source : the age
By Dino Georgiou
PETRO GEORGIOU November 30, 1947-April 4, 2025
Petro Georgiou AO – who was buried following a ceremony in Carlton on April 24 – was a migrant, a loving son, brother, partner, father, grandfather, godfather, friend and inspiring voice for all.
He was a political warrior, responsible for major electoral successes and reforms within the Liberal Party. He changed the face of Australian politics, championing multiculturalism and giving a voice to refugees, with determination and integrity.
Petro was born in Corfu in 1947 and came to Australia in 1951, at the age of four. He was an exceptional student, gaining selection to Melbourne High School in 1962.
Presciently dubbed the “Greek volcano” by his peers and teachers because of his short temper and sharp tongue, Petro excelled at high school.
He received honours along with a commonwealth scholarship and the prestigious senior scholarship.
Petro proceeded to the University of Melbourne where he studied politics with his great mate Joe Szwarc and met important influential people such as Leon Peres, Tony Staley and Dr Colin Rubenstein, who would become a lifelong friend.
After completing his studies at university with first-class honours, Petro became a senior tutor in politics at La Trobe University in 1970.
Federal politics first beckoned in 1973 when Petro’s old mentor Tony Staley, who had been elected to the House of Representatives, encouraged him to interview for the role of senior adviser to opposition leader Malcolm Fraser.
Petro Georgiou receives the lifetime achievement award at a 2015 Migration Council Australia ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra.Credit: Penny Bradfield
According to Petro, the interview did not go well. He was convinced he hadn’t got the job because he disagreed with Fraser on a range of issues and predictably told him so, bluntly.
Ironically, the opposite was true with Fraser saying that he liked him precisely because he spoke his mind and argued with him. Petro was hired that same day.
Petro was on the floor of the House of Representatives advising Fraser during the dismissal, even delivering some of the Khemlani papers to Canberra as the coalition blocked supply.
During the Fraser years, Petro inspired the introduction of Australian multicultural policies, including the Galbally inquiry; the creation of a new Department of Immigration; the decision to accept tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees following the fall of Saigon; and the establishment of SBS television, a legacy that endures to this day.
He later became the director of the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs, where he brought together some of the best and brightest including Professor Louis Waller, Giancarlo Piovano-Martini, Professor Peter Sheldrake, Frank Galbally, Dr Spiro Moraitis, Dr Rubenstein and Joe Szwarc.
In the 1980s, the Victorian Liberal Party was reeling from the loss of long-term state and federal governments. The state party was outgunned, under-resourced and undermanned.
After working as a senior adviser to Andrew Peacock, Petro was appointed state director following the 1988 Victorian election loss.
He moved decisively, quickly transforming the Victorian secretariat into the most dynamic, uncompromising and successful political machine in the country.
Petro worked side by side with a young Ted Baillieu, at the time the vice-president and subsequently president of the Victorian Liberal Party. The two were to become lifelong friends.
For those who worked with Petro at Liberal Party headquarters, Petro demanded a 24/7 commitment, but he was also inspirational.
And so were the results.
Nine seats won in Victoria at the 1990 federal election. And then the 1992 “guilty party” election in which Jeff Kennett swept Labor from power.
In 1994, Petro was elected the Member for Kooyong and then re-elected five times before retiring at the 2010 election.
During his 16 years as a federal MP, he tackled issues with his trademark passion and integrity. Whether it was mandatory detention, laws for the Indigenous, reforms to anti-terrorism legislation, changes to the citizenship test, Australia’s voting system or the treatment of asylum seekers, Petro was a fierce advocate for the traditional values of the Liberal Party and human rights.
To some, he was considered the conscience of the Liberal Party.
Petro, who eschewed ceremony and was proud to describe himself as a “humble backbencher,” was locked in a two-year struggle with the prime minister to reform Australia’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. Eventually, Petro prevailed. The Howard government agreed to close refugee detention centres across Australia; release women and children in detention; and grant permanent residency to thousands of asylum seekers, many of whom had been in detention for years.
During one of the fiery parliamentary debates over refugees, Petro and Michael Kapel, Petro’s long-time adviser, consiglieri and friend were eating lunch in the parliamentary dining room when Gough Whitlam entered the room.
Gough saw Petro across the room and made a beeline towards his table.
“Petro,” he said, pointing his walking stick at him. “I know it was you with Fraser and those Khemlani papers in 1975. But I forgive you, my son. Keep up the fight for those refugees. You are a good man Petro.”
He received an AO in 2013 for distinguished service to the parliament of Australia, multiculturalism, human rights advocacy and the community.
He also accepted an appointment as professorial fellow at Monash University and the University of Melbourne.
Petro is survived by me and Martha, our children Alexander and Zoe; my sister Alexia and her husband Davide and son Gabriele; and Petro’s sisters Athina and Joanne together with his partner Roxanne.
Dino Georgiou is Petro Georgiou’s son.
