Chris Ketter (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to pay my respects to Con Sciacca, who, as previous speakers have said, was born in the Sicilian village of Piedimonte Etneo and travelled to Australia at the tender age of four with his parents and brother, Joe, in 1951. As others have indicated, Con gave lifelong commitment to the Labor Party. That commenced very early in his life, at the age of 17, and he became president of Young Labor, as has already been said. From those humble beginnings Con went on to become a revered elder statesman of the Labor Party in Queensland and a friend and mentor to many.

A lawyer by profession, Con had a great respect for the law and the institution of the law. His legal practice in Brisbane was renowned for its industrial work. His work in industrial law, workers compensation and common-law damages claims brought him into direct contact with the trade union movement and its members, which is how I first came to know Con. His work gave him an appreciation of the day-to-day problems which workers face in their workplaces. In the early 1980s Con was one of the pioneers of the practice of providing a free first legal consultation to injured workers. He did this out of a genuine concern for the plight of working people, who are often denied access to justice.

As has been said, Con was elected in 1987 as the member for Bowman. Whilst people have commented on the fact that he was the second ever Italian-born member of this parliament, he was the very first Sicilian-born member of this parliament. As a new Australian, immigration and ethnic affairs were a part of his heritage and matters about which he was always very passionate. In his first speech he said:

Australia has come a long way from the days of its White Australia policy. This policy was effectively traded in for a multicultural Australia for unashamedly practical reasons after the Second World War. Only the most narrow-minded person would now deny the success of multiculturalism and the contribution made to Australia, both economically and culturally, by migrants of all nationalities.

As already commented on, Con was Minister for Veterans' Affairs from 1994 to 1996. He often said to me that one of his proudest achievements was the Australia Remembers program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. For many years after that veterans around Australia sang his praises for the respect and support that he extended to them. In March 2014, Con took up his place as deputy chair of the Anzac Centenary Public Fund. In 2006 Con was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. Senator Wong referred to the fact that he dedicated that award to his son, who passed away tragically at the age of 19. I will not say much more about that, but I know that for many years after the death of his son Con felt the loss very deeply. He was very emotional about that. He left no stone unturned at the time to look for cures for Sam, including a visit to Lourdes.

Con valued loyalty above everything else, and he was a strong supporter of Kim Beazley. As one of his principal backers, Con was reportedly so angry about the way his Canberra housemate Gavan O'Connor supported Mark Latham that he moved out of their shared flat and into a hotel. There was much fuming about 10 years of friendship meaning nothing. But, it is reported that over coffee at Aussies the two apparently made up and their shared flat was booked again for their return to Canberra when parliament resumed the following year. When Con lost his seat in the 2004 elections he reportedly said:

I'm 57—hardly an old man, I suppose … I got defeated in 1998 and I came back in 2001. But there'll be no comebacks this time. I'm exiting, if you like, very gracefully out of political life.

Con continued to show a strong interest in the Labor Party and turned his attention to his legal practice, his consultancy and his beloved Italian restaurant Alimentari. He had his special chair and table in the restaurant and I was privileged to lunch with him on a number of occasions and to be served with wonderful food and be regaled with sound advice and entertaining anecdotes. I valued Con's advice, which was always from the heart and often pithy, direct and sometimes colourful. As has been indicated, Con was honoured by the Italian and Finnish governments with some of their highest honours. None of these honours or the high offices that Con held ever went to his head as he never forgot his humble beginnings and always had the best interests of ordinary working people at heart.

Con battled cancer for the past three years but was determined to see his 70th birthday. And he did. After a three-week stay in the palliative care ward, Con was able to celebrate his 70th birthday last week with his family, including his younger brother Joe, who turned 67 on the same day. As Senator Wong has said, Con is reported to have said, 'I'm looking to go out with a bang!'

Con was a larger-than-life figure who was very respected in Brisbane society but often depicted by cartoons in The Courier Mail in Sicilian garb with a violin case. But that was always taken with good humour. He was a one-of-a-kind political giant, successful businessman, restaurateur, raconteur and cigar-munching larrikin who revelled in his Sicilian heritage and loved this country. He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends and colleagues across the political divide. My sincere condolences go to his wife, Karen, to his daughter Zina and granddaughter Grace and to his step-sons Nicholas and Daniel. Rest in peace, Con Sciacca.