17th Parliament · 1st Session
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The Senate met at 10.30 a.m., pursuant to the proclamation of His Excellency the Governor-General.
The Clerk read the proclamation.
The Deputies appointed by His Excellency the Governor-General for the opening of the Parliament - the Right Honorable Sir John Greig Latham, P.C, G.C.M.G., M.A., LL.M., K.C., Chief Justice of the High Court of, Australia, and the Honorable Edward Aloysius McTiernan, a Justice of the High Court of Australia - having been announced by the Usher of the Black Rod, entered the chamber and took their seats on the dais.
The Senior Deputy (the Right Honorable Sir John Greig Latham), through the Clerk, directed the Usher to desire the attendance of the members of the House of Representatives, who being come,
The SENIOR DEPUTY said-
Members of the Senate and Members of the House of Representatives :
His Excellency the Governor-General, 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 us his deputies to do in his name all that is necessary to be performed in declaring this Parliament open, as will more fully appear from the letters patent which will now be read.
The letters patent having been read by the Clerk,
The SENIOR DEPUTY said-
Members of the Senate and Members of the House of Representatives:
We have it in command from the Governor-General to let you know that, as soon as certain members of the Senate and the members of the House of Representatives shall have been sworn, the causes of His Excellency calling this Parliament will be declared by him in person at this place ; and, it being necessary that a President of the Senate and a Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be first chosen, you,, members of the Senate, will proceed to choose some proper person to be your President, and you, members of the House of Representatives, will retire to the place where you are to sit, and there proceed to the choice of some proper person to be your Speaker; and thereafter you will respectively present the persons whom you shall so choose to His Excellency, at such time and place as he shall appoint. Mr. Justice McTiernan will attend in the House of Representatives for the purpose of administering the oath, or affirmation, of allegiance to honorable members of. that House.
The Second Deputy and members of the House of Representatives having retired,
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The Senior Deputy produced a Commission authorizing him to administer the oath, or affirmation, of allegiance to senators chosen to fill casual vacancies, which was read by. the Clerk.
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– I have to announce that I have received, through His Excellency the Governor-General, from the LieutenantGovernor of the State of Western. Australia, a certificate of the choice, at the election held on the 21st August, 1943, of Richard Harry Nash and Dorothy Margaret Tangney to fill casual vacancies existing in the representation of Western Australia in the Senate.
I now lay such certificate on the table and ask. the Senators named to come to the table, in turn, to be sworn.
Senators Nash and Tangney made and subscribed the oath of allegiance.
The Senior Deputy retired.
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– The time has now arrived for honorable senators to choose a suitable member of the Senate as its President. I move -
That Senator Gordon Brown do take the chair of this Senate as President.
– I second the motion.
– I submit myself to the will of the Senate.
– There being no other nomination, I declare Senator Brown; elected President of the Senate.
The PRESIDENT, having been conducted to the dais, and standing on the upper step, said -
I am deeply sensible of the honour that has been conferred upon me. I greatly regret the circumstances that have necessitated the election of a. new President at the present time. The late President, the Honorable James Cunningham, was a man of great capacity who rendered valuable service to the. people of Australia generally, and particularly to those of Western Australia. I thank honorable senators for the honour that they have conferred upon me, and assure them that I shall do my best to follow in the footsteps of the nine illustrious Presidents of the Senate who have preceded me.
Senator KEANE (Victoria.- Minister for Trade and Customs). - On behalf of the Government, I offer congratulations to you,. Mr. President, upon your election, and express the hope that your work in the Chair will be at least comparable with that of the able men who have preceded you. The way in which you carried out your important duties as Chairman of Committees gave satisfaction to every member of this chamber. The service which you have rendered in this Parliament, coupled with your wide experience fits you for the high position with which you have been honoured to-day. I offer you my heartiest congratulations.
– On behalf of the Opposition I extend to you, Mr. President, congratulations upon your appointment to your distinguished position. Honorable senators have had an opportunity of appraising your work as Chairman of Committees. In that responsible office you carried out your duties with efficiency and fairness which appealed to all members of the Senate. I, with you, regret the circumstances which have made it necessary for the Senate to select a new President on this occasion. I can assure you that members of the Opposition appreciate the constitutional and traditional rights of the Senate, and we look to you to uphold those rights with the same tenacity and courage as ‘that displayed by your predecessors since the inauguration of the Commonwealth. I assure you that the Opposition will be pleased to work in this Senate under your guidance.
– I offer to you, Mr. President, the heartiest congratulations of the members of the Country party in the Senate upon your appointment to your eminent position. I can assure you that dum ing your term of office we shall assist you in every possible way to carry out the duties of your important office.
- (Senator the Hon. Gordon Brown). - I thank the Min.ister for Trade and Customs (Senator Keane), the Leader of the Opposition (Senator McLeay) and Senator Cooper, who has spoken on behalf of the Country party, for their kind references to my elevation to the high and- responsible position which I now occupy. I shall carry out my duties, as I endeavoured to do when Chairman of Committees, with the desire to do justice to honorable senators on both sides of the chamber. I have learnt that there are men of high capacity in the Senate, although that opinion may not be shared by some people outside this chamber. There has been a tendency to decry the work of this Parliament, but my experience of it is that both in this chamber and in the House of Representatives’ there are men of high calibre, whose great desire is to do all they can in the interests of their country. I trust that in future we shall do much to enhance the status of this Parliament. It lies within the power of honorable senators to place this branch of the legislature on even a higher plane than that on which it rests to-day. By concentrating our attention on matters of national importance and discussing them intelligently in this chamber we can raise the status and increase the usefulness of the Senate. For certain constitutional reasons, -members of the Senate have more time at their disposal than members of the House of Representatives for the consideration of urgent national problems, and I am looking forward to the Senate becoming of even greater importance than at present.
L shall discharge my duties as President to the best of my ability, and -shall endeavour to mete out even-handed justice to honorable senators on both sides of the chamber, realizing that that is essential for the effective control of any legislature. I thank the Senate for having unanimously placed me in my present high position. I shall endeavour to carry out my duties to the satisfaction of all honorable senators.
– I desire to acquaint honorable ‘ senators that His Excellency the Governor-General has appointed the hour of 2.35 p.m. this day, in the Parliamentary Library, to receive the President.
– I shall suspend the sitting of the Senate until 2.35 p.m., at which hour I shall present myself to His Excellency the Governor-General with such honorable senators as desire to accompany me.
Silting suspended from 10.59 a.m. to 2.35 p.m.
– I invite honorable senators to accompany me to the Library, where I shall present myself to His Excellency the Governor-General.
The Senate proceeded to the Library, and being re-assembled,
– I have to report that, accompanied by honorable senators, I, this day, presented myself to the Governor-General as the person chosen by the -Senate as its President. His Excellency was pleased to congratulate me upon my election.
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VERNOR-GENERAL entered the chamber, and, being seated, with the President on his right hand, a message was sent to the House of Representatives intimating that His Excellency desired the attendance of honorable members in the Senate chamber, who being come with their Speaker,
HIS EXCELLENCY was pleased to deliver the following speech: -
Members op the Senate and Members of the House of Representatives:
You have been called together to deliberate upon matters of importance to the well-being of the Commonwealth :
We also pay tribute to the noble sacrifices which have been endured by our gallant Russian and Chinese Allies. Deep appreciation is expressed of the valuable co-operation of the Netherlands Government in the common cause in the SouthWest Pacific Area.
IS. It is essential from the aspect of our own policy for us to determine the precise limits and nature of both the military and civil contribution of which we are capable,, in order- to enable it to; be related to the wider plans of the Empire and the United Nations into which our effort is fitted.
His Excellency the GovernorGeneral and members of the House of Representatives having retired,
The President (Senator the Hon. Gordon Brown) took the chair, and read prayers.
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– -The news of the death, on the 4th July last, of Senator the Honorable James Cunningham was, I am sure, received by all honorable senators with deep grief. The community is the poorer for the passing of one whose sterling personal qualities and kindly nature gained the esteem of .all who were associated with him, .and, in particular, those present here to-day. His public service extended over many years. In the political sphere, it commenced with his -election for North East Province to the Legislative Council of Western Australia .at the by-election held in July, 1916. He was defeated .at the general elections held in 19.22., but, in January, 1923, be was elected at the by-election for Kalgoorlie, which seat he held until he was defeated at the .general elections in 1936. During the latter period he served as Honorary Minister from the 16th April, 1924, to the 15th December, 1927, and from that date to the 23rd April, 1930, a? Minister for Goldfields and Agricultural Water Supplies. He was elected to the Senate as ;a representative of Western Australia at the general elections .held on the 23rd October, 1937., taking his seat as from that date. He was a Temporary Chairman of Committees from December, 1937 to August 1940. He was Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from the 10th September, 194Q, to the 1st July, 1941, on which date he was appointed to the high office of President of the Senate, which bc held until his death.
In Western Australia, -James Cunning- ham, first as “trade union organizer, and later as a Minister of the ‘Crown, did his best for workers, especially die mining community which has played such an important part in the development of Western Australia. As President of the Senate, he performed the functions of that important office with dignity and courtesy, and maintained the high standards set by his predecessors. As a tribute to the services he rendered to the Commonwealth and to the State of Western Australia, the deceased gentleman was accorded a State funeral. I extend to his widow and family the sincere sympathy of the Senate in their loss, which we also share. I move -
That the Senate expresses its deep regret at the death of the Honorable Jarnes Cunningham, a senator for the State of Western Australia, President of the Senate and a former State Minister, places on record its high appreciation of his long career of distinguished public service, and tenders its profound sympathy to his widow and family in their bereavement.
– I second the motion. It came as a great shock to all honorable senators to learn of the tragic death of our late esteemed President. During his term of office he endeared himself to all members of the Senate. James Cunningham was a man of very great courage, character, and common sense. I, as Leader of the Opposition, and, I am sure, all honorable senators, appreciated the manner in which he carried out the duties of his high office. We also appreciated his keen regard for the constitutional and traditional rights of the Senate. Every honorable senator feels .the deepest sympathy with our late colleague’s widow ami children, whom most of us have had the opportunity to meet.
– The members of the Australian Country party in the Senate desire to associate themselves with the motion. The late Honorable James Cunningham endeared himself to nil with whom he came in contact. He impressed honorable senators by the absolute fairness with which he carried out the duties of his high office of President, of the Senate. During his life he had many ups and downs and in his early career as a miner and as a farmer he received many hard knocks. That experience imbued him with a spirit of tolerance which was evidenced in his unfailing willingness to help those who found themselves in less fortunate circumstances than himself. Australia can ill spare men of his honesty of purpose. We regret that the country has been deprived of his services. In his public career he was a member of both Houses of the Parliament of Western Australia and in the Commonwealth sphere held the high office of President of the Senate. We extend to his widow and family our deepest sympathy in their bereavement.
– I associate myself with the motion. It was given to our late President to have the capacity and the opportunity to serve his country; and his record in the Parliament of Western Australia and in this Parliament is one to be envied. I like to remember him for those personal qualities which made him such a good friend and attractive companion. I support the motion of condolence and join with others in expressing sincere sympathy with his widow and family.
– I was with the late Senator Cunningham when he became ill at Albury. We were very close friends and were travelling to Western Australia together. Because we were unable to return home during the week-end recesses of Parliament we were always together. I suppose that I knew him more intimately than any other honorable senator. I was also associated with him as a member of the Western Australian Parliament.
The passing of Senator Cunningham is a distinct loss to the Labour movement. He was associated with the industrial side- of the movement, occupying executive positions in his union, which proved a training ground for his future career in politics. “ Jim “ Cunningham was one of the most likeable men I have met in politics. He made friends wherever he went, and he never lost any of them. He proved himself to be an extremely capable administrator during the years he held office as a Minister of the Crown in Western Australia. He also filled the office of President of the Senate with distinction during a particularly difficult period. However, he will be best remembered as a generous and considerate companion. He never forgot the men who sent him to represent them in Parliament. The welfare of the workers, particularly the miners, of whose difficulties and needs he had first-hand experience, was his constant concern. He earned a wide popularity in the Labour movement throughout the Commonwealth, and he was a fluent speaker. As a colleague of his in ‘ the State Parliament of Western Australia, I learnt a great deal from him, and had the greatest respect for his capacity and administrative ability. He served Western Australia well in the Parliament of that State and was equally successful when he entered the Commonwealth Parliament, as was proved by his election to the office of President of the Senate, which is the highest position the Senate has to offer. The State of Western Australia will be the poorer by the passing of such an estimable citizen. My deepest sympathy goes out to his widow and children in their bereavement.
– I desire to be associated with the motion now before the Senate. I knew the late Senator Cunningham for many years and was associated with him in the industrial movement in Western Australia. His death came as a tragic shock to me and to many others in that State, and we all feel that Australia has lost a good citizen. He was ever ready to extend a helping hand to those who needed it, and to provide them with some of those things which they needed. I support the motion, and join in the expression of deep sympathy which it extends to his widow and family.
– During a somewhat lengthy term of service in the Senate, I have served under seven presidents. It is a tribute to our parliamentary system, patterned as it is on our judicial system, that, although the office of President rests very often upon the fluctuations of party fortunes in the political arena, yet when men have been called to undertake the duties of that high office they have discharged them in every case, during my period of service in this chamber at any rate, with an imparti ality worthy of the head of the highest tribunal in the land. In that respect no president stood out more than did the late lamented Senator James Cunningham. He brought to bear upon the interpretation of the Standing Orders a sturdy measure of common sense, without which parliamentary government would be difficult. He was impartial in the highest degree. He was steadfast in upholding the rights of the Senate, realizing that as its president he occupied one of the foremost positions in the land. He maintained the best traditions of that high office, and his name will go down not only amongst honorable senators but also in the outside world as that of a man who did his duty. None of us can expect more to be said of us than that when our time comes to pass away. I join most feelingly in the tributes that have been paid, to his memory by the Leader of the Senate (Senator Keane) the Leader of the Opposition (.Senator McLeay) and other honorable senators, and in the expresions of regret which they have voiced.
– I, too, wish to be associated with the remarks of the mover, the seconder and the supporters of the motion. I feel that I knew the late Senator Cunningham practically all my life, and I can say that during the quarter of a century of public service which he gave to this nation in both the State and Commonwealth parliaments, he never once forgot the ideals and traditions of the Labour movement. Despite the heavy calls of a very full public life, he still found time for those many courtesies and kindnesses which so distinguished him. I feel, on this my entry into public life, that if, when I am called upon to leave it, I can do so with the same record of achievement as the late Senator Cunningham, I shall have indeed done well. On behalf of the people whom I represent in this Parliament, and of the Labour movement, which by his death has suffered a very great loss, I tender to his widow and dependants my sincere sympathy, and join in the expressions of sorrow of those who have associated themselves with the motion.
– I also desire to associate myself with the motion before the Senate. Idaresay that Ican possibly claim to have known the late SenatorCunningham as long as any other honorable senator in this chamber, and I have had many occasions to realize the value of his industrial and political activities. The outstanding feature of his public life was that politically and industrially he always rang true to the working class. To that extent, at least,his name and has memory will be evergreen in the minds of those who knew him in the State whence he came. His political record,both State and Commonwealth, washighly honorable, and manyworkers have had occasion to bless him for the efforts that he made ontheirbehalf. In fact, many in this country regarded him more as a friend and a companion than as a senator. He was honest, and he was always true tohis trust. I do not thinkthat any greater tributethan that couldbe paid to the memory of any man. His attainment of the high honour of becoming President of this chamber is something which the people of Western Australia will always remember. I desire that my condolences be extended tohis widow and family.
Question resolved in the affirmative, honorable senators standing in their places.
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– I have to inform the Senate that I have received a copy of the Opening Speech which His Excellency was pleased to deliver to both Houses of Parliament.
That the consideration of the speech be an order of the day for the next day of sitting.
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– I submit the following letter to the Senate: -
To the members of the Senate. - I hereby resign my office as Chairman of Committees of the Senate.
Gordon Brown. 23rd Sept.,1943.
Motion (by SenatorKeane) agreed to-
That the Senate do now proceed to elect a Chairman of Committees.
Senator KEANE (Victoria - Minister for Trade and Customs. - I move-
That Senator Benjamin Courtice be appointed Chairman of Committees of the Senate.
– I second the motion.
– I submit myself tothe will of the Senate.
– Therebeing no other nomination, I declare Senator Courtice elected.
SenatorCOURTICE (Queensland).- I thank honorable senators for the honour that they have bestowed upon me by electing me Chairman of Committees of the Senate, and assure thorn that I shall endeavour to discharge the responsibilities of that office to the best of my ability. I am surethat with the generous co-operation of all honorable senators, which I am confident will : be forthcoming, I shall be able to carry out my duties in a manner which at least will not reflect discredit upon the high traditions of the office.
– Onbehalf of the Government I congratulate Senator Courtice upon his elevation to the position of Chairman of Committees of the Senate. As is the case with the office of President, the position of Chairman of Committees also has high traditions associated with it. Senator Courfice’s conduct throughout his term of service in this chamber has been excellent; he has been attentive to the business of the Senate, and he is liked by all honorable senators. I am confident that : he will do good work as Chairman of Committees. Efficient work by a good chairman can be of the greatest assistance to Ministers and to honorable senators generally. I congratulate the honorable senator upon his election and express the conviction that he will maintain the high traditions of the office.
– I endorse the remarks of the Leader of the Senate (SenatorKeane) and congratulate Senator Countice uponhis election.
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Motion (by Senator Keane) agreed to -
That the Senate, at its rising-; adjourn to to-morrow, at 11’ a.m.
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Motion (by Senator Keane) agreed to-
That, as a mark of respect to the memory of the late Senator the Honorable James Cunningham, .the Senate do now adjourn.
Senate adjourned at 3.4S; p.m.
Cite as: Australia, Senate, Debates, 23 September 1943, viewed 22 October 2017, <http://historichansard.net/senate/1943/19430923_senate_17_176/>.