On behalf of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, I thank Bernie Ripoll for his service to the Australian Labor Party and the people of Oxley.

 

Entering the Parliament in 1998, Bernie has always been guided by the true Labor values of fairness and equality.

 

These values were no more evident than in his role as Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, leading an inquiry into the Future of Financial Advice which reported in 2012.

 

As a Shadow Minister, Bernie has displayed the utmost commitment to his portfolios; from Financial Services and Superannuation, Sport and Small Business.

 

Importantly, Bernie has always been a strong voice for ordinary Australians. In his first speech to the House of Representatives, Bernie illustrated his understanding and profound passion for the people of Oxley:

 

We are not battlers in Oxley. We are pensioners, we are returned service men and women, we are families with sick children, and we are sole parents struggling on low incomes. We are casual and part-time workers desperate to find full-time work, we are people to whom English is not our first language, we are workers threatened with retrenchment, we are school leavers looking for an opportunity, we are disabled, and we are households that dread Christmas for the bills that it brings.

 

We are all this and we are more. We are the parents helping out on school fetes, we are drivers for meals on wheels, and we are the managers of our neighbour's footy team and the coach of our daughter's netball team. While others may call us battlers, when you come from where I live, we call each other friends, neighbours, workmates and family.

 

In the wake of the devastating 2011 Queensland floods, Bernie worked closely and tirelessly with the community and his Queensland colleagues to help rebuild the state.

 

Labor congratulates Bernie for his long-standing dedication to our Party and his electorate. We wish him the very best for life after parliamentary politics.
TUESDAY, 14 APRIL 2015 

 

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