Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to pay tribute to Bob Ward, a highly respected and loved community leader in my electorate on the Central Coast, who died on 1 September after a battle with mesothelioma, aged 71. Bob was a devoted father to Susan and father of Stephen, Michael and Stuart, and he had five grandchildren. He will be deeply missed by them and all who knew him. He'll certainly also be remembered for everything he achieved in his time at Gosford City Council, including two years as deputy mayor. Bob was a longstanding Liberal Party member on the Central Coast. He was my first campaign manager and the Liberal Conference president when I was running for the seat of Robertson. He was an invaluable source of advice—not that I always took it!—and direction, much to my chagrin, but he was always the first point of contact for me when I knew that something had to be looked at by the council. Bob always picked up the phone and acted. He got things done, with little fanfare but lots of action.

The administrator of Central Coast Council, Ian Reynolds, said that together with his roles on various committees and the Joint Regional Planning Panel Bob left a long and lasting legacy as a passionate advocate for the Central Coast community. But beyond his achievements, Bob will be missed I suspect more for what he helped others achieve and the selfless, dedicated and humble way he went about his work and lived his life. For Bob, no problem was too small or too big to help solve. Susan, his wife, has a story that captures it beautifully. One night at around 9 pm, possibly to her annoyance, Bob took a call from a concerned local resident. It was about a problem with loud frogs in the pool in a neighbour's backyard. The caller wanted to play a secret recording of the frogs to prove a claim, and Bob, instead of watching TV with Susan, took the time to speak with the resident for around 45 minutes. He desperately wanted to see how council might be able to help find a fix for the frustrating frogs.

But Bob was also a visionary and a longstanding advocate of high-speed rail between Sydney and Newcastle, something he championed during his time as deputy mayor and also deputy chair of Central Coast RDA. But Bob also made sure that the achievements of hardworking people on the Central Coast got the recognition they deserve. Susan said he was so proud of the fact that for three years in a row the council's citizens of the year had all been locals nominated by Bob. He went out of his way to recognise people, even in everyday life, through local scout groups, the Brisbane Water Historical Society, the Lions Club, the Liberal Party, the Top Blokes Foundation, local Rotary Cubs and more. Bob was in particular a proud Rotarian, and he was recently awarded the Paul Harris fellowship by Gosford City Rotary. In awarding the fellowship, President Kathy Sokk said that Bob was the 'embodiment of Rotary's mission of service above self'. Former member for Robertson Jim Lloyd told me that Bob always worked tirelessly and was always prepared to stand up for the needs of our region. Local Liberal legend Bob Mudge, who knew Bob for 20 years, said he was 'always approachable' and 'a great all-round bloke'.

Flags at Central Coast Council were at half-mast in Bob's honour after his death, in a true sign of respect. The world has lost a beautiful man with a heart of gold. Even more than his community deeds, it is his kindness and thoughtfulness towards others that is his true legacy, one that will always stand the test of time.