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A personal tribute to Hon Kevin Andrews — a man who loved his wife, his family, his nation and his God.

My wife and I were shocked to hear the news on the afternoon of Saturday, 14 December 2024, that our dear friend Kevin Andrews had died that morning. It was only seven days earlier that we were with him and his wife Margie in their home in Heidelberg Heights, Melbourne. We went to visit him and prayed for his healing.

Kevin graciously came down the stairs to meet us and walked back up the stairs, where we sat down together in the living room. He looked a bit thin and was obviously weak. In hindsight, I don’t know how he came up and down the stairs, but he did it. The cancer obviously caused Kevin great pain, but he did not show it.

Kevin courageously welcomed our prayers and Bible readings with his trademark words, “Good Warwick good!” I was struck by his quiet resolve. Kevin was ready to die, but he had work to complete. Until his last breath he would serve God with his all and love his family with his best!

A State Funeral was held for Kevin on Monday, 23 December 2024, at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne. You can watch the funeral below.

Kevin Andrews’ Long List of Accomplishments

Kevin gave Alison and I a beautiful book he had written about his local Catholic Church called A Mission to Evangelise: The Heidelberg Mission and St John the Evangelist. It was short history of the church, which was started in 1848. The book was written with great joy and passion which was hard for Kevin to disguise. God was always his first love!

Along with Kevin and Margie, my wife and I share a deep passion for marriage — indeed, that is how we first became friends.

In the years since, Alison and I have taught many marriage seminars and together produced the now famous Australian edition of 21 Reasons Why Marriage Matters.

However, Kevin and Margie put us to shame. They have hosted pre-marriage counselling sessions with 10,000 couples over the last 45 years. During most of those sessions, Kevin was a busy parliamentarian — and for most of his time in parliament he was at ministerial level, where the workload is unimaginable. At the risk of repetition, God was truly his first love.

In the middle of all that, Kevin also found time to write a 480-page book on marriage called Maybe ‘I Do’: Modern Marriage and the Pursuit of Happiness (2012). For context, that book had over 1,500 academic footnotes. Famed marriage counsellor Dr Harville Hendrix said of it, “This book is an encyclopaedic volume citing research data for the past 40 years that documents the importance of marriage for the married couple, their children and society.”

In fact, this is just one of the many books and articles Kevin has written. Most academics would be jealous of his scholarly output. Additionally, Margie — with support from Kevin — was publishing Marriage Threshold magazine for many decades, which was the premium national magazine for marriage educators. Suffice to say, what most people see of Kevin and Margie’s prodigious work output is just the tip of the iceberg.

And did I mention the Kevin Andrews holds the record as the longest-serving “Father of the House”. Kevin notched up almost 31 years of unbroken service in the federal parliament. I predict this is a record that will not be broken quickly.

Kevin and Margie’s Amazing Marriage

I once asked a friend, who had a wonderful, long and fruitful marriage, what the key was to such marital success. His response was quick: “A forgiving wife.” Kevin always told me he could not have done the many things he had done without his loving wife Margie. I bet you if I prodded him, he too would have spoken about having a forgiving wife.

In the Catholic faith, marriage is one of the sacraments. I am a Protestant, but I believe my Catholic brothers have a point. Kevin and Margie exemplified the holy nature of the marital union as an example of Christ and the church, as the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5:32. Together, Kevin and Margie Andrews were a powerhouse team for the greater good of faith, marriage, family and the people of Australia.

Kevin and Margie did so much together. They were avid cyclists and went away on many cycling holidays around Australian and in Europe. Kevin even wrote a book about cycling called Great Rivalries: Cycling and the Story of Italy (2019).

Amongst all of the above, Kevin and Margie raised five very successful children, four of whom are now married. They also have seven grandchildren. The Andrews are a very close and loving family, and Christmas will no doubt be sad this year without the family patriarch.

‘A Good and Faithful Servant’

Let me share an excerpt from my good friend Monica Doumit from the Catholic Weekly. Her brilliant article titled, ‘Kevin Andrews a man of faith and a “good and faithful servant”‘ is most revealing:

Kevin Andrews was a man of deep faith and conviction and leaves behind a legacy of dedicated service to Australia.

When I heard the news of his death, my thoughts focused on a singular aspect of this legacy, the “Andrews bill.”

As many readers would already be aware, in 1995 the Northern Territory became the first jurisdiction anywhere in the world to pass a law allowing euthanasia. The law was in operation for nine months, with four people using its provisions to access lethal drugs to end their lives.

In 1996, Kevin Andrews, a Liberal backbencher who had only been in parliament five years, tabled a private members’ bill aimed at using the federal parliament’s power under section 122 of the constitution to make laws relating to the territories to override the Northern Territory’s euthanasia law. The bill provided that neither the Northern Territory nor the Australian Capital Territory were competent to pass a law that would permit euthanasia or assisted suicide in any form and any attempt to do so would be ineffective.

He was successful, and on 24 March 1997, the Senate narrowly voted to pass the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 and the Northern Territory’s euthanasia regime came to an immediate end. History records that Philip Nitschke was so enraged by the bill’s passage that he burnt a copy of it at the door of parliament house. Despite the law now having a name — the Euthanasia Laws Act — it continues to be referred to as the Andrews bill to this day.

As I thought about the Andrews bill, I began to try and calculate how many lives it saved…

I would not be surprised if the Andrews bill meant that Australia was spared some 10,000 euthanasia deaths in the last 25 years, all because of one man and his bill.

There are many other pro-life, pro-family aspects to the legacy of Kevin Andrews, but even if the Andrews bill was the only thing he ever did, it would have been a political career well spent. I can imagine Kevin not only being greeted by at the pearly gates by St Peter or embraced by the Lord Jesus as a “good and faithful servant,” but also being warmly and joyfully welcomed by those who might otherwise have taken their own lives if not for the Andrews bill. What a legacy!

May God grant Kevin eternal rest and grant us many more politicians in his mould.

Kevin Andrews’ Political Legacy

Kevin Andrews made world history in organising the defeat of the evil bill referred to above by Monica. He worked closely with Labor Party colleagues across the aisle in order to do so. Keven was never a pure Liberal Party man — rather, he worked across the political divide and always for the greater good.

And it shows. Within hours of his death, Kevin’s wife Margie received phone calls from Labor MP Bill Shorten and the Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was already promising a State Funeral even at that early stage. Both former Liberal Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard also called within hours of Kevin’s passing.

Prime Minster Anthony Albanese said of Kevin Andrews, “He was always very personable to deal with across the parliament… He could have strong views but always put them forward in a polite and appropriate way, and he’s someone who is respected for that across the parliament.”

Bill Shorten, a former Labor leader who came close to becoming a Labor Prime Minister, said Andrews was “a gentleman who wore his faith with pride. While we were opposed on many political fronts, I respected that he always fought for his values; what you saw was what you got.”

Former Prime Minister John Howard said Andrews was “a devoted family man who always placed the welfare of his family ahead of all other considerations”.

Former Prime Minster Scott Morrison wrote, “Kevin was a selfless public servant who lived his sincere faith through his devotion to his wife, Margie, and his family, his passion for the Liberal Party and his patriotism for our country.”

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull who ignobly sacked Kevin as Minister of Defence, said Mr Andrews was a “champion for his faith and his conservative values. His untimely passing has shocked us but as we mourn him, we should remember and honour the strength of his convictions, even those we may not have shared.”

Former Prime Minster Tony Abbott said, “Kevin’s strong sense of duty and service, his human decency and common sense, made him an adornment to our public life and an exemplar for future generations. Kevin was honourably and consistently committed to the sanctity of human life. He understood the critical difference between declining to keep alive someone who would otherwise be dead and deliberately killing someone who would otherwise be alive.”

‘May the Saints and Angels Go Out to Welcome Kevin’

The Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli, who will be officiating at the State Funeral on Monday (see details below) along with up to 50 Catholic priests, said of Kevin:

There were three dimensions to Kevin’s life that were quite extraordinary. He was:

A man of deep and remarkable faith.
A man committed wholeheartedly to marriage and family; and
A man of dedicated public service.

May the Saints and angels go out to welcome Kevin, this good and faithful servant, to eternal life. My prayers are with Margie and family at this time.

So are the prayers of the people of faith across Australia from all churches — Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal. We salute a departed hero in the faith who, as the Salvation Army eloquently put it, has been, “Promoted to Glory!”

Kevin Andrews’ Last (Written) Words

Let me finish with what I believe are Kevin’s last words in book form that reveal his deep love for God. His book A Mission to Evangelise: The Heidelberg Mission and St John the Evangelist was only officially released 11 days before his death. We know a last man’s words are important, so let us hear them together.

In the conclusion of his book, which documents the history of his local Catholic church, Kevin writes the following:

Writing in the acts of the Apostles, Luke reminded Christians of their mission to evangelise: “You are to be witnesses in Jerusalem and throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

The parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) reminds Christians that their abilities and skills should not be hidden under a bush. The very essence of Christianity is to love our neighbour. This is not an abstract notion but involves a real effort to reach out and support those around us. In the words of the St John the Evangelist Parish Prayer, this means especially ‘The stranger, the needy, the sick and the lonely.’

The historic and continuing mission of the parish [my translation: believers everywhere] is to evangelise.

Watch the State Funeral for Hon Kevin Andrews

A State Funeral for the Honourable Kevin Andrews took place at 11.00 am on Monday 23 December 2024 at St Patrick’s Cathedral, 1 Cathedral Place, Melbourne, Victoria.

Family, friends, representatives of organisations and members of the public were invited to attend the State Funeral.

The State Funeral is available to view in the video at the top of this article. You can also access it here.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Villa Maria Catholic Homes. Online condolences can be made here.