Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's with great sadness that I note the passing of Barry French, Uncle Charlie, an elder of the Aboriginal community, long-term resident of Muswellbrook, a senior and respected community leader and, of course, a much-loved family man. Barry, of course, was a former Muswellbrook Shire Citizen of the Year. He was awarded that honour in 2015. He was a quiet and respectful man, someone who always did good things in his local community. He lived his life empowering our Aboriginal communities in particular, and took a peaceful and purposeful approach to reconciliation. Barry held many formal roles within the community, serving at times as the chairperson of the Wanaruah Local Aboriginal Land Council and the Hunter Valley Aboriginal Corporation, and was a foundation member of the Aboriginal Land Council.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Barry regularly as he extended the welcome to country at formal events around the Muswellbrook Shire. Barry was a great Australian, and he will be very sadly missed, particularly within our local Indigenous communities. We thank him for his fantastic contribution.

On a lighter note, Les Beveridge has closed his Cessnock retail store for the last time after almost 43 years of trading. Les Beveridge is not just a Cessnock retailer; he's a local institution. Beveridge's Menswear has been the first point of call not for just one generation, not for two generations but for three generations of locals. Few young men haven't visited Les's store at some point to buy themselves a shirt or pair of jeans, or to hire a formal suit, which are not regularly held by young residents of Cessnock, I have to say. During that period of time, Cessnock shoppers enjoyed a level of customer service not typically known by our more modern, larger retailers, and it was always appreciated.

When Les wasn't in the store with his beloved wife, Janice, who, sadly, he lost a few years ago, he was out doing good things on a volunteer basis in our local community. Indeed, Les was also a former citizen of the year, this time in the local government area of Cessnock.

We will miss Les Beveridge—all of us in Cessnock. We will miss his good humour, his great customer service and, of course, the capacity to get things at Les's store that we wouldn't have been able to secure anywhere else in Cessnock. So, on all accounts, he will be sadly missed.