Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the life of Lorraine Bird. Lorraine Bird was a school cleaner and a union member. Her passing, at the age of 69, reminds me of just how much one person who believes in something bigger than herself can achieve when they stand together with people who feel the same. Lorraine was a leader in the campaign for school cleaners to win back good jobs after 4,000 public school cleaners were sacked and then asked to reapply for their jobs, on less money and hours, as contractors. In the years that followed, Victorian schools were awash with wage theft, fly-by-night contractors and dirty classrooms.

Lorraine and her husband, Ian, also a school cleaner, stood up and spoke out. In the beginning it was Ian who led the charge, but, when he died, Lorraine told me it was her time to step out and speak out. Lorraine was only small in stature, but I can tell you she had a big heart, a big smile and an even bigger voice. Her determination pushed the Victorian government to finally end decades of insecure contracts in 2018, and her legacy lives on in the working lives of thousands of school cleaners.

Lorraine and Ian epitomised what union really means. It means family—a family of people standing together for the betterment of all—and it means dignity and real respect for hard work. Today I'm thinking of Lorraine's grieving son, her stepchildren, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, her wonderful friends and her union family, who were there for her in the end, too. After a life of hard work and inspiring work, Lorraine, rest in peace. You deserve it.