Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sadly, on 11 March, Len Buckeridge died at his family home in Peppermint Grove aged 77. Those not familiar with the name Len Buckeridge may be more familiar with the term BGC—Buckeridge Group of Companies—which Len founded. I will talk more about BGC later.

Len was born in 1935. He attended Perth Modern School and then trained as an architect at Perth Training College. By 1959 Len was an ambitious young architecture graduate who believed fiercely in the social and economic benefits of homeownership. Driven by a desire to find better ways of achieving affordable, practical housing for all Australians, Len laid the foundations of BGC more than five decades ago, starting out delivering manufacturing materials to achieve his goal of affordable housing. Today the group has diversified as a multimillion-dollar company, delivering construction, contracting and manufacturing, and employs more than 4,000 people.

It is important to acknowledge Len's contribution to the mining, gas and resource sector, with BGC Contracting being one of Australia's leading mining and civil construction contractors. BGC Contracting's civil division spans the key areas of bulk earthworks, site preparation, road construction, road network maintenance, major concrete walls, rail construction, dams, pipelines and the supply of quarry material.

Len's success with BGC would have been of no surprise to those who knew him during his student days. In the final year of his architecture degree, he won the James Hardie prize for architecture for his thesis entitled The economical house: on low-cost housing.

For me, though, my introduction to Len came much later in life. It was during my campaign in 2010, before I was elected to this House. It was at a meeting, where you go and wonder what sort of response you are going to get. I remember walking in and meeting Len around his boardroom table and seeing a real-life character who I had read about in the media, and then I was sitting with him, talking about what his thoughts were for government and what his thoughts were for the economy. He asked me a couple of questions, which went to the core of: 'Why are you standing?' We had a great conversation around that.

Len came to all the events I held and, if he could not attend, his son Sam would. I remember a moment from a campaign event in 2010, which the now Prime Minister Tony Abbott MP attended. Len was standing at the back of the room by himself. My wife, Anna, who at that stage did not know who Len was, got a chair for him and sat and chatted with him. Someone then said to Anna, 'How do you feel about talking to Len Buckeridge?' She said, 'I didn't know that he was Len Buckeridge.' Anna told me the conversation with him was like talking with her grandfather.

Reflecting on that moment from the early introductions to Len, this is how I remember him. He was a fatherly figure, but he was also a friend who shared his thoughts and feelings on issues. The Len I got to know and remember is Len the family man. In our conversations he would share stories and achievements of his children and his grandchildren, whom he was so proud of. While Len was a no-nonsense person, he was immensely proud of his company. While Len was not afraid to take people on and fight for what he believed in, he respected people. He admired people in public life. There are hundreds of articles written and thousands and thousands of words dedicated to Len over his career, and today I add my contribution to this list. There is one article that I read many years ago which I want to share here. Len said: 'I've done it this way. Maybe I could have done it another way.' When reflecting on these words, it told me so much more about the man Len Buckeridge was.

Another of Len's passions was the North Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club—an association which goes back more than four decades. Following Len's passion, the club president, Chris Shellabear, recalled how Len was always willing to help the club realise its plans and projects over the years. Even recently when Len was in ill health he was down at the club helping pour concrete for the club extension. This, along with more than 2,000 people who attended a memorial service at the Cottesloe Civic Centre on Monday, is a testament to the standing he had in the community and the extent to which his personality, passion and dedication were felt.

When someone leaves this earth we are prompted to ask: what is their legacy; what have they left behind as a reminder of their contribution to the community and our lives? For Len, his vision and pioneering for the construction industry are undoubtedly the biggest and most tangible legacy he leaves behind. In my home state, Western Australia, it would not be difficult to name anyone who was involved with BGC. But, behind the company, behind the bricks and mortar, was a man, a much-loved husband, a father, a grandfather and a friend.