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Other Parliamentary SpeechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches during parliament that do not fall under Questions or Questions without notice. They range from debating legislation, reporting on events or issues in his seat of Southport and his Ministerial Statements.
Deaths of Mr GB Kehoe and Mr PND White |
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| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Feb 22 2005 |
| Other Speeches >> |
Mr LAWLOR (Southport-ALP) (9.56 am): I support the condolence motion for the late Peter White, one of my predecessors in the seat of Southport. Indeed, Peter was the first member for the newly created seat of Southport and served in this parliament from 1997 to 1980.
Peter was educated at Southport, where he was an outstanding sportsman and student. He had a distinguished military career, which commenced at Duntroon. He also served in Malaya, Papua New Guinea and South Vietnam. He was awarded a Military Cross for his courage and leadership in Vietnam. Peter was a man of physical courage, as evidenced by the Military Cross, but also of moral courage. For
this he was better known around Southport.
With fellow Gold Coast Liberal member Bruce Bishop, Peter railed against the excesses of his National Party dominated coalition government. This rare courage was not appreciated or rewarded. Indeed, the considerable firepower of the National Party was directed at him at the next election and he was defeated. The National Party winner was an ex-Liberal Victorian refugee who could not name the main street of Southport. He did, however, assure the interviewer that he would find out the name and get back to him with it.
Fortunately, Peter White was not lost to political life for long, as in 1981 he won a by-election for the federal seat of McPherson and held the seat until retirement in 1990. Again, this was a matter of principle. He could not stand the treachery and subsequent schoolboy boasting on national TV surrounding the replacement of John Howard as the federal Liberal Party leader by Andrew Peacock. Upon retirement from politics he pursued a number of business interests on the Gold Coast.
The last time I saw Peter was before the last election. I was doing a letterbox drop about 6 am in Wildash Street, one of the more exclusive residential areas of Southport where Peter lived. He came out to pick up the newspaper from his front lawn and we spoke for about 30 minutes. I joked that I was probably wasting my time letterboxing Wildash Street. He laughed and suggested that, as the choice was between the National Party and the Labor Party, I might be pleasantly surprised! I was pleasantly surprised.
My mother was a friend of Peter. I do not know what the member for Robina was referring to about the problem I was having, but it could have been any one of a number of things. Mum was always trying to help me, and that was a full-time job for her.
Peter's untimely death has robbed Southport of a respected, distinguished, loyal and courageous former member. As with previous speakers, I extend my sympathy to his widow, Shirley, his children, Kylie and Nigel, and their families.
I would also like to join in the condolence motion for Mr Brian Kehoe, the father of a friend of mine, Dermot, also a fellow legal practitioner. Brian Kehoe was born in Warwick on Labour Day in 1917. Mr Kehoe was a senior clerk in the courthouse in Gympie in 1953 when he won the seat of Nash for the ALP. At that time, he was the youngest member of this House. He continued to represent that electorate until the 1957 election, when he lost the seat following the split in the Labor Party.
Mr Kehoe was re-employed in the Public Service and appointed senior clerk in the Cairns court, and in 1960 he was transferred to the Brisbane Magistrates Court to be deputy registrar. He was transferred again in 1964 to Murgon and was admitted as a solicitor in 1968. In 1969 he was appointed clerk of the court at Wynnum, where he served until 1970, at which time he was appointed clerk of the court at Southport. Mr Kehoe was made a magistrate in February 1975 and continued in that role until his retirement in April 1980.
During his time as a magistrate, Mr Kehoe served as coroner in Brisbane and as the Small Claims Tribunal referee at a time when the jurisdiction of the referee extended throughout the whole of the state.
Last year his son Dermot followed in his father's footsteps when he was also appointed a magistrate.
Brian Kehoe was a man of great compassion, humility and courage and will be sadly missed by his family. I particularly extend my condolences to his sons, Dermot and Ben, and their respective wives, Marie and Sally, and their families. Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 11:00 PM
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