Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

I have to say that I've found it very hard to believe that Katie is no longer with us. For people who were able to attend her memorial service at St Paul's in Melbourne, she was such a remarkable person. The term 'great Australian' gets thrown around far too often, but Katie had achieved so much in her life. She was a world-class medical researcher. The work she was able to do on children's allergies is going to be used into the future, far beyond the time that we will have on this Earth.

She was a remarkable person. I thought to myself, 'How fortunate were we to have had this person come into public life and want to make a contribution, even if it was only for a day?' She was here in this parliament for three years. I think anyone who is human would go to a memorial service like Katie Allen's and feel very inadequate. Yes, she was a world-class medical researcher, but she was a family person—four children and a magnificent partnership with Malcolm. Her political career and public service was almost like an additional add-on. It was almost an added extra that she gifted to the community.

Katie and I came in in 2019, and she was a ball of energy. She was vibrant. She could be very dogmatic, but she was a magnificent, warm person. She was so focused on trying to make the most of her time for her constituents and to make a contribution to Australia. She had a magnificent civic mission, which was almost religious—I think it actually was religious, and I say this as a non-religious person. I think her memorial service showed the depth of her religiosity, which was very important to her. She had this mission to do good, and she did do good. Sometimes she broke a few eggs. That was, I thought, a magnificent quality. She was so determined to do good. She made her mark as a medical doctor serving in parliament during a health crisis, and she was able to give the government of the day—and Greg Hunt touched on this at the service—remarkable insight. I think he respected her not only as a medical professional but also as a colleague, and I think she was able to cut through some of the bureaucracy and give the advice directly to the executive government.

This was such a premature death and such a great loss to Australia and to Katie's family, of course. Katie did talk a lot about the premature death of her own mother, and, frankly, for the people who knew her well, it seemed that she was perhaps in such a hurry because she was worried she wouldn't have the length of time that may have been afforded to others. She made such a great mark on us. She was a great colleague and a really great Australian, and those of us who were lucky enough to know her and work with her across the aisle—this side, anywhere—were all very fortunate. Rest in peace, Katie.