Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I'm sure there will be events in the great electorate of Parramatta where we will have an opportunity to pay tribute on a very broad basis to Julie Owens and her magnificent representation of the people of Parramatta that she has undertaken diligently, with commitment and passion, since 2004.

Parramatta is an extraordinary community. It has a CBD that's bigger than the CBDs of some of our capital cities. It is also a diverse and multicultural community. What that does is bring challenges. You've had significant development along the riverfront, significant urban consolidation, a significant change in the mix of people who live in Parramatta and significant employment changes—and that has brought with it a responsibility from their representative, in Julie Owens, to ensure that that development has occurred sustainably and that traditional residents in Parramatta haven't been left behind, and she has done that.

There is no member of the caucus who has knocked on my door more about the needs of her electorate than Julie Owens, for Parramatta. I've got to know Julie a lot, as a fellow Sydneysider, over that period since 2004. Indeed, before then Julie Owens ran, somewhat more optimistically, for the electorate of North Sydney on not just one but two occasions for the Australian Labor Party. That's a task which is always difficult, for those of us who get asked to run for seats where there is less chance of success.

In 2004, Julie Owens of course was one of the very few people who took a seat off the then government during that 2004 election, and that is a tribute to her. That is something that is a part of her legacy. She has many friends in this place, and those friendships will continue, and I regard myself as one of them. I know that she has friends across the parliament as well. To Julie and her relatively new husband—and they're very much a long-term relationship—I know that we have discussed over a period of time what you hope to do post retirement. It won't be retiring from activism in trying to make a difference to this country, I know that. In the next phase of her life, I wish Julie and all of her family all the very best on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, and I thank you for her service.

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