Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak with much sadness about the recent passing of the state member for Fisher, Bob Such. Robert Bruce Such was born on 22 June 1944 in Adelaide, South Australia. He grew up in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide and then attended Coromandel Valley Primary School and later Goodwood Boys Technical High School. Dr Such had a real passion for education and, despite having his first job at 14 years of age, he went on to gain a Bachelor of Arts with honours in economics and politics, and a Diploma of Teaching and a PhD in environmental politics at Flinders University. He lectured in politics, economics and environment at the South Australian Institute of Technology, or UniSA, as we now know it. His commitment to education was often very evident in his role in the state parliament, but before he even entered state parliament he had served as a councillor with the City of Mitcham, part of his commitment to serving his community.

Dr Such entered the South Australian parliament when he won the seat of Fisher in 1989. He was a member of the Liberal Party at that time. He resigned from the Liberal Party but continued to retain his seat of Fisher as an Independent in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. He was a formidable opponent, as I know firsthand, having run against him in the 2006 state election—although I have to say that, while elections can get very tense, every time I came across Dr Such he was a true gentleman and someone that had respect for all people. Indeed, we helped each other take down our corflutes, which does not often happen but certainly did in that campaign. During his time as the member for Fisher, he served as shadow minister for further education, employment and youth affairs, which allowed him to continue his passion for education. He also served as Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Dr Such was a very thoughtful and kind person, and someone who was very much respected by his constituents. He had a passion for his local area and a passion for South Australia. It was very sad to hear the news that he passed away on 11 October 2014, after being diagnosed with a brain tumour earlier this year. To his wife, Lyn; his sons, Derek, Darren and Adrian; his electorate office staff; and the people of Fisher, I send my sincere condolences. He will be sadly missed by so many people and he made a huge contribution.