Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate expresses its sadness at the death, on 29 August 2021, of Senator Alexander McEachian Gallacher, Senator for South Australia, places on record its gratitude for his service to the Parliament and the nation, and tenders its deep sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

I acknowledge the courtesy extended by the government in having the opposition move this motion and for the adjournment after the conclusion of the condolence.

I express the opposition's condolences and our grief following the passing of our colleague and friend Senator Alex Gallacher. My thoughts are with Paola and all of Alex's family, his staff and his comrades at the Transport Workers Union.

As Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, I have spoken on the passing of a number of former senators and ministers over the last few years, from all sides of politics. But it is an acutely sad duty to eulogise a colleague who just a few short months ago sat here amongst us in this chamber. I know many of my colleagues here miss him dearly.

We knew Alex had cancer. He once told us that, in response to someone asking him how he was, he replied, 'How do you think I am? I'm dying of cancer!' Yet despite his frankness, it is still hard to confront the reality that he is gone—that his determination in the face of adversity was not enough to defeat the disease that ended his life on 29 August. The fact we knew of his fragile health did not make the news of his passing any easier.

Despite his illness, Alex was determined to remain a senator. Even after his diagnosis was announced in January 2020, he continued to work as much as he was able to. Alex joined us and participated in the sittings of the Senate in Canberra as recently as June this year. The determination he demonstrated in doing so was a hallmark of the way he conducted himself throughout his life.

Alex Gallacher never forgot the workers he was elected to represent. In his first speech, he said:

I will strive to be true to the Labor values of a fair go and a better chance for all. It is my belief that the Labor Party is the only party that provides all Australians a greater share of the prosperity of this great nation.

At every opportunity, he brought the Senate's attention to those people who are at the heart of what it means to represent the Australian Labor Party, especially in the transport industry. Australian workers across this country are better off for his advocacy and his commitment.

Born on New Year's Day in 1954, Senator Alex Gallacher's early life was peripatetic. As a child, he went from Scotland to England, back to Scotland, then to Wales and again to England. The youngest of five, his mother died when he was two; he was cared for by his grandmother before his father remarried. These were not easy years—his stepmother and her two children later left his father—and Alex felt the impact of poverty, insecure work and inadequate housing. He channelled those experiences into a life of fighting for those who needed an advocate, those who did not have the capacity to speak up for themselves.

In 1966, at the age of 12, he made the long journey to Darwin. He would call the Northern Territory home for the best part of the next 30 years, before his final migration south to Adelaide in 2011. It was in Darwin that Alex began another journey—one that would eventually take him to the Senate—from transport worker to union official, and it was there that his two children, Caroline and Ian, were born. In time they were joined by Terry and Frank, and he married Paola in 2011.

Family was always very important to Alex, and he to them. Later in life he was delighted as his family grew with the addition of grandchildren, and he delighted in their company when they joined him on the golf course. It was very moving, at the wake, after the funeral, to see his grandchildren speaking of him.

Alex Gallacher worked in the transport and aviation industries before becoming an official of the Transport Workers Union and serving as secretary of the South Australian and Northern Territory branch as well as vice-president and president of the national branch of that union. He brought to the union the direct experience of being a truck driver and an aviation ramp operator. His influence and impact run deep in the union, illustrated by the tributes paid to his efforts over decades. He was described as 'straight-talking, no-nonsense and hardworking', a reliable advocate for workers in the transport industry who wanted the best for working people. He wanted to lift standards in the transport industry, understanding as he did that safety in the workplace and recognition of the dangers inherent in many of the jobs in that sector were critical to improving the lives and prospects of workers.

Whilst he was always happy to be clear about which side of the debate he was on, Alex was also a strategic thinker, and he was someone who could build relationships and see another's perspective, too—even if it was one with which he disagreed. He helped to build the union, ensuring that it was strong and on a secure financial base—a vital legacy through a time of considerable industrial change in the 1990s and 2000s. It is a fitting tribute that his name will live on through the Alex Gallacher Training Centre at the union's offices in Adelaide. And it is a good thing that the facility was named before he passed so that he could appreciate being recognised in this way by his comrades. After some initial reservations—which probably reflected his humility—it was a source of immense pride to him.

After more than two decades of service to the union, Alex was elected to represent our state of South Australia in the Senate in 2010, taking his seat on 1 July 2011. He was subsequently re-elected in 2016 and 2019. And whilst he may have left employment with the union, he used his platform to amplify the issues on which he had been campaigning throughout his life in the labour movement. He campaigned on superannuation and road safety in particular. Alex was the founder of Parliamentary Friends of Road Safety and he also served as deputy chair of the Joint Select Committee on Road Safety. In this work, he and his colleague Glenn Sterle put the safety of the people he represented for so many decades at the forefront of their political campaigning, and there is no doubt that this work saved lives.

He served on a number of other committees, including as chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and Economics References committees. To these roles he brought forensic skills that ensured that ministers and bureaucrats couldn't slip anything past him. And always, Senator Alex Gallacher stood up for those who needed someone to be their voice in this place, from those affected by road trauma to people with disability to veterans. He stood up for his state, and he stood up for South Australian workers, including in the manufacturing and defence industries.

Alex was also not afraid to take policy stances—such as those in support of the nuclear industry and oil and gas exploration in the Great Australian Bight—that were at odds with others in his own party. In fact, Alex and I were often on different sides on an issue. But he was forthright, but he was also honest and upfront. And he was as tough in negotiating a policy issue as he was in his battle with cancer, and in both he was equally dignified.

I remember a few personal conversations with Alex towards the end, and I remember the cracks of vulnerability appearing in his normally stoic presentation. The rarity of them made them all the more moving. I hope he knew then that the contribution he would leave is lasting. And just as lasting is the affection of those who cared for him.

Indeed, one of the most enduring friendships I've witnessed in my time here is that which Alex shared with Senator Glenn Sterle. It's a friendship between two mates that lasted a quarter of a century, from their days as union officials together. It's a measure of the strength of this relationship that Senator Sterle was invited by the family to deliver a eulogy at Alex's funeral and was entrusted with the responsibility of speaking about Alex's early life as well as his union and parliamentary career.

Alex and Glenn lived with each other here in Canberra for nearly a decade, where they enjoyed Fiona's Sunday night dinners—as Senator Sterle says, as family. They travelled together often for parliamentary work both within Australia and, on occasion, overseas. In his tribute, Senator Sterle spoke of his friend who had a rough exterior but was generous and welcoming, and had one of the sharpest minds in the parliament, a champion of common sense and fairness. So, Sterlie, our thoughts continue to be with you and Fiona at this time.

One thing amongst many that Alex and Glenn share is they never forgot where they came from. Alex channelled the values forged in a difficult upbringing into his relentless support for the underdog. Woe betide any boss he found undermining the rights of his workers. But beneath that formidable exterior beat a loyal heart. While this guided his work, it also radiated in his life, in his friendships in this place, his comradeship with those in the labour movement and, most especially, in his love for his family. He brought a positive attitude even as he dealt with the challenge of cancer, maintaining his determination all the way.

Senator Gallacher was a Labor champion and deserves to be remembered as someone who never relented in his pursuit of a fair go for others. As Anthony Albanese said, 'We in Labor are very proud of Alex.' We mourn the loss of our colleague. I close by again extending my sympathies to his family, his beloved wife, Paola, his children and grandchildren, and his friends and my colleagues in their grief.