Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Linda White

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (14:45): The death of Senator Linda White is a huge loss to Labor, the union movement and the people of Victoria. Linda died on 29 February following a short battle with cancer, tragically serving only 18 months in the Senate. Linda’s impact on our state was felt over her life of dedicated service to the trade union movement, on many boards, such as ACMI, the MCG Trust and the botanic gardens, and to Labor and the federal Parliament. Her memorial service was held last Thursday at ACMI. It was full of people with stories of tears and laughter and love for Linda and all that she gave.

She was the longest serving female member of the Labor Party’s national executive and was one of the few in such roles who had an utter dedication to running our party well. Linda believed that only a well-run party and one that reflected the community we sought to serve could win elections, and she was right. Labor would not have achieved gender equality in this Parliament without her efforts on affirmative action. She was a champion for female-dominated industries. She served in the Australian Services Union, securing equal pay for community sector workers. She fought for bread and for roses too. She supported our city’s great cultural institutions and worked to make them more accessible and relevant to the community. We served together on the board of the Chifley Research Centre for a decade, and she never stopped thinking about where to next for Labor’s ideas.

Linda was smart and fierce and loyal. She was a friend who was always just a phone call away. I will miss her dearly, as will many. Vale, comrade.