Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to a stalwart of my local community, Ron Lopez, who passed away recently. Ron was a proud member of the Labor Party for more than 15 years and a servant of his community. The greatest love in his life was his family and, in recent years, his grandchildren. He was a hard worker, and work made up so much of his life. For over 20 years he served the local community as the caretaker of Blacktown City Council's Civic Centre and you would often see him when visiting the council. I have known him over that period and he was always kind, grateful and as helpful as possible in his dealings with me and members of the community. Even while he was receiving treatment for his illness, Ron continued to work, only retiring in December last year.

I attended Ron funeral earlier this month at Sacred Heart Church, in Old Mount Druitt, a place of special significance for him as it was the family's church when they first moved to Australia. Ron is survived by his wife, Anne, and his four sons, Mervyn, Michael, Mark and Matthew, and his seven grandchildren. I want to pass on my deepest condolences to his family and on behalf of all members of our community pass on our gratitude for his great work in our local area.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 2 pm, the time for members' statements has concluded.