Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

A former member of this place, Pete Steedman, passed away on 10 July. He was 80 years old. In 1983, Pete was elected as member for Casey and was part of the first Hawke government that sat in Old Parliament House. As I missed the opportunity to speak on his condolence motion, I wanted to record my sympathies and sincere condolences to his family and his many friends. I also wanted to place in the Hansard a record of his achievements.

I was fortunate enough to attend and speak at a large gathering at Victorian Trades Hall on Saturday 7 September to celebrate his life. On the day, I reflected on the influence that Pete had had upon the people around him, upon the labour movement and upon the Labor Party. But his political activism started well before his arrival in Canberra. In fact, he was first known for being editor of Monash University's student newspaper, Lot's Wife, in the mid-1960s.

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