4J , AUSTRALIA(
PRIE MINIST[ ER
FOR MEDIA TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 1981
CONDOLENCE MOTION SPEECH
FOR THE. LATE HON. . ERIC ROBINSON
0 On Wednesday 7 January, Honourable Members of this House
were shocked to hear of the sudden and untimely death of
Eric Robinson.
The loss to this nation, to this Parliament, to his friends
and his colleague4 is a heavy one.
I move that this House expresses its deep regret at the death
on 7 January 1931 of the Honourable Eric Laidlaw Robinson, a
Member of this House for the Division of McPherson since 1972,
a Miniszer of the Crown from 1975 to 1980, the President of the
Queensland Division of the Liberal Party from 1968 to 1973;
and places o, record its appreciation of his influential and
wide-ranzing public service, and tenders its deepest sympathy
to his widow and family.
Eric Robinson's time and energies were given up almost entirely
to Parliamentary life, to the Ministry to Party and community
affairs. To an enormous extent, he lived his life for politics.
He did not keep his public career at arm's length from his private
life. One'thingthat many Honourable Members will remember is
the generous way in which he opened his home to his colleagues;
in politics. Whenever a venue was needed, his home was always
available. Eric was alert to the needs of the community. He sought to
provide the kind of representation McPherson electors wanted.
He represented them truly and well.
Eric was a strong Party man. He believed in the Liberal Party
as a force for good in Australia, and devoted his energies to
strengthening it in Queensland. He was President of the Liberal
Party for five years in Queehsland before he entered Parliament. ./ 2
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He believed in Liberalism above all else.
He believe strongly in the free enterprise system, and supported
the containment of government expenditure. He knew that this
was the right path to a better life for Australians.
He saw adherence to these principles a s the foundation of progress
in our community. In his own electorate, he was surrounded
by the tremendous development and progress that can occur
when the energy and initiative of people are mobilised by the
opportunities freedom provides.
Eric Robinson will be remembered particularly f6r his role
as a man who had a practical understanding of business.
He was himself successful in business, after the responsibility
for his family affairs had been thrust upon him at a young age.
He. built up his family's sporting goods business from a single
outlet into a chain that extends up and down the Queensland
coast.-
As a result of this, he knew the needs of the business
community. And he wished to help business to flourish
throughout Australia.
The result of his efforts was that the business community
often looked to him for a lead. He was always prepared to
give that , lead., The business community has been grateful
for that,-, and its benefits have been widely felt in the
community generally.
But Eric Robinson was not just a practical man. His
pragmatic judgments were informed by deeply held convictions
and pi~ izcinles. These principles underlay his day-to-day
responses. He did his best to ensure that his principles
were given practical expression.
We all know that Eric Robinson stood up strongly for his
principles and convictions. He fought for them with determination.
But there were. many occasions when he was prepared to set aside
his own personal feelings for the sake of what he saw as the
greater good.
I did not agree with Eric on all things. This is well known,
and it is not unusual in politics. But it would be right to
say that our disagreements were more about means than about
ena. s , about matters of judgment
rather than matters of principles. And my differences witL-h him
did not diminish my respect for him nor for his contribution
to the Liberal cause.
Eric was a man-whose outward calm hid the strength of his
feelings. often it seemed that he was impervious to criticism,
and that nothing could hurt him. But he felt things far more
deeply than was understood by people who knew him only casually.
I value my knowledge of Eric Robinson, and of the things we
did together. His untimely death is a reminder that public lifeb
can be very severe and demanding. The demands of a person's own
conscience and sense of duty can be enormous. The strains of
office, the strength of feeling, the pressures of time and the
requirement for immediate action, make many demands and Eric
extend ed himself to the full and beyond in meeting them.
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Eric Robinson inspired loyalty and conviction, both among his
own staff and among his public service advisers. He worked long
and hard, but retained the capacity to enjoy life a capacity
which was appreciated by all his associates. We will miss hi-m
in this House, in our deliberations, and in the everyday contact
of political life.
There is a further feature of Eric Robinson's life, which was
the indispensible foundation of everything that he did. It
was at the base of his entire accomplishment. He was totally
and utterly devoted to his family. His love and loyalty to his
wife, Narelle, together with her , constant presence and support,
gave to this man continuing strength and perspective in the
atmosphere of Canberra politics. And in expressing our
gratitude to Narelle Robinson for her contribution to her
husband's public service, we express our deepest sympathy to
her and her family at this time.
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