Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Luch was loved by the entire parliament. I'll never forget, as a relatively new member sitting with Simon Crean in the front row, Luch came along and was instantly greeted by Simon. The banter between them—they were clearly very old friends. His smile, his warmth, his sense of humour meant there was always kindness in a room that tends to gravitate to conflict rather than kindness. Often Luch would be the only thing that every member of the House could agree on.

Knowing him has been one of the great privileges of this job. As others have said, if Luch brought you a glass of water, he'd always tell you it was on the house, and he'd always describe them as a couple of schooners. There was a joy and a relaxed banter. He was always the person who would want to know more than anyone else when we were going to have late nights so that he could organise the other attendants and be able to work out how overtime and things would run for people. I would say there would be many times when we had a late night sitting of the House of Representatives where Luch was actually the first person that I spoke to about it, to make sure that he could do his organisation. The conversation would be quick because then he would want to talk about the difference between his beloved Canberra Raiders and my Canterbury Bulldogs, and we'd go straight to an NRL conversation.

There is no memory of Luch that is anything other than kindness and joy, and it takes a pretty special person for that to be the case. My deepest condolences to his wife, Mary, and to his children, Jessica, Joshua and Rebecca. All members of parliament will be forever grateful to Luch's family that part of his life and so much of his professional life was shared with us. May he rest in peace.

Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's an absolute pleasure to follow the Leader of the House to pay my respects to our friend Luch. As we all know, Luch passed unexpectedly on New Year's Eve 2025, the New Year's Eve just gone. He'll be dearly missed by his wife, Mary; his son, Joshua; and his daughters, Jessica and Rebecca, alongside their partners, Anthony and Robert. He was a proud member of the Macedonian community, a proud constituent of Eden-Monaro and a proud worker in our Parliament House. His career spanned 40 years, starting as a young man at Old Parliament House. He also worked on the construction of the new Parliament House and stayed on to help keep it running. He was the longest-serving staff member of the Department of the House of Representatives. He was our friend. He was my friend.

Coming to join this place in 2013 as someone who had never spent time in Parliament House and had never worked here as a staffer, the attendants in Parliament House quickly became people that I knew I could rely on for a warm smile, and Luch led that with that smile as you arrived, when he passed you in a corridor, when you walked into the chamber. As many have expressed, the kindness in the way that he worked with us was extraordinary. He embodied the spirit of the House of Representatives, the spirit of the people's house. That's who Luch became; a person who, when my eyes locked onto him in the chamber, reminded me about what my job is and that I am supported in that job by this great building and the people who work here. Luch became the embodiment of the constituents I represent—the everyman, the person who would give you a smile.

The other important thing for me about the relationship with Luch was that he became an ambassador for Parliament House and an ambassador for Canberra. Coming in to the airport and having Luch there as the welcoming party and assigning the COMCAR drivers to us was a tradition that we became accustomed to. I have to say, I've already sadly missed Luch in that role for some time as things changed around COMCAR and it wasn't Luch who greeted us at the airport anymore.

Every day in that chamber he will be remembered by those of us who shared that space with him. I'm happy that the new class of 2025 got to meet Luch and share that memory with us. I want to acknowledge and thank former prime minister Julia Gillard for her kind words in the statement that she put out on social media. As in the Leader of the House's reference to Simon Crean's relationship with Luch, everyone who served in this place considered him a friend. Everyone who served in this place mourns his loss.