Tuesday, 7 February 2023

Condolences

Hon. John Michael Landy AC CVO MBE

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:05): I move:

That this house expresses its sincere sorrow at the death, on 24 February 2022, of the Honourable John Michael Landy AC CVO MBE and places on record its acknowledgement of the valuable services rendered by him to the people of Victoria as Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006.

I would like to take some time just to speak on the condolence motion on behalf of the government. John Landy was known for his many, many talents, including his sporting prowess, but he was also known as a person of integrity and compassion and somebody who Victorians held in high regard. Mr Landy’s moment of ultimate sportsmanship down at Olympic Park during the Australian mile championship is represented by a statue. It depicts the famous moment Landy stopped to check on the wellbeing of his rival. The statue serves as a reminder of the pure, unselfish nature of Landy’s gesture. Landy went on to win bronze at the 1500-metre event at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, cementing himself as a true Victorian sporting legend.

But of course Mr Landy did not stop his contribution to public life there; rather, some would say he was just getting started. He served for eight years on the Victorian Land Conservation Council from 1971 to 1978, providing a valuable insight into the fair and equitable use of public land. He had an extensive appreciation of the natural beauty of the Victorian bush landscape. Mr Landy served as a Governor for 5¼ years, appointed by Premier Bracks. He was known for expressing great warmth to everyone he met. That is certainly the feedback that you hear from anybody who had the pleasure of doing so. He was a passionate supporter of all areas of our state and visited every local government area during his tenure. During the final months of his governorship Landy was also the baton runner, presenting the baton to Queen Elizabeth II at the opening ceremony at the MCG for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Mr Landy was later appointed by Premier Brumby as the founding chair of the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund advisory panel. The fund was established in 2009 by the Victorian government in response to the Black Saturday fire tragedies. The fund raised well over $30 million to go to supporting those families, those individuals and of course those communities that were impacted by that devastation. He travelled across those impacted communities, listening to the stories of loss and also of miraculous survival. His efforts in visiting towns large and small were commendable and meant a lot to those people that he came across. I would also like to take the opportunity to acknowledge in the house today that 7 February is the anniversary of those Black Saturday fires.

Mr Landy lived a life of high achievement. We thank him for his tremendous contributions to the state of Victoria, and on behalf of the government I extend my condolences to Mr Landy’s wife Lynne and their children and respective families on his passing.

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:08): I rise to join in the debate on this condolence motion for John Landy AC CVO MBE, and on behalf of the Liberals and Nationals can I also express our sympathies and condolences to the Landy family. As the Leader of the Government has highlighted, John Landy was a man of great character and of great warmth, and as has already been pointed out, he did achieve an enormous amount for this state and for our country. He died after a long period of illness, but prior to his death he was a man, as I said, who served this state. He was the 26th Governor of Victoria from 2001 to 2006. As the leader has pointed out, he achieved so much during that time and then became so integral in the aftermath of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, and we remember it is the anniversary of those dreadful bushfires today.

John Landy will be remembered as a great Victorian who made a significant contribution, and he was an inspirational sportsman as well as achieving those other achievements that I have mentioned. He was an immensely talented athlete. In the 1950s he held world records for distance running and won bronze in the 1500 metres at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. He is revered for his sportsmanship as much as his sporting prowess, following the selfless act of stopping to help fellow runner Ron Clarke in the 1956 mile race at the Australian national championships – that iconic moment that has been immortalised in a sculpture on Olympic Boulevard. The National Centre for History Education have said this about that very moment, which I think captures the man so beautifully:

It was a spontaneous gesture of sportsmanship and it has never been forgotten.

He was a man, as we have said, of many achievements extending far beyond the sporting field, and he received numerous accolades for his distinguished service to sport, science, the environment and the community. After attending his final years at Geelong Grammar and the University of Melbourne he graduated with a degree in agricultural science and spent much of his career at ICI and served as well on the Victorian Land Conservation Council.

John Landy was also the author of a number of natural history books. He was a scientist and a conservationist, an avid butterfly enthusiast. He amassed an unrivalled butterfly collection over his lifetime, which he generously donated to the Australian Museum in 2018.

Over the years John Landy was acknowledged for the work that he had done, and he was awarded a number of honorary degrees, including doctor of laws from the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; doctor of rural science by the University of New England; as well as doctor of laws from the University of Melbourne and doctor of laws from Deakin University. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire and a Companion of the Order of Australia and was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

As a young man in 1956 representing his country at the Olympic Games in his home town, where he was given the honour of reading the Olympic oath, he would never have imagined that 50 years later he would be at the MCG again for the opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. On that occasion he was in the final month of his term as Governor of this great state, and as the final runner in the Queen’s baton relay he presented the baton to the Queen.

John Landy had many connections to many people across this state, not only in my electorate of Southern Metropolitan Region but right across rural Victoria. He was a man who achieved so much, and he will never be forgotten for all that he achieved. I together with my colleagues extend condolences to his family and friends.

Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:12): I am pleased to follow on from my colleague the leader of the Liberals in the upper house, Ms Crozier, and add my voice on behalf of the Nationals – there are two of us now in the upper house – to celebrate the life of the Honourable John Landy AC CVO MBE and many, many more. Perhaps I am reiterating the other two speakers, but I think sportsmanship is something that Australians have always held very dear to our hearts and we pride ourselves on being good sports and showing that, and the epitome of that good sportsmanship was going back, stopping, collecting the hand of his friend Ron Clarke back in that competitive race and then going on to pass people and finish that race. It showed the calibre of the man. It also showed potentially his later life and what he would achieve there.

Doing a bachelor of agricultural science at Melbourne University, Mr Landy really took on a passion for the environment and for agriculture, and as Ms Crozier has outlined and the Leader of the Government, he worked very much in that space. But what I also found interesting in researching him was he was chairman of the Australian Wool Research and Development Corporation, and as a National Party member that is something very dear to my heart, the R and D into how agriculture can be developed and has been developed over the decades.

In his inaugural speech in 2001 he focused on volunteers, and I would like to read to the house his words, because they show where his mind has been all throughout his career:

VOLUNTEERS are to the community what lifesavers are to the Australian beaches. They are a vital ingredient in so many facets of our life whether it be charity, caring, schools or sport.

…

Volunteers serve without question, they share without reservation, they listen with compassion and they enrich their community beyond measure.

On this day, the anniversary of Black Saturday, we remember those people in our region who were so substantially impacted as victims and communities, and it was so wonderful that he took on that role provided to him by the government of the time.

Can I pay my condolences to his wife and children and extended family. In an era where we have fast-moving media and a lot of, sometimes, hyperbole, it is wonderful to celebrate the life of a modest man, a respected man, a man of dignity, a competitor without doubt, but a man of great respect. Vale, John Landy.

The PRESIDENT: I ask members to signify their assent by rising in their places for 1 minute’s silence.

Motion agreed to in silence, members showing unanimous agreement by standing in their places.

The PRESIDENT: The proceedings will now be suspended as a further mark of respect. I will resume the chair in 1 hour.

Sitting suspended 12:17 pm until 1:20 pm.