Milton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today, I pay tribute to the life of the Hon. Con Sciacca AO, who sadly lost his battle with cancer yesterday afternoon in Brisbane. The term 'larger than life' is used too lightly in my opinion, but if there was ever a person who did fit this bill, it was Con Sciacca.

Concetto Antonio Sciacca was born in June 1947 in his beloved Sicily, and reached the age of 70 just over a week ago. Coming from humble beginnings with hardworking parents who came to this country with nothing, Con never forgot where he came from. His parents worked hard. They became model Australian citizens and taught their children to give back to the country of their new home.

Admitted as a solicitor in 1970, Con never looked back. As a legal professional, Con built one of the most successful legal practices in Queensland, Sciaccas Lawyers, alongside his partner and lifelong friend, now magistrate, Brian Kilmartin.

We were lucky to have Con serve in this place, because if it was not for 200 votes in the 1986 Redlands by-election Con would have been a state member of parliament. But in 1987, after winning a controversial preselection for the seat of Bowman, Con entered the House of Representatives alongside his great mate, Warren Snowdon. Con wasted no time in making his mark in Canberra as a powerbroker, the early fixer of his day and someone who everyone loved and feared, sometimes at the same time. The great Hawke-Keating leadership battles of the 1990s are a piece of Australia's history that Con was at the heart of. Everyone knows about his work as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs—one of Australia's best ministers. What people do not understand is his work as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Security and Minister Assisting the Treasurer for Superannuation. Some of his reforms included empowering women to receive superannuation. He always understood the dignity of work and ensured that people who needed support got the support when they needed it. Con was a Labor man. He was at the right of the movement—sometimes, some people say, a little too right of the movement—but he was one of the few politicians who truly crossed the political divide, both in his time in this place and is post-political career.

Leaving parliament, Con jumped into a new business career with his dear friends Santo Santoro and Larry Anthony. Both were former ministers and both remained loyal to Con to the end. I want to particularly acknowledge and thank Santo for his devotion to Con and his support over the last few years. The SAS team with Peter Costantini was truly another family for Con. 'Getting things done for people and results' was Con's motto. Con always said the same thing to me after I was elected—look after people and the people will look after you.

He took his friends seriously—loyal to every single one of them; that is, of course, until they crossed him. However, his friends remained loyal to the end, visiting him in hospital at his bedside. The Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten; former leader Kim Beazley; the member for Warringah, Tony Abbott; and so many other former colleagues all visited him until the end.

I speak for my own Queensland colleagues about just how sad we are about losing Con. Leaders would come and go, candidates would win and lose, and governments would rise and fall but, always, Con Sciacca was at the beating heart of all of these situations. When Con's phone number would flash up on your phone, it meant one of two things: Con had a brilliant idea or he wanted to take you to lunch. Somehow I think the restaurants in Brisbane will simply never be the same again. I know that, as a new Young Labor member, I would watch him at events, conferences and meetings in awe of his turn of phrase, his negotiation skills and his fierce compassion for those who had nothing. Over the years I have met hundreds of people whom Con had helped out, helping their lives in countless ways—winning battles that people may have had with government, making sure his beloved bayside community was always looked after and, in many cases, personally financially helping out constituents in need.

The Hon. Con Sciacca AO was truly a magnificent character—a legal professional, a parliamentarian, a minister, a businessman, a mentor and also a friend, husband, father, stepfather and grandfather. That was the Con I knew. My thoughts today are with his beautiful and beloved wife, Karen, who was with him to the very end and looked after him with such beauty and grace; his beloved daughter, Zina; his much-adored granddaughter, Grace; and his stepsons Daniel and Nicholas. They will never forget Con, just as Australia will never forget Con either.