Sussan Ley, Federal Minister for the Environment, joins Luke Grant to pay tribute to former Nationals leader & deputy prime minister who died yesterday after a long battle with cancer.

 

Ms Ley said Mr Fischer’s passing marked an “end of an era”.

“He was a mentor to me after I became his successor ... he passed on much wisdom about our people and their needs in a way that was deeply personal.

“Much will be said about his professional achievements today but I remember the family man, at the Lockhart Show, with his boys, enjoying a snag and chatting about trains and planes around the barbecue.”

Timothy Andrew Fischer, AC, was born 3 May 1946 and served as leader of the National Party from 1990 to 1999 and Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 to 1999.

 

Born in Lockhart NSW, Fischer served with the Australian Army in the Vietnam War and upon his return he bought a farming property at Boree Creek.

 

He served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1971 to 1984 and was elected to the House of Representative at the 1984 election, representing the Division of Farrer until his retirement in 2001.

 

In 1990, he replaced 

Charles Blunt as leader of the National Party in 1990 and in the Howard Government served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade.

After leaving politics, Fischer served as chairman of Tourism Australia from 2004 to 2007 and later as the Ambassador to the Holy See from 2009 to 2012.