Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep respect and sadness that I speak today to honour the life and legacy of Dr Alan Eggleston AM, or Eggy, as he was affectionately known across Western Australia and beyond. Alan was very kind and encouraging to me during my first federal campaign in 2019, when I was first elected. He was incredibly knowledgeable about Durack, particularly the Pilbara, and he absolutely loved Port Hedland. His affection for that town ran deep, shaped by over 22 years serving as its doctor and, later, as its mayor, long before he entered the Senate. On many occasions, when I was visiting the Pilbara with Alan, people would stop and proudly tell him that he had delivered them or that he had delivered one of their children. I will never forget the way that Alan's face would light up during those moments. It showed the deep connection and trust that he held in the community.

Born in Busselton in 1941 with a form of dwarfism, Alan faced many challenges. When doctors at the Royal Perth Hospital tried to exclude him from training because of his height, he refused to quit. Alan went to London, qualified as a physician and surgeon and then returned to serve remote Western Australia. For more than two decades, Alan was sometimes the only GP for hundreds of kilometres, treating minors, Aboriginal families, single mothers and truck drivers alike with compassion and respect. His own challenges gave him a deep empathy for others, and he worked tirelessly to lift up those too often ignored.

That same spirit drove his political career. Alan was a counsellor, mayor of Port Hedland and, later, Liberal Party vice-president, before being elected to the Senate in 1996—a position he held until 2014. As a senator for WA, Alan was relentless in championing regional communities. He did not just speak for the Pilbara; he embodied it—resilient, sometimes overlooked but vital to the nation's prosperity.

In parliament, Alan served on no fewer than 17 Senate committees, including five years on the Senate Standing Committees on Economics and two years as the Chair of the Senate Economics References Committee. During this time, more than 130 reports were tabled under his stewardship. His questions were always precise, informed and fair. He had little appetite for political theatre because he wanted answers, not applause. Alan's leadership was defined not by how loudly he spoke but by how carefully he listened. He used his seat not for ego but as a platform to advocate for improved regional services. It is with great sadness we farewell Dr Alan Eggleston—a man of heart, intellect and courage whose legacy lives on in the lives and communities he proudly served.