Hansard debates

Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (10:19): Today I pay tribute to an icon of the Ballarat and Australian business community, Mr David Henry Haymes. Mr Haymes died last week aged 77, leaving behind a legacy of achievement—a legacy to business across Australia but most importantly a legacy to the Ballarat community and to those who had the fortune of his time and generous wisdom.

David Haymes grew the family paint business to become Australia’s leading Australian-made and family-owned paint manufacturer. Haymes Paint started in 1935, and David has steered it eloquently into the hands of the fourth generation. It continues to believe in local investment and despite the current business anxiety in Victoria is building a multimillion-dollar flagship store in Ballarat’s CBD. A telling line from one of the company’s well-known advertisements, in which we hear David speak of paint flowing through his veins, is this:

To me it’s quite simple. It’s a very simple philosophy: you get what you pay for. And I think that’s true in everything in life.

David Haymes reminds us that honesty and integrity are evergreen and that aiming to be your best and striving for the best are key. Today we need more people in the world like David Haymes. It is no surprise that in 2002 he was handed an honorary doctorate of business from the University of Ballarat, now Federation University. He was a man of our times and for our times, caring as much for our history as our future. My condolences to his wife, Jenny, and children, Belinda, Matthew and Tim. Vale, David Henry Haymes.