Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I honour a man who donated 15 years of his life to representing the people of Moonee Valley as mayor, deputy mayor and councillor. But I'm sad to say that this man, Jim Cusack, passed away on 30 May. He is survived by his wife, Helene McNamara; and sons, Aidan and Kilian. He loved his family, but Helene and the boys knew they had to share him with the 30-plus residents of Moonee Valley's Myrnong Ward.

Jim was described as a man with an interest in everything and larger than life in everything that he did. Anyone who met him had a 'Jim story', such was his love of a good yarn. You could see him traversing the ward on weekends, playing his beloved lawn bowls, dropping in at events and at sport clubs and parks. He would have a beer at most stops, because it would be rude not to, in his worldview.

Jim was union through and through. He embodied the very best of Labor values. His commitment to social justice, his fight for fairness and his passion for equality formed the cornerstone of Jim's worldview. This was formed at a very early age, when his father passed away and he had to become the key support to his mother and to his younger siblings. Those same values drove his determination throughout his life, in particular to make a difference in his community by sitting on the Moonee Valley City Council.

He outright rejected the notion that council was about roads, rates and rubbish alone. To Jim, representing people at the grassroots level was the purest form of public service, and if you had the privilege to have a voice you used it for those who did not. He used it to represent the residents of the large public housing estates within his constituency, to gain the endorsement of the soon-to-open Flemington Community Hub and to help establish the Crown Street Stables, a social enterprise employing people with disabilities.

I think some of the highlights amongst his many achievements were getting the council on board with support for climate change, for asylum seekers, for the Moonee Ponds Creek plan and for an Aboriginal reconciliation plan. Jim didn't sit on council for the glory, and certainly not for the money. Representing the people of Myrnong Ward was Jim's vocation. He set a high bar for all those who follow in his steps. He was a rarity, a great lover of Ireland and his Celtic roots—a Celtic unicorn. He will be terribly missed.

Jim Cusack's legacy lives on through Helene and the boys. It lives on through the many people he mentored in the local Labor Party. It lives on through his battles for justice and equality that he fought and won. And it lives on through the many lives that he touched. It's great that he realised his greatest dream, to be the mayor of Moonee Valley City Council and to serve on the council with great distinction.

They don't make people like Jim Cusack anymore. Sometimes we just use that statement, but in this case it has great meaning for those of us who knew him. The saddest thing about his passing is the people who won't be able to meet him, but we promise to tell the stories of Jim's life and his values at the funeral so that he can still live on in the memories of those who don't meet him. Vale Jim Cusack.