The former National party leader Tim Fischer has died aged 73.
Fischer, deputy prime minister in the Howard government from 1996 to 1999, had acute leukaemia and cancer for 10 years before his death on Thursday.
Fischer was a second lieutenant in the Australian army before entering the New South Wales parliament in 1971, aged 24.
He made the switch to federal politics in 1984 as the member for the NSW seat of Farrer, and served as Nationals leader from 1990 to 1999, the last three years as deputy prime minister and trade minister.
Fischer supported John Howard in staring down angry rural constituents during the introduction of Australia’s tough gun laws following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
He quit politics in 2001.
In May 2019, when he opened a museum dedicated to his life at his birthplace of Lockhart, near Wagga Wagga, Fischer revealed he was hoping for a remission.
“Almost in remission, not quite. I am just uplifted by this nice gallery,” he said at the time.
The deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, said Australia had “lost one of its finest … a giant of the National party”.
The Nationals federal president, Larry Anthony, described Fischer as an “unexpected leader” who brought the party back into government as the Coalition partner of the Liberals and built it to its “highest representation under his stewardship”.
“He had a particular personality,” Anthony told the ABC. “He was a bit quirky, but he had a great affinity and connection to people, and I think … he was able to bridge the gap between not just our traditional people but [those] on the other side, and that made him a unique person in Australian politics.”
Queensland Nationals MP Keith Pitt last spoke to Fischer a few days ago.
“He was his usual pragmatic self. His passing is a great loss for his family, the Nationals and the nation,” he said.
Politicians from all parties, journalists and others who had worked with Fischer were quick to pay tribute on social media. The prime minister, Scott Morrison, described him as “a big Australian in every sense of the word”.
Morrison put out a fuller statement saying Australians loved Fischer because he “walked his own path with honesty and humility”. He nominated Fischer’s support for Howard’s gun control measures as his finest moment in politics. The prime minister said Fischer’s family had been offered a state funeral.
The former prime minister Tony Abbott described Fischer as “a great Australian character who made a fine contribution to our public life”.
“He was an extraordinarily effective leader of the National party, an excellent parliamentarian and a warm and genial colleague,” Abbott said on Twitter.
Joe Hockey, Australia’s ambassador to the United States, paid tribute to his legacy.
“Any Australian that is grateful for our gun laws can thank Tim Fischer for his courage at that time. Generations to come will owe him a great debt. We will miss you mate,” Hockey tweeted.
The former Labor leader Bill Shorten described Fischer as a “doting dad and parent-carer, General Monash advocate, veteran, public servant, good Australian”.
The former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard said Fischer was “a good bloke, a character and a high-achiever”.
Many journalists recalled Fischer’s willingness and capacity to talk at length on the policy questions that engaged him, and his generosity to young reporters.