Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the great honours in this place is being able to honour the things that have been done by average Australians, who gave so much of themselves to help fellow Australians, for no other reason than it was the right thing to do. Ernest 'Barry' Polsen was one of those people. He devoted himself to helping working Australians, especially in our postal and telecommunications industries, over many, many years. He worked for many years in the old Postmaster-General's outfit, which came to be known as Australia Post and Telecom and then Telstra. He started as an instructor and then committed himself to the union movement, principally through the Australian Postal and Telecommunications Union. He worked for many years within that union and had made a reputation as someone who, when he was in your corner, was truly in your corner and did everything he could to help.

His friend and long-time colleague Laurie Chalker remarked that Barry was:

… a man of integrity with a genuine passion for our cause. He was feared by management, not for his demeanour, but for his high level of knowledge of the industry and his ability to deliver the very best outcomes for our members.

It was with great sadness that I learned that Barry, who was someone I had enormous respect for and who helped me so early on in my career, had passed away on the weekend. He is survived by his wife, Helen. He was a dad to many and a grandad to many. May he rest in peace. Thank you for a great contribution.