Gary Gray (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak today on the tragic and untimely death of Mr Charlie Gregorini. Mr Gregorini was the Mayor of the City of Swan in metropolitan Perth. The City of Swan is the largest local government authority in metropolitan Perth, with an area in excess of a thousand square kilometres. The city stretches from Bullsbrook in the north to Guilford in the south and between Ballajura in the west and Gidgegannup in the east, with the iconic Swan Valley as the geographic centre. Mr Gregorini was killed in a tractor accident on Saturday just passed on his property in Swan. A report in the local newspaper told us that Mr Gregorini was using a tractor on Saturday afternoon to move bricks at his Swan View property. When he tried to take it up a ramp, it rolled and pinned the father of five underneath. His family said he was supposed to be resting but, true to form, he could not resist doing some extra work around the house. His wife, Sandra, found him, but there was nothing that she could do.

Mr Gregorini was 63. Mayor Gregorini led a life of distinguished service to local government and to his community. Today I wish to pay tribute to his contribution to local government. Mr Gregorini was first elected to the Shire of Swan in 1977 and held the office of president for 16 years. In 1988, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM, in recognition of his personal contribution to local government. In 2008, he was made a member of the Order of Australia, AM, for service to local government and Swan community. Mr Gregorini became the inaugural Mayor of the City of Swan in April 2000 and was again elected mayor in 2003. Mr Gregorini served as chairman of the Western Australian Local Government Advisory Board from 1988 to 2007 and was re-appointed as chairperson in 2008. He was a member and chairman of the Western Australian Local Government Grants Commission from 1 August 2007 until 31 July 2008. In the early 1990s, he was appointed by the Western Australian government as administrator of the City of Canning in Perth.

Mr Gregorini was also dedicated to helping others who were less fortunate and was particularly passionate about the plight of Australia’s homeless population. This life of admirable service points to the enthusiasm and love that he had for his community and its people. He will be sorely missed by the people of Swan. It is no surprise that so many members of this place have risen to speak on the life and work of Mr Gregorini. I add my words of condolence to those already spoken by the member for Cowan, the minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the member for Hasluck. Western Australian minister Mr Castrilli has also made a significant statement about the life, times and serving culture that characterised Mr Gregorini. I join my colleagues in expressing our deepest sympathies to Mr Gregorini’s wife of 38 years, Sandra, his five children and three grandchildren and convey our gratitude for his services to local government and to the families and people of Western Australia.