Mr Barry Cohen, the long-serving Member for the Federal electorate of Robertson, and former Hawke Government Minister died on December 18, 2017, in his nursing home.
A memorial service was held at Old Parliament House in Canberra, and was attended by Prime Ministers past and present.
Barry was known dearly by many people on the Central Coast, most recently for his enormous effort in establishing the Calga (Walkabout) Wildlife Park, largely with the proceeds of his own parliamentary superannuation. A passion for saving Australian native fauna and flora was but one of his environmental causes, having been Federal Environment Minister from 1983-87. Others included securing the Tasmanian World Heritage listing and protecting the Great Barrier Reef, as well as Uluru and Kakadu. Many remember him during his 21 years as Labor Member for Robertson, first entering Parliament in 1969 and retiring in 1990, as a fierce and funny campaigner.
Barry worked hard on securing funding for many local projects and infrastructure. Most notably schools, pools and roads, first as a backbencher in the Whitlam Government, then in opposition, and later as a Minister in the Hawke government. He had a great love of Rugby Union, having played at his high school in Griffi the. He helped establish the first Rugby Union Club on the Central Coast in the 1970s. Barry was a great believer in social justice and the power of laughter to unite people. He was an early advocate for Aboriginal rights, using his position to push for the handing back of land to traditional owners. Barry had the enormous energy for social causes and found time to write as a columnist for many papers, most notably The Bulletin and The Australian, though also for his local Central Coast Express Advocate.
He also wrote several books, his favourite subject is the life or Gough Whitlam, on which he penned four books. The first, ‘Life with Gough’, was a humorous bestseller. Cohen would often mimic Gough in an overbearing voice at any occasion that warranted, in public or private. Among his other achievements, Cohen set up the National Film and Sound Archive and Questacon.
Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, remembered Mr Cohen at the memorial, praising “his ability to blend frivolity with the deepest and most heartfelt sincerity. “He used humour to connect with people, the Australians whose interests he worked tirelessly to advocate,” Mr Turnbull said.
The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said: “Alongside his passion for public service, his determination to eliminate discrimination and his belief in the Labor Party as an engine for progress and fairness, Barry also had an enduring faith in the restorative power of laughter.” Former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, spoke warmly of his commitment to South West Tasmania. “Barry had visited this beautiful, majestic area, and knew precisely what was at stake, not from being told by bureaucrats, but from his own committed personal observation,” Mr Hawke said.
At the memorial, his son Stewart spoke of his father’s “driving force” as serving the community. “He did not get into politics just because he thought it would be a career option. “He wasn’t a lawyer, a party hack or a union rep. “He came from a time when more ordinary folk offered themselves for election, to contribute.” Stuart also spoke of his father’s grandfather, Moshe Cohen’s escape to Australia via England from Poland, “at a time when it was very bleak for Jews across Eastern Europe. “The remainder of the family was wiped out by the Nazis, a feeling my father felt to his core”, and explained his father’s deep defence of the State of Israel. Stuart spoke of the sadness at his father’s mental decline. “In his final two years, after being diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s, what was most distressing was seeing a giant reduced to a shadow, a sliver of his former self.” Barry fought hard in his final years to raise funds and the profile for sufferers of Alzheimer’s, often writing with the able assistance of son, Adam. Barry Cohen is survived by his wife, Rae, sons Adam, Stuart and Martin, daughter-in-law Annette, and his three grandchildren.
Source: David Abrahams, Killcare