Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last Friday, I gathered with hundreds of others, including many from this place, to celebrate the life of our friend Sarah Carter. Sarah was many things to many people. She was a three-time mayor of Maribyrnong City Council and the first woman in the council's history to receive emeritus status. She was the pioneer of the Save the Children's Australian regional leadership initiative, where she took parliamentarians around the world to spotlight where humanitarian assistance was needed. She was a fierce advocate for women and gender equality, a future parliamentarian and a fantastic friend.

I will always be indebted to Sarah for convincing us to travel to Myanmar in 2017, where we visited the IDP camps in Rakhine state and saw the efforts of aid workers and humanitarian assistance programs firsthand. Sarah had an incredible ability to work collaboratively with everyone, no matter their political background; that's a rare skill.

Although she was imbued with Labor values, she would reach across the political aisle to engage with people from every part of politics. I note the member for Riverina's kind words that he gave at the service—and thank him for them—a testament to Sarah's ability to bring people together. The loss of Sarah is unfair and unfathomable, because her energy and enthusiasm was boundless. Her commitment to community was infectious. Every time you were in her presence you left feeling truly enriched.

Sarah achieved so much in just 45 years, but I know how much more she had to give and how much change she had left to make. That is really the greatest sadness for the world that she leaves. It is now incumbent upon all of us who knew and loved Sarah to continue her life's work in making the world a better place for women and children. Vale, Sarah. We will always miss you.

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