Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Today we pause to reflect upon and remember the life of a colleague for each of us, a friend across this chamber and a Labor man truly reflective of the great old-style tradition of Labor Party advocates. Alex Gallacher, the former senator for South Australia, in August this year tragically lost his hard-fought battle with cancer. Alex was a Senate colleague and fellow South Australian senator in this place for over 10 years. We remember Alex as a straight shooter, a man with whom you knew where you stood, what he believed and what he was here to do. He was here to advocate for and improve the lives of working people, and that is what he fought to do right to the very end.

Senator Gallacher delivered his first speech to this place in 2011. In his remarks he committed to be true to the Labor values of a fair go and a better chance for all, to repay the faith put in him by the Labor voters of South Australia, by his party and his colleagues, to deliver a greater share of the prosperity of this great nation to all Australians, especially hardworking Australians. In the 10 years that followed, Alex remained loyal to his word and strived to be true to his Labor values. In his final speech to this place Alex was continuing exactly as he had started: advocating for the workers of this country to get a better share, as he saw it, of the national income. While we take this opportunity now to reflect on his life and the significant contributions he made to this nation, we lament the loss of a good man and a strong voice for Australian workers.

Upon election to the Senate, Alex immediately got to work on championing three key policy interests: the transport industry, road safety and superannuation. The root of his passion for these causes came from his journey that led him all the way to serve in this our nation's parliament. The son of Scottish migrants, Alex Gallacher was born in the coalmining village of New Cumnock, Scotland, in 1954. Whilst he may have been born a Scot and remained proud of his heritage, Alex made Australia home and, in every aspect, the key part and home for his life.

As Senator Wong has said, at age 12 he made the move across to Australia. Like so many migrants, his family sought a better chance for themselves. In their case, they moved to the Northern Territory. It was here that Alex would undertake his schooling at Darwin High School. In 1971 he started work as a labourer and truck driver, before commencing work as an airline ramp services operator from 1976 through to 1988. Alex, through his 'roll the sleeves up' work was truly proud of his old-school Labor mould, having been a traditional blue-collar working-class man. His background proudly added to the diversity of this place. It was in 1988 that he made what would be a defining step in his journey, ultimately leading to the Senate, by joining the Northern Territory branch of the Australian Labor Party and then, later in 1994, the South Australian branch.

For 22 years he worked in several roles for the Transport Workers Union in the Northern Territory and South Australia, taking on an initial role as industrial relations officer. He would later move into various leadership roles within the TWU, culminating in his rise to president from 2007 until 2010, when he was first elected to the Senate. Alex also served as a commissioner for the National Road Transport Commission and as a director of the South Australian Motor Accident Commission. He took his love for the transport sector and brought it into this place, particularly his staunch advocacy for road safety and his pointed interest in the rights of workers in the aviation industry.

As a fellow South Australian, I also fondly remember Alex for his genuine interest in rural and remote South Australia. He undertook important work with great passion and care on the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport. As the member for Grey put it in the other place, 'Wheels on the road is what keeps our remote communities going,' and few understood that better than Alex Gallacher. He dedicated a significant amount of work to parliamentary committees, serving on 23 different committees during his time in the Australian parliament. Despite his cancer diagnosis in December 2019, Alex continued to represent the people of South Australia, the Labor Party, the trade union movement and his constituents with diligence and passion. Notwithstanding his battle with cancer, Alex focused his parliamentary service on those he served, not himself, earning great admiration and respect right across the political divide.

Alex was at heart, as Senator Wong acknowledged, a true family man, a quality I and I'm sure all admired in him. It was his family from whom he sought advice and stability. More than that, Alex credited his wife, Paola, with ensuring the important things in life. Family, children and grandchildren were always front and centre. Paola was, as Alex endearingly described her, his tower of strength. In his own words, she made him a better person by holding up the values of humility and respect for others that Alex rightly considered necessary for making an effective contribution to this place.

To conclude some of my remarks on Alex's service, I want to borrow the same Theodore Roosevelt quotation that Alex concluded in his first address in this place:

Far and away the best prize life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

Alex carried the spirit of this quotation throughout his life. He embodied it in his work ethic, especially his work in this place, and his commitment and dedication to those he sought to serve. For that, we thank him for his service and acknowledge the significant contribution and differences that he made.

To those who believe that politics is a friendless profession, Alex proved the opposite. His SA party comrade Don Farrell and, perhaps more so and more particularly in a special way, as Senator Wong has acknowledged, his fellow former TWU leader Glenn Sterle were always obviously great mates. Alex and Sterlo moved almost as one, it seemed at times, backing each other in to pack an even bigger punch in the views that they expressed and the issues they fought for. To Sterlo: those on this side of the chamber acknowledge the particular loss that you feel of your great mate. Alex made friends and earned respect across unions, across factions and across parties because of his roll-the-sleeves-up and get-the-job-done type of attitude.

To Paola and to Alex's four children, Caroline, Ian, Terry and Frank, and to his grandchildren, all of whom meant so much to him, I extend our sincerest condolences on behalf of the Australian government and no doubt on behalf of all senators. I thank the Senate.