Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to join with other members of this chamber and acknowledge and pay my respects to Ljupco Jonceski, or, as we all knew him, Luch. Luch, sadly, passed away on New Year's Eve. I hope it is comforting to his wife, Mary, and his children, Joshua, Jessica and Rebecca, to know that he was loved by all of us in this place. Members of parliament past and present have benefited over the years from Luch's tireless dedication and enthusiasm to his role as a parliamentary attendant. He was a calm, reassuring and gracious presence in the House of Representatives from the morning prayers to question time to the adjournment debate in the evening, whenever that was—sometimes very late.

Luch helped keep parliament running for over 40 years. After working down at the Old Parliament House, he helped bring new Parliament House to life. I did not know this until recently, but he literally helped build this magnificent place. He worked as a labourer on the construction of this iconic building before becoming one of the most respected and diligent attendants of this parliament. Luch was a constant. Indeed, he was the longest-serving employee in the Department of the House of Representatives. Governments and ministers, members and senators—we all come and go, but Luch's warmth and kindness was a common thread that has helped unite this place for generations of the elected.

I was elected nearly 10 years ago, on 1 July 2016. When you are first elected, the experience of arriving at parliament can be quite overwhelming. Before that, arriving at the Canberra Airport, maybe not for the first time ever but for the first time as an elected member of the House of Representatives, is also a pretty different experience. When I first arrived in 2016, Luch was the attendant at the airport in Canberra. With a clipboard and a smile and a warm greeting, he made sure I got my Comcar and my new colleagues all got their cars on our way to the parliament. It was very reassuring and a great kindness. For many years on a Sunday evening Luch would be at the airport managing the drivers and welcoming us to Canberra after our long flight from Perth. The Perth flight, as some of you will know, is one of the last flights to arrive—it certainly used to be—and Luch would be there making sure we got our cars. Sadly, the practice of having someone to help us at the airport has stopped. Personally, I think that's a false economy, but that's a matter for DPS.

He helped all MPs in their speeches as well, particularly for members' first speeches. The other attendants, of course, also always help us in this, making sure we have a lectern—letting us know there was such a thing as a lectern that you could put on your table was instructive and really helpful—and delivering us a water before that speech, all allowing us to be at our very best. I can assure anyone who hasn't done a first speech in this parliament that it's one of the most terrifying experiences—it was of my life; I can't speak for every member of this place. But to have someone like Luch and the kind attendants that are around us today help us deliver those speeches is really something, and I thank Luch for his kindness and for all the attendance.

He also took magnificent care of the mace—that amazing traditional part of our parliament that represents the authority of it. He would care for it as it passed out of the hands of its formal custodian, the Serjeant-at-Arms, to its home for the night in the Speaker's chambers, locking it up every night and unlocking it every morning the parliament was held. He was also a personal assistant to the Speaker and my friend Milton Dick, and I knew they spent much time together. Luch's commitment to Milton as the Speaker and to all the Speakers and their respective offices over many years will live long in the collective memory of the House of Representatives.

The member for Riverina observed in his condolence motion that condolence motions are usually reserved on the passing of members of the royalty, world leaders, ministers of the Crown, members of parliament, senators and now for Luch. Perhaps he is the first attendant in the parliament to receive such an honour; I can't be sure. But it does say a tremendous amount about Luch and his constancy that we are here lamenting his loss.

I hope all the attendants here that serve our parliament, our democracy, realise how important they are to each of us, the members of the House of Representatives, and to the senators. You work diligently in the background, in service. Your smiles and contributions to our days here are meaningful, and we could not do without you. You will miss Luch, and we will all miss him as well.

I want to take this moment to also thank everyone that makes the parliament work for us, whether it be, of course, the drivers that get us to and from our homes—I live a long way from the airport, and many others do as well, and we know some of those drivers have to be out of their beds at three in the morning or two in the morning to collect the cars to come and get us, to get us to the airport, and there are also long nights, when they pick us up late at the airport, returning from Canberra or from wherever else we travel around the country, and I thank them for their patience when our planes are late or there all the other mishaps that befall us in this. I also thank each of the attendants, the cleaners and everyone else that works really diligently to keep this place working.

There's also the workmanship in this place—and there are a lot of people that come here when we're on a break, that no-one ever sees, that do things like fix up these wooden tables and make sure that this place, that's 38 years old, is always looking its best. It says a lot about our parliament and the deep respect the people that work in this building have for the building itself, the fixtures in it and all the things we need to make it work, that they care for it so carefully and with such love and so meaningfully. It's lucky for us, and it's a privilege to get to work here every single day, and the people that work here all work hard. I know we have some tough times. It's always very contested. But we all know we live and work in such a remarkable building, and we have the people around us that help us.

Returning to Luch, he was truly a genuine person. He was generous and friendly to every person he met. I feel privileged to have met Luch, and I thank him for welcoming me to the parliament when I first started nearly 10 years ago. This entire building is all the better for working with him. I'm saddened by his loss. And I can truly say this place will not be the same without him. Luch will long be remembered. May he rest in peace.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are there any statements?

Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes—impromptu. I do want to speak about Luch, because, when I first came to Parliament House in 2019, it was Luch, and his friendliness and his warmth, welcoming me as a new MP—Luch just had that beautiful personality that was open to everyone and friendly towards everyone and just wanted to be helpful. I agree with the minister's characterisation of Luch but also of every attendant in this House and all those who serve us. You know, we, sometimes, get a little bit precious about how important we are. We're elected; that's true. But we couldn't do what we do without the support of the people who work in this House, and every one of them is valued.

I always think about the culture that is developed here, and the fact that it doesn't matter whether we're from opposition parties, or whether we're walking beside someone, or someone's coming towards us who might the cleaner for the day—everyone is friendly; everyone treats one another with respect. It is a real delight, and it's an enormous privilege to work in this House, to represent the people of my electorate in Mallee, but also for every MP—and senator, to be fair—to work in this House, for the people of Australia.

I think people don't understand, and I was very interested to hear the minister say just then, that this House is 38 years old. It's still kind of feels new to me, and that has to do with the upkeep and the care, and the fact that people do take their jobs very seriously here. Once again, I would just thank every person who serves in this House. They're not just doing a job; they are supporting the democracy of Australia. And it is a wonderful thing for us to be involved in and a true privilege.

David Moncrieff (Hughes, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a real honour to be able to speak in remembrance of Luch. I didn't know Luch for as long as some of the other members here, having been elected only last year, but I want to acknowledge how welcoming he was to the new members here. As has been said by some of the members that were welcomed a bit longer ago, he was so welcoming. The moment that I always remember about him is when I was in my first couple of weeks here and I was looking for a lectern. I walked up to the little spot next to the main doors of the chamber. I was still working things out. I said, 'Can I get a lectern?' and he went, 'Come in, come in,' immediately. He was so welcoming. He said, 'Come in any time you want.' He was so generous and welcoming with his time and his resources.

The first time I saw Luch was on The House With Annabel Crabb and they talked about how long he had served in this place and the place before it. There are no members left serving in this place now who served in the previous place. It's so sad that we've lost that connection to that previous place and to the legacy of that building for this place. Luch was always such a warm reminder of the familiarity of this place and of the legacy of this place.

As has been said, we as members of parliament couldn't do this work without those people supporting us—the attendants, the cleaners and all the people that make this place hum. We couldn't do it without them. Luch represented the best of this place. He represented that warmth and that welcome that we want for this seat of Australian democracy. We want it to be a place where all Australians feel welcome, and Luch did that in the most humble and welcoming of ways. He did it with a sense of humour as well, as the Prime Minister said. He used the same joke on me a couple of times. I drink a lot of water in the chamber as the member for Tangney, my bench mate, will attest. And, yes, Luch did use the old, 'It's on the house!' joke on me a couple of times. It was always very warm and it's something that I'll miss very much.

I want to wish all the best for his family. They have our sincere condolences. Our thoughts are with them at this time. It's such a difficult time, losing such an important part of not just our family but their family even more dearly. Vale, Luch. Long may his legacy in this place continue.

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remember at the end of last year, as I left the building at the end of 2025, on the way out I said goodbye to Luch. Like everybody else in this chamber, when we said goodbye at the end of last year, I thought we were saying goodbye for a couple of months. I never thought that my passing reference and good wishes for the holiday season and Christmas would be the last time that I would see him. I remember, as the previous speaker did, when I was first elected. It was in 2016. It was one of those experiences. You're brought into the House of Representatives. You get shown by the Speaker the parading of the chamber. The enormity of the flowing eucalypt walls is overpowering. When I was talking to people, this fellow started chatting away to me and I asked politely, 'What's your job?' And he introduced himself: 'I'm Luch. I'm the guy who kind of runs the show.' From that moment on, he was not just charming, endearing and warm throughout my entire parliamentary service—iteration 1 and iteration 2—but a permanent fixture of this place.

This institution will endure well beyond any of us. We are a temporary beings that come and go. We have the great privilege of representing electorates. The building itself, since 1988, has been a symbol of and a testament to our democracy. It's a symbol of what makes this country great.

But sitting beneath the surface of the physical structure are the people who work in this building every day, who bring it to life. Luch was one of those people who bridged the divide between the perpetual and the temporary in this building, and who celebrated our great democracy. He was as much a part of the institution, and his commitment to the democracy that we all love and participate in was not just a temporary thing: it was enduring.

To pass away at only 59 years of age really is one of the most devastating things, I'm sure, for him and his family because he gave his life over to service of our great Commonwealth and its democracy. He represented the best of the Public Service and particularly the Parliamentary Service. He was diligent, he was discreet, he was loyal and he was respectful. I never met a member in this place who ever had anything bad to say about him, only that he was ever anything other than entirely willing to support and assist with a complete blindness to party allegiances, responsibilities. As the old saying goes, no-one would ever know how he voted because he was there, he was always willing and he was always able to assist. So, in one sense, he lived his life through this building and through the success and the contributions of the members, and that's why there's so much emotion from so many members in response to his tragic passing at such a young age.

I was on Annabel Crabb's documentary The House, which stepped through how parliament itself works. In one sense, Luch was the embodiment of the parliament itself and how it, at least in spirit, wanted to operate—cooperative, engaging and focused squarely on the best interests of the people of Australia, lived out through the parliamentarians who have the great privilege of serving here. So I fully understand why everybody is so emphatic and warm in their acknowledgement of Luch and his legacy to this place.

I can't even imagine the devastation that his family must feel for his early passing, and we can only express on behalf of all members the most incredible outpouring of grief and support for them at this very difficult time. But they should also take comfort that a life well lived in service of others is one of the greatest contributions that anybody can make. And he did that perhaps not in the way that many members in this House do—through their performative dimensions—but with a quiet and enduring resilience to support others to do their best to serve the community as part of the achievement of this great Commonwealth. That's why his life and legacy are such an achievement and why so many of us are so impassioned to acknowledge his life and legacy. We just want to wish his family all the best. May he rest in peace, because his legacy most resolutely endures.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to honour the memory of Luch Jonceski, a servant of this parliament for four decades, who served as an attendant in this House of Representatives and as an assistant to the Speaker of the House. It's a privilege to join with my colleagues in honouring his memory in front of some of his colleagues. Luch was a man who straddled history in the sense that he served both in the old and this present parliament. That's quite an achievement. I only knew Luch for just over a decade, and most of our interactions occurred in the House or in the courtyard outside, where we'd chat away in the sunshine during short breaks. I think that's an experience that many colleagues had.

The thing I want to note about Luch today is that he was a consistently cheerful and friendly man. That's how I'll remember Luch. I think everyone who works in politics, but particularly in Parliament House, has to have good people skills. But for Luch, it wasn't just a vocation; it was who he was. He was a friendly, cheerful man. Luch transcended his vocation in that sense, which explains why we all had such great affection for him. Our political life is full of peaks and troughs, summits and valleys, and no matter where we might find ourselves on a particular day, Luch always graced the moment with a warm smile and greeting, and that is the memory I have. He had the common touch and he also reminded us of the outside world, the regular Australians who we represent in the chamber.

He reminded me not to take things too seriously and not to take things too personally, which I think is really important, and that there is life outside of this building. I think that's why I will miss Luch. I think he was the best of the Australian people. Everyone in this House will be the poorer for his absence but none more so than his family—his wife, Mary, and his children, Jess, Rebecca and Josh. I offer my condolences to them today.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hey, Luch, it's Scotty. What did you go and do, mate? I left here last year with the intention that we'd see you again. It wasn't supposed to be this way, mate. I know you're up there with God in heaven, but jeez, mate, you've left a bit of a hole for us down here. Who's going to take your job? Who's going to look after us the way you looked after us?

Your family have got the shits, mate. They're upset. I caught up with them the other day when they were here in the parliament. But you know what? The Speaker of the House put a good gig on for you. It was lovely to have your family there in the parliament where you used to work.

It was a bit of a shock when I heard the news that you'd gone over up to heaven. It wasn't your time, but it would have been peaceful by all the accounts of it—no pain, no suffering. It was just having a bit of a camp on the couch and then not waking up the next day. It makes us all think about our own vulnerability.

Footy season will be around soon, mate, and I won't have anyone to talk to about the fixtures and those bloody Broncos. Thanks for the smokes you used to give me every now and again. But, more importantly, thanks for the chats. I'll miss you, mate. I'll miss you. When it's my turn, I'll keep an eye out for you. Thanks, Luch.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 17:37