Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

It's not very often that you get to rise in this place and on the passing of someone who works in this place, bringing all of us together, and that's what Luch has done.

Ljupco Jonceski—I didn't know that was his full name. I used to call him 'Luciano', after Luciano Pavarotti, because I wanted to be different from everybody else who called him Luch. Luch was the kind of gentleman—and I use the term 'gentleman' in its truest sense—that had the ability to make everybody feel as though you were the only person in the room. When he was operating in a room as the attendant of 150 people, many of whom probably had pretty high opinions of themselves, Luch had the ability to make everybody feel special.

It's really quite remarkable to stand here and listen to the minister and the member for Flinders and many other speakers, whether they've been here for five minutes or 25 years, and listen to their stories, because I thought I was the only one who had a really good relationship with Luch. And that was the nature of the man—that he had that kind of relationship with so many other people.

I remember working very closely with Luch when I was the Speaker of the House. Listening to the current Speaker talking yesterday, he used the same jokes with me. But being the Speaker of the House of Reps is a very stressful job. Most people would have absolutely no concept of how stressful it was and is. But Luch, every single day, was a voice of reason, of calmness, of good humour and of good sense. It was his ability to be able to lighten the mood in what could sometimes be a very difficult working environment. I will always remember Luch for that.

I don't know how it came to be, because, of course, we can't take photos in the House of Representatives, but somehow a photo was taken of Luch and me. We were the only ones in the chamber. The House wasn't sitting at the time. I think it was in between sitting weeks. It was after the election that we'd lost, and I think it was probably the on last day, or on the last day before I handed the baton over to the current Speaker. There's this great photo of me on the floor of the House of Reps, and Luch is standing in the seats looking over me, looking like he's giving me a lecture, and, of course, nothing could be further from the truth. But I'll cherish that photo because Luch was a true gentleman and an inspiration to me and clearly to everybody else that he touched in this place.

It was really interesting to hear the Prime Minister talk about Luch yesterday. This was a gentleman who worked in the employ and service of our great democracy for more than 40 years. In fact, to be the longest serving employee in the Department of the House of Representatives is no small feat, but to have worked down the hill at Old Parliament House, then to have come up here to work as a labourer in the construction of this great, magnificent building and then, once again, to have worked in this building since 1988, serving democracy, serving us all—not just serving the people who have the privilege of being in here but serving the nation in the way that he did—as a former carpenter and joiner, really struck a note with me.

That is what's great about this country—that a man from a Macedonian background can come here, whether working as an attendant or a labourer on a building site, and 40 years later have so many members of the House of Representatives stand up and talk about how great this man was. It is a testament not just to Luch, not just to his family, but to our country. They don't make them like Luch anymore. That's really sad to say. But Luch was a man of what I would regard as great integrity and good humour. He treated everybody the same, whether it was the Prime Minister or the newest backbencher. What the Prime Minister said yesterday was very true. He would often just bring you a glass of water and say, 'That's on the House, sir!' He had a terrific sense of humour and was a good man. I had the privilege of working very closely with his daughter Jess, who worked in this building. Jess served on the secretariat of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, which I had the privilege of being the deputy chair of in the last parliament and for a bit in this one. I know that he was immensely proud of you, Jess. I told you that yesterday. I know you've gone on to perhaps bigger and better things now, but he was incredibly proud of you for the work that you were doing and have done for this country. I just wanted to put that on the record because he and I would often talk about the great work that you'd do, that you did, for the committee. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

So, to Luch's family, to Jess, of course, and to his wife and kids: thank you for sharing Luch with the Australian people for so many years, for more than four decades. We are richer for having worked with Luch. The country is richer for it. Our democracy is richer for it. I want to thank you all for sharing him with us. This place will never be the same. When I heard that he'd died, I couldn't believe it. 'Not Luch. Seriously? No, not Luch. He's still a young man.' I think I was a bit shell shocked then. But his legacy will live on. For the attendants that are here, I would encourage you to take a leaf out of his book and use his phrase, 'That one's on the House, Mr Hastie!' Try and emulate that success, that spirit of Luch. I don't know what we'd do for him as an institution, but we should not just remember him in this sense, which is very important, but, I think, do something a little bit more as well, because I think he's a terrific example of what our democracy is all about, of what our country is all about. We're a migrant country, and we should continue to celebrate that, for all the riches that people bring to this country from their different cultures and faiths. I'm probably rambling now. Vale, Luch. You were a good man. You were a great man. Thank you for your service.

See this speech in context