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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (28 June) . . Page.. 2101 ..
MR STANHOPE
(continuing):administrative law reform. He will be best remembered as a man of the law for his commitment to administrative law. He argued forcefully for a public service environment that embraced openness and did not use the freedom of information legislation as a shield.
His retirement from the public service simply meant he embarked on new career paths. He presided over the ACT Administrative Appeals Tribunal from its inception until 1998. He was Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. He was Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Wollongong, and a professorial fellow at the Australian National University, supervising graduate students.
Professor Curtis had a great and distinguished commitment to church, the law, the public service and the community, and he will be sorely missed.
Question resolved in the affirmative, members standing in their places.
MS CARNELL (Chief Minister): I move:
That this Assembly expresses its deep regret at the death of Gordon John Walsh, a former elected member of the ACT Advisory Council, Legislative Assembly for Canberra and House of Assembly for Canberra, and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.
Mr Speaker, it was with sadness that I learnt of the death of Gordon Walsh on Wednesday, 14 June this year at the age of 67. Gordon has an impressive record of serving the Canberra community and the Canberra region over a period of some 25 years as an elected representative of the people and as the holder of a number of senior public positions in the territory.
Born in Welling, Kent, in England, he emigrated to Australia in 1956. He joined the British Army at the age of 15 and graduated from the St Omer Military School as a catering instructor. He served in Singapore and in the Malaysian conflict, and his emigration followed a voyage to Australia as a ships cook.
In the years before self-government, Gordon was a member of the forerunners of the present Legislative Assembly. He was elected to the ACT Advisory Council in 1964, re-elected in 1967, and again in 1970. He was elected to the former Legislative Assembly for Canberra in 1974 and resigned in 1977. He was elected to the first House of Assembly for Canberra in 1979, and to the second House of Assembly in 1982. During this time, Gordon fought tirelessly to achieve self-government for the territory.
He will also be remembered for his work on social welfare issues and for his support and commitment to disadvantaged groups. He had a strong involvement with committees on these issues, including as a member of the ACT Child Welfare Committee from 1964 to 1968, as a member of the Select Committee on Poverty in 1982, and as a member of the Standing Committee on Health, Housing and Welfare in 1982. He also represented the
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