Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of my family and the residents of my electorate of Fowler, I would like to express my great sadness at the passing of The Hon. George Paciullo, OAM. George died late last year in Liverpool Hospital at the age of 78. More than 700 mourners, including myself and my wife, Bernadette, farewelled the man who made a tremendous contribution to the city of Liverpool and indeed the state of New South Wales. Despite the large attendance at his mass at All Saints Catholic Church in Liverpool, it was a low-key service, and quite personal—which probably says much about the man himself.

George gained his education at Liverpool primary school and worked as a survey draftsman from 1951 until he was elected to the New South Wales parliament in 1971. He served as a minister in the Wran and Unsworth governments in a range of portfolios. Before that, and also later in his life, he made a tremendous contribution on Liverpool City Council and served on two occasions as mayor.

One of his greatest achievements came when he was the police minister in New South Wales, where he personally is credited with the introduction of random breath testing—which, by any measure, has saved many thousands of lives over the last 30 years. As chairman of the Staysafe committee in New South Wales as early as 1982, he undertook the brave personal crusade to equip New South Wales police with random breath testing units in a bid to slash the road toll, which at that stage was averaging 1,200 victims a year. At times he fought some pretty heady battles, including within his own party, to establish random breath testing as we know it today. Another one of his notable achievements was advocating for the rebuilding of Liverpool Hospital, and it is quite poignant that this is the very place where he died last year. Liverpool Hospital, once it is complete, will be the largest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere.

George was one of those politicians who was driven in his job purely for the purpose of serving his community, as he did when he was an alderman on the council. In 1999 George was deservedly awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, and he was made a life member of the Australian Labor Party in 2002.

I express my deepest condolences to George's family and pay respect for what he was able to achieve in the time he spent leading our community of Liverpool. May he rest in peace.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!