Federation Chamber
Thursday 24 June 2021
I rise to give my remarks on the worthwhile life and commitment to the Queensland parliament and the multicultural community by the late Duncan Pegg. Duncan Pegg was a hero of the Labor movement and a champion for his community of Stretton, which he loved dearly. That community loved him back. Before his passing, I know he was touched when his office was inundated with cards from local schoolchildren, who took the time to hand make cards with their own messages wishing him well and thanking him for fighting for their schools and communities. I'm told those cards meant the world to Duncan. I want to thank those school students in particular for showing such kindness and thoughtfulness to their local member of parliament.
He loved and valued his community and the incredible diversity that came with it. As we've just heard from the member for Moreton, a great friend of Duncan Pegg, Duncan's electorate is the most multicultural state electorate in Queensland. He always made sure that he celebrated this. Duncan understood that multiculturalism is the heartbeat of our country, and he believed in the importance of passing on legacies and culture to families and children to ensure that their traditions were preserved. As MPs, we have an important role in uplifting and celebrating the diverse people, communities and cultures that we all represent in this place. We must show leadership in accepting and embracing all people from all corners of the world. This is how we maintain our treasured multicultural society. No-one understood this more than Duncan Pegg. He practised it every single day when he was out in his community and when he was on the floor of the Queensland parliament.
I, like many others, was incredibly moved by Duncan's valedictory speech in the Queensland parliament. He spoke of his pride in the diversity in his multicultural community and the spirit of the people of Stretton. He reflected on his journey in the Labor Party and politics, from being a fresh MP who got lost on the way to a caucus meeting, to achieving major wins for his constituents.
I had a very small role to play in his involvement in the Labor Party: I picked him up for one of his first branch meetings. He joined the Labor Club at Griffith University. He was in my local area on the southside, and I took him to a branch meeting at Mount Gravatt East. He was pretty quiet on that car ride, trying to suss out who someone was or what their story was, but I soon learned that every time he spoke he did so with conviction and passion.
He was able to achieve such extraordinary things for his constituents because he believed in the power of democracy, politics and parliamentary institutions to bring about real change, and he applied those every single day with an upbeat attitude and an incredible work ethic. He had a diverse range of political opinions crossing the entire spectrum. In his speech, he also touched on the public's cynicism about politics. This is something that I'm sure most MPs would have recognised and that many of us have tried to combat throughout our time as public representatives. I know he learnt a lot of these lessons from some of his mentors, and I recognise the late Con Sciacca, in whose legal firm Duncan worked and with whom he had a long association. I also recognise the Hon. Santo Santoro, who was particularly close to Duncan. I know both Santo and Con were very proud to see him elected, despite being on different sides of the political bench—Con being on Duncan's side and Santo being on the other side. They were enormously proud, and I know Santo has passed on his condolences to Duncan's family.
Duncan left us all with an important message: we must respect the institution and resist the temptation to lean into that cynicism. He believed in the power of politics to make the lives of ordinary Australians better. He saw it as a vehicle for improving the lives he represented. This is a message that I take to heart, and I encourage everybody in this House to take it to heart as well—to learn and take those lessons from Duncan Pegg. We're all here because the people in our communities put their faith in us to represent them. Duncan encouraged his colleagues to be engaged in politics and public life because it leads to better outcomes. In his final words to the parliament he asked parliamentarians to keep this in mind in everything that they do. Duncan didn't just speak these words; he lived them every day in his time representing the people of Stretton.
I thank Duncan for his wise words and for his contribution to the Labor movement and to Australian democracy, as well as for the amazing work he did for the multicultural communities of Brisbane and Queensland. Duncan, you will be remembered as a true gentleman of politics, an example to us all on how to use politics as a force for good and to always be adaptable when inside the political arena. You'll be dearly missed by the many people who've had the joy of knowing and loving you, especially your family. I extend my condolences to Lindsey, Graham and the entire Pegg family over this tragic loss. Vale, Duncan Pegg. You will be remembered.
