Labor salutes the life of Peter Walsh, a distinguished son of the West and a dedicated servant of our nation.

 

Peter Walsh came to politics from wheat farming, determined to make Labor better at serving Australians on the land.  Like so many Australians who know the hard work and hardships of farming, Walsh was a straight-shooter with a strong grasp of the vernacular and a healthy dose of common sense.

 

Walsh was in only his first Senate term during the Dismissal, a moment, he later reflected: ‘kindled fire in the belly and put steel in the spine’, and awoke a political passion he had not known since his participation in the anti-conscription movement, the decade before.

 

Between 1984 and 1990, Walsh served as Finance Minister in the Hawke Government, a time he described as ‘the most satisfying and significant period’ of his life.

 

As a leading economic minister in that great reforming era, he was rightly proud of the remarkable contribution he made to the opening-up of the Australian economy, laying the foundation for the decades of prosperity our nation has enjoyed.

 

Labor gives thanks for Peter Walsh’s life of service and we offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
May he rest in peace.

 


FRIDAY, 10 APRIL 2015

 

MEDIA CONTACT: LEADER’S OFFICE MEDIA UNIT 02 6277 4053