Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I just want to make a few remarks this afternoon paying respect to former senator Mehmet Tillem. It's fair to say Mehmet touched on a lot of us in the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party. I got to know Mehmet through my dealings with him on the Australian Labor Party administrative committee. I got to enjoy many long nights with Mehmet before and after, and the one thing that certainly resonated for me was his ability to deal with issues which, as they usually do, came up at the very last minute and without much notice, and his ability to work through the problems that were before the committee and try and find a solution. He was certainly someone who was able to navigate his way around and also try and provide guidance to many of us in the room trying to find a solution to many complex problems.

As we touched on earlier, it's fair to say he has left us far, far too early. I know his time in this place was very brief, but nonetheless he still made a very strong contribution to many laws in this place and to the many Senate inquiries that he sat on. He also has a story that resonates with many in this place—certainly in my case. I think that a family having come to Australia from overseas and having a son or daughter able to be in the federal Senate speaks volumes of the multicultural society that we live in—such a great country—and certainly Mehmet is a prime example of a success story. We should all be very proud of what he has achieved in this place.

The other aspect of Mehmet's contribution is about education. As Senators Wong, Kitching and Carr have touched on, it is about the importance of education for a number of migrant families who have come to Australia and investing in education so that their children end up having a much more successful working life than they had. My own family went through manufacturing and wanted to see me succeed at university and have a professional job. But I know his mum and dad and his own son looked up to him as a mentor, and he was also a representative of the Turkish community back in Melbourne and Victoria.

Even though he was born in Turkey, I think it's fair to say he was as Aussie as they come. He loved his cricket and he loved his football, and he did enjoy having many beers as well. Mehmet would also love having a chat about whatever sport events were on in Melbourne at the time. His story is certainly one that sounds very familiar to many Australians.

As we mentioned earlier, he came to Australia after his father had come out some years beforehand to make sure that Australia, this great place, was the right place for him, his mum and his other siblings to settle. They started out in public housing and worked very hard to make sure that they were able to own their own home, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Both of Mehmet's parents worked in manufacturing, as many migrants did, especially in the automotive industry. Together, they worked hard to give him and his siblings the best possible start in life, ensuring, as I said earlier, that they all had quality education.

At a very young age Mehmet joined the ALP, and he dedicated his whole working life to advancing its cause. As Senator Carr has mentioned, it was also about ensuring that Labor values were instilled not just within his own family but within those of the Turkish community, and broadly within the community at large. Mehmet was driven to instill into Australian policymaking and discourse the Labor values of fairness, respect, equality and solidarity—values that he spoke of in his first speech, which I won't delve into this afternoon. In his time in the party, Mehmet served Victorian and federal Labor ministers and MPs very well. He was always there as a sounding board—someone to go to for advice. The culmination of his work came in 2013 when he was sworn into this great place, stepping in to fill a casual vacancy after Senator Feeney ran for the seat of Batman.

Mehmet was a recognisable figure. We always used to joke how he sort of looked like Alex Perry—although I think it's fair to say he probably thought he was more like Alex, rather than the other way around! He could be found at all manner of ALP functions, standing somewhere in the room, deep in conversation, or outside, with a cigarette in one hand and a mobile phone in the other and his glasses constantly on the top of his head—always trying to look at a way forward, and dealing with that problem in the hope of finding a solution.

Whilst his term here was short, his impact will go down in history. He made a lot of change. With colleagues who are here and in the other place, we today remember his contributions. He advocated for a strong manufacturing sector, for the dignity of work and for dignified work, for housing affordability and for organ donation, which he was very, very passionate about.

Apart from being the first Turkish-born Australian senator, Mehmet remained a stalwart of his community in Melbourne. That was seen on Sunday at his funeral, where overflowing crowds gathered in Broadmeadows. Mehmet's death has come as a great shock to the entire Victorian Labor family as well as to colleagues in this place. Colleagues and friends have shared their sadness at his passing—over Facebook, at many social events and in the media. Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles has said he remembers Mehmet for his work in mentoring a whole generation of Labor Party activists. It's these activists and their triumphs that will always remain as Mehmet's legacy.

He was also a passionate Richmond Tigers fan. As Senator Kitching has mentioned, we are very thankful that the AFL ensured that both Mehmet and his son were able to spend time together a few months ago, to attend the recent AFL grand final. It's fair to say he was very delighted to see his beloved Tigers win their 12th premiership.

I extend my deepest sympathies to his family, to his loving wife and son. Mehmet will be missed by many in this great place. I really do look forward to the many other discussions that we'll no doubt have outside of this chamber as we remember Mehmet for the years to come.