Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's with great sadness that colleagues and I rise to speak on this motion. It is with enormous admiration and appreciation that we reflect on the legendary contribution made by Senator Linda White.

While her time in this place was unfairly brief, her service to working people and to our union movement is the work of her entire life. Throughout her time as a lawyer, as a union official, as a senator and in her many other endeavours, Linda always fought for social justice, for fairness and for equity. She was driven by the relentless desire to improve the pay, the conditions and ultimately the lives of working people. The magnitude of Linda's contribution to the Labor movement and to our society more broadly was very clear couple of weeks ago as hundreds of people from all across the political spectrum gathered together in celebration of her life in Melbourne. It was attended by our Prime Minister, by ministers state and federal, by union leaders and, most importantly, by rank and file union members and delegates who had fought alongside Linda at the bargaining table.

Like them, I was lucky to work with Linda. Whether it be in this place or within the broader Labor movement, we would often find ourselves in the same political arenas. She was usually an ally and sometimes a very fierce adversary. I had great respect for Linda and always enjoyed working with her on shared causes. And I will freely admit to sometimes steeling myself for those times when our causes diverged. She was absolutely formidable. And despite these occasional divergences of views, Linda was also a very dear family friend to Zoe and I, with Zoe working for her at the Australian Services Union for very many years. Zoe was one of the many ASU women who benefited from Linda's mentorship, her patronage and her friendship.

Linda's role in our party's affirmative action policies have been celebrated widely—and rightly. She is rightly credited with playing a critical role in the achievement of 50 per cent women in our Labor caucus. At an individual level, Linda's contribution is arguably even more significant. Linda was a loyal and proud friend. She was an advocate, pushing women forward for positions, singing their praises and plotting their futures. This was a rare and special role that she played in so many people's lives, and her legacy can be seen in the lives and careers of so many ASU and ALP women leaders. Her fingerprints and her advocacy are certainly evident in many of the big decisions of Zoe's life. We are forever grateful for the role that she's played—her generosity, her kindness and her loyalty.

As a union leader, Linda was tough and unrelenting. She was a formidable negotiator and advocate. She understood power—how to build it and leverage it for the benefit of workers. She was unrelenting in the pursuit of causes she believed in. Her career highlights have been told at length: securing entitlements for Ansett workers after the collapse, the equal pay case for social and community services workers, addressing the superannuation gap for women. Those are the achievements that got headlines. But her daily work at the bargaining table for aviation workers, the legal industry and social and community services workers was just as significant. She fought for every clause, and she fought for every entitlement. She was unrelenting and motivated entirely by the interests of the collective—the members she was there to represent.

Linda is loved by ASU delegates and members who served at the bargaining table with her. Zoe tells me that walking through the airport with Linda was like being with a celebrity. From the check-in, through security and in the lounge and customer services desks, Linda knew all the ASU members, and they knew her. They knew she was on the way up to Sydney to hold their bosses to account. She had their respect and their trust.

It was telling that, amongst the many dignitaries at the funeral, there were delegates from Qantas, Slater and Gordon, Maurice Blackburn, Virgin and many more places. Those people saw Linda at her finest—deep in the detail, prepared, forensic, fierce, strategic, terrifying and magnificent. She had their respect, as she had all of ours.

My deepest condolences go to her brother, Michael, and their extended family as well as all the ASU family, including the workers and delegates that Linda stood by and fought for and her many, many friends all across the Labor movement. We are so proud to have known her and to have enjoyed her glorious friendship. Vale, Linda White.

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