Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great sadness that I advise the House of the death of Brenton Banfield, a great man in our local community. I have had the honour of knowing Brenton over the last 30 years and have seen firsthand the contribution he has made to his local community of Campbelltown. Brenton was 62 when motor neurone disease struck him, at a time when he was making preparations for his retirement. On 7 November the disease ultimately took his life.

Brenton was a Labor colleague and one who dedicated himself to the community. Regardless of politics, he was genuine champion for the betterment of south-west Sydney. He treated everybody with respect and consideration. He had a unifying quality about him and even in death was able to bring together a rather diverse group of people, including all factions of the Labor Party, past and present—which I assure you is no mean feat. He was elected to Campbelltown City Council in 1991 and remained for the following 17 years, serving two terms as mayor. Brenton was a very successful lawyer, and I know he was much respected by the legal profession, particularly those in Liverpool and Campbelltown, as well as the police officers in those respective commands.

But it was Campbelltown and its people that captured his abiding interests. He was a renowned orator, but it was not just his eloquent delivery; it was the concern and compassion that he had for others that always impressed me about his contributions. Brenton often remarked that the arts and cultural expressions were the essence of a community. Together with his wife, Ruth, he was passionate about the Campbelltown arts scene and was instrumental in establishing the Campbelltown Arts Centre, which has become a beacon for cultural and artistic endeavour throughout the region. You did not have to spend much time with Brenton to realise the pride and love that he had for his family. Ruth, his soul mate, to whom he had been married for 41 years—together with their sons, Evan and Trent, and their daughters-in-law, Lisa and Marie, and their grandchildren, Jules, Wonoona, Halo and Eleanor—filled his life with joy. I offer my most sincere condolences to them.

Most people start out in public life with an ambition to make change for the better. In Brenton's case he can certainly rest comfortable in the knowledge that through his contribution Campbelltown, and the region, is a better place. I have been privileged to have known Brenton, a great man and indeed one of life's true gentlemen but, above all, a man of the people. In accordance with the family's wishes, I join with the local members of the community in supporting the Motor Neurone Disease Association in their work and research into this dreadful disease. To my friend Brenton Banfield: rest in peace.