Kim: a lesson in the power of parental attention

G’day. It’s probably hard for you to think of any politician as Humble but today’s hero is mum, with a special focus on the mother of none other than Kim Beazley. I interviewed Kim for my “Who‘d be a parent” book in his Sydney office when he was Federal Opposition leader. Regardless of party politics, Kim was a very impressive man. In fact probably one of the most impressive of the many, many famous faces I have caught up with in my many years in the media. We both loved cricket so we got on famously.

My question to Kim had been “what was the secret behind his success?” His roar was because he said he felt so much a failure on so many fronts so often – rarely, he said, would he go to bed satisfied that he had fulfilled his responsibilities – if he had done the right thing as a parent, chances are he had neglected his party, or his politics or policy. When I asked the question again, and he sensed I was serious, he looked reflectively up to the skies and said ”the top three factors in my life have been my mother’s attention, second would be my mother’s attention and the third would be my mother’s attention!

My mother was a very strong influence in my background, basically she was a supportive influence, if ever there was something I wanted to do, she was right in there behind it. And so she was a strong mother, a good one, a very busy one, and I was damn lucky.”

That got me reflecting on what motivated me and helped me handle difficult cases and I would have to say the same thing. It was mum’s attention and I know my brothers all felt the same. She wasn’t a good cook, or cleaner, we had no car, no money, she never went to see me play sport but we all knew where we were in her heart.

In today’s busy world that is not always possible, and I could tell you just as many stories about dads’ hard yards and unconditional love, often against incredible odds, that have inspired me so much. Aldous Huxley once said that “parenting is the last province of the amateur” – we may have difficult kids, difficult partners, difficult circumstances and we all feel a total failure at times, with no answers to the overwhelming challenges facing us every day, but if the kids are confident where they sit in our hearts, the rest can be repaired and recovered and rekindled with that great elixir, time. Experience is a nice word we give to our mistakes – swallow deep, hug hard and get back in the saddle!

I’m writing this story for Mothers’ Day and my humble heroes are all those mums who’ve given so much for so many years, often for so little thanks – but so many of us are the beneficiaries of that selfless love. Thank you.