Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senators Sheldon, Ayres, Keneally, McCarthy, Dodson, McAllister and O'Neill, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) honours the life and acknowledges the death of Mr. Lyall Munro Sr, Komeroi elder, on 21 May 2020, and notes that:

  (i) born in 1921 in Tingha New South Wales (NSW), Mr Munro Sr fought for rights, justice, opportunities and a voice for Aboriginal people and Indigenous people around the world,

  (ii) Mr Munro Sr was at the forefront of the 1965 Freedom Ride in Moree, highlighting racist practices in NSW that excluded Aboriginal people from clubs, pools and picture theatres,

  (iii) Mr Munro Sr was a descendant of the victims of the Myall Creek massacre, and was instrumental in establishing a memorial to the massacre near Bingara NSW,

  (iv) Mr Munro Sr contributed to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and was a founding member of the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service, the Aboriginal Housing Company and the Aboriginal Medical Service,

  (v) Mr Munro Sr is preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Carmine May Munro—together they had 12 children and he is survived by 9 children, 45 grandchildren, 122 great-grandchildren and 28 great-great grandchildren, and

  (vi) Mr Munro Sr leaves a profound and significant legacy of achievements; and

(b) expresses its sympathy to his family, friends and community in Moree and across Australia.

Question agreed to.