John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my privilege to join my colleagues to speak of Alby. Unfortunately, I did not have a long time to know Alby. I cannot say that I was his best friend or that we shared many times together, but you did not have to know Alby for a long time to know him very well. He said exactly what he thought; he did not beat around the bush. When he said he was willing to fight for something, that was actually literal—he did fight for things.

He was a great character and, as the previous speaker said, a complex person in some ways. While he enjoyed the very best of marriages, he had great sympathy and worked hard for those who did not have such good fortune. The story of his valedictory and his consultation with his lifelong partner Gloria was a typical Alby story. He was full of fight and feistiness and he was going to tell everybody what he really thought, and then he sought that good counsel.

In many ways you would think they were opposites, and it is often said that opposites attract, but, as I understand it, when you delve into it more deeply, you seek an opposite to become a whole—you seek in your partner what you do not have. Alby and Gloria made a great whole—they made a great team. Our thoughts go to Gloria in this time of loss; it is a terrible loss. Alby loved people and people loved him; he loved Gloria and Gloria loved him right back. I have often said that the best fortune of coming to this place is the colleagues you engage with who become your friends. This was certainly the case with Alby. He will remain in our thoughts; his spirit will remain here. We will treasure his memory and his spirit.

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