Thursday, 15 August 2024

Jude Perera

Lee TARLAMIS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:47): I rise to speak about the late Jude Perera, former member for Cranbourne in the other place, a friend and comrade for many years, who recently passed away. Jude will be remembered by all who knew him as a resilient, hardworking and compassionate person. He was a champion of multiculturalism and equality, and although he was always known and loved for his warm and genial nature, he had a steeliness in him and was respected for staying true to his principles. He faced many challenges in his life, but he was someone who was not prepared to be stopped or discouraged on the basis of the barriers that confronted him.

He joined the Labor Party in the 1990s to continue his fight for the principles of equity, fairness and equality – principles he championed throughout his life. Jude was elected to Parliament in 2002 and was the first Sri Lankan born, in fact the first person born on the Indian subcontinent, to be elected to a lower house of an Australian parliament. I was honoured to have been his campaign director leading into this election, where I was first exposed to his tenacity, dedication and passion. Later I would come to share an electorate office with him in Cranbourne when I was first elected in 2010, and amongst so many others I was the recipient of his encouragement, support and friendship. He proudly represented the Cranbourne electorate for 16 years at a time when the area was much less culturally diverse than it is now.

Jude was a proud Australian who contributed so much and in so many ways to his new country. Having migrated to Australia with his young family when he was in his 30s, he worked very hard, at times holding two jobs, and sought to hone his English and public speaking skills through other activities. Once established, he was renowned for supporting and helping other Sri Lankan migrants, particularly in the Carrum Downs area where he lived, to settle in and form connections and friendships in their new home. Such was Jude’s love for and pride in Australia that as a member of Parliament he worked to share the joys and opportunities of this country with others who wanted to migrate here too or have the chance to visit and spend time with their friends and family living here. He noted in his valedictory address that he had derived the highest satisfaction from his work assisting with migration applications or sponsoring visitor visas for people who had been rejected previously.

He was of course also proud of the country of his birth and retained a strong connection to it. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country but one that across the years has suffered many travails, both natural and human caused. This has been heartbreaking and challenging for the Sri Lankan diaspora, with the potential to open up rifts and divisions in Australia if these conflicts were reflected here. Jude was acutely aware of this and worked tirelessly to prevent conflict, promote harmony and unity and heal division. In his inaugural speech, Jude spoke about his vision for the Cranbourne community as a secure, quality place to live, work and visit. He fought hard for his community and secured significant investment in infrastructure and services to meet the needs of the growth in the area. In his valedictory address, he reflected on this and the many new schools, police stations, community and family hubs, sporting complexes and modernised health facilities and the hundreds of kilometres of road infrastructure and improvements to the public transport system.

As a testament to his tireless contribution to the local community that he loved, Jude went on to be re-elected a further three times until he retired from Parliament in 2018 due to poor health. As much as he loved his politics, it is important to highlight that nothing could come close to the love he had for his family. My heart goes out to all of them for their loss, including Ira, Rangana and Judy. We can legitimately say about Jude that he left the electorate he served, the community he loved and belonged to and this world a better place thanks to his advocacy and contributions. Vale, my friend. Rest in peace.