Wednesday, 11 May 2022

Hon. Tom Reynolds

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (10:24): I move:

That this house expresses its sincere sorrow at the death of the Honourable Tom Reynolds and places on record its acknowledgement of the valuable services rendered by him to the Parliament and the people of Victoria as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the district of Gisborne from 1979 to 1999, Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing from 1992 to 1996 and Minister for Rural Development and Minister for Sport from 1996 to 1999.

Born in Moe, Tom Reynolds was the son of a farmer and a product of Victorian state schools. He worked as a farmer and a shearer before making a career in small business and ultimately being elected to this place. He served his electorate for 20 long years, and that is a remarkable innings.

In honouring the very, very significant contribution of Tom Reynolds today, the last thing I want to do is reflect negatively on my good friend Joanne Duncan, but we cannot tell the story of so much without referring to the fact that I am sure the Reynolds family and I am sure many who worked with him and for him were very sad to see Tom not contest the 1999 election. Can I say, in perhaps what is the most meaningful compliment you can ever pay anyone on the other side of the chamber, none of us were upset to see him not run again in 1999. We of course won the seat of Gisborne. It was an incredibly close election and one that saw the government of the state change. I will boldly predict that if Tom Reynolds had contested—so popular, with such integrity, a distinguished minister but a local member first, someone who knew his community, worked passionately for his community and had a track record of delivering for his community—then as formidable a person and campaigner as our good friend and former colleague Joanne Duncan was perhaps she would not have been able to secure that victory in what was, as I said, a very, very close Parliament. So I am genuine when I say his retirement was well earned and we were all very pleased to see him not on the ballot paper in 1999.

Twenty years is a long innings. That is a long innings to be in the Parliament and to hold such distinguished positions as Tom Reynolds did, as a minister but always as a local member first—as I said, someone who had great integrity, worked very hard, was very passionate about his local community and was a true servant of the community who elected him to this place. That is not only a great compliment but it is the essence of how this place works: we are all local members first, and Tom Reynolds absolutely highlighted that.

There are many different elements of his ministerial career that you could talk about—too many to mention even without the clock running. If you are a good minister for sport—and I have known a few—you invariably are central to the development of facilities, large and small, in communities right across our state. I am sure that when news of Tom Reynolds’s passing moved throughout different parts of the state people would have paused and reflected on the difference that he made to their local community, to their code, to their club, to their kids. And, again, that is a great compliment: to have made a difference, large and small, whether it is the Albert Park aquatic centre all the way through to very small grants—small in dollars but big in impact—for local community sporting facilities, Tom Reynolds made his mark, made our state better and made communities better for his hard work.

He was passionate about sport. He was passionate also about many other responsibilities that he had the great honour of having during his time in Parliament. But it is important to acknowledge he was a trustee of the Melbourne Cricket Club, he was a director of the Brisbane Lions Football Club, he was, at a local level, president of the Romsey footy club, president of the Romsey Cricket Club and president of the Gisborne and District Cricket Association. His passion was not just portfolio based, it was genuine in that it went from the biggest sporting institutions in our state right down to grassroots in his local community.

In speaking with a few colleagues who had the pleasure of serving alongside him, in preparing for today, what was very clear to me is that he was one of those members of Parliament who was very clear about what he believed in. He had a very clear set of values that he followed and that guided him, but he was a true parliamentarian before he was a politician. He had friends on both sides of the aisle. He had very warm relationships. He was regarded in the highest terms by people within his own party and of course people on our side of this chamber. That too is a great compliment to the sort of person he was not just as a practitioner, not just as a parliamentarian or a politician, but as a person. That is something that came through in discussing his career and who he was with a number of different colleagues who served with him.

His service is a great credit to him. It is always important to acknowledge that you cannot spend 20 years as an effective local member, as a hard worker and as a key minister in a government—you cannot achieve that—without the support of family. You simply cannot do that. And, if I might say, whilst Tom was the member the people of Gisborne got much more than just one person—two for one at least, you might say, as is so often the case with regional communities and local members who work very hard for those regional communities.

Can I simply say in closing: he left his mark. He made our state better. He worked very, very hard. He had great integrity. He knew where he had come from and he knew that there was great power in the role of a member of Parliament to change people’s lives, to be an advocate and to make positive change, and that is a great credit to him. On behalf of the government and on behalf of people who knew and loved him, people who worked with him and people who have benefited so clearly by the work that he did I extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Helen, his children, Thomas and Grant, his grandchildren, his friends and his extended family. Our thoughts are with you at what is a difficult time, but I hope this loss and these difficulties are made just a little easier knowing that we all respected him, we valued him, and he made a great difference. Vale, Tom Reynolds.

Mr GUY (Bulleen—Leader of the Opposition) (10:31:381:): Tom Reynolds was a very popular person. He was popular in his community, in the sporting clubs he supported and in politics. Everyone loved Tom Reynolds. He was one of those decent, straightforward, straight-talking people that are far too rare in modern politics. As former Premier Jeff Kennett said about Tom at his funeral, he had an extraordinary twinkle in his eye that charmed so many people to want to talk to him, to be in his company and to share a story, and that is true. Tom was not one to bag, to criticise or to play games; Tom Reynolds was just straight talking. That is how I remember him and that is how so many Liberals remember him. That is how so many people who lived in his community remember him.

After an early life in Gippsland he moved to the Romsey and Kyneton area, where he conducted most of his schooling. After finishing schooling he went to RMIT, and after uni Tom was a farmer—a profession that many in this chamber are not anymore. He farmed in Romsey. He then became a shearer, again around Romsey. Back then that was a long way from Melbourne. In the 1960s he wanted a career change, so after working for GJ Coles and completing executive training he went on to be a hardware merchant in the town. No wonder he was popular. The hardware merchant that spoke to everyone and chatted with everyone—back in the 1960s and 70s that was one of the jobs to have.

He was married with two boys, and as we all know, he was a keen local sportsman, particularly in cricket. Tom was a serious batsman; he was an opener. He served as the president of the Romsey Football Club as well as the president of the Romsey Cricket Club, the president of the Gisborne District Cricket Association and, as the Premier said, later a trustee at the Melbourne Cricket Club. Tom’s sons said at their dad’s funeral, ‘Dad just loved his cricket’. And that is what life seemed to be for Tom—farmer-cum-local hardware man, married to a local girl with two boys and living in a country town out of Melbourne. Life seemed very straightforward, and for much of that, as a Liberal Party member, particularly in the 1970s, this was just the life to have. That was until the early resignation from Parliament of the local Liberal MP, Athol Guy.

Athol was in the Tom category. He was a local boy and a good bloke—no relation but still a good bloke; I have to say it twice—but unlike Tom, he had a monster profile. He was one of The Seekers, the biggest band in the country. Athol’s profile was hard to beat. So when Tom was selected by the Liberal Party to replace Athol at the 1979 election there was a real worry that without the profile in a candidate and after 24 years in government the seat could be lost to what was predicted at the 1979 election to be a resurgent Labor Party. While Tom did not have a national profile, he had a community touch that many just could not match, and that is what saw the seat retained. As the member for Ferntree Gully said to me just previous to coming into the chamber, Tom would always say to you, ‘Make sure you knock on every door’—something we still get told today.

So in 1979 when he was elected, his political career began. In 1982 he hung on again despite his 2 per cent seat being well within the opposition’s firing line, and after that, with his election to the front bench, his career then commenced on the front bench. He was a shadow minister for sport, recreation and racing for six years, and then after two years in absence he came back in the same role, leading up to the 1992 election. So the keen sportsman, community man and local sporting club member was well qualified and for decades made good on his desire to actually be the responsible minister, and he was—a role he commenced in October 1992 with the Kennett government’s election.

Now, Jeff Kennett hated reshuffles. He loved consistency in someone doing a job. That is what he is like. He got that from Tom. Tom served in those portfolios from the start of the government to the end of the government, from October 1992 to October 1999—all seven years. There are many achievements of Tom in this time—from local AFL and netball upgrades across the state, particularly in country Victoria, to even funding for table tennis. I think, though, that Tom’s legacy at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre is one that must be mentioned. A number of ministers were put together. Subcommittees not just of cabinet but of others along with the local council made that project happen. It was an important project to achieve, and back in 1997 he was there with the Premier at the opening. Tom lobbied for and got commitments to expand it later in the 1990s, which did occur, but his role in making a facility like this a big, central community sporting facility, making that a reality, was one that he rightly should have been proud of. However, as we all know, and I think it is fair to say, the MSAC model is now a precedent thanks to Tom—a very expensive precedent. It seems like there is not a local government area where they do not have their own MSAC. There is a RACE, an ARC and a WaterMarc—they are all very consistent—but they started off with MSAC.

Tom was the member for Gisborne, as the Premier said, for 20 years when he decided to retire at the 1999 election. He was in his 60s, and he decided it was time to move on. Many on this side, too, were sad to see Tom go. He had been part of the glue that held much of the party together and particularly in government, one of those people that many of his colleagues could chat to, confide in or seek good counsel from. Post politics Tom did what he loved: he got involved in sport. He was maybe not the batsman that he had been, but it was still sport. He even adopted a new code, going on to be a director of the Brisbane Lions.

As I said at the start of these comments, Tom was always popular. Whether it was at a community event post politics or catching up with former staff or colleagues, everyone had a good word to say about him. When Tom passed away, it was received with some shock. Many of us did not know he had been unwell for a period of time. Many at his funeral were sad and regretful that they never got to tell this gentleman how much they admired him and enjoyed his company to his face. So today we pass these remarks on and send our love and sympathy to Helen and to her and Tom’s sons and the family—to let them know how much we admired him, how much the Liberal Party admired him, how much we admired Tom for his honesty and decency and how much his strong work ethic and love for his family was recognised by everyone. Tom Reynolds was a Liberal icon. He may not have known it or wanted to hear it or even recognised it, but he was, and certainly for the members in the Macedon Ranges area. He was also a community icon, somebody who worked hard for those locals he went on to serve. Rest in peace, Tom Reynolds; a life well lived and not to be forgotten.

Ms THOMAS (Macedon—Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional Development) (10:38): I rise today on behalf of the people of Macedon, formerly the Gisborne electorate, to acknowledge the life and contribution of the late Honourable Tom Reynolds. As we have heard, Tom was born in 1936 and he was educated in the Macedon Ranges at Bolinda Primary School and Kyneton High School, eventually finishing his education at RMIT. Tom started work at 16 and went on to work as a farmer and as a shearer. Having settled with his wife, Helen, in Romsey, he opened R&R Hardware with his friend Bruce Rob. Get it? Reynolds and Rob. Throughout his life Tom demonstrated that a good public school education can set you up for whatever it is that you seek to achieve.

It was in Romsey, however, that Tom established himself as a very active and well-respected community leader. Tom’s contributions included being a member of the Gisborne High School council for 16 years, between the years of 1976 and 1992; president, as we have heard, of the Romsey footy club, in 1973 and 1974; and he was also the president of the Romsey Cricket Club and president of the Gisborne District Cricket Association. Of course as a star player at Romsey Cricket Club, Tom went on to receive a life membership in recognition of his contribution as one of the club’s greatest batsmen during the 1950s, the 60s and the 70s.

As a well-known and popular community figure and sportsman, Tom was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the Liberal member for Gisborne in 1979, following the retirement of Athol Guy. As has been noted, whilst Athol Guy as a member of The Seekers might have had a wide recognition—and I think what all of us in this place know is it is not so much that popularity that matters but it is who knows you on the ground in the community that you serve—indeed Tom was exceedingly well known and respected in Gisborne.

Hardworking and diligent, Tom was committed to helping everyone in his electorate and to a job that he never took his eye off during his 20 years in this place. No matter how small the issue—and regardless of who they voted for—Tom was there for them. He was much admired, and of course I had the opportunity to talk to our good friend Joanne Duncan, his successor, about Tom’s contribution. Also, as I think both Joanne and indeed the Premier reflected, there were many on this side of politics who wished Tom all the best upon his retirement. Now, Tom achieved what those of us in this place all seek to achieve: Tom left at a time of his own choosing. It is always good to reflect on that. That is something that not everyone in this place gets to do. But with his having chosen to retire in 1999, Joanne Duncan was selected as our candidate. It was Jo’s experience that when she was out talking to people they said, ‘But I always voted for Tom. I just voted for Tom’. It was not a matter of political party preferences. Joanne indeed was able to capitalise on that at that election because she was local, and we will recall that it was the former health minister, the upper house MP, who was—to use that word that we often use, and indeed it has been used about me—parachuted into Gisborne.

I will also note, with Tom’s family in the chamber, that reading back through Tom’s first speech one of the things that he noted at the time—and he was quite displeased by it—was that there indeed were some teachers taking protest action on the steps of Parliament. Now, Tom was not in favour of this. He thought it was unbecoming at the time. I just reflect that Tom has been succeeded now by two teachers, one after the other, as the member for Gisborne and then as the member for Macedon.

The local connections that Tom fostered through his prowess on the cricket pitch set Tom up very well for his time of course as Minister for Sport, Racing and Recreation, which he took on in 1992, and he added rural development to his portfolios in 1996. While it has been more than 20 years now since Tom retired as the member for Gisborne, he is well remembered and well loved across the community that I now have the great privilege to serve. It gives me much pleasure, as I now travel as the Minister for Regional Development within my own electorate and across the state, to see so many plaques still there recognising the work that Tom did in his time as minister and indeed in the electorate itself. As I said, it does give me great pleasure. So can I extend my condolences on behalf of the people of the community that I now serve, the people of Macedon—formerly Gisborne—to Tom’s family. He was a much-loved, very well-respected member of this place and advocate for the people of his community. Tom had a life well lived, and we honour that here today. Vale, Tom.

Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (10:44): I rise to join the condolence motion for Tom Reynolds—as has already been described—someone, again, from his community, of his community and there to serve his community as a local member and then in a distinguished career as a minister of the Crown. I find it intriguing when I read Tom’s CV that, as has been described, he was a farmer at Romsey and spent two years as a trainee executive with GJ Coles but he actually gave up the GJ Coles trainee executive position to become a shearer. To me, GJ Coles must have been a very, very tough boss that you would give up an executive traineeship to go and be a shearer, having tried shearing when I was young. People told you if you did enough, your back stopped aching; I could never, ever find that position. Obviously Coles were very, very tough employers, or probably the travelling into Melbourne did not suit Tom at that particular time.

Then, as has been said, he went on to run a very popular and successful hardware store and was immersed in the community with the cricket club, the football club, the Gisborne High School council—the things that people do in their community which give them very, very good backgrounds to come in and serve in this particular place.

Tom was a passionate supporter of upgrading roads in his electorate and particularly of having the Calder Highway upgraded. As someone who uses the Calder Highway to get to Melbourne, I am very pleased that Tom was successful in having that road upgraded. For those that—

A member interjected.

Mr WALSH: Success has many parents, but he was one of the ones that worked very hard to have that happen. I remember going to Melbourne in the truck when we used to take lambs down to Farmers and Graziers in Brooklyn. That twist up out of Gisborne, when you had to go through the town, in a truck after you had slowed right down for the speed restrictions was probably the worst part of that road. Many a truck had some challenges getting up that climb out of Gisborne when coming to Melbourne, particularly in those days when probably the laws were not as tough on overloading and they may have been a little bit heavier than they should have been for the power-to-weight ratio. It is great that as we drive along that road we can always think about all those, including Tom, who were successful in having the Calder Highway made what it is today.

One of the things I notice is a lot of country MPs when they get elected get a caravan to travel around their electorate to have as a mobile office. We look at his ads, and Tom was effectively the Scarlet Pimpernel of that electorate with the caravan done up with his name as the state member for Gisborne and the mobile office—‘You see him here, you see him there. You see that bloke, Tom Reynolds, everywhere’. It is a very, very effective ad in making sure that you are known for getting around your electorate and you are in that caravan there to service your communities.

I think, as has been described and as has been recorded, being the Minister for Sport was probably Tom’s perfect career. When he retired he said he had had a blessed job for 20 years as a local member and his last seven years as the minister for sport. He did, as I understand it, successfully race greyhounds, pacers and gallopers. He had some success with the dishlickers with a couple of dogs he owned in partnership with Michael Kroger, which did get him into a little bit of trouble at the time. He owned them before he became a minister—or leased them, I think it was—but there are potentially conflicts of interest when you are the racing minister and you have a successful dog. Those two dogs were named Liberal Victory and Liberal Magic. There are some omens there for November this year, which will be very, very good.

A member: Aren’t you a National?

Mr WALSH: We need them to be successful too.

A member: Is it the magic first or the victory?

Mr WALSH: Both. We talk about legacies in politics. One of the things I note of interest was the stand-off with one Jeffrey Gibb Kennett. Jeffrey had his Jeff’s Shed and, as has already been said, when the aquatic centre was built Tom was very keen, as I understand it, to have it called ‘Tom’s Pond’. But Jeffrey, not one to ever give ground on anything in particular, decided that was not a very good name for the aquatic centre at all. But Tom will still be remembered for that particular piece of infrastructure. And as others have said, when you travel around regional Victoria you quite often find a plaque on something which Tom Reynolds opened as the minister. Being a minister in the one portfolio for seven years, you do make a significant contribution to the wider Victorian area.

Tom was the perfect local member, a great family man, a great community person and someone who really revelled in the job as a local member and, as we would joke in this place, the ‘minister for good times’. Being the minister for sport and recreation, you do get to go to a lot of great events. He was the perfect person for it. Vale, Tom Reynolds.

Ms GREEN (Yan Yean) (10:50): It is indeed an honour to rise and speak in memory of Tom Reynolds. I had the great honour indeed to represent the Victorian government at the memorial service at the MCG. That should not be an indication that it was just me there—the coronavirus was running through our ranks—but it was great to be there, given I am the Parliamentary Secretary for Sport and Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Victoria. I am disappointed that the Leader of the National Party said that sport and recreation are the best portfolios but he did not mention regional development, and I would say that they are equally the best portfolios.

As the Premier began in referring to Joanne Duncan, I remember one of the longest preselection days that we ever had—and we have had a few in the Labor Party. The seat of Gisborne was the last one that was going to be dealt with on this whole day, because I think it had a 7-plus per cent margin. Joanne Duncan was not meant to get that preselection—it had been slated to someone else—but throughout the day in my Labor Unity caucus I kept saying, ‘It’s a shame Jo Duncan’s not going to get that seat. She’d be great’. And people were saying, ‘Be quiet, Danielle. No-one’s going to beat Tom Reynolds’. But that was before Tom Reynolds had made his decision to move on.

Tom Reynolds was the epitome of a local member. I think people on all sides, particularly country MPs, should reflect on what a great MP he was. People external to this place sometimes think that we do not look at people on the other side and observe them and how they conduct themselves and how they campaign, but Tom was certainly someone that people on this side did look to to see how he campaigned. Like the member for Macedon’s electorate, the electorate of Yan Yean actually now includes some of what was in the then seat of Gisborne. It was an enormous electorate, and it was not easy to be as well known as he was. I think that he just would have been a fabulous bloke to sit down and have a beer with—someone that I would have really got along with. A punt on the horses, the dishlickers, the footy, the cricket, and not just at a high level but at a local level—these things really mattered to Tom.

One of the stories that I really loved hearing was about his son Grant’s wedding day. For those of us in this place it is always a balance trying to maintain your responsibilities and your duty to the public as well to your family. The day of Grant’s wedding apparently coincided with the WS Cox Plate. The wedding was in Glen Waverley, the reception was at the Pumphouse in Fitzroy, and of course the Cox Plate was at Moonee Valley. But somehow Tom managed to do it all. He still had his son speak lovingly of him at the funeral, so he must have managed it very well.

I was particularly touched at the beginning of the memorial service at the MCG when family members put things that mattered to Tom up on the front table. His great-grandson, Maxwell, brought up a beautiful light that was the moon, and he said that was the light and there was where his great-grandfather would be into the future. Tom was obviously a man that was very well loved by his family and by his community. He maintained a great friendship with Nipper Trezise Sr, who had also been a sport minister, and they never, ever said a cross word against each other. I think that is something to remember when we can be a bit willing to speak in this place and not always be very kind. People like Tom Reynolds and Nipper Trezise Sr—and Jr—were always people that spoke kindly about each other. Congratulations to Tom’s family for memorialising him in such a beautiful way. My condolences to his family and to the Liberal Party. May he rest in peace.

Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (10:54): It is a pleasure to rise and pay condolence to the Honourable Tom Reynolds. Many in this chamber have already spoken about Tom and his background and certainly about Tom being a people person. We could all learn, as members of Parliament, just how important it is to be able to connect with people and to bring into Parliament something other than just politics. I think what Tom did back then is something that we are all searching for—being able to bring those things that are important to community and important to others. Tom knew that. We have heard today from members of Tom’s background, which started very much as non-traditional—from farming, from having a traineeship with Coles, from being a shearer and also from being a hardware merchant. As the Leader of the Opposition has said, there is no better opportunity to talk to people than when you are in retail and you are talking and finding out what the issues of the day are and having a chat. So all of those experiences that Tom had really set him up for being a people person and representing the people of his electorate of Gisborne in this chamber and in this Parliament.

He had a great career, as we have heard today. He had a career that gave him the opportunity to represent his local electorate but also gave him the opportunity to represent his passions. We have heard about his passion for sport and his passion for racing. I am sure the Shadow Minister for Racing and the Minister for Racing would agree that it is great to get to events. Well, Tom never missed anything. Wherever there was a meeting, Tom was there. Wherever there was a sporting event—whether it be Melbourne or Mildura—Tom was there. He would just get there, he would attend and he would do it with passion and vigour and enthusiasm. No matter what the sport, Tom would know it and Tom would celebrate it and celebrate those people that loved it. He was a great person, a real person and a genuine person, and obviously those portfolios were really set up for him.

As members have already said, in attending the state funeral—and we in this chamber get the opportunity to do that—this one was different for me. Tom having been the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing and the state funeral being held at the MCG, I was not sure what to expect. The tributes that were paid by his grandchildren, which I am going to talk about in a minute, were just so fitting for a person who obviously cherished his family but also had so much to offer in his contributions.

I was sitting next to former Premier Jeff Kennett and Felicity. Jeff was about to speak, and he had his speech all ready to go. We had heard from Thomas and Grant, Tom’s children, who gave such great speeches about his life. While they were giving their speeches, Jeffrey had his speech sitting in front of him. He had his pen out and he just kept slashing through his notes. I was wondering, ‘What the hell’s going on?’. Before you knew it, every single word on those pages was scribbled out, and I am like, ‘What’s he going to do with all of that?’. Then he got up and Jeffrey said, ‘Well, I wrote a speech, and it’s the first time that I’ve ever actually written one. Normally it’s from the heart, but for this and for Tom I thought it would be fitting that I actually write a speech on his contribution and what he’d done. But after listening to his sons and what they’ve said, it’s all been covered and I hate to repeat things that have already been covered. So much for the speech—I’ll never write one again’. Jeff then went on to talk about other things that were important in Tom’s life.

I think one of the things that is very interesting that nobody has mentioned before is the fact that Tom connected to the government and the opposition. He spoke to everybody. He was just a friend of everyone. He just wanted things done. He did not play politics and he was not overly political. In 1991 he led the spill to get Jeff Kennett back into the leadership. So he did the ultimate in terms of ensuring the numbers were there. Without Tom’s work we would not have had those great years of leadership in this state. So we need to thank Tom Reynolds for that work that got Jeff Kennett to become the Premier of Victoria and all the great work that he did.

The great celebrations that this man had and the passions that he had were seen, as I said earlier, in the grandchildren and their comments that really hit home for me, and the fact that the grandchildren were so part and parcel of the funeral and of his life. We had each grandchild come up with something to memorialise the event and to showcase Tom’s life. It started with Ali, who came with Tom’s Sun Youth Travel scholarship card and blazer. Tom was one of only five boys selected from 20 000 applicants for an education tour to the United Kingdom. Abi had Tom’s old shears, which Helen had gold-plated as a memorial to him, and they are a reminder of his down-to-earth approach to life and his work ethic. We have heard today just how important that was. Sam came forward with a cricket ball, and the Leader of the Opposition mentioned his batting prowess. Well, also at one time he actually had a hat-trick—and that was the ball—during the Bendigo Country Week back in 1960. He was also a gun bowler, crucial to the Romsey Cricket Club, and a former president of the Gisborne District Cricket Association. So he was a great cricketer, as we have heard. Naomie presented Tom’s Lion’s number one ticket. Tom was a great fan, as we know, a diehard fan of Fitzroy and then the Brisbane Lions, ultimately serving as a director of the club. The status of the number one Victorian ticketholder certainly was a source of endless pride. He was also president of the Romsey Football Club. We have heard it was so important how at the big level and the local level he absolutely took part. Jo showed us the ‘Pa’s Bar’ sign that would hang on the wall above Tom’s drinks trolley. He loved a good drink. And his great-grandson, Max, who we have already heard about today, brought his special moon light. It was really a tribute to Max knowing where Pa was. Naomie told him Pa was going to be moving the moon across the sky, and so even if Max could not see the moon, this light would be how he would always know how Pa was doing.

For all of his achievements, Tom was always a family man at heart, and we saw that from the funeral, we saw that from his grandchildren and we saw that from the fitting tributes from his sons. He made a huge contribution to this state; he made a huge contribution to sport, racing and regional development; and most importantly, he made a huge contribution to his family. Vale, Tom Reynolds.

Ms McLEISH (Eildon) (11:02): As we have heard, Tom Reynolds was by all accounts—and I mean by all accounts—a great bloke. He was well liked, was very well respected, always seemed to be happy and was a man of great integrity. Born in Moe to farming parents, they moved to Bolinda. He primary schooled there, then went to secondary school at Kyneton, leaving, as many did, at the age of 15. We have heard he had a brief stint at Coles before he went off shearing. He started farming and shearing, and if people do not know about shearing, it is not always close by; you actually have to travel to where the work is. That saw him travelling to northern Victoria and western New South Wales for that shearing work.

As he married and started his own family and the children were young he stopped shearing because of the stresses and the strains from it all. And then with that stint at farming he moved into business, into the hardware store in Romsey. His community focus was evident, particularly through his roles at the hardware store, the petrol station business, sporting clubs and schools before he entered Parliament. He was in everything, and this is how he lived his life and maintained his life.

So many people had a lot of time for Tom. When I was elected the member for Seymour the people in and around Kilmore constantly talked about Tom Reynolds, and the way he conducted himself really resonated and still lived on at that time. As a small business owner he made the decision to enter politics, and I am told it did not matter what side of politics you were on, he would speak to everybody. His employees—and I spoke to some from his time at the hardware store at his memorial service—described him as a fantastic boss, and indeed his electoral staff also said that he was a fantastic boss. Not everybody has that ability to work with people and get the best out of them and for them to speak so highly of them so many years later. In gaining preselection for the Liberal Party he was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1979 as the member for Gisborne, and he stayed in that role for 20 years. As we have heard, they were big shoes to fill, because Athol Guy had that seat before him.

I was told that if Tom had stood for the Labor Party, he probably would have gotten elected as well because it was his popularity that really kept getting him over the line. A lot of Labor supporters perhaps did not admit it at the time but they did vote for him because he was a man of the people. I think that when you can build up that sort of reputation in your electorate and have that strong personal vote you have really done well. He had an open-door policy and, as we have heard, he was a person of the people. He was hardworking. He did not slow down. He had one gear, and people were worried that he would burn himself out because he just did not stop. His caravan, as we have heard from the Leader of The Nationals, if you see photos of it, it is nothing like the mod cons that we have today when people have vans. It was old, almost like a 1950s caravan that you would think was an ad for life on the road for young people heading out.

He was the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing from 1992 to 1996 and the Minister for Rural Development and Minister for Sport from 1996 to 1999, and these were portfolios that suited Tom perfectly. He promoted sport in Victoria throughout his career, and that was prior to politics, in politics and post politics. He was very strong on sport. He proposed the establishment of the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre and the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre Trust to operate that, and that is certainly a great legacy to have. He wanted it to be a top-class sporting facility available to the public and incorporating different sports, and it has been. It replaced the State Swimming Centre in Batman Avenue and really developed the precinct of Albert Park as a sporting facility.

As I have said, these portfolios he had as a minister suited him, particularly sport. It was a definite passion of Tom’s. He was an enthusiast, and sports and racing played to his strengths. Locally at Romsey he was described by the Gisborne and District Cricket Association president, Rob McIntyre, as a magnificent opening bat. He was a handy change bowler, bowling medium pace. He was president of the cricket club and the Gisborne and District Cricket Association. He had a long association. He was seven times president. He was Country Week captain, and I believe his best stint was 119. He was awarded life membership there. What has not been said is he did his bit as an umpire, and he quite enjoyed his time as an umpire. He was good, consistent, fastidious but I understand very tough on bowlers and very reluctant to give them an LBW. He played cricket at Romsey from the late 1950s until he entered Parliament.

He was also active in the football club as president of the Romsey football club. He was a long-time Fitzroy supporter, and he went on, when he moved to the Gold Coast, to become a director of the Brisbane Lions at the time that they had their incredible success. And racing—he got around to as many racing tracks as he could. We have heard that he had greyhounds, Liberal Victory and Liberal Magic, and he won a couple of races in Melbourne.

When Tom retired he maintained his interest in sport and in politics. He found the time in 2014 to launch Donna Petrovich’s campaign. He spent a couple of days with her in the electorate and relished the time at the saleyards in Kyneton—I can imagine, being quite familiar with saleyards, what a great environment that would have been for him. Tom and Helen moved to the Gold Coast to retire, and he replicated what he did down here up on the Gold Coast: he joined everything and was active in his community. As I have said, he was a director of the Brisbane Lions, but all of this time he kept his eye on what was happening at the Romsey Cricket Club and the Gisborne and District Cricket Association. His children were keen for Tom and Helen to move back to Victoria. They were pretty settled on the Gold Coast. He moved back for what was going to be a short time but ended up staying for quite some time, being locked up for that time and until his death, and I think a lot of people did not really realise how unwell Tom was.

It was indeed an honour and a pleasure to attend his state memorial, and it was so fitting that it was held at the MCG. I took pleasure in speaking to his family members and former employees, who really confirmed what everybody knew: Tom was one great bloke and left a terrific legacy. In his 85 years he lived a great life. My condolences to his wife, Helen, and sons, Thomas and Grant, and their families. Vale, Tom Reynolds.

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

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (11:11): I move:

That, as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Honourable Ronald (Bunna) Walsh and the late Honourable Tom Reynolds, the house now adjourns until 12.15 pm today.

Motion agreed to.

House adjourned 11.12 am.

The SPEAKER took the chair at 12.17 pm.