Ms BYRNES (Cunningham) (19:45): I rise tonight to honour the lives of two beloved Cunningham branch members of the mighty Australian Labor Party: Stella Chapman and Ron Pretty. I'm honoured to be joined tonight by both families up in the gallery. It's been an absolute pleasure hosting you here today. I want to thank you all for making the journey from Sydney and the South Coast to remember Stella and Ron.
On 30 June 2023, we sadly lost Ronald Keith Pretty, AM. Ron passed away peacefully at home, just as he wished, after a long but courageous cancer journey. Ron is survived by his dearly beloved wife Jane; his daughters Alana and Saroja; their partners, Jakub and Luke; and his deeply adored grandchildren, Alexander, Olivia, Nathaniel, Lachlan, Eliza and Oliver, most of whom are here tonight.
As well as a loving father, husband and grandparent, Ron was a widely respected poet, a devoted teacher, publisher and mentor for Australian poets. I know Saroja and Alana, as well as all of Ron's grandchildren, will cherish his poetry for years to come, and I'm sure Eggshells will become a family heirloom for generations.
In recognition of his dedication, in 2001 Ron received a Premier's award for his lifetime service to literature, followed by becoming a Member of the Order of Australia shortly after, in 2002. In 2012, he was awarded a six-month residency at the Whiting studio in Rome, and, in 2015, Ron was granted a fellowship back home at the University of Wollongong.
Ron was a committed, active member of the Mount Kembla Unanderra branch, regularly contributing to policy discussions and providing ideas of how Labor could achieve our best ideals. Ron was a strong advocate for the most vulnerable, particularly the rights of asylum seekers. He regularly developed branch motions and actively contributed to discussions to ensure that the rights of asylum seekers were protected and understood by everyone.
On 5 October 2023, we also sadly lost the formidable Stella Chapman. Stella joined the party in 1976 and held numerous positions across many branches that she was a member of. Notably, she was the President of the South Coast SEC for a number of years and also helped to establish the bay and basin branch of the Australian Labor Party on the South Coast, which she was immensely proud of. In 2005, she was awarded the prestigious McKell Award for her years of service to the party, and in 2017 became a life member of the party.
Stella is survived by her loving children and stepchildren, Michele, Ross, Gloria, Ian, Araya, Vanessa, Ged and Natalie; grandchildren Heath, Kareena, Ambre, Dean, Ben, Luke, Leon, Melinda, Emily and Romy; and 15 great-grandchildren, Ashaylen, Layla, Sharden, Zahir, Charlise, Sage, Evie, Kairo, Oscar, Connor, Kayden, Abe, Digby, Cody and baby Koa, who was born last week.
I know Stella was particularly proud of her granddaughter, and my friend, Kareena, when she began working in federal politics two years ago for Fiona Phillips and spent time here at Parliament House. One of my favourite recent memories was when Vanessa and her daughter Kareena kindly picked up Stella's best friend Annie Wilcox from the nursing home last year and brought Annie and Stella to Paul Scully's lunch with now Deputy Premier Prue Car. They jumped straight back into their usual routine, scrunching the raffle tickets and, of course, giving a running commentary: 'When is the food going to arrive?' and 'Was the fish a bit dry?' One of them wasn't sure about the calamari. They love to have a laugh. They love to have a whinge, and they were awesomely over-opinionated and outspoken. These were my favourite words from Stella: 'These lemon cakes just aren't lemony enough, and they aren't very sweet.' I understand she had the same experience with lemon chicken.
Stella has probably already joined a branch of the Labor Party up there in the sky. In fact she has probably already taken over the branch from Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke and ensured that the lemon cakes are finally lemony enough—or at least she will have made her views about them clearly known. Both Stella and Ron loved their Labor Party, and we love them back. On behalf of Labor in Cunningham: We love you. We miss you. Rest in peace.
