Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

It is indeed a sad day, to be speaking on the condolence motion for our friend former senator Linda White. She was an incredible champion of democracy. Linda knew that Australia's democracy is something which we should all treasure and be proud of and that we should all take our own responsibility to ensure that we not only protect the next generation but enhance the next generation.

Much has been said in this condolence motion debate about how dedicated our friend Linda White was to ensuring that political parties were well run, knowing that our political party structures are so important to ensure the proper health and functioning of our democracy. Equally, she was very clear that trade unions, which, indeed, pre-date Federation themselves, have such an important role to play in the public policy debate, recognising that policy is better when you listen to the voices of working people and recognising that our electoral debate is strengthened through the engagement of those who represent working Australians.

When she came to this place, to the parliament, Linda was really committed to showing people that democracy works by showing that democracy delivers for them. She did that in large part—and much has been said about it—through her work in ensuring the that the National Anti-Corruption Commission was legislated. I note that not only was it legislated in the first term of a government but, thanks to Linda's work and the work she led with others, it was legislated in the first six months of a government. On something that had taken so long, she knew that to show the Australian people that democracy worked for them and respected their role in delivering on what they had asked the parliament to do we needed to deliver that.

We've seen that in other areas. I was so fortunate to be here for the speech by the Deputy Speaker, the member for Newcastle, talking about the implementation of the Set the standard report, talking about the implementation of enhanced codes of conduct for the Australian Labor Party and talking about something that Linda had campaigned for for so many years, ensuring that this place finally legislated paid domestic and family violence leave. Again, that was something that she had championed for so long and was able to be part of delivering in this government.

She also felt really strongly about protecting those national institutions on which we all rely to do our jobs well and to fulfil our obligations. The National Library, which has just been spoken of, is just one of those institutions which we recognise is stronger for having had Linda serve on the advisory council. I will say a bit more about the National Library in a moment.

I first met Linda White at a national conference of the Australian Labor Party. We got to know each other really well when we served together on the national executive of the Australian Labor Party. Neither of us were in parliament at the time. She was there as an ordinary member and I was there as the party secretary for WA. I will always remember that, when we had to submit our affirmative action reports to the national executive every meeting, it would be Linda who would read those reports diligently. If you had one a figure wrong or in any way it looked like you had not taken it as seriously as it needed to be taken you would be grilled at a national executive meeting. That was just one of those things that I shared with her. She was just so consistent in her expectations about what a great modern and progressive political party should look like.

As has been talked about, at the that 2015 conference we finally got a commitment to 50 per cent women in our preselections and other office bearer positions. It was about saying, 'The time has come; it needs to be done now,' and using all powers of persuasion and determination to ensure that the right thing was done, and it was. We can see in that legacy the benefit to the parliament to this very day in terms of the fantastic talent that is in the parliament because of the changes that Linda ensured were made.

I also remember her being a really strong supporter of the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party when we were going to the 2017 election. She sent people to assist with that campaign, and she was very engaged in ensuring that we were able to do some things that were really important for ASU members in Western Australia, including protecting Western Power and making sure it stayed in public hands. As she did in so many campaigns, she stood with us to ensure that we could protect that institution, that Western Australian asset. She ensured that it wasn't just lip service—that there was action behind it.

Last year I worked quite closely with Linda on rewriting the national platform of the Australian Labor Party. Despite the fact that she had come into parliament and now had an opportunity to contribute to so many other parts of our policy and political debate, she still wanted to make sure those foundational principles—that is, a strong platform of a strong party of government—were done well, and I really appreciate that. Some parts of rewriting a national platform of a political party are not always fun, but I now think back very warmly to the great advice that Linda gave me in that process.

We know that Linda was an incredible advocate for ensuring the proper scrutiny of delegated legislation. She was incredibly passionate about that. I hope I'm not going to breach a caucus rule in mentioning this, but she did encourage us—and I was pleased to work with her in delivering it—to change to the standard caucus submission template to ensure that we properly recognised delegated legislation. From now on, every time I see that in the caucus template I will think fondly of Linda and of her commitment to ensuring that we take all of the work that we do seriously and thoroughly. That, again, was a hallmark of her contribution in this place and beforehand.

Last year, she organised a tour of the National Library for a range of members. She was so proud to serve on that board. She was so proud of what the library did and such a passionate advocate for what the library needed to do for the future. She had thought very carefully about who her fellow library lovers were, who would come one early morning to see the library. When we arrived in the reading room of the library, there were items that she had asked them to prepare that corresponded to the electorates of every member who attended. I got to see a range of Perth pictorials from the 1920s, and she'd also found that the library had some of my old election flyers, amongst other things. She had ensured that we each had something that spoke directly to us, to appreciate the time that we'd spent there. It was one little way of showing how much she thought about others and cared for others.

I want to speak a little bit about Linda's contribution to the union movement. She and I had somewhat similar starts in our engagement with the formal union movement. Our first jobs were at McDonald's, and we both joined our first union while working at McDonald's. In a similar vein, we both found that there was a lot of work to do for the union that was working to ensure proper representation, support and wages for McDonald's workers. The second union I joined, indeed, was the ASU, at a time when I think Linda had just started her role as the assistant national secretary. Linda's contribution to the union movement, which is one of the things that makes Australia the great country it is today, is incredible: 25 years as Assistant National Secretary of the Australian Services Union, 15 years on the ACTU executive and, in the party that proudly stands for working people, 20 years on the Australian Labor Party National Executive. In part because of the equal pay case that Linda took forward and, ultimately, was part of successfully winning in 2012, alongside state and federal governments, I know that the lives of people in Perth are better for her union service, particularly those who work for the councils in Perth, Bassendean, Bayswater, Vincent and Stirling.

I want to very quickly highlight a few things that really stuck with me about how Linda spoke about the work that we do in this place. In her first speech, she said:

For some people, their pathway in life is determined by the circumstances of their birth. Governments, however, have the power to open up new choices and opportunities that would otherwise remain out of reach.

I think there are many great summings-up of what the purpose of a Labor government is, but, for me, that is one of them. It is actually that opening of opportunity and making things that some people felt were never possible for them, whatever their circumstances of birth, possible. She showed that time and time again in her—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 12:10 to 12:21

As I conclude my remarks, I couldn't conclude without noting the incredible work that was done in delivering for some 16,000 Ansett workers who lost their jobs. Thanks to the incredible work of Linda White and her many years of fighting for them, workers were able to retain so many entitlements. The fact that the achievement, coming out of that corporate collapse, was noted by people across the political divide speaks again to how well she was regarded both as a senator and as a union leader.

In conclusion, I want to pass on my condolences to her brother, Michael; to Linda's family; to her other family, the ASU family; to all the ASU members; and to those who served with her on so many boards, from the MCG to ACMI and so many others. It is a huge loss that so many across Australia are feeling right now and will feel for many, many years to come. I want to echo the words of the Prime Minister that, at this really sad time, what will outlast is our pride in all that she did and all that she achieved, and we will remember her warmth, her wisdom and all of her achievements. We will continue to commit ourselves in this place to doing what she did when she was here: defending our institutions, supporting them for the next generation and defending our democracy.

For those of us in the Labor family, we will remind ourselves of all of those people who rely upon Labor governments, rely upon the sorts of people that we elect to parliament and rely upon us to do what we said we would do to show that democracy indeed does serve the Australian people. Once again, vale, Linda White.

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