Page 3192 - Week 10 - Thursday, 25 September 2014
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of you here, telling us that Kurt had been killed in a bus accident in Bolivia. As you can imagine, our feelings of joy at the success of our granddaughter’s victory was quickly overtaken by disbelief as we attempted to absorb the news of the death of one so young, one so full of life and one with so much to give. Try as we might, we simply could make no sense of it.
Having worked in this place for almost a decade and having been a keen observer and participant in the political process for many years, I can say without fear of contradiction that Kurt Steel was one of the finest political people, staffers and operatives that I have had the privilege to know. Being numbed by the news of his death, I could see Kurt’s ever-smiling face that we have all talked about this morning, his ever-happy and positive voice. One of my staff who only works here part time and had never had the privilege of meeting him face to face told me that she always knew that he was smiling when he spoke to her on the phone.
Like all of us, I am sure that Kurt had his down times, but having worked with him for the last few years and having known him personally for a number of years prior to that, I can honestly say that he always seemed to maintain the same non-flustered demeanour and positive outlook on life and, as we know, in this place that is not always easy.
In recent weeks I have been told about many young people who have either gone to school or university with Kurt and to a person they have all said that he was always the same wonderful young person that we had come to love and respect for who he was, for what he did and for the way he did it. I think I share the opinion of many when I say that, in this era of young political professionals becoming the norm on all sides of politics, it is easy to become somewhat sceptical about what motivates them on occasions. However, such could not be said about Kurt. I believe all of us in this place would observe how his passion for his work and making Canberra a better place for everyone to live and work in was his strong and driving motivation.
We will of course never know, unfortunately, whether he would have gone on to a career as an elected representative of the people of the ACT. What is absolutely certain, however, is that in his almost 26 short years amongst us—and I believe it would have been his 26th birthday the day before yesterday—he made a significant impact on all of those who came in contact with him. One probably could not claim this of many of this age.
Because of his untimely death, the Labor Party in particular and the Canberra community in general have lost a great advocate for a better and more just society. Unfortunately, due to being interstate neither Ian nor I were able to pay our respects at Kurt’s memorial service, which I believe was attended by hundreds of his colleagues from all walks of life. However, I have been given a copy of the order of service, and I have read the beautiful words of Henry Scott Holland in his piece Death is nothing at all. I would like to read some of those lines, as I think they speak volumes about the man that we are acknowledging this morning, and who, as Henry Scott Holland said in his piece, has only slipped away to the next room. I will read a few lines:
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