Laura Smyth (La Trobe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I knew Clyde Holding largely through the anecdotes and the reflections of others, but I certainly know just how fondly he was regarded by colleagues, by branch members and others in the labour movement, in the legal profession, in the land rights movement, in the arts community and very much beyond. I certainly associate myself with the remarks the Prime Minister made yesterday about such an extraordinary life and such an extraordinary contribution to this place and the parliamentary life of Australia generally.

As an alumnus of Holding Redlich, I would like to record in this place the regard in which he was held by members of the firm past and present. The firm was founded in 1976 by Clyde together with Peter Redlich. Since its earliest days, it has supported the labour movement, the arts and human rights and has engaged in public discussion about corporate social responsibility. Clyde Holding will certainly be best remembered for his contributions as a parliamentarian, but I think it important to reflect also on his contribution to the legal profession, of which I am certainly a beneficiary.

I know that my colleagues at the firm have publicly expressed their appreciation and pride at having been associated with a great Victorian and a great Australian, a man who supported the underdog and had a deep and lifelong commitment to supporting and advancing the causes of human rights and the rights and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, a man who worked tirelessly to advance the interests of ordinary Australians. As a relative newcomer to the corridors of this place, I hope that I can measure up to at least a little of the legacy of a compassionate, determined and irreverent Labor leader and a very decent human being.

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