Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the opposition, I join with the Prime Minister in offering my sincere condolences to the friends and loved ones of Alby Schultz. We pay respect to his memory. We salute his nearly 15 years of service in this place and in his community.

When Alby Schultz rose in this chamber to give his valedictory speech, he told the parliament it was the second one that he had written. Alby said:

I wrote one, and my wife read it and she said to me, 'You're not seriously going to bring that into the chamber, are you?' She said, 'You really do have to write something a little bit softer than that, love.'

And, as he did so often in their 53 years of marriage, Alby deferred to Gloria's judgement.

Alby Schultz was a great-hearted warrior for his convictions. He was a forthright advocate for his community and he was a combatant to the last. He also used to occasionally disagree with Labor! Because Alby Schultz had a gift—perhaps an increasingly rare gift—for forging friendships on both sides of the chamber, he was a man devoid of pretention. He valued hard work and honesty far above political differences.

I know that Alby will be greatly missed by his former colleagues, his many friends and his loving family. Our sympathies are with all of you. May he rest in peace.

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