As trade minister, I don’t want to return to Australia empty-handed
I m seeking a UK-Australia free trade deal that gives consumers the chance to buy our world-beating food
22 April 2021 • 6:00am
Fifty years ago, Australia’s trade minister Doug Anthony flew to London in one last attempt to maintain some of the special trading relationship Australia enjoyed with the UK. Britain had turned its attention to the Common European market and Australia felt a special bond was being broken. Anthony returned empty handed. Addressing the Australian Parliament afterwards, he offered some poignant advice: “This must all be accepted as history,” he said. “We must now look to the future.”
Michael McCormackâs two years and 344 days on the edge
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When the pack turned on Australian captain Tim Paine last month, questioning whether he was up to the job of leading his country after a home series defeat against India, cricket-loving Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack sent him a text in solidarity.
Perhaps itâs a stretch but the Nationals leader sees some similarities in their own rise to the top. Both were unlikely picks for the top job and both took on their roles by virtue of a scandal.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, three years in the job next month, is the longest-serving leader since the Coalition came to power in 2013.
Aslan Shand and Philippa Clark
Former Deputy Prime Minister and MP for Richmond, Doug Anthony, was farewelled at a state memorial service in Tweed Heads on Thursday.
Dignitaries including John Howard and Prime Minister Scott Morrison were among the attendees who paid their respects to Mr Anthony at the Twin Towns Services Club. Doug Anthony while serving as Member for Richmond. Photo: National Library of Australia.
Tweed Mayor Chris Cherry told
Echonetdaily: ‘It was a moving ceremony, with many friends, colleagues and family sharing insights into his life and passion.’
‘Doug Anthony was a statesman, a quiet achiever with no airs and graces. His love for his family, and for the Tweed was evident in all of the reflections made. He leaves an amazing legacy in his family but for the wider community he has left us with our incredible Tweed Regional Gallery and a passion to protect and advance agricultural Tweed,’ Cr Cherry said.
Scott Morrison, John Howard and Barnaby Joyce were among the political heavyweights to attend Doug Anthony s memorial service on Thursday where dozens paid tribute to the compassionate and courageous politician.
Australia s longest serving deputy prime minister died aged 90 in a care home in Murwillumbah, far north New South Wales on December 20.
Mr Anthony was leader of the Country Party/National Party for 12 years and deputy prime minister for nearly 10, influencing coalition policies for much of the 1970s and 1980s.
He served under six prime ministers, starting with Sir Robert Menzies.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (left) arrives with former Australian Prime Minister John Howard to a State Memorial for former deputy prime minister Doug Anthony
Farewell to a Nationals leader who could stare down a prime minister
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Even the most casual observer could discern the nostalgia for a time when the National Party was a power to be reckoned with as the conservative political establishment farewelled one of its giants, Doug Anthony, on Thursday.
Mr Anthony, the longest-serving deputy prime minister in Australian history and one of the longest-serving leaders of the Country Party/Nationals, was a man who exuded many excellent qualities, former Prime Minister John Howard declared.