GRIEVANCE DEBATE
Mr TIM WILSON (Goldstein) (13:10): In my three-year walkabout from this place, between 2022 and 2025, there were people who should have been acknowledged for their life and service to our community that were not properly acknowledged, and today I'd like to do so, first by acknowledging the life and times of Bill and Rea Hodgson. I first met them in 2016, and they always were warm and loving members of family and supporters of each other but also warm and generous to their community.
They were particularly well known for their support for local community organisation Bayley House. May they rest in peace. Also to Gweneth Bennett, the adored wife of Bill, who is also deceased, and beloved mother of Michael and Bronwyn.
May she rest in peace. I also want to acknowledge Dick Morgan, who passed peacefully at Holmesglen hospital in Moorabbin. He was devoted partner to Barbara, could always be found walking up Bay Street and was a much-loved stepdad to Mark, Neal and Janine.
We want to pay respects to his life. May he rest in peace. In particular to my dear friend Jeanette Rawlinson.
Jeanette was a true supporter of the Liberal cause in Goldstein and across Australia. She was always generous and she had a mischievous smile, so we got along particularly well. She, of course, supported me nine years ago when I first ran for Goldstein, but she was a supporter of so many others, including being chair of Goldstein and always being an active Liberal in the community.
She was the much beloved wife of 47 years to her best friend Mike—and we send our love to you, Mike—as well as being mother of daughter Purdy and nanna of granddaughter Zara. May she rest in peace. To James Guthrie, the loved and loving husband of the late Norma Guthrie, nee Geary, born in Dunblane, Scotland and passed away peacefully in Melbourne.
He was cherished godfather to Fiona, a dear friend to Ross and held in high regard by many. He was always a true gentleman and forever Scottish at heart and a loyal friend to those he befriended. He is now reunited with his beloved wife, Norma.
May he rest in peace. To John Moller OAM. John graduated high school in 1947 and wanted to join the Australian Navy, and it's with interest that I recently went to a Navy installation.
There was a magazine celebrating the legacy of the Australian Navy, and John Moller's beaming face was there smiling right back at me. With his parents' permission, he joined the Royal Australian Navy at the age of 17. He was sent to Korea and stationed on HMAS Sydney.
He joined the reserves after returning home from the Korean War in 1952 and was then sent to Vietnam on a troop ship. He described how lucky he was to return to Korea and see firsthand the evolution of the buildings, roads and culture in South Korea after the war. He was a loving husband of Trish and loved father of Gary, Paul, Anne and Liz.
May he rest in peace. To Ian Mence OAM. He was a pioneering figure in the Australian timber industry, an educator in entrepreneurship and a dedicated community leader.
He went to Brighton Grammar School, was basically always a bayside local and was particularly active in the later stages of his life around Brighton Rotary and the Melbourne Accelerator Program, which focused on how to encourage young Australians to become entrepreneurs. He was always generous financially to that cause and many others. He held numerous community roles, including councillor of Brighton Community Hospital, Chairman of the Bayside Drug and Youth Suicide Centre and, of course, somewhat in ignominy best known, probably, as the president of the Church Street layabouts!
He liked hanging around on Church Street, particularly at the Dendy Deli. Ian's philanthropic efforts and community leadership have left an enduring impact. He was a devoted family man.
He was husband to both Leeron and Susan, father to Cameron and David and grandfather to Clara, Clementine, Leonard and Celia. To John Knight OAM. A man for others, John was involved in many community organisations, including the Bayside Men's Shed.
He was a former Bayside mayor and councillor, councillor of Strathbogie Shire and dedicated member of St Martin's Uniting Church in Beauie. He's the loving husband of Helene and father to Beth, Cameron and Alistair, and he was always generous with his time and committed to the Bayside community. May he rest in peace.
To Ramon Frederico—he was a compassionate advocate who supported the Vietnamese community in Victoria for nearly 50 years. Since the mid 1970s, as Vietnamese refugees arrived, Ramon provided crucial legal advice and helped with family reunifications. He tirelessly advocated to government agencies for refugees, arranged family sponsorships from refugee camps in South Asia and secured concessions allowing Vietnamese traders to operate on weekends.
His efforts greatly contributed to the community legal support system, family unity and economic stability. But he was always generous with his time, was a committed Liberal and believed very strongly in the community values that underpin the Bayside community and what it could do for others. Former state Liberal MP Bob Lawson was elected to the parliament of Victoria in 1979 as the member for Higinbotham.
He held the seat until his retirement in 1992, and for many years a feature of the local calendar was 'Breakfast at Bob's'. He was married to Nancy, who is deceased, and both were fixtures of Liberal Party for decades. Bob is survived by his five children and many grandchildren and was always a towering figure in the Bentley community.
To Lesley Falloon OAM—she was a longstanding Bayside resident who was actively involved in the community since she moved there in 1956 and was a strong advocate for empowering women's rights across Bayside. I once gave her an award, in my first term of service in this parliament, to acknowledge exactly that. Even in her later stage of life, into her late 90s, she was still encouraging and supporting women to be leaders.
And so she was always a wonderful contributor. She, of course, was involved in University of Melbourne's women's college, majoring in biochemistry and microbiology, and she had an infectious joy for life. To John Nix, who was a former Richmond footy player—he was described as the classy sentiment of the 1950s at the footy club.
During his time, he worked as an accountant at Peters Ice Cream factory on Burnley Street before joining the police force as a constable. Nix helped usher in a global era at Tigerland by coaching reserves to three consecutive grand finals. He was the beloved husband of Joan, who is also deceased, and loving father of Gabrielle, Michael and Virginia.
He was always a very generous man and never gave up his love for the Tigers. Ken Hawkins was a devoted family man living in the small town of Penguin in Tasmania. He met the love of his life, Jean, and had two children.
He moved to Melbourne and started a very successful business called Caravan Court. He was loved to the end, surrounded by family and his six grandchildren. May he rest in peace.
Errol Broome was the beloved and prolific Australian author of children's and young adult literature. Born in Perth, she was known not only for her writing but also for the warmth of her spirit towards other fellow writers. Even after moving to Melbourne, she remained an active and generous presence in WA's literary community.
Her legacy lives on in stories that continue to inspire. Though her voice will be missed, the words she created will endure. She is survived by her three sons, Nicholas, Jonathon and Benjamin, and their partners, grandchildren and extended family.
May she rest in peace. To Ian Perdriau AM, President of Kiwanis International from 1994 to 1995—Perdriau was the first member from outside North America to be elected as the organisation's president. That's yet another first for the good people of Goldstein.
He forged a career in the insurance industry, eventually founding Ian Perdriau and Associates. He is remembered as a passionate and inspiring figure, the loved husband of Trish for 55 years and dad to Nigel, Richard, Andrew and Sarah. More recently, to Joy Conheady, dearly beloved wife of Tony, who is now sadly also passed—she was the much-loved mother of John, Maree, Paul and Libby and mother-in-law of Jackie.
She is fondly remembered by her entire family, and she was particularly active in St Finbar's Catholic Parish in Brighton East; she was always there at a local event to sell you a raffle ticket. Standing alongside her was her husband, Tony Conheady, who recently passed away. To a similar extent, he was always a very active member of the community but always particularly active in local political events and making sure that people were engaged and supported.
And, of course, we are deeply appreciative of their years of loyal service right until the end. Most tragically, perhaps, recently, was the sad loss of Brendan Rowswell, in his early 40s. He was father to George William and Henry David.
He was, of course, also the twin brother of Brad Rowswell, the state member for Sandringham and son to Josephine and Lesie, and he also more recently got engaged to Georgia Nicholls. He's gone too soon, in only his 40th year. Of course, it is very sad to see somebody die so young, but he was always a good friend to me and to many others in the local community.
We pay respect to his life and service, just as we do for everybody whom I've mentioned today. May they rest in peace. May their memory be a blessing and forever we'll be thankful for their service and gifts to our community and to their families.