Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A former member of this place, Pete Steedman, passed away on 10 July. He was 80 years old. In 1983, Pete was elected as member for Casey and was part of the first Hawke government that sat in Old Parliament House. As I missed the opportunity to speak on his condolence motion, I wanted to record my sympathies and sincere condolences to his family and his many friends. I also wanted to place in the Hansard a record of his achievements.

I was fortunate enough to attend and speak at a large gathering at Victorian Trades Hall on Saturday 7 September to celebrate his life. On the day, I reflected on the influence that Pete had had upon the people around him, upon the labour movement and upon the Labor Party. But his political activism started well before his arrival in Canberra. In fact, he was first known for being editor of Monash University's student newspaper, Lot's Wife, in the mid-1960s.

Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hear, hear!

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That's right. There are a couple of alumni here. This was, of course, during the early days of Monash University and during the emergence of social movements and the growing opposition to the Vietnam War. Whether it was protesting against conscription for young men or fighting for Indigenous land rights, Pete was at the forefront of many of these social movement activities.

At Trades Hall in September, Gareth Evans, a senior cabinet minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, was in attendance. He recounted his success in convincing Pete to move to the University of Melbourne and become editor of its student newspaper, Farrago. So he had the quinella—the only person to hold the editorial roles of both universities. Later on, of course, he became managing editor of Oz magazine, which was subject to prosecution in London for what were then seen to be obscenities. It's a good reminder of how repressive things were back in those days. These experiences sharpened Pete's journalistic and political skills, which he used so effectively for the rest of his life.

But he was a victim of the fickle fate of politics, losing the 1984 election, owing in particular to a brutal redistribution of his seat. He then moved on to assist the Municipal Employees' Union, where I got to know him relatively well. He was a really important conduit for the union in engaging with the federal government. At the time, we had just won a work value case for home carers, but we needed Commonwealth funding. Through the efforts of Pete Steedman, I managed, at the age of 25, to meet Paul Keating in the Old Parliament House in 1987, which was a great bonus for the members of that union, the home-care workers who were being paid so little.

Again, that echoes what we do now: we increase and improve wages for low-paid workers and then make sure the Commonwealth funds them. That's exactly what Keating did, but it was in large part due to Pete Steedman's advocacy, which I won't forget.

Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You're running out of time to talk about his house parties.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Some of the best parties that were ever conducted in my lifetime were held at his place in Hurstbridge, which he had purchased from David Williamson, the playwright. We used to have these Guy Fawkes days where from 60 and up to 100 people would turn up. Starting at lunchtime, they would culminate in a bonfire and fireworks display. There'd be an effigy, and the effigy was never representative of Guy Fawkes. It was always a political rival who had crossed Pete that year. They were remarkable days. We had a wonderful time with Pete and Julie and his family.

It was a sad day when Pete passed, but he had a glorious life and he did some remarkable things, including establishing Ausmusic to cultivate, promote and elevate local Australian music. Every November is Ausmusic month, and we can thank Pete Steedman, and others, for ensuring that. He got together the musicians and strategic minds of the likes of Michael Gudinski and really elevated that. Pete was a remarkable character. They broke the mould when they made him, but he will always be remembered as a decent, remarkable Labor man.