Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I pay tribute to Ernie Page, who lost his ongoing battle with cancer on Sunday. Our community, our state and our party have lost a public servant of the highest order. Ernie did his trade as an electrician after attending local schools. He became a national serviceman in the 1950s, but began his public service in our community in 1962, when he was elected to the Waverley council. He served on the council until 1987, with nine of those years being as the mayor of Waverley. He was elected to the New South Wales parliament as the member for Waverly in 1981 and then as the member for Coogee from 1991 to 2003. Ernie was a minister in the first Carr Labor government in the 1990s, serving as the Minister for Local Government, and was responsible for a number of important reforms, mainly related to accountability and management of local government and election processes. Most importantly, Ernie was dedicated to his local community. He had a real passion for the eastern suburbs. He was very well connected in the community and with local community organisations. He really did advance the interests of working people and the elderly. Ernie was an all-round good bloke. I offer my condolences to his wife, Barbara; his five children; and his 13 grandchildren. Rest in peace, Ernie.