Ali France (Dickson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to honour the exceptional life of Colleen Lavarch, who left us in February, aged 94. She devoted her life to her two great loves: her family and the Australian Labor Party. She grew up inCamooweal, the daughter of the local publican, and was a single mum when she was motivated to join the ALP, after Gough Whitlam was dismissed in 1975. Like my own grandmother, she was aghast that the founder of Medibank and free university had been removed.

More than 50 years of campaigning for Labor in the Moreton Bay region followed, and her little love, Michael, followed her every step—letterboxing, street stalls and many election days together. They had a special bond. Michael recounted on the weekend that his mum, unmarried, had been put under pressure to give him up for adoption in 1961—she refused. Colleen raised Michael, instilling in him an unwavering commitment to social justice, and that little boy went on to study law at QUT and then, of course, to become the first Labor member for Fisher, the very first member for Dickson and the Attorney-General of Australia in the Keating government.

Colleen was the backbone of her local branch, a tireless election campaigner and a life member of the Queensland branch. Vale, Colleen Lavarch.

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