Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a broader contribution to make, but that contribution causes me to reflect on a few other things. There is, of course, a conservative case for yes, and it's articulated by people like the various Liberal state leaders and by Senator Bragg. There is a conservative case for no, and I've listened intently as people like Senator Dean Smith and Senator Paterson have made that case. The problem with what Senator Hanson just said is that it represents the takeover of conservative politics by US-style far-right extremism. That is what she just did here. She's done it over and over again with her friends Mr Mundine and others on the Liberal Party backbench. That articulation is very divisive, very unhelpful and very incorrect. It corrodes the heart of modern conservative politics, which we should actually care about in this place for a healthy two-party government system. That's what people should reflect on when listening to that contribution.

I want to say a few things about three country members of the Labor party and the Labor movement who've passed away recently. The truth is that the modern Labor party and Labor movement were founded in the country, in Bourke and Barcaldine, as much as they were on the Sydney waterfront and in the industrial economy of Sydney and Melbourne. I was very sorry to hear of the death of a wonderful trade unionist and champion of workers from rural New South Wales, Geoff Lawler, in July of this year. He was a friend of mine. He was born in the Hunter Valley on 19 June 1950, and he worked tirelessly in country New South Wales for decades as an official of the old Miscellaneous Workers Union, now the United Workers Union. Country union organisers stick together. So it was with the Wagga Wagga and District Trades and Labour Council, and Geoff, as the president, kept that show together for many years not only in a formal leadership role but also because he led by example. He was a principled, decent man who was loyal to working-class Australians and his members, and, above all, he was a kind man. My friend Daren McDonald got it right when he said, 'As the voice of so many working people in the bush, Geoff, you can rest easy knowing that you never betrayed your class—the working class.' I want to send my deepest condolences to Geoff's wife, Yvonne, and their children, Scott, Justine and Steven.

Margaret Morgan was the president of the Oxley state electorate council and the local federal electorate council, and the secretary, for many, many years. She passed away this week after a long illness. She was the campaign manager for Susan Jenvey when she recently ran for the state seat of Oxley. Margaret stood for local government in 2016 and narrowly missed becoming a councillor by just a few votes. She was branch secretary of the Macleay branch for well over a decade and, prior to that, was an active member in Taree. She fought strongly for women-run domestic violence shelters in her region, both in Kempsey and Taree. Margaret had strong connections to the Indigenous community, the Kempsey neighbourhood and not-for-profit disability organisations. She was a big contributor in her community, and she will be deeply missed at her funeral this Friday and beyond.

Sadly, another branch member in that area, Alfredo Navarro, passed away very suddenly over the last few days. He died suddenly while on holidays in Spain with his partner. Alfredo was a much loved person in the Coffs Harbour branch. He ran a very spirited but difficult campaign as a candidate for Cowper in that very tough election in 2013. He had worked as an organiser for the United Workers Union. He was formerly a home-care worker and trainer in the home-care sector. He became a rank-and-file organiser of that union and then became an official of the New South Wales Nurses and Midwives Association. He was a big character. He was a very kind man. He was deeply loved in the Labor Party and in his local community.

I pay tribute to all three of those great activists in the Labor movement in New South Wales.