S. W. Stephens, The Advertiser, May 14, 1966, p. 2.

CANBERRA, May 13.

Back in 1958 a quiet, almost shy, man — or so he seemed at the time — entered the House of Representatives, faced with the daunting task of succeeding Sir Philip McBride as member for the SA electorate of Wakefield.

The reaction of those who did not know the new member, Mr. “Bert” Kelly, well, was that he was unlikely to make an impact in the rough-and-tumble of the Federal battleground.

How wrong they were. Today he is one of the personalities of the Parliament — the man, who, according to some of his colleagues, has converted the House of Representatives into “Kelly country.”

Few members making their maiden speech have been more nervous.

But those who read it afterwards — and progressively became better acquainted with his approach — realised that he was a man of sincerity, whose interest as a farmer-politician in national problems ranged far more widely than those of primary producers, although obviously they rank high in his considerations.

Pattern
Brief as his maiden speech was, it set the pattern for his role in the Parliament as a crusader for what he would describe as a “wise system of tariff protection.”

Today he is one of the most vocal members of the house, and although he would be the first to admit that he is no orator, he has developed into a debater of no mean ability.

In 1962 he set out to make 16 speeches on one group of tariff proposals as a protest against the policy trend they embodied. He would have completed his marathon effort if he had had time.

His interest — some would say it is an obsession — in tariff-making was home-generated.

His father, Mr. W. S. Kelly, was a member of the Tariff Board from 1929 to 1940 and held strong views on the shaping of the tariff structure.

Interest
Discussions in the family sparked off young “Bert” Kelly’s interest and set him on the way to undertaking years later in the Parliament the “hard, slogging” task of seeking acceptance of what he feels should be the national approach to tariff-making.

The obstacles are enormous, but he has produced one significant result — his dogged campaign has provoked Parliament into giving greater attention to tariff measures and their implications.

Mr. Kelly is not a free trader — although some of his opponents would accuse him of this — but an advocate of protection of economic and efficient industries.

He takes some issue with the Government on the ground that it seeks to be “loved by everybody by wanting to protect every Australian industry.”

A focal point of his criticism has been the role played by the Trade and Industry Department in shaping tariff policy in face of Tariff Board decisions — and a concentration point this session has been Government policy on the car industry.

He insisted that it is a “dangerous” precedent for Government officials to be given the power to say what form protection should take.

In his persistent attacks on tariff policy he has been fortified by the support given his views by the Vernon Committee of Enquiry into the Australian Economy.

Mr. Kelly is respected on both sides of the House, his most recent speech promoting an SA Labor member, Mr. Mortimer, who followed him, to say that he complimented Mr. Kelly on his “tenacity in dealing with tariff matters and the forthright way in which he goes about his speeches dealing with them.”

Understandably, Mr. Kelly’s views have not endeared him to the Country Party leader and Minister for Trade (Mr McEwen), who has played a dominant role in Government decision-making on tariffs.

Supporters
But, within the Liberal Party, Mr. Kelly has supporters and there is reason to believe that some Liberal Ministers have encouraged him to continue his crusade.

Significantly, his appointment as assistant Government Whip was not made conditional on his agreeing to cease criticising tariff policy.

His friends know that he would not have accepted on such a condition.

Selection as a whip has, in several instances, opened the way into the Federal Ministry and there are indications that this could happen also in the case of Mr. Kelly.

He was among those considered by Mr. Holt when he formed his first Ministry early this year.

The Prime Minister made it clear then that he planned a reconstruction later, and it looks as if this will take place after the House of Representatives’ election in November, assuming, of course as most observers do, that the Holt Government is returned.