Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I think the fact that so many of us in this place are actually speaking on a condolence motion for an attendant in this building says a lot about the person that Luch was and the esteem in which we held him. He had been a constant in my journey here in parliament. I've now been a member for over 18 years, and every day I turned up Luch was in the building. Every day, he anticipated my needs and the needs of the other many members of the federal parliament in the House of Representatives chamber.

Everybody here, when we talked about the sudden loss of Luch, was shocked. Everybody was saddened, but everybody had such wonderful anecdotes to share. Talking to my colleagues about those anecdotes, about those stories about what made Luch so special, a few themes came through. One, of course, was the great dedication to his job and the important role which it played in our democracy and how proud he was of it. One was his sense of humour and that great smile and the little smirk he would give as he made his jokes. The other, of course, was his industriousness. He understood how this building worked, and he made sure it worked as well as it possibly could. He was so proud of his role in it. As we heard from others, it didn't matter if he was talking to fellow attendants, clerks or people that work in this building or if he was talking to prime ministers, treasurers, leaders of the opposition; every single one of us Luch made feel important. He took time to engage with all of us equally. None of us was more important than anybody else, nor are we, but the fact that Luch saw that, understood it and treated us all equally, I think, says a lot about Luch as a human being.

To Luch's family and friends: I hope that our stories, our condolences, give you some comfort as you deal with the sudden loss of a loved one. Sudden loss can be incredibly difficult, but the stories and the esteem in which we held him in this place hopefully will help heal some of that pain.

I was talking to the Chief Government Whip today, and we remembered how hard the attendants and the people in this building worked through COVID to make sure that our parliament could continue to sit. Luch—we called him our official greeter. Every day he would tick us off and make sure that all of those that needed to be here, in terms of the reduced quorum in this place, were here to be able to make sure that federal parliament could continue to function, that the government could continue to function and that we would together work to make sure that Australians got the support they needed during what was an incredibly difficult time for our nation and indeed the globe. Luch had an important role in that, like everybody else did, as part of that democracy and the institution of democracy in which he took such great pride.

It was very lovely to meet his family yesterday and to pass on my condolences. Like many others, I'm sure, I was shocked that they knew my name. Engaging with them, I recalled very fondly that each year at the end of the year I would bring gifts up for the attendants, from my electorate, of Tasmanian fudge. I always brought them up and still do every Christmas. I would try and find Luch or some of the attendants, and Luch was always making sure that everybody got their share of the little token Christmas gift that I was bringing to say a big thank you for all of the work that the attendants and the people in this building do to make our job so much easier. He was always thinking about others. Clearly some of those made it home with my little 'Thanks from Julie Collins' on it, because the family knew who I was. I think that that says a lot about Luch too. He was also taking them home for his family and friends to enjoy—a little gift from Tassie that I made sure that I brought to this building to make sure that he and the other people that work in this building understood that we do value what they do in this place, that it's important and that it matters.

To all of those for whom Luch's life matters: there are many, many people in this building for whom Luch's life mattered. We share with you in your grief. We hope that our stories and anecdotes give you some comfort at a time of sudden loss, and we wish you and your family all the very best as you deal with this sudden loss. Vale.

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