This site © Matt Watts 2000-2006.matt_watts@bigpond.com.au This site was last updated 17 April 2006. This site does not necessarily reflect the view/s of any organisation/s and/or individual/s with which Matt Watts is associated.
Robert Nestdale was a man of high and absolutely resolute principle, a rare commodity by today's standards. He believed passionately in the cause of freedom and human dignity, and pursued those causes single mindely all his life. He was one of those rare individuals for whom principle was not negotiable.
He also believed in the Liberal Party, which to him was a philosophical and political guardian of liberal democracy in Australia. Robert is fondly remembered as one of the most "socially conscious" members that the NSW Liberal Party has even known.
A prominent Young Liberal, Robert was never concerned about speaking out against the senior party during his time as NSW State President and then Federal Vice-President of the Young Liberals.
It has been said by those who knew Robert well, that he lived his life in service for others. His tireless work, even in his final days, for children and preventable diseases is a testimony to his.
One of Robert's oldest friends Phillip Ruddock MP, said "Robert took Edmund Bourke's dictum to heart, that 'All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men should do nothing'".
Robert Nestdale died from AIDS at an early age, but not before carving out a special niche for himself within the NSW Liberals. His work as Director of UNICEF Australia stood him in good stead to argue the social policy line, and earned him a reputation as a fearless advocate for the underprivileged.
After his death, Robert Nestdale's extensive collection of books were donated to the Young Liberal Movement, and the Robert Nestdale Memorial Library was established in the NSW State Secretariat. Subjects covered in Nestdale's collection include human rights, environment, economics, liberalism, socialism, communism and many more.
This lecture series was created to lift our eyes above contemporary domestic political topics. In the tradition of Robert Nestdale, it was hoped concentrate on some of the international issues that are ignored due to the consuming nature of domestic politics.
Unfortunately, the Young Liberal Movement has ceased its administration of the annual Robert Nestdale Memorial Oration. Perhaps the present neo-conservativism of the party, and the numbers of weak-minded who bow down to other people's opinions, is to blame. Thanks to the tremendous help of The Hon Catherine Cusack MLC, however, the Oration was successfully held in 2004 after a request by the Ryde Young Liberals. Here's hoping that common sense prevails, and that one day the NSW Young Liberals will cease being a bastion of factional infighting to adopt a more outward-looking and progressive stance.
This site © Matt Watts 2000-2006.matt_watts@bigpond.com.au
This site was last updated 17 April 2006.
This site does not necessarily reflect the view/s of any organisation/s and/or individual/s with which Matt Watts is associated.