Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Western Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Nick Agocs, a long-time member of the Australian Labor Party, passed away on Thursday, 29 April 2021. I want to pass on the condolences of everyone on this side of the House to Nick's wife, Barbara, to his daughters, Andrea, Danielle and Carolyn, and to his granddaughter, Bianca.

Nick was a true believer and would often come to my office to give me advice on what he thought we were doing right and, as was his style, also on what he thought we were doing wrong in the Labor Party, on a regular basis. He had been active in the Labor Party for many, many years.

Born Miklos Szaszak in Hungary in 1938, he was a child of the Second World War. His father passed away when he was young, leaving Nick and his mother to flee across continents to safety. As refugees, they had the choice of where to migrate to, and they chose Australia. Australia is so fortunate for the contribution he then made to this nation.

He was a founding chair of the multicultural community safety committee. He was a secretary and a former president of the Ethnic Communities Council of Western Australia and a former management committee member of the North Perth Migrant Resource Centre and spent three decades of his life contributing to federal, state and local policy for migrant communities.

His daughter Andrea told me and my team that one of his last wishes was to make a donation to the Labor Party to see it help us win the 2021-22 election. I'm very pleased that he made that $100 donation to the federal Perth campaign. Thank you.