Only our sister has ‘a real job’: Pollies Cameron and Milton Dick on family life

Cameron Dick (left), 57, is Queensland’s Deputy Premier and Treasurer while brother Milton, 52, is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Their dad, a butcher, used to say that only their school-teacher sister had a real job.

Milton Dick (right) on brother Cameron: “Through primary and high school, I’d get, ‘Oh, you’re Cameron Dick’s brother.’ I found it annoying but … his achievements kind of spurred me along.”Credit: Paul Harris.

Cameron: Milton is the youngest in the family and he shamelessly played on that as we grew up. We loved both our parents, but I idolised our father and Milton was close to our mother. Prior to the pregnancy that led to my birth, she was hospitalised with an ovarian cyst. She was very unwell, so when I was born, I was regarded as something of a miracle child. As I said in my eulogy for her in 2019, “There’s only one way to top a miracle child and that’s someone called Milton.” That got a laugh.

Looking back, I was a bit hard on Milton when I was a teenager: “What’s that little kid hanging around for?” He probably has me to thank for his resilience. I made him tough.

I was the first to join the Labor Party, in 1989. Milton followed me. He rose through the party ranks to be Queensland state secretary, then got elected to Brisbane City Council in 2008. I was elected to state parliament the following year, then in 2019 he was elected to federal parliament. So although we’ve not been running against each other, our careers have intertwined in a fairly competitive way.

‘Milton probably has me to thank for his resilience. I made him tough.’

Cameron Dick

We’re actually very competitive with each other. We had sibling rivalry from a young age, whether it was playing Monopoly or cricket in the backyard. Our competitiveness hasn’t stopped as we’ve matured, though I love Milton very much and I’m very proud of him. Speaker of the House of Representatives is an important job. It’s not deputy premier and treasurer, but it’s still important.

Milton has always helped me in my election campaigns. I think he’s one of the best political campaigners in the country – at a strategic level but also in terms of the mechanics of campaigning, the hard work. He’s always the first to pack the car with the leaflets and the corflutes and to set up the street stall. Politics can be crazy sometimes, very unpredictable. But you’ll never find Milton or me complaining, because a politician complaining about the vagaries of politics is like a sailor complaining about the sea.

We’re still people, though, and we have our vulnerabilities. Milton’s support meant a lot to me after I lost my seat in 2012. That was a really difficult time. As a defeated candidate, you feel you’ve failed everyone. Milton helped me secure preselection for my current electorate, Woodridge, and I got back into parliament at the next election. I was given a second chance. I’ll always be grateful for that.

There’s something of the gentle giant about Milton. He has a collegiate approach to politics and he has friendships across the aisle. I suppose I’m more of a warrior of the old school. I relish the cut and thrust of the contest, while Milton is brilliant at consensus-building. He has a great understanding of what makes people tick. I think that helps make him an outstanding Speaker.

We have a sister, Sue, who’s a school teacher. Our father used to say, “I’ve got three wonderful children and one of them has a real job.”

Milton: As kids, we were Cambo and Milty. I’d say our childhood was near to perfect. Our parents were the classic, post-war success story – from humble beginnings to middle-class Australia. Mum was a nurse; Dad and his younger brother, Uncle Milton, built a small chain of butcher shops in Brisbane – Dick Brothers Meats.

Cameron was such a high achiever at school. An A-student, a prefect, house captain, a very good sportsman, a winner of awards. I won awards, too, but they were more the best-and-fairest type. He was a young-JFK type. The boy most likely. Which I definitely wasn’t. I not only looked up to him, I wanted to be him.

Through primary and high school, I’d get, “Oh, you’re Cameron Dick’s brother.” I found it annoying but also secretly loved it. I was happy to ride on his coat-tails and, at the same time, his achievements kind of spurred me along: if he could do it, I could do it.

Our parents weren’t involved in politics but our mother, particularly, was very civic-minded. She volunteered, helped people. I think some of that rubbed off on us. Cameron went into the law while I did my political apprenticeship and became a party official.

‘I was happy to ride on his coat-tails and, at the same time, his achievements kind of spurred me along: if he could do it, I could do it.’

Milton Dick

I’ve never been quite as driven as Cameron. He’s more organised, more polished, more across the details than I am. He’ll have a checklist of 500 things he wants to do and he’ll be ticking them off. I might get 500 things done, but they’re not on a list. Sometimes I want to say to him, “Relax!”

Our lives keep us apart, so election campaigns are a great chance to catch up. It’s quality time together. I feel a great deal of comfort when I’m at a polling booth with Cameron. I can sort of sit back and watch him because I know he’ll do a better job than I will of telling people why they should vote for me. I may be the bigger brother now, due to my height and size, but he’s always the big brother looking out for me.

He came to watch my first Question Time as Speaker. It was nerve-racking, of course, but I knew I’d get through it because he was there, sitting in the gallery. In another way, his presence made me nervous because I wanted to impress him. When our eyes connected, I could see how proud he was of me. I’m getting a bit emotional just talking about it.

I sometimes feel like Cameron and I are in business together, just like Dad and Uncle Milton were: two brothers working hard and supporting each other and having more success than they’d ever have predicted. It still takes my breath away a bit when I see Cameron on the news. I know he feels exactly the same way about me, though a lot of it’s unspoken. We don’t sit around clinking glasses, saying, “Wow, look at us!” It’s just not in our DNA, celebrating. It’s “Keep your head down and get on with it.” But I think Cameron and I both pinch ourselves every day.

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