I second the motion. It's right that the federal parliament should note the service and life of Allan G Ezzy—38 years of service on Holroyd Council, four terms as mayor and two as deputy mayor. He was elected to council in September 1974, which I confess to the chamber is just slightly after my birth, and served until his retirement in 2012. There would not be a street in Greystanes that Allan Ezzy hadn't visited, helped or serviced in his 38 years as a councillor. As my honourable friend mentioned, there was a particular focus on flooding issues, but of course his service then spread much more widely.

It was on council that I got to know Allan Ezzy. As it happens, he was Mayor of Holroyd when I was Mayor of Fairfield, two adjoining cities, and we did work closely together. We had different political views—I was a Labor mayor and he was an Independent mayor—but we worked closely together, and we never had a cross word. We did have one interesting discussion, I will confess to the chamber, where I had foreseen that perhaps Holroyd council might not be a council which survives an amalgamation process. I suggested to him that maybe we might get ahead of the curve and we might amalgamate Fairfield and Holroyd. It was a brief conversation because Allan was not interested in that conversation whatsoever. But I do stand by my view that perhaps Holroyd and Fairfield might have been a good match, and Holroyd, alas, did eventually get amalgamated with Auburn to form Cumberland City Council.

But his service was not just through council. It was, as the honourable member for Berowra has mentioned, through St John Ambulance, through the police, through rotary, through the church and also through his long connection with Patricia and his family to Greystanes Public School. There wasn't an annual presentation for many, many years where you wouldn't see Allan and Patricia at, providing support for the school many, many years after their own family had passed through the school. Allan, of course, served as a police legal prosecutor after he had left the beat and retired from service after 36 years as a senior sergeant. So 38 years on local council and 36 years in NSW Police—that is a record of which his family can be rightly proud.

All through his time, he extended his spare time to the people of Holroyd and to Greystanes in particular, and he made a very formidable councillor. I'm sure the chamber won't mind me pointing out that my friend and mentor Ken Morrisey and he made a very formidable team for the people of Greystanes—Ken Morrisey being a long-serving Labor councillor on Holroyd Council. He never quite got the numbers to be mayor but was a very, very long-serving councillor and alderman and a very good friend of mine and one of my early mentors in politics. He had the deepest respect for Allan Ezzy, and I know he would want his respect mentioned in this speech before the chamber. Ken still lives in Pemulwuy with June, and he is still a very dear and valued friend.

Allan was a member of the Holroyd rotary club for 40 years and held several board positions, including that of president, and received the Paul Harris fellowship and a sapphire pin for his services to rotary. He received the Australian Police Medal for distinguished service as well. In 2013, the Allan G Ezzy community centre was opened, and I've spent a lot of time there. There are many community events at Pemulwuy. It is a beautiful hall and is a fitting tribute to Allan. It's right that that very well-established and furnished hall is named in his honour to recognise his service. Pemulwuy didn't exist when he started on council. It was a Boral quarry; it is now a thriving suburb. Many people from Pemulwuy and surrounds attend that centre and see his name every single day, as they should, which recognises his service. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to local government and the community through law enforcement.

I was very saddened to hear of Allan's passing. He was, in all my interactions with him, a thorough gentleman in every sense of the word on every single occasion. He had a good, fruitful and productive life of service. So to Patricia, Simone, Renee and Vanessa: you are in all our thoughts. Allan was born in 1942; my late father was born in 1943, so I do have some feeling for what you're going through, having lost my father two years ago. You can look back on Allan's life of service with pride, and our community can look back on his life of service with gratitude. A fine Australian has left us.