Bob Collins

Robert Lindsay "Bob" Collins (8 February 1946 — 21 September 2007) was an Australian politician, and the first Territorian member to hold a federal ministerial portfolio. 

Born in Newcastle, Collins moved to the Northern Territory after leaving school at 15. He worked for St. John Ambulance when Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin. Collins became interested in politics while living in Maningrida in the 1970s, and was convinced to run for the bush seat of Arnhem; he won it for Labor with a 65% majority. In 1981, he became Leader of the Opposition, a position he held until 1986 when he withdrew from Territorian politics to focus on election to the Senate. (Collins, n.d.) During his time as Leader of the Opposition Collins championed Indigenous rights - lobbying to return Uluru to the traditional owners - and was also a fierce advocate for the exoneration of Lindy Chamberlain (Schubert, 2007).

Elected to the Australian Senate in 1987 to represent the Northern Territory, Collins was a Cabinet minister under the Hawke and Keating governments (Barker, 2007). Collins stated that as a Catholic and in deference to his wife's Aboriginal culture he was personally against euthanasia (Brennan, 2007), but respected Marshall Perron's conviction in introducing the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (Legal and Constitutional Legislative Committee, 1997). Despite his personal reservations, Collins supported Senator Grant Tambling in campaigning against the Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996; while Tambling was pro-euthanasia, Collins argued the case for the Territorian right to self-legislate ("The last rights", 1997). He is quoted as saying "I would much prefer the Northern Territory to be governed by the worst of all possible administrations in the Northern Territory, which is precisely what we have, than the best of all possible administrations in Canberra. That is strongly my view." (Brennan, 2007).

After a battle with cancer and facing historical child sexual abuse charges, Collins committed suicide in Darwin on 21 September 2007. He is survived by his wife Rosemary and their three children (Schubert, 2007; Brennan, 2007). 

Barker, A. (2007, September 21). Former Labor senator Bob Collins dead at 61 [radio transcript]. ABC Radio. https://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s2040299.htm

Brennan, F. (2007, 29 September). Bob Collins, larger than life Labor minister [eulogy]. Eureka Street. https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/bob-collins--larger-than-life-labor-minister

Collins, B. [n.d.] Interviews with Bob Collins [audio file] [archived]. Northern Territory Library. https://web.archive.org/web/20070423214234/http://www.ntlib.nt.gov.au/tracy/advanced/Cyc_Tracy.html

Legal and Constitutional Legislative Committee. (1997, January 24). Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996. Parliament of Australia. https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommbill%2Flcomw970124a_slc.out%2F0008%22

Schubert, M. (2007, September 22). Ex-MP dies under cloud of charges. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/national/ex-mp-dies-under-cloud-of-charges-20070922-ge5vsq.html?page=2

The last rights. (1997, March 29). Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-last-rights-19970329-gdfbop.html