Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about Bill Wood AM, who sadly passed away on 19 May, and was laid to rest with a state funeral on Monday at St Paul's in Manuka. Whether as a teacher or a politician, Bill dedicated his life to serving others.

After serving in the Queensland parliament, Bill was a founding member of the ACT assembly in 1989 and served there for 15 years. He served as a minister across a wide variety of portfolios including education and youth affairs, the environment, land and planning, and the arts. It was a great honour to know Bill and his wife, Bev. He was someone I always looked up to and I much appreciated his advice. As my colleagues have spoken of, he was a mentor to many.

Just in passing this morning, a constituent said to me, 'The arts in the ACT would never be what they are if not for Bill.' My friend Margaret Watt worked for Bill, and said, 'He was a great person to work for and he attracted loyal and dedicated staffers and public servants with his strong and ethical approach to the many difficult portfolio decisions that he had to make, especially in the areas of housing and disability. We used to spend hours discussing these decisions and working with the directorate to ensure the best outcomes for the constituents who came to him.'

I know that I and many others will miss Bill immensely as a dearly loved friend as well as a true Labor politician. He was a key figure in our ACT Labor and Canberra community and he will be much missed. My sincere condolences to Bev and their four children.