Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Members on both sides of this chamber were sorry to hear of the passing just a few weeks ago of one of the great characters of this place, former member for Hume, Alby Schultz. Alby's retirement due to ill health at the 2013 election ended three decades of service in local, state and federal government. For the last 15 years of his career, Alby represented Hume, and that made him the longest serving member for that seat since Federation. As you would expect in a member for Hume, Alby was as much at home in a shearing shed as he was in the corridors of power and in this particular chamber.

He was born in May 1939 in Melbourne, the son of a wool store labourer. His first job was as a meatworker. He spent much of his early life working in abattoirs. He was, in his own words, a working-class Liberal, and this was the secret of his success. He became a Liberal because he did not like the union, which was always calling his mates out on strike. Alby was one of those people who loved to see others get ahead by having a go.

With Alby, you always knew where you stood. He was famously irascible. On a number of occasions during my time as leader, Alby would storm out of party room meetings. I occasionally would make the trek to his office afterwards, but by the time I had arrived he would usually have calmed down and you could invariably have a good talk to him.

Especially in his last few years, Alby had two particular passions. The first was fighting ferociously for his electorate and the second was choosing his successor. His successor needed, in Alby's view, two prerequisites. First, he or she had to be a potential cabinet minister and, second, he or she could not be a member of the National Party under any circumstances!

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