Ted Mack, father of Australian independent politics, diagnosed with multiple brain tumours
EXCLUSIVE: The much-loved Ted Mack — a leading figure in local, state and federal politics for 20 years — is facing his final days after doctors discovered multiple tumours in his brain.
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TED Mack - the father of the independents - is facing his final days. The legend of North Sydney politics was rushed to hospital just two weeks ago after losing power in his hands.
Doctors discovered multiple small tumours in his brain and started him on a course of radiation.
“I asked the doctor point blank, ‘What’s my lifespan, what am I looking at?’ And he said about 12 months,” Mr Mack said.
“They can’t be definite about it.”
Mr Mack is the only person to be elected and re-elected as an independent to local, state and federal government in Australia.
The diagnosis has provided a lot of clarity to the 82-year-old grandfather.
He is no longer worried about sorting out his piles of papers or whether he has enough money to live out the rest of his life.
“The notion that life is limited has suddenly relieved me of a lot of problems,” he said.
“I’ve always worried about money ... you think if you are going to live to your nineties you need a lot of money.
“All of a sudden I don’t need any money. I’ve plenty of money now.”
A qualified architect, Mr Mack became interested in politics in 1970 after North Sydney Council approved construction of a 17-storey office block near his back fence.
He was then was elected to North Sydney Council in 1974 and was mayor from 1980 to 1988, State independent MP for North Sydney from 1981 to 1988 and Federal independent MP from 1990 to 1996 - paving the way for a new generation of independent politicians in Canberra — a legacy that lasts to this day.
He famously began his term as mayor by selling the mayoral Mercedes-Benz to help buy community buses and drove his own beloved 1951 Citroen at no cost to taxpayers.
Reflecting on his career, he says his proudest moments were as mayor of North Sydney Council.
“My local government period was obviously the best,” he said.
“My greatest achievement federally was to prove an independent could get elected.
“Since then independents have proliferated. Some people might regard that as a bad thing. I was the first for half a century.”
Later he gained fame for serving only two terms in both the New South Wales state seat of North Shore and the federal seat of North Sydney to avoid receiving the parliamentary pension.
Ted Mack: A life in politics
Mr Mack said he is not in any pain and described the diagnosis as “almost a relief”.
He is still going out for lunch and spending the afternoons in the park. Nothing has changed apart from his daily hospital visits.
“He’s enjoying himself and doing the things he wants to do,” his wife Wendy Mack said.
“He’s almost 83, had a wonderful life so we are going to enjoy whatever time is left whether it’s six months, six years or six decades.”
The radiation won’t affect his memory and after the current course of treatment finishes he may undergo chemotherapy.
His children have already bought him beanies.
“Once I go into chemo I lose my hair and that’s my pride and joy,” he said.
“That’s life.”
Mr Mack was in very good health apart from some heart trouble through the years before doctors found the tumours.
He watched his father endure a difficult end to his life and he does not want to go through the same experience.
“My father died of Alzheimer’s and he had a pretty bad five years at the end of his life. I never want to go through that,” he said.
“Once you are dead, you are dead.”
Mr Mack praised the care he is receiving at Royal North Shore Hospital and paid tribute to the staff.
He described the food as the “best meals” he’s ever had and said the doctors and nurses caring for him are very helpful.
Mr Mack has four children and nine grandchildren.
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