Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to take the time to honour a man who was loved by all who had the privilege of knowing him. That man was Samuel Gunsser. He was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of man. He lived a life that impacted countless others, and those who knew him were forever changed by the impact that he left on their lives. Sam was born on 1 March 1977 and, sadly, on 14 April this year, at the age of just 44, Sam lost his 14-month battle with cancer.

I first had a sit-down meeting with Samuel Gunsser in 2019. He came to my office to see me as his federal MP. I remember being struck by his wisdom, his compassion for people and for the community, his integrity, his love for his family and the positive attitude he brought when I spoke to him. I had a lot in common with him. He was truly a humble man, Sam. He was a wonderful problem solver, but if he didn't have the answer he always knew a person who would. Despite only knowing Sam for three short years, it really felt to me that he was a friend of mine, and you don't get a lot of friends. He just had a remarkable impact on me and the other people that he met.

Sam is remembered by his wife of 19 years, Karolina, and their four children, Maja, Layla, Judah and Jesse. His children were his pride and joy. Yesterday was also Father's Day. At his life's celebration service in April, Sam's 13-year-old daughter had this to say of her dad: 'I've never met another person who had all the time in the world for other people yet still managed to make it home in time for dinner every night.' The fact is, Mr Speaker, Sam's children know that their father loved them. It's a sign of a great father. Family was the bedrock of all Sam did, and he loved them wholly and completely. He only ever spoke in a positive way about them to me.

Sam's wife, Karolina, has said that Sam 'helped her to become more than she could ever have imagined' and that he loved her more in 20 years than many do in a lifetime. Sam, along with Karolina, was a pastor in the Petrie electorate, on the Redcliffe peninsula. Helping her become her best and building her up was an attribute of a great husband. I remember saying to Sam, after hearing Karolina speak, that she was a wonderful speaker. He said, 'Yes, I know.' Marc Eslick, a local business owner within the Petrie electorate, said about Sam: 'He was impactful; he was intentional. He moved people individually and collectively. Sam loved God and he loved people.'

Sam faced many battles in his final year, but not once did I hear him complain. He would say, 'It's all good,' and he had a peace about him. Sam was a leader in the community, and he was always thinking of ways he could help others, because he saw the bigger picture. If I asked local people who knew Sam to describe him, they would truly say that he was a good man, a man who left a legacy.

Mr Speaker, cancer is a leading cause of death by disease in adults and children in Australia. One in two Australian families will be affected. I'm sure that there isn't a family in the Petrie electorate that has not been touched in some way by the disease via a friend or family member. In 2020 my uncle, Ken Bryant, passed away from cancer at the age of 68. He also was a great man. Despite being 20 years older than me, he was a groomsman at my wedding. Like Sam, he was committed to his wife, Tonya, my aunty. I remember I was a teenager when they celebrated 20 years of marriage. I said to my uncle, 'Twenty years; wow, that's a long time,' and he said, 'Luke, it's a good start.' Both men were great men. They knew where they were going. They had an inner strength because of their Christian faith.

The coalition committed, if re-elected, to an investment of $375 million plus to build a state-of-the-art cancer centre in Brisbane, a place specifically designed for the early detection, treatment and prevention of this horrible disease. It would create new jobs for Queensland, provide support for families carrying the hardship of diagnosis and fund more scientific and medical research. I know the government is committed to that as well. As the member representing the people of Petrie, I know that any additional funding we can spend on scientific and medical research so that loved ones who are diagnosed with cancer have a little bit more time with their families would be welcome.

House adjourned at 19:5 9