Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to say a few words in memory of Don Buckingham, a Fremantle constituent and a true friend. Don died on Labour Day, 7 March, which is appropriate for a man who gave such a great deal of his time and passion to the labour cause and to the Australian Labor Party. He was 70 years old, and is loved and missed by his wife, Alison, his three children, his two grandchildren, his wider family and many friends.

I first met Don in 2007 during the course of my election campaign in Fremantle. Throughout that time with all its intensities, with all its highs and lows, Don Buckingham was a constant presence and a constant source of can-do energy and enthusiasm for the good fight that is politics in Australia.

At the service to mark Don’s passing, it was remarked time and again that here was a gentleman of generosity, social conscience, good humour and an irrepressible kind of larrikin spirit. He loved a bet. He loved a good pair of shoes. He loved a cup of tea after helping to stuff a few thousand envelopes in the name of a Labor win. I was the beneficiary of Don’s hard work—he walked a lot of miles for me.

Don Buckingham is someone I will always associate with the best in politics: a person of strong principles; a person of indefatigable commitment; a person who took local political engagement seriously, but not too seriously. He was much loved by me, by my staff and by fellow Freo Labor members. And we will remember him.