At the inaugural Light on the Hill dinner in 1985, then-prime minister Bob Hawke compared Ben Chifley's "great sophistication, subtlety and complexity of intellect" to that of Abraham Lincoln.
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The dinner has since grown into a key annual event on the Australian Labor Party's [ALP] calendar, celebrating the legacy of Ben Chifley, who served as prime minister from 1945 to 1949.
This year's event, to be held on Saturday, September 28 at Panthers Bathurst, will feature shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers as guest speaker.
ALP Bathurst Branch president Sue West said Dr Chalmers will be one of the key figures to watch in the future.
"Dr Chalmers was only elected to parliament in 2013, yet he was appointed to the Labor frontbench during his first term," Ms West said.
"While Kevin Rudd was prime minister, Dr Chalmers worked under former treasurer Wayne Swan, who helped steer Australia clear of recession during the 2008 global financial crisis [GFC]."
Ms West has been involved in the majority of Light on the Hill dinners since 1985, when she served as an electorate staffer to then-member of Calare, David Simmons.
The event has seen every Labor prime minister since Gough Whitlam visit Bathurst to deliver the address, with the most recent being Julia Gillard in 2010.
But the most memorable event Ms West recalls is when former East Timorese leader Jose Ramos-Horta was scheduled to attend.
"East Timor was seeking independence at the time and in the two weeks prior to the dinner, we heard conflicting reports as to whether Ramos-Horta was coming or not," she said.
"We eventually heard Ramos-Horta was unable to attend, so we had then-shadow minister for foreign affairs Laurie Brereton deliver the address in his place, and the raffle money was donated towards welfare services in East Timor."
Ms West, who served in the federal upper house in 1987, and again from 1990 to 2002, said the phrase 'light on the hill' references Chifley's final speech to the ALP conference in 1949, where he outlined a future vision for the Labor movement.
"The phrase has since encouraged each guest speaker to outline their own vision for the future," she said.
PREVIOUS LIGHT ON THE HILL GUEST SPEAKERS:
- 2018- Pat Dodson [Senator for Western Australia]
- 2017- Tanya Plibersek [Shadow Minister for Education and Training, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, 2013-19]
- 2016- Don Watson [Former speechwriter to prime minister Paul Keating]
- 2015- Anthony Albanese [Leader of the Opposition, 2019-present, Deputy Prime Minister, 2013]
- 2014- Penny Wong [Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, 2013-present
- 2013- Father Frank Brennan [Famed human rights lawyer and Jesuit priest]
- 2012- Bill Shorten [Leader of the Opposition 2013-19]
- 2011- Linda Burney [Federal MP for Barton 2016-present, Deputy Leader of the NSW Opposition 2011-16]
- 2010- Julia Gillard [Prime Minister 2010-13]
- 2009- Wayne Swan [Deputy Prime Minister 2010-13, Treasurer 2007-13]