter Parliament as the result of a general election, a point which I am sure the honourable member for North Shore would appreciate. I found it particularly helpful to have someone of Ian's integrity as my mentor.

    Ian was chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, a position to which his meticulous attention to detail suited him ideally. Ian may not have been a Minister but he wielded considerable authority in his committee role and was widely respected by members on both sides of the House. Ian had a wonderfully spare and sparse manner of speaking. His speeches were almost Hemingwayesque in their simplicity. A classic example is an extract from a speech he gave on Don Bradman in 2001:

    When I got that sixpence I would arrange to meet my cousin on the way to the Sydney Cricket Ground. We took our sandwiches with us, paid our sixpence, and spent the day on the hill watching whatever cricket was on. We did not know beforehand who would be playing, whether it would be a Sheffield Shield or a test match. We did not care, we were just kids and it was somewhere to spend the day. We ran around on the hill, picked up bottles, collected the deposits and spent the money on whatever we could afford to buy.

    If Ian had not become a parliamentarian and had not chosen to use the spoken word as his means of expression, he could have made a fine Australian novelist and could even have written that great Australian novel that we are all still waiting for. Ian was totally committed to his electorate of Albury. That is evidenced by the fact that of his last 50 speeches, fully 24 of them, just under half, were private member's statements about his electorate. He was constantly fighting for better services and facilities for the people he represented. One of his projects was the Albury bypass, which nearly cost him his seat at one stage, and another was a new hospital. He was always either attempting to right a wrong that had been done to an individual constituent, praising the activities of his local community, or addressing an issue of importance to the whole State.

    Some members just go through the motions, but not Ian. When the son of a local motel owner was bashed to within an inch of his life, typically Ian, as well as addressing the specific issue with the police, organised a meeting with the police, the mayor, local hotel owners, and club managers in an attempt to address the problem of the early morning drunks—people who were still around at 3.00 a.m. or 4.00 a.m., becoming quite aggressive and getting up to no good. I served on the Coalition's education committee with Ian for approximately four years with Stephen O'Doherty, who was the shadow Minister for Education. I remember sitting with other members of the committee, waiting for Ian. We could not begin the business of the meeting without Ian being there because we relied to such a large extent on his wisdom and understanding, not so much of the nuances of the education system, but of young people.

    It was quite logical for me to enlist Ian's support when I proposed the introduction of a bill to lock up spray paint cans in an effort to deal with the problem of graffiti. I was aware that 90 per cent of the cans used by graffitists were stolen. I was also aware that some people in the parliamentary party had a different point of view from mine. We agreed to set up a committee to examine the bill, and I engineered Ian to become chairman of that committee. I did that for two reasons. First, I knew that whatever decision Ian reached would be respected by people on both sides of the debate and, second, I knew that Ian would come to the right decision. And he did. There was no problem about getting the bill through the party room.

    I introduced the bill into this House and I thought I had argued its merits pretty persuasively until Ian came in and argued the case in that wonderfully spare and sparse manner he had. I thought he was so persuasive that he might have convinced the Government of the merits of the argument. Unfortunately, that was not the case. That was only two years into the Carr Government's term, and perhaps I was a little bit naive at that time in thinking that a good argument might persuade the Government. We learned otherwise over the succeeding eight years. But Ian spoke in straightforward language and he drew on his own experience as a newsagent. I am sure that at the very least he made a large number of people who were opposed to the bill think about the issues.

    Ian placed his family, especially his children and his grandchildren, first. He used to speak frequently about them as well as his overseas travels. I remember that he listed a significant number of shares in his pecuniary interest declaration. One evening we got round to discussing a shares portfolio and I asked him for some tips on what he thought would be some good shares to buy. He said, "I don't know, I never sell mine." We never got beyond that to the subject of buying shares. I feel sure that, thanks to his Christian beliefs, he remained humble about his achievements. His recent elevation to the position of mayor of the Greater Hume Shire shows that, consistent with his long membership of Rotary and his work in the Parliament, he still wanted to help his community, even in his retirement.

    To Helen, to Jane, to Alice, to Ann, to Fergus and to Oscar, I offer my sincere condolences. Ian will be sorely missed, but his legacy will live on in their memories, in the work that he has done for his community and in the great work that he has done in this place. We have heard some very moving tributes to Ian tonight. We only really get one Ian Glachan in our parliamentary lifetime.

    Mr ANDREW FRASER (Coffs Harbour) [10.18 p.m.]: It is with a great deal of sadness that I join with my colleagues to speak to this motion of condolence. I can probably only imagine how hard it is for Helen, Alice and other members of Ian's family to sit and listen to a group of politicians speaking about what a great bloke Ian Glachan was—and he was. When I heard of Ian's passing it was a great shock to me. My immediate reaction was to ring Helen to pass on my condolences and those of my wife, Kerry. I also spoke to Alice. To some extent I feel somewhat sad that as the shadow Minister for local government I did not take the opportunity to ring Ian and tell him what a fool he was to put his feet back into the arena of representation, especially in local government, or to congratulate him on his election to the office of mayor.

    I knew Ian as a man who loved to represent the people of his electorate fearlessly in this place. On many occasions Helen and I discussed, in Ian's presence, his frustration at travelling up the North Coast and arriving in that magnificent electorate of Coffs Harbour and finding roadworks and traffic jams in holiday periods. If ever I had a great ally, it was Ian. Every time I mentioned roadworks in the Coffs Harbour area he would support me absolutely. For a number of years as the National Party Whip I had the opportunity to sit next to Ian, and Andrew Stoner sat on the other side for a while. Both Stoner and I had a habit of doing crosswords, especially when Labor Ministers were delivering their non-answers to questions asked by the Coalition. Ian could always pick up the word we could not find. Quite often he would look over my shoulder and tell me what word was needed at, for instance, 14-down.

    The thing I admired most about Ian was when we held a conference in Albury, in 1998, prior to the 1999 election. If there is one issue that was absolutely red hot, and which created major problems for Ian and Helen in the lead-up to the election, it was the bypass. This has been referred to previously, but I am happy to put it on the record again. The Federal transport Minister had been to Albury and made an announcement without bothering to contact Ian, and I suggest that made life very hard for Ian. I have been through bypass and road issues in my electorate, so I can fully understand how Ian felt. That Minister was a National Party Minister in the Federal Government. However, as the local member, Ian came and welcomed us, the National Party members, to the conference. That must have been hard for him and I admired him because if the boot had been on the other foot, and if the conference had been held in Coffs Harbour, I may not have shown the politeness that Ian showed us and the party on that day.

    Earlier in his speech to this condolence motion Andrew Tink verballed me. I had sat next to Ian for a number of years, and he had confided in me that neither he nor Jim Small had ever been called to order in this House. The pair of them believed absolutely in the way that the House was run, in the propriety of the House and in the standing orders of the House. Points of order may have been taken by Ian on a number of occasions, but he never put himself in a position of being called to order. After he confided that to me I congratulated him on a great record. I then went to see Speaker Murray and told him that those two stalwarts, one from the National Party and one from the Liberal Party, who had been members of this House for quite a while, had never been called to order. I said it might be a good idea if during debate they be called to order.

    Within a couple of days, during some good humoured ruckus in the House, Speaker Murray called them both to order on three occasions. Ian was most upset. At that time he did not know what I had done. I do not know whether those calls to order were ever expunged from the record. Afterwards I did tell him what I had done and although he had a good sense of humour he was not appreciative of what I had done. I apologise to Ian for that. In those days, as Whips we went to strategy meetings where Ian's name was mentioned quite often. Ian would always give the Whips a critical appraisal of question time the previous day and of how the Coalition performed. His opinions were highly valued in those strategy meetings. Ian was reflective of what other members had told him and of what went on in the House.

    Helen, it is probably very hard for you to sit here this evening. On behalf of Kerry and myself I offer our sincere condolences to you and your family. I know life will be very hard without Ian. It is a great comfort to me as a friend and colleague to know that Ian died with his boots on, doing what he loved best—representing the people within the Albury area. He did it well for many years and he looked forward to doing it at a different level of government, one that is very close to the people. His memory will be well kept on both sides of the House, and by the people of the city and the area that he represented so well for so many years.

    Mr KERRY HICKEY (Cessnock—Minister for Mineral Resources) [10.25 p.m.]: Helen, family and friends of Ian, I had the privilege of knowing Ian for only four years. To me Ian was one of the most gentle and most respected people in this Parliament. You have heard that said many times tonight. Earlier tonight I said to the honourable member for Wentworthville, Pam Allan, "It would be great to think that when we pass, both sides of Parliament would think so highly of us." That is how I sum up Ian: on both sides of Parliament he is extremely highly regarded. He was a good member for the seat of Albury and also a good friend to members on both sides of Parliament. Helen, it must be very sad to have lost Ian, to feel the grief of that loss. I extend condolences from myself, my family and the Labor side of Parliament. We wish he were still here.

    Mr DARYL MAGUIRE (Wagga Wagga) [10.29 p.m.]: I acknowledge the contributions of all members who have contributed to this condolence motion. The list of speakers has been long, but clearly shows the high esteem in which the late member for Albury, Ian Glachan, was held. When I was pre-selected I had not met Ian Glachan. The first phone call I received after pre-selection was from Ian and he offered to introduce me to the newly distributed electorate, including the areas of Tumbarumba and Holbrook. Ian offered me good advice that always started with "Now listen here. This is what you have to do." I had heard good reports about Ian, especially about his political skills and doorknocking ability, which is legendary. I heard also about his Volkswagen with his sign on top.

    As arranged, I met Ian and Helen at Holbrook, and it was our first meeting. They had everything well planned and we travelled to Carabost, Rosewood, Tumbarumba and Khancoban. Afternoon teas were organised at which people would talk about their problems in the electorate. It was a truly delightful experience. When I arrived home that night, exhilarated by Ian and Helen taking the time to introduce me to what was to become my new electorate, I said to my wife, "You know, I feel as though I have know him all my life." The fact that they both met me indicated that they were a team that was working for the people of the area. As the election approached, Ian was on the phone saying, "You will be okay. Don't worry. First-time candidates always worry." He said, "Keep doorknocking, just keep doorknocking." That was his reassuring mantra. He said, "Keep doorknocking and you will win."

    During subsequent elections Ian and Helen were instrumental in Sussan Ley's great win in the Federal seat of Farrer, and they were instrumental in the win of the current member for Albury, Greg Aplin. It is a great endorsement by the Albury community and a great honour to the retiring member to be able to hand his electorate to a member of the same political persuasion. Ian's first order to Greg was, "Keep doorknocking." It is quite an experience to come into this place, but that experience was made more enjoyable for me by the late Ian Glachan, the former member for Albury, the late Liz Kernohan, the former member for Camden, and others. It was a steep learning curve although, as my unofficially appointed minder, Ian made that assimilation easier.

    For my first 18 months in this place Ian and I sat on the other side of this Chamber and I have never laughed or enjoyed anyone's company so much. We need to be able to enjoy ourselves, as it is easy to become disenchanted with the antics in this place. Ian had a great sense of humour. He made it easy for me to fit in and to enjoy the theatre of this Parliament. During late night sittings Ian and I would talk about farms, sheep, real estate, family, local politics and gardens—you name it, Ian knew something about it. When it came to voting he was always a reassuring voice, particularly on contentious issues. He would say, "Don't worry; it will be all right." It really was reassuring to someone who, in the early days, was timid about voting procedures.

    Ian was regarded in this place as a gentleman. But by crikey, when he got fired up he did not mince his words; he spoke his mind in no uncertain terms, particularly in the party room. However, I am not allowed to spill the beans and say what transpired there. His family was the highlight of his life—Helen, his girls, his sons-in-law, and his grandchildren. He exhibited great enjoyment and pride when he referred to the antics of his grandchildren, in particular the feeding habits of young Fergus as a toddler. I recall having a conversation with Ian. He was cackling about the kids and the movie Chicken Run. He asked me whether I had seen it. He said, "It's a great movie. You've got to see it." He offered to send me his tape after colourfully describing the movie and he said, "You've got to see the movie." His grandchildren brought him much enjoyment.

    Apart from his electorate and his family Ian had other interests—his garden, his church and his tractors. His devotion to the church was no secret. He had a marvellous garden that was large by anyone's standards. The last time I visited him he had just extended his garden and had planted advanced trees. He dug the enormous holes himself, moved fences and built walls. I remember saying to him, "This garden will kill you." However, I knew that if that were the case he would have said that there would have been no better way to go. Another of Ian's interests was tractors. His son-in-law Nick submitted stories to the magazine Tractor and, as a gift, Alice bought him a subscription to the English Tractor magazine.

    Earlier tonight I was thoroughly enjoying reading this magazine. Ian and I would wait for copies of Tractor and read it from cover to cover. I now subscribe to that magazine. Ian fostered my interest in tractors. I remember him relating stories about his early farming days and his Fergie TE tractor. I remember how excited he was when Helen bought him one to celebrate a special occasion. He loved that tractor. Ian had two tractors: a Massey Ferguson 35 and a grey Fergie. The grey Fergie was always special. When I see a grey Fergie I think of Ian Glachan. I wanted to place on record the very human qualities of this man, apart from the public perception that is recorded in history.

    It is important that it is recorded that, as a politician, Ian was a great fighter who achieved great successes for his community. He was a caring person, thoughtful and devoted to his family, but he had interests outside of politics. I was told when I came to this place that I would be lucky if I gained three good friends. I am proud to say that Ian Glachan was a friend. We travelled together on buses in town, went to conferences together, ate together, attended local government meetings, and were usually seen around together. I saw Ian only days before he died. He came to my office and we had the obligatory cup of tea. I would like to know how many cups of tea he had on that day.

    We sat down and talked about his achievement in local government, as he had only recently been elected. We talked about Helen's pursuit of office within the Liberal Party and what the future held. We had a great conversation and, once again, we parted friends. After the tragic news that Ian had passed away ABC radio asked me what was his legacy. My response was that when we reflect on someone's life and achievements, too often we measure them by bricks and mortar, buildings and bridges. Ian achieved that and more—a new police station and new schools. Much has been said tonight about Ian's achievements. But members achieve much more than that. They strengthen the social fabric of society and represent the community on issues about which we hear nothing in the public domain. Ian's constituents were aware of and appreciated the work he did on their behalf quietly behind the scenes. His legacy is that he will be remembered as the mortar that joined the bricks, the building blocks of his electorate and his community. That was his great strength, skill and achievement. Tonight in the gallery are many people, friends and branch members who travelled many miles to be here.

    I acknowledge the people who are present tonight: Dr Alan Carless and Marie Ficarra; Mrs Helen Wayland; the Hon. Nick Greiner; Jack and Margaret Lodge; the Hon. John Fahey, AC; Mrs Janette Weber; Neil and Judy Demeral; Reverend Canon Paul and Mrs Noreen Robertson; Mrs Margaret MacRae; Harry and Robyn Young; the Hon. Sussan Ley, Federal member for Farrer; John and Judy Tuck; Mr Jeff Egan; Mr Brian Ross; Ian and Frances Colquhoun, Ian's loyal staff member for many years; Miss Bo Foley; Senator Connie Fierravanti-Wells, MP; Mrs Elizabeth Ward; Dr Phongsavan and Mr Darryl Lloyd; Mr James Ellis, Mrs Wendy Cowley; Mrs Annette Brown; Malcolm and Lesley O'Brien and Matthew; Mr Bruno Biti; Rhonda Vanzella; Holly Nolan; Jack and Lorraine Burrell; Daniel Try; John and Margaret Wills; Kerry Chikarovski; Jill Aplin; Senator Bill Heffernan; and members of the Glachan family who were mentioned earlier tonight. Ian worked with members of his community to advance their position and progress their opportunities. Maureen, my family and I and, importantly, the electorate he served so well, will remember him fondly. God bless Ian Glachan.

    Mr SPEAKER: As I said earlier, the Speaker normally does not have an opportunity to participate in public debates. However, on occasions such as this I take the opportunity to depart from protocol and say a few words from the chair. I first came to know Ian Glachan when, as Minister for Youth and Community Services, I was campaigning in the Albury electorate on behalf of my long-term friend Harold Mair, the then Labor member for Albury. Harold knew that he was fighting an uphill battle. He had as the candidate standing against him Ian Glachan, whom he highly respected. I understand that he respects him even to this day. We campaigned on that occasion and Ian Glachan won the seat and became an active and much loved member for Albury.

    During my days in Opposition I continued to maintain quite a close relationship with Ian Glachan. In the early 1970s I had been sent to the Riverina area to teach and I met Anne Sutcliffe from Oaklands. I continue to have a strong relationship with the Riverina area, including Albury. I married Anne, and many of her family have subsequently moved to Albury—and continue to live there to this day. I was a teacher a North Albury High School, which is now known as James Fallon High School, so I have a close association with the area. I know the area quite well and I know many of the people who live there. I know the great respect in which Ian Glachan is held by so many members of the community, because I maintain a very strong interest in and liaison with the area.

    When my wife fell ill Ian Glachan wrote me a very touching letter. In fact, I have two handwritten letters from Ian that will always be part of my possessions. The first is the letter that he wrote at the time of Anne's illness, in which he expressed his upset and concern at my grief. He said that his sympathies were with me and understood that, although we were on opposite sides of politics, we had a very strong personal bond that had existed from the day we met—even prior to his election. Indeed, Ian paid me an accolade—I was no longer a Minister at that stage—that I would have been proud to receive from any of my ministerial or other parliamentary colleagues on my side of the House. He said he felt that I had done a good job and that, although he did not always agree with the way I did things, he knew my heart was in what I was doing. He understood, as a fellow gentleman, that, although such things could not be expressed publicly, we could share this understanding privately.

    That letter meant a lot to me at the time. I was suffering much grief because my wife was terminally ill. Furthermore, my professional circumstances had changed. I was no longer a Minister but the new Speaker of the House—a position that I had coveted and love very much, but which at the time was new and very strange. My life was in turmoil. After Anne's death I received another letter from Ian. It was the sort of letter that a gentleman does not reveal the contents of publicly, but it is very dear to my heart. Ian acknowledged Anne's family, who live in Albury and whom he knew. He acknowledged Anne's commitment and how much she must have endured, knowing, as he did, what it meant to be in public life. I thank Ian for that. I acknowledge that it meant a lot to me at the time, and it will be one of the personal possessions that I will keep until the very end.

    I was heartbroken that I was not able to attend Ian's funeral because of yet another tragedy in my family: the passing of an uncle, my mother's youngest brother. It so happened that the two funerals coincided. In fact, the son of one of my cousins, Adam Scicluna, and his wife, Belinda, are in the public gallery tonight. Adam played a major role in my uncle's funeral service. I am very sorry that I could not be with Helen and their family to express not only as the Speaker of the New South Wales Parliament—and Ian deserves that respect from the Speaker and everything the office represents—but personally as John Aquilina the strong regard and respect I had for a very dear friend. We were on the opposite side of the political spectrum but nonetheless were able to overcome that divide through a very close personal friendship. To Helen, their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, I express my deep personal condolences and my sincere regrets at Ian's sad passing and the fact that I was unable, until now, to express my personal feelings as fully as I would have liked.

    On behalf of Ian, I thank my colleagues for their speeches tonight. I think it is fitting that this Chamber takes time from our busy schedule to remember and record the great contributions that our colleagues have made and to recognise them not only as workmates but as flesh and blood human beings and friends. They felt, they bled, they cried, and they had good times.

    Members and officers of the House stood in their places.

    Motion agreed to.
    The House adjourned at 10.48 p.m. until Thursday 9 June 2005 at 10.00 a.m.



Last modified 31/03/2009 15:41:26   :   Update this page