Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I pay thanks to our volunteers in the election campaign. I was the director of the campaign in the seat of Pearce. Despite us losing—and I congratulate Mr Porter on his election—it is important for me to recognise the many volunteers who gave up their time to help us on that campaign. I'd like to show my thanks and deep appreciation for their tireless dedication—our Labor volunteers. These are people right across the country who, in our case, spent the last 18 months on the ground driven by their passion and their commitment to Labor values. These are people who saw our vision for the future of Australia and took it upon themselves to get out and fight for it. They were part of the volunteers across the country, but they went above and beyond for the sake of fairness and equality. I cannot thank them enough for standing alongside us, day after day, right up until well beyond closing time at 6 pm on 18 May.

Our volunteers are ordinary Australians but they do extraordinary things. Volunteer Sonny Jones works FIFO but still made calls, even when working on-site, undeterred by his co-workers. Volunteer Fred Williams was out every day of the week, rain, hail or shine, impatiently demanding for more doors to knock on and always asking when he could come back. For volunteers Lyn Zaccaro and Steve Afflin, distance didn't matter. They would drive for countless kilometres, sometimes for over an hour, to lend a hand to our cause. Many doors that you knock on say: 'Fierce dog on premises. Do not enter.' But that didn't deter Lyn, who is a volunteer for homeless dogs. She valiantly opened every gate—and never got a bite at all! And volunteers Harry Brookings, Daniel Pingelly and Dylan Varis are time-poor university students but still managed to spend hours and hours talking to volunteers.

I'd like to recognise these people and the hundreds of others who I got to know personally, who donated as much time as they could to volunteer for the Labor Party in the hope of a better future. Now that I have my weekends back, on Saturdays and Sundays I do miss them. I miss Fred, Kim, Daniel and Lyn. But I don't miss the 'fierce dog' signs because, unlike Lyn, I never knocked on those doors. I do thank them. I also thank the team who work in my office, who always go above and beyond—Fiona, Emma, Jemma, Andy, Sophia, Clare and Millie. They have stood by me in my role and will continue to stand by me as Deputy President. I thank them once again, and I thank our volunteers in the Pearce campaign.