Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to join with other members of this chamber and acknowledge and pay my respects to Ljupco Jonceski, or, as we all knew him, Luch. Luch, sadly, passed away on New Year's Eve. I hope it is comforting to his wife, Mary, and his children, Joshua, Jessica and Rebecca, to know that he was loved by all of us in this place. Members of parliament past and present have benefited over the years from Luch's tireless dedication and enthusiasm to his role as a parliamentary attendant. He was a calm, reassuring and gracious presence in the House of Representatives from the morning prayers to question time to the adjournment debate in the evening, whenever that was—sometimes very late.

Luch helped keep parliament running for over 40 years. After working down at the Old Parliament House, he helped bring new Parliament House to life. I did not know this until recently, but he literally helped build this magnificent place. He worked as a labourer on the construction of this iconic building before becoming one of the most respected and diligent attendants of this parliament. Luch was a constant. Indeed, he was the longest-serving employee in the Department of the House of Representatives. Governments and ministers, members and senators—we all come and go, but Luch's warmth and kindness was a common thread that has helped unite this place for generations of the elected.

I was elected nearly 10 years ago, on 1 July 2016. When you are first elected, the experience of arriving at parliament can be quite overwhelming. Before that, arriving at the Canberra Airport, maybe not for the first time ever but for the first time as an elected member of the House of Representatives, is also a pretty different experience. When I first arrived in 2016, Luch was the attendant at the airport in Canberra. With a clipboard and a smile and a warm greeting, he made sure I got my Comcar and my new colleagues all got their cars on our way to the parliament. It was very reassuring and a great kindness. For many years on a Sunday evening Luch would be at the airport managing the drivers and welcoming us to Canberra after our long flight from Perth. The Perth flight, as some of you will know, is one of the last flights to arrive—it certainly used to be—and Luch would be there making sure we got our cars. Sadly, the practice of having someone to help us at the airport has stopped. Personally, I think that's a false economy, but that's a matter for DPS.

He helped all MPs in their speeches as well, particularly for members' first speeches. The other attendants, of course, also always help us in this, making sure we have a lectern—letting us know there was such a thing as a lectern that you could put on your table was instructive and really helpful—and delivering us a water before that speech, all allowing us to be at our very best. I can assure anyone who hasn't done a first speech in this parliament that it's one of the most terrifying experiences—it was of my life; I can't speak for every member of this place. But to have someone like Luch and the kind attendants that are around us today help us deliver those speeches is really something, and I thank Luch for his kindness and for all the attendance.

He also took magnificent care of the mace—that amazing traditional part of our parliament that represents the authority of it. He would care for it as it passed out of the hands of its formal custodian, the Serjeant-at-Arms, to its home for the night in the Speaker's chambers, locking it up every night and unlocking it every morning the parliament was held. He was also a personal assistant to the Speaker and my friend Milton Dick, and I knew they spent much time together. Luch's commitment to Milton as the Speaker and to all the Speakers and their respective offices over many years will live long in the collective memory of the House of Representatives.

The member for Riverina observed in his condolence motion that condolence motions are usually reserved on the passing of members of the royalty, world leaders, ministers of the Crown, members of parliament, senators and now for Luch. Perhaps he is the first attendant in the parliament to receive such an honour; I can't be sure. But it does say a tremendous amount about Luch and his constancy that we are here lamenting his loss.

I hope all the attendants here that serve our parliament, our democracy, realise how important they are to each of us, the members of the House of Representatives, and to the senators. You work diligently in the background, in service. Your smiles and contributions to our days here are meaningful, and we could not do without you. You will miss Luch, and we will all miss him as well.

I want to take this moment to also thank everyone that makes the parliament work for us, whether it be, of course, the drivers that get us to and from our homes—I live a long way from the airport, and many others do as well, and we know some of those drivers have to be out of their beds at three in the morning or two in the morning to collect the cars to come and get us, to get us to the airport, and there are also long nights, when they pick us up late at the airport, returning from Canberra or from wherever else we travel around the country, and I thank them for their patience when our planes are late or there all the other mishaps that befall us in this. I also thank each of the attendants, the cleaners and everyone else that works really diligently to keep this place working.

There's also the workmanship in this place—and there are a lot of people that come here when we're on a break, that no-one ever sees, that do things like fix up these wooden tables and make sure that this place, that's 38 years old, is always looking its best. It says a lot about our parliament and the deep respect the people that work in this building have for the building itself, the fixtures in it and all the things we need to make it work, that they care for it so carefully and with such love and so meaningfully. It's lucky for us, and it's a privilege to get to work here every single day, and the people that work here all work hard. I know we have some tough times. It's always very contested. But we all know we live and work in such a remarkable building, and we have the people around us that help us.

Returning to Luch, he was truly a genuine person. He was generous and friendly to every person he met. I feel privileged to have met Luch, and I thank him for welcoming me to the parliament when I first started nearly 10 years ago. This entire building is all the better for working with him. I'm saddened by his loss. And I can truly say this place will not be the same without him. Luch will long be remembered. May he rest in peace.

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