Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown—Minister for Women, Minister for Seniors, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault) (14:31):
I move:
That this House extends deep sympathy to the family and friends of the Hon. J. Richard Face, a former Minister of the Crown, who passed on 1 August 2023.
I join the Speaker in acknowledging special guests, some of Richard's good friends and loved ones who are in the gallery today: Richard's partner, Gay Bryden; Gay's daughter, Tamara; Richard's daughter, Melita Morrow, and granddaughter, Annabelle; and Richard's very close friends, the Hon. Bob Martin and Margaret Martin, and the Hon. Richard Amery. Thank you all for coming today and welcome back to the Legislative Assembly—a place where Richard proudly served his community for three decades.
Richard's long, accomplished life has left an indelible mark on the Charlestown electorate, the broader Hunter region and the entire State of New South Wales. He represented the communities of the Charlestown electorate in this place from November 1972 until his retirement in March 2003 and, 17½ years into his tenure, he became the Father of the House, the longest-serving MP in this place—a title that he held until his retirement. From 1995 until 2003, he was a member of Bob Carr's Cabinet, serving as Minister for Gaming and Racing and inaugurating the office of Minister for the Hunter, then known as the Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development.
But of course, as his friends and family know better than I do, Richard's life did not begin and end with his service in the Legislative Assembly. He was a proud father to Melita, Warwick, Marika and Stephen. He was a doting grandfather to eight grandchildren. He was a great colleague to those he worked with, whether in this place or in any other area, and, as I can personally attest, he was a wonderful friend. He was a proud student of Merewether Public School and attended the Newcastle Junior Technical High School in Broadmeadow, which is now known as the Hunter School for the Performing Arts—very apt, as Richard's life went on.
After leaving school at 15, Richard undertook a four-year apprenticeship as a plumber before starting work at the gas company and then joining the NSW Police Force. He worked in a variety of roles as a member of the police, but the bulk of his time on the force was spent in the special traffic patrol—the predecessor to the modern highway patrol. His police colleague and partner Bruce Tarrant said of Richard's time in the service, "Constable Richard Face was a diligent member of the NSW Police Force. He was able to catch armed criminals and dangerous malefactors without too much trouble. He was never vindictive and carried out his duties without fear or favour, malice or ill will."
One of Richard's great loves was music. He was a lifelong lover of pipe music, in particular. That is probably what he was most famous for, but, as his daughter Melita pointed out in her beautiful eulogy, his interest in music was deep and wideranging. As a young man, he performed a role in a school production of the Gilbert and Sullivan classicH.M.S. Pinafore, which, since Richard went to an all-boys school, required him to perform in drag. This led him to develop a love for singing—I am not sure that it was performing in drag—and, as a young man, he would earn some extra money as a wedding singer. His love of pipe music never wavered. He would march every Anzac Day in the Newcastle parade with the Newcastle RSL pipe band, kitted out in full Scottish regalia. In this capacity, he participated in countless ceremonies and parades across Australia and overseas.
It was Richard's time in the police that led him to political life. His work as a member of the police association committee led to his involvement with the local branch of the Labor Party. Richard's predecessor as the member for Charlestown, Jack Stewart, clearly saw potential in him and, at Jack's insistence, Richard was elected secretary of the local branch. When Jack passed away suddenly in 1972, Richard stood against a number of opponents for preselection and prevailed. He won the subsequent by-election, with a 5 per cent swing to Labor. Richard entered this place at a very different time in politics. As Melita has recalled, constituents would wait for meetings in the living room of the family's Kahibah home. As Gay mentioned to me at lunchtime, when Richard came down here when Parliament was sitting, regional MPs would sleep on site in Parliament.
At just 29 years old, Richard was thrust into the bearpit. Robert Askin was the Premier, and it was an electric time in Australian politics. Richard's by-election was seen by some as an indication of what would come during the 1972 Federal election—otherwise known as the It's Time election, when Gough Whitlam's Labor swept to power after decades of Liberal rule. Richard was a devotee of Neville Wran, having been one of the votes that got him over the line against Pat Hills in a closely fought leadership contest in 1973. Richard always spoke highly of the Wran Government and of Neville Wran himself. Richard was part of the "Wranslide" in 1978 and again in 1981 and would go on to win every election he stood for until 2003. He certainly weathered some tough swings at times, including scraping in at the 1988 election, which ended the Unsworth Government, with a 63-vote margin. I remember Richard telling us about conceding on election night and then winning with a 63-vote margin. As Richard would always be the first to remind you, that is politics.
Through it all, Richard never lost sight of his community. Over the course of his service to the people of his electorate and to our State, Richard built an extraordinary legacy. On the local level, he was a driving force behind many projects that we in the Charlestown electorate and the wider Hunter hold dear to our hearts: the Newcastle Inner City Bypass; Glenrock State Recreation Area; the redevelopment of McDonald Jones Stadium; and the development of the Fernleigh Track. It was Richard's experience as a police officer that drove him to push for and achieve the opening of the Police Citizens Youth Club at Windale. Lake Macquarie PCYC is such an important part of the local community to this day. Without Richard, it would not be there.
On a broader regional level, when the closure of BHP ushered in a period of great industrial change in the Hunter, Richard led the charge for a just and fair transition for BHP workers and the wider community. It is difficult to overstate just how important that period of transition was to the Hunter. For 84 years, Newcastle had been known as the Steel City. BHP had been the city's biggest employer, with 13,000 workers at its peak. When the steelworks closed in 1999, there were widespread fears that the unemployment rate in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and around the region would skyrocket and that the local community would never recover. There was widespread anxiety not just for BHP workers but also for those who relied on those workers for their businesses. It is in large part thanks to Richard that those worst fears were never realised. As Richard said in this place in 1999:
Whilst the demise of steel making as we have known it … marked the end of an era in Newcastle, a city that has been identified with its steelworks for nearly the whole of the twentieth century … it also serves as a signpost for changes in direction that are for the better in Newcastle in the long term …
I am sure all the Hunter MPs are fully in agreement with that sentiment. In that same speech, Richard said the task facing Newcastle and the Hunter region was "to look to the future". Thanks to Richard's commitment to that forward‑thinking, positive outlook; to his voice in Bob Carr's Cabinet; and to his tireless advocacy over the process of BHP's closure from the initial announcement to the closure itself and the aftermath, his vision was achieved. The closure of BHP was difficult, but it was not the catastrophe that so many had predicted and feared. There can be no doubt that that is largely because of the Hon. Richard Face.
Today Newcastle is a diverse, vibrant and economically strong place. The Hunter region as a whole is so much stronger as a result of what Richard fought for. Richard would be the first to acknowledge that the job is never done, which is why I and my colleagues in this place continue to build upon his vision of the future. But it would not be possible at all without Richard's work. Richard's commitment to his constituents was recognised. As Gay remembers, they could not just pop quickly to the shops to get groceries; they would be stopped constantly every few metres by someone who would say to Richard, "Do you remember me? You helped me years ago." It does not surprise me at all to hear that, most of the time, Richard did in fact remember them. That is the mark of a committed, hardworking local MP. It is an example that every member in this place should aspire to.
For Richard Face, though, being the member for Charlestown was not just a job; as he said in his valedictory speech, it was a way of life. His work extended far beyond what was reported in the headlines and the big achievements that I have mentioned. He went into bat for the most vulnerable members of our community, particularly women and children in crisis. That is why he was stopped in local shopping centres. On the rare occasions when he was not working, Richard could be found at the Dixon Park Surf Life Saving Club or playing rugby union for Merewether Carlton. Even before his involvement in the police union and the Labor Party, Richard made a mark on the local community through his engagement with the surf club. He was elected as a surf club member to the Australia Day Council in his early 20s and later became the council's senior vice president, demonstrating his commitment to the community long before entering Parliament was even on his radar.
Richard did not retire from public life when his time in Parliament came to an end. He was President of the RSL pipe band. He was President of Rotary Club of Charlestown, which he had been a member of for many years. He was a longstanding patron of the Northern NSW Football federation, where he served as chairman and, for 30 years, he was an avid supporter of Charlestown netball. An example of his ongoing commitment to the Charlestown area was his advocacy in public and in the media during 2010 for improved parking in the Charlestown CBD—we are still fighting for that. In his retirement, he and Gay travelled widely. With Bob and Margaret Martin, they purchased an RV in America and, over the course of three years, travelled around the United States and Canada. For six to eight weeks a year, Richard, Gay and the Martins saw North America up close and experienced it like the locals.
Richard's love of pipe music and his love of travel came together when he and Gay were on a trip to the United Kingdom and got to see the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Richard's welcoming spirit—the same welcoming spirit that saw him bring constituents into his home in the 1970s—saw him and Gay entertain friends at their holiday home in Boomerang Beach. Their life of travelling and entertaining slowed down following Richard's diagnosis with Parkinson's disease. I came to know Richard through my involvement with the Labor Party, and he became an important mentor and source of support and advice as I pursued a political career. I am proud to represent the Charlestown electorate in this place, just as Richard did for so many years. I see firsthand every day the positive impacts of his legacy. I dare say that, for all of us in Newcastle and the Hunter, it is impossible not to see that legacy.
Richard was more than a political mentor for me. I am very lucky to count both him and Gay as friends. When I had my daughter, India, 24 years ago, Richard and Gay gifted us a beautiful baby blanket. I still have it now. It is a beautiful and treasured memento of that time and of our friendship. Rest easy, my friend, knowing that you have achieved so much for your community and that you were loved by so many and respected by so many more. Your time in this place was transformational. Your life beyond the walls of this Parliament was extraordinary. Your legacy will be long remembered. Your memory will be forever cherished. Thank you, the Hon. Richard Face, for your incredible service to your community and the State of New South Wales. Vale, the Hon. Richard Face.
