Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We were in shock when we heard about the passing of Don Randall; it was with great disbelief. At first, I thought it must have been one of Don's stunts or some type of practical joke, because this man was larger than life and how could we allow someone like Don to leave us? We needed him, and we miss him terribly.

He was a great mentor. He often would say to me, 'You belong to a special club.' My good friend the member for La Trobe is a member of that club. It is the club where you lose and then you come back, and Don would remind me of that constantly. He would say, 'We're pretty special, because not many people do come back, and we did come back.'

Yes, he was a great grassroots campaigner, and you could learn a lot from Don. But I learnt more from Don because Don used to talk to me while we were catching the flights. He was going to Perth and we were going to Brisbane, and often his beautiful daughter, Tess, would be there as well. Don loved all things Italian, and I think that is why he sort of had a particular fondness for me. He loved to practise his Italian, and he actually spoke it very, very well.

Don, you were a great friend. We miss you terribly. May you rest in peace. Our thoughts and our prayers are with your beautiful wife, Julie, and with your children, Tess and Elliott. May you rest in peace.

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