23 May, 1988 COUNCIL 349 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Monday, 23 May, 1988 The President took the chair at 10.30 a.m. The President offered the Prayers. DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE Dr RAYMOND WILLIAM ASTON, B.D.S., D.Orth., R.C.S., M.P., MINISTER FOR CORRECTIVE SERVICES The Hon. E. P. PICKERING (Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Vice-president of the Executive Council) [10.32]: I move: That this House desires to express and to place on record its deep sense of the loss sustained to the State and the Parliament of New South Wales in the removal by death of the Honourable Dr Raymond William Aston, B.D.S., D.Orth., R.C.S., M.P., Minister for Corrective Services, and that this resolution be communicated to the family of the deceased. Mr President, honourable members, it is with great sadness that I move this condolence motion today. The sudden and premature death of Dr Aston, the honourable member for Vaucluse and Minister for Corrective Services, came as a shock to all. It is indeed a tragedy that a man with so much to give should be taken from us at the dawn of what, no doubt, would have been a long and distinguished parliamentary career. Dr Aston was educated at Christian Brothers, Waverley, and at the University of Sydney, from where he graduated in 1968 with a degree in dental surgery. He supplemented this degree with study overseas, resulting in 1975 in his gaining a Diploma in Orthodontics from the Royal College of Surgeons, London. Until recently Dr Aston's orthodontic practice was at Bondi Junction. He also had practices at Port Macquarie and at Cootamundra, where his standard of dentistry was highly regarded and appreciated in a country area, where specialist skills are not always readily available. Dr Aston joined the Liberal Party in 1977 and became metropolitan vice-president of the party. His involvement in the party goes back a long way before his preselection and subsequent election as the member for Vaucluse in 1986. It will be of significance to honourable members that Dr Aston was a candidate for the Legislative Council in 1984. He was chairman of the electorate assistance committee for the Liberal Party at the last State election. This was an enormous task in which he made a substantial contribution towards the Government's victory in March. He was campaign manager for the seat of Waverley and he always kept a high profile in the eastern region of Sydney. Dr Aston's father, the Honourable Sir William Aston, K.C.M.G., was the member for the federal seat of Phillip from 1955 to 1972 and during this time was Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Gorton and McMahon Governments. In his spare time Dr Aston sailed and played golf and tennis. He was a former commodore of the Royal Motor Yacht Club at Rose Bay. Dr Aston had already made a substantial contribution in a very difficult portfolio, which is crucial to this new Government's commitment to law and order. 350 COUNCIL 23 May, 1988 On behalf of my Liberal Party colleagues and the Government of New South Wales our sincere condolences are extended to Sir William and Lady Aston, to Dr Aston's sisters, Margaret and Anne, to his former wife, Patty, and to his fiancee, Kathy Mayson. Dr Aston died at the age of 44. He will be greatly missed. The Hon. J. R. HALLAM (Leader of the Opposition) 110.351: I join with the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council in expressing, on behalf of the Opposition in this Chamber, sympathy and condolence to the family of the late the Hon. Dr Raymond William Aston. I had neither the pleasure nor the honour of meeting Dr Aston but many members of my party who did so informed me that he was a cordial and warm human being. Clearly he was highly regarded by the Premier of New South Wales. On the election of Dr Aston as the member for Vaucluse the Premier stated that Dr Aston had great potential and would rise to high office in the parliament. That prediction, of course, proved to be the case because on the assumption of Government the Premier appointed Dr Aston as Minister for Corrective Services. Dr Aston had a great interest in, and a thorough knowledge of, politics; it was part of his family background. This morning, before preparing my notes to speak to this motion, I read the maiden speech of Dr Aston, in which he concentrated particularly on the area of health, which, perhaps, is somewhat ironic. Clearly such an unexpected and tragic death, at such a young age, sharpens the clarity of one's thinking on the value of life. Dr Aston was the son of Sir William Aston, who was the federal member for Phillip from 1955 to 1972 and the Speaker in the House of Representatives for both the Gorton and McMahon Governments. The Leader of the Government in this House has traversed some of Dr Aston's involvement in State politics, not the least being his holding the office of vice president of the Liberal Party for a considerable number of years. It is patently obvious that Dr Aston was well grounded in politics, his chosen second profession. Regrettably he will not have the opportunity to exercise those skills for the benefit of the community at large. Dr Aston was patron of Double Bay Public School, was involved in many activities in the Woollahra area, and enjoyed such pursuits as sailing, golf and tennis. I reiterate the Opposition's regret at Dr Aston's passing and express deepest sympathies to the members of his family. The Won. R. B. ROWLAND SMITH (Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing) [10.39]: I join with the Leader of the Government in this House and the Leader of the Opposition in this very sad condolence on the untimely death of our colleague and friend Ray Aston. Death is always untimely. In this instance it was tragic, as Ray was in the prime of his life. After the great success of 19th March he took on the challenge of the very difficult portfolio of corrective services. He was anxious to get on with the job of tackling problems in that area. His passing should be a salutary lesson to all of us, who have a great responsibility to the people of this State, to keep fit, but at the same time try to relax wherever and whenever that is possible. Ray was a fine man with a dry sense of humour. He was always good company and was highly respected by his friends and colleagues. His sudden death came as a great shock to those closely associated with him-but none more so than his fiancee, Kathy, and his immediate family. Our sincere sympathy goes out to Sir William and Lady Aston, Ray's fiancee Kathy, his sisters Margaret and Anne, and Patty, his wife by a previous marriage. On behalf of the members of the National Party in this Chamber, .I extend sincere sympathy to all those people. 23 May, 1988 COUNCIL 351 The Hon. ELISABETH KIRKBY [10.40]: It is very difficult for me to express fully my feelings about the sad and untimely death of the Hon. Ray Aston because, like the Leader of the Opposition, I had never met Ray Aston during his time in this Parliament but, he and his family were known to the wife of my colleague the Hon. Richard Jones. I know that members of my party who lived in his electorate have a very high opinion of him, although his political philosophy was different from theirs. For someone of that age to die so suddenly is the greatest shock that any family can sustain. Ray's death must be a profound shock to his parents, who have devoted their lives to community service and to parliament. Though I never knew Dr Aston personally, I have been asked on behalf of my colleagues to express very sincere sympathy to the family of Ray Aston, his previous wife, and his fiancee. On behalf of the Australian Democrats I add condolences on this very sad motion. Reverend the Won. F. J. NILE [10.42]: On behalf of Call to Australia I add sincere support for the motion of condolence moved by the Leader of the Government and supported by the Leader of the Opposition concerning the unexpected and tragic death of the Hon. Raymond William Aston, Minister for Corrective Services and member for Vaucluse, at the relatively young age of 44 years. During the Vaucluse by-election I had the opportunity to meet Ray Aston and have a number of discussions with him. I was most impressed with Ray Aston as a true gentleman and a caring person. I was also able to meet his father and establish a friendship with him. As has already been stated, Sir William Aston held a number of prominent leadership positions. I was impressed with the family's genuine concern for the true good and welfare of the people of New South Wales. There is no doubt that Ray Aston's unexpected commissioning as Minister for Corrective Services placed him in one of the most stressful and difficult positions in the new Cabinet. However, he approached his portfolio with diligence and a real desire to achieve a balance between justice and mercy as he pursued his ministerial duties. He sought my assistance and that of our group on those important duties.