22nd Parliament · 1st Session
The Senate met at 3 p.m.
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The Deputy appointed by His Excellency the Administrator, the Honorable Sir William Flood Webb, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, a Justice of the High Court of Australia, having been announced by the Usher of the Black Rod, entered the chamber, and taking his seat on the dais, said -
Members of the Senate:
His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth, not thinking fit to be present in person at this time, has been pleased to cause letters patent to issue under the Great Seal of the Commonwealth constituting me his Deputy to administer the oath or affirmation of allegiance to honorable senators, as will more fully appear from the letters patent which will now be read.
The letters patent having been read by the Clerk,
The Clerk produced and laid on the table the certificates of election for the following members elected on 10th December, 1955: -
John Archibald McCallum.
Sidney Wainman O’Flaherty.
Nicholas Edward McKenna.
Francis Patrick McManus.
The above-named senators, with the exception of Senator Buttfield, who had already been sworn, and Senator Spicer, who resigned his place, made and subscribed the oath of allegiance.
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Resignation of Senator the Honorable John Armstrong Spicer - Election of Senator George Conrad Hannan.
– I have to inform the Senate that, on 13th August, a letter was received from Senator Spicer resigning his place as a senator for the State of Victoria from 14th August, 1956. In accordance with section 21 of the Constitution, the Governor of Victoria was notified that a vacancy had happened in the representation of that State in the Senate.
His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth has now forwarded a certificate of the choice by the Victorian Parliament of George Conrad Hannan as a senator to fill the vacancy in the representation of that State in the Senate.
Certificate laid on the table and read by the Clerk.
Senator Hannan made and subscribed the oath of allegiance.
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– Mr. Loof, I remind the Senate that the time has come when it is necessary for it to choose one of its members to be President. I move -
That Senator Alister Maxwell McMullin do take the chair of this Senate as President.
– I second the motion.
– I submit myself to the will of the Senate.
– I move -
That Senator Theophilus Martin Nicholls do take the chair of this Senate as President.
– I submit myself to the will of the Senate.
– In the circumstances, the only truly impartial President would be a member of my party but, because of our lack of numbers, such a candidate would have very litttle chance of success. I want to make our position clear. We find that it is impossible for us to trust the Evatt Labour party, and we desire to follow an independent course of action in this Parliament. So my party will refrain from voting for either candidate.
– There being no other nominations, in accordance with Standing Order 20, a ballot shall be taken, and the Senate will proceed to ballot. Ballot-papers will be distributed to honorable senators, each of whom will write upon the paper handed to him the name of the candidate for whom he desires to vote. Standing Order 20 reads -
When two Senators have been so proposed and seconded as President, each Senator shall deliver to the Clerk a ballot-paper in writing, containing the name of the Candidate for whom he votes; and the Candidate who has the greater number of Votes shall be the President, and be conducted to the Chair.
-Assistant will now distribute ballot-papers to all honorable senators.
-Assistant proceeding to distribute ballot-papers,
– Order! Under Standing Order 20 each senator shall deliver to the Clerk a ballot-paper in writing, containing the name of the candidate for whom he votes. I rule that if Senator Cole and Senator McManus remain in the chamber they must vote.
Senator Cole and Senator McManus thereupon withdrew from the chamber.
A ballot having been taken,
– I have to announce the result of the ballot as follows: - Senator McMullin, 30 votes; Senator Nicholls, 26 votes. I therefore declare Senator McMullin elected President of the Senate.
Senator McMullin, having been conducted to the dais, said -
May I express my thanks and appreciation to honorable senators for their continued support, and for their confidence in me as the occupant of the high office of
President of this chamber. I look forward to three years of valuable and useful work, and I shall appreciate a continuance of the co-operation that honorable senators have given me so willingly in the past.
Senator O’SULLIVAN (QueenslandAttorneyGeneral and Minister for the Navy). - It is a great pleasure indeed to congratulate you, Mr. President, upon having again had reposed in you the confidence of honorable senators, who have asked you to preside over the deliberations of this chamber. You have occupied that office for the past three years with great tact, consideration, infinite courtesy, justice and fairness. It is unnecessary for me to voice any further encomiums in the presence of those who have had the pleasure of sitting under your presidency for the past three years, and those honorable senators who are newcomers probably have already heard of the dignity and fairness with which you presided over our deliberations in previous sessions. I have no doubt that you will further enhance the reputation that you have already earned in the office to which you brought such dignity in the past three years. I congratulate you upon your election, and express the hope that the Senate will thrive and prosper under your presidency.
Senator McKENNA (Tasmania - Leader of the Opposition). - On behalf of the Opposition, I extend to you, Mr. President, our very sincere congratulations upon your election to your very high and dignified office. We on the Opposition side will look to you as President of the Senate, and we shall regard you as our President, just as much as supporters of the Government will look upon you as theirs. We recognize our plain duty to support you in upholding the best traditions of your office and of this chamber. On behalf of the Opposition I assure you, without reservation, of our willingness to co-operate with you fully to those ends. We wish you well in your office.
– On behalf of the Australian Country party, I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, upon your election to your high office. We appreciate the impartiality you have shown in the past, and we look forward with confidence to your continued occupancy of the presidency.
Senator COLE (Tasmania Leader of the Anti-Communist Labour Party). - Mr. President, I should like to congratulate you upon your elevation once again to the Presidency. I am sure that you will carry out your duties in the impartial manner that you adopted in the past. If you do so, the Anti-Communist Labour party will be very satisfied with your work.
– I thank honorable senators very much for their congratulatory remarks.
Senator O’SULLIVAN (QueenslandAttorneyGeneral and Minister for the Navy). - I wish to inform honorable senators that His Excellency the Administrator will be pleased to receive Mr. President, and such honorable senators as desire to accompany him, at approximately 4.30 p.m. this day in the Library.
Sitting suspended from 3.41 to 4.30 p.m.
– I invite honorable senators to accompany me to the Library where I shall present myself to His Excellency the Administrator as the choice of the Senate.
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– I have to report that, accompanied by honorable senators, I have, this day, presented myself to His Excellency the Administrator as the choice of the Senate, and His Excellency was pleased to congratulate me upon my election.
The President read prayers.
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Motion (by Senator O’sullivan) agreed to-
That the Senate do now proceed to elect a Chairman of Committees.
– I move -
That Senator Reid be appointed Chairman of Committees.
– I second the motion.
– I submit myself to the will of the Senate.
– 1 move -
That Senator O’Byrne be appointed Chairman of Committees.
– I second the motion.
– I submit myself to the will of the Senate.
– Mr. President, on your election as President I expressed certain sentiments, and those sentiments still hold, with a little more emphasis in this case.
The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. A. M. McMullin). - There being two nominations, the Senate will proceed to ballot.
A ballot having been taken,
– The result of the ballot is: Senator Reid, 30 votes; Senator O’Byrne, 22 votes. I declare Senator Reid elected.
– I express my appreciation of my re-election as Chairman of Committees. While I hold that position, I shall endeavour to discharge my responsibilities with fairness to honorable senators on both sides.
– I congratulate Senator Reid on his election to the position of Chairman of Committees and I promise him every support in upholding the dignity of that office.
Senator O’SULLIVAN (QueenslandAttorneyGeneral and Minister for the Navy). - I am delighted to be in a position to congratulate Senator Reid upon the confidence that his colleagues have reposed in him by electing him once again to the very important office of Chairman of Committees. I trust that he will be able to continue in that office and serve the Senate with the conspicuous ability that has characterized his services in the past.
Senator McKENNA (Tasmania - Leader of the Opposition). - On behalf of the Opposition, I extend to Senator Reid very sincere congratulations upon his re-election to the office of Chairman of Committees. I give him the assurance that the ready cooperation that he has had in the past from the Opposition will be continued in the future. We wish him well in his office.
– I offer my congratulations to Senator Reid. I am quite sure that, as in the past, he will carry out the work of the Chairman of Committees to the satisfaction of the Senate.
Senator COLE (Tasmania - Leader of the Anti-Communist Labour party). - I congratulate the new Chairman of Committees. I am sure that he will perform his duties in the future in the same way as he did in the past.
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– I have received from His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia a commission to administer to honorable senators the oath or affirmation of allegiance.
Commission laid on the table and read by the Clerk.
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Motion (by Senator O’sullivan) agreed to -
That the Senate, at its rising, adjourn to to-morrow at 3 p.m.
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– by leave - lt is with very deep regret that 1 bring to the notice of the Senate the unfortunate death on 9th August of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the honorable A. G. Cameron. Mr. Cameron was one of the most widely-known members of the Parliament, and during his long and distinguished career in politics held seats in both the South Australian House of Assembly and the House of Representatives. Born al Happy Valley in South Australia 61 years ago, he was educated at the Nairne State School, which he left at an early age to work on his father’s farm. He was elected to the South Australian Parliament in 1927, representing the electorate of Wooroora and remained a member of that Parliament until 1934. In that year he was elected as the member for Barker in the House of Representatives and held that seat until his death.
Mr. Cameron was appointed to the Ministry in 1937 and held for various periods until 1940 the portfolios of PostmasterGeneral, Minister for Commerce and Minister for the Navy. He was the leader of the Country party in 1939-40, and a member of the War Cabinet and the Economic Cabinet in 1940. He was a returned soldier from World War I., in which he rose to the rank of regimental quartermaster sergeant, and he served as a major in the Intelligence Corps in World War II. He was a member of the Committee on Censorship in 1944, and of the Joint Committee on War Gratuity in 1944-45 and 1948-49. Perhaps, the climax of his political career occurred in 1950 when he was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, and it was probably as Speaker that he was best known. A man of strong views, he invariably impressed those he met with the strength of his personality, and Parliament has, by his death, lost one of its staunchest supporters. Archie Cameron loved the turmoil and the hurly-burly of politics. He could give it and he could take it, and he never gloated in victory or moaned in defeat. A rugged and austere exterior covered a warm and generous heart. His memory will long be cherished with respect and affection by those who were privileged to know him. I move -
That the Senate expresses its deep regret at the death of the Honorable Archie Galbraith Cameron, former Commonwealth Minister and member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Barker, who was, at the time of his death, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, places on record its appreciation of his long and meritorious public service and tenders its sincere sympathy to his widow and son in their bereavement.
– I second the motion which the Leader of the Government (Senator O’sullivan) has proposed. I do so on behalf of all members of the Opposition. The Leader of the Government has detailed a most imposing record of service to the public on the part of the late Speaker. I do not propose to repeat it. 1 content myself with paying tribute to that record, although it is certainly worthy of elaboration. The late Mr. Cameron attained the very signal honour of Cabinet rank and of Speakership, honours which can be the lot of very few in the Australian community. I find it difficult to realize that only some months ago the late Speaker was provocatively stamping about this Parliament House in full mental and physical vigour. Then, we were saddened by seeing grievous illness take toll of his physical powers, while leaving completely unimpaired his mental and spiritual forces. His body has returned to the earth, but I like to think of his spirit as something out ot character - floating, not marching, on to a happy destiny in the next world. With his passing, very much vitality and colour has gone from this parliamentary scene.
It is extraordinary how clearly the pattern of a man’s life emerges to our vision when he has passed from us. It seems to me that we become absorbed in a man’s daily acts, and that they cloud the wider vision of the man. That pattern of Mr. Cameron’s life, in my view, falls into two broad categories corresponding to very strong characteristics of an extraordinary and colourful man. The late Mr. Cameron faced every task with tremendous earnestness. He was a man of very deep convictions, not lightly formed, and not easily discarded. He followed every conviction with high courage, wherever it led him, even though that course operated to his own persona) detriment. He sought for what he believed to be right and, in those circumstances, my view is that it is not very important whether he was right or wrong. He was one man who, in my opinion, was completely true to the mould in which he had been cast.
His second great characteristic was that he revelled, as Senator O’sullivan indicated a little while ago, in a situation where hefty blows were exchanged, and he preferred to be a participant in the exchange rather than a spectator. It is extraordinary how much conflict he succeeded in promoting, even from the reputed remoteness of the Speaker’s Chair. It seems to me that he treated conflict as of the very essence of life and of living. He seemed to love it for its own sake, as projecting one of the tests of manhood. It was very easy to disagree with him, but it was impossible not to respect him for his manly qualities, his ready and incisive wit, for his apt allusions - biblical, literary, historical and the rest - and this second characteristic, this love of conflict, was, I think, the one that so often involved him in turmoil and criticism. It was typical of the man that only on the day prior to his death he visited the Commonwealth offices in Sydney and signed the necessary papers to summon honorable members for the current sitting of the House of Representatives. He went by car from his office to hospital and died early the following morning. It was a matter of duty to the last.
His private life was a model of austere and right living based on deep religious beliefs. I trust that he is now enjoying that peace which he so strenuously avoided on earth, and which is the reward of high aim and constant endeavour. I extend to members and supporters of the Government the sympathy of the Opposition in the loss of their controversial and colourful colleague. I also express again the sympathy of the Opposition with members of the late Mr. Cameron’s family in the great sorrow they are suffering through his death.
– The members of the Australian Country party desire to associate themselves with the motion that has been proposed by the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator O’sullivan) and seconded by the Leader of the Opposition (Senator McKenna). We join them in expressing our deep regret at the death of the late honorable member for Barker and Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Honorable Archie Cameron. Mr. Cameron had a wide and varied career. During his life, he was a farmer, a soldier, a politician and a student. As he commenced farm work at an early age, he had little opportunity of schooling during his boyhood. However, due to his extensive reading in later life, he became one of the best informed men in the Parliament.
Mr. Cameron served in two world wars. In the war of 1914-18, he served overseas, and in World War II., he was a major in the intelligence service. During World War
II., he combined his parliamentary work with his military duties, and also found time to attend to the parliamentary commitments of Mr. A. M. Blain, the honorable member for the Northern Territory at that time, who was a prisoner of war in Japanese hands.
Mr. Cameron entered politics first in the South Australian Parliament, and later became the member for Barker in the Commonwealth Parliament. In 1937, he was elected Leader of the Australian Country party in succession to Sir Earle Page. Socially, he was hospitable and generous. He was a man of firm convictions, fearless in defending what he considered was right, and he was a good friend. We extend our deepest sympathy to the widow and the son of the late Mr. Cameron in thenbereavement.
– I desire to associate the Anti-Communist Labour party with the expressions of sympathy and condolence with the relatives of the late Mr. Archie Cameron that have been voiced by other honorable senators. This Parliament can ill afford to lose a man of such integrity and force of character.
Question resolved in the affirmative, honorable senators standing in their places.
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Motion (by Senator O’sullivan) agreed to -
That, as a mark of respect to the memory of the late Speaker, the Honorable A. G. Cameron, the Senate do now adjourn.
Senate adjourned at 5.15 p.m.
Cite as: Australia, Senate, Debates, 29 August 1956, viewed 22 October 2017, <http://historichansard.net/senate/1956/19560829_senate_22_s9/>.