Victorian Labour senator Linda White was a sharp, personable “torch bearer for equality and a fairer society,” according to colleagues.
After a February Senate medical leave, the former lawyer and trade unionist died Thursday night.
After Labour MP Peta Murphy died in December, White’s death was disclosed the night before the Dunkley byelection.
Friday morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lauded his “dear friend.” Albanese termed White the “most senior backbencher to have ever existed” for her legal and union work.
“With Senator Linda White’s passing, all of our hearts in the Labour family are broken,” said an emotional Albanese.
Linda was tough. A close friend, respected colleague, committed lawmaker, and relentless labour movement fighter for Australian workers.
Albanese claimed to have seen White many weeks earlier in the hospital. The Prime Minister claimed that she was “doing it tough, but in a fashion that’s reminiscent of the courage that Peta Murphy showed during her final weeks.”
She voiced no complaints. Regarding the byelection, she inquired. She cherished and lamented Peta Murphy.
No self-requests. I don’t mention the visit. Linda kept secrets.
Albanese claimed Victorian Labour struggled “particularly tough.”.
Amazingly, two beautiful women died within three months. His regret: “Linda White had so much more to give.”
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White chairs many parliamentary committees and founded the National Anti-Corruption Commission after winning a 2022 federal election seat in the upper chamber.
Nacc committee member Liberal MP Keith Wolahan called White a “patriot of her party and our democracy” who was “principled, fair, and hard-working.”
On the NACC committee, Greens senator David Shoebridge dubbed White a “fundamentally decent, honest, empathetic, and intelligent force for good.”
Employment Minister Tony Burke called White’s impact “very extraordinary for working people in Australia.”
Linda promoted paid family and domestic violence leave in unions for years. “She worked as a senator to pass it so no one had to choose between money and safety.
Simon Birmingham, a Coalition senator, said “she made her presence felt as a champion of social and economic justice.”
The Senate lost a committed senator too soon. A senator with more to give but who will be valued by her colleagues.
White earned “elevating the worth of women’s work,” remarked Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan.
Linda increases tens of thousands of Australian women’s income. The speaker claimed Linda rewards their work.
After eleven years as the Australian Services Union’s assistant national secretary, White moved to Canberra.
White is an “irreplaceable part of our union family” and a “torch bearer for equality, justice, and a fairer society,” the union said Friday.
We wanted Linda to fight longer. Still, we are grateful to have known Linda for so long and that she spent her life inspiring future activists.
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