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2 April 1992

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2 April 1992 730 Lcfitaatinr Aaurmbtli Thursday, 2 April 1992 THE SPEAKER (Mr Michael Barnett) took the Chair at 10.00 am, and read prayers. CONDOLENCE MOTION - BUCHANAN, THE LATE PAMELA DR LAWRENCE (Glendalough - Premier) [10.05 am]: I move - That this House records its sincere regret at the death of Pamn Buchanan, former member for Pilbara and Ashburton, and tenders its deep sympathy to her husband and family in their bereavement. I know that when members in this House discovered yesterday that Pam had died after a long illness they were deeply upset and deeply grieved. Pamn is a member for whom everyone has had enormous respect, particularly the Labor Party, for whom she has been an active member for many years. Pam joined the Labor Party in 1976 and was elected to Parliament seven years later. During char rime she clearly demonstrated to everybody a professional and diligent approach to public life. She was always available to her electors and to the Parliament and her record of achievements in the electorate of Ashburton is second to none, and second to none of any member of this Parliament. Panm Buchanan is a woman enormously regarded by members in this place because during her time here she stood up for the ordinary people. Many people in the Parliament will remember the debates about the cost of living in the Pilbara in which Pain was vehement in her defence of the needs of the people in the region. She did a lot of detailed work establishing community groups and working with them. I discovered recently that she made her office available to local community groups for the work they were doing. It was a measure of her commitment to the people in the north that she continued in Parliament despite her illness and, I might add, without the knowledge of many people. She was not one to seek sympathy and she was not one to look for others to look after her, although it was her intention always to look after the needs of her electorate which she did in a most extraordinary fashion. As well as representing the area and working with community groups so well she had a steadfast view about the needs of workers in the Pilbara. She always defended the battlers and she worked hard to improve industrial relations and to ensure that the people in the Pilbara and in the rest of the State could work with dignity and under conditions which protected them from ill health and injury. That is one of the great tributes one can pay to her. She was concerned about other people's wellbeing perhaps, as it has turned out, ahead of her own. As well as being Minister for Works, Services and Regional Development, in which she had a consuming interest, Pam was Minister assisting me as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Pam clearly had a strong empathy for the Aboriginal people and within that community she earned great respect from both inside and outside politics. She was always available to the Aboriginal people; she would take the time to discuss issues with them and she understood the differences between black and white Australia sufficiently to be patient and careful in her dealings with Aboriginal people. I know that they will sadly miss her also. Pam served in this Parliament as Government Whip and all members on both sides of the House developed a great respect for the calm way in which she served in that position for five years. It is not always easy in the Parliament to discipline unruly mobs, but she did that extremely well. She made sure that members were in their place, on time, she took care of their needs in servicing their electorates and was fair in distributing pairs and generally ensuring members' proper performance in the Parliament. She did that with good temper. I do not think I ever saw her lose her temper. She was concerned to ensure that people were dealt with fairly and reasonably and that is the way she will be remembered. As a woman who put herself last, she put the people of the Pilbara, her family, Aboriginal people and, in the case of members in this place, members' needs ahead of her own. She has always been somebody whom we, as parliamentarians, could regard with a great deal of respect. It was no great difficulty for any of us to do that. I express our deep regret at Pain's death and I know that members on both sides of the House will share that view. [Thursday. 2 April 1992] 7313 MR MacKINNON (Jandakot - Leader of the Opposition) [10.09 am): I formally second the motion. Pam Buchanan was a member of this Parliament (torn 1983 to 1992. 1 was interested to team, when reading her profile, that while being a member of Parliament for only that time she had lived in the Pilbara since 1967. She had therefore seen the growth and development of the region and made a significant contribution to it, not only as a member of Parliament but also as a member and supporter of the Lions. Club, the P & C association, the Country Women's Association, and the tourism industry. When thinldng about that electorate and the whole area1 I remember Pam's predecessor, Brian Sodeman, a man who I thought was outstanding in his commitment to the electorate and its people. Certainly in Pam's case she was equally committed to the people of her electorate. As the Premier said, Pam had a keen interest in all those issues that affected the electorate, particularly the cost of living. While we on this side of the Chamber tried to take the mickey out of Pam in that regard we could not deny her commitment and interest in issues on behalf of her electorate. She definitely fought that fight to the end. When we think of Pam one word could sum her up: Unselfish. Her commitment was to others, not to herself. Despite her illness and her problems, personal and otherwise, she remained loyal to the electorate and to the principles of her party. That is something I admire in any individual. I join with the Premier in extending to Pam 's husband, George, her family and friends, our condolences. MR HOUSE (Stirling) (10.12 am]: I join with the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition, on behalf of the National Party, in offering our sympathy to Pam Buchanan's family. Pam came to this Parliament as part of the Labor revival in 1983 and played her part for the Labor Party in winning the seat of Pilbara which had previously been held by the conservative parties. Pamn Buchanan was a quiet and dignified person. She went about her work as a member of Parliament in an unassuming way. Pam Buchanan's speeches in this Parliament showed concern for the people she represented, especially for the average battler - the people she felt she represented the best. Her speeches indicate that she brought to this Parliament their problems; she worked hard and diligently to help them. I had some contact with Pam when she was the Labor Party Whip. I know how difficult it is to keep the members of any party in order from time to time, particularly members of the National Party on a Thursday, but Pamn was always very accommodating about our problems and requirements. She was a very easy person with whom to work. Pam's final months of life were not months that most of us would want to experience. During that time she showed the same quiet dignity she had always shown. On behalf of the National Party and its leader, I extend sympathy to Pam Buchanan's family. MR DONOVAN (Morley) [ 10. 14 am]: I preface my comments in support of the Premier's motion in a way that perhaps may not be regarded all that well in some quarters. I note the obituary in The West Australian today is somewhat more realistic and sensitive than was the story on 26 February on the same matter, at least in respect of the resignation of the late Pam Buchanan I take the opportunity to urge the Press Gallery to remember that this place is full of all sorts of human beings. Sometimes it does not do members of the Press any good to jump to wrong and hurtful conclusions. The members of the Press Gallery know about whom I am talking. There is no need to say any more. I take this opportunity to extend to the Buchanan family the condolences of my family, particularly of my two sons, James and David. both of whom were taught at kindergarten by Pam Buchanan - with all the other white and black children at the time in Roebourne. flat is a point I would want to stress most this morning. in the battle for improved race relations and decreased juvenile crime in Roebourne - and the member for Pilbara will bear me out here - change and improvement had to come from at least three sources. Certainly it had to come from a greater police effort which has gone into the town and the community and from the tremendous improvement and increase in the level of community involvement by both white and black members of the community. However, both of those things were made possible only by the sorts of positive attitudes, increased tolerance and assertiveness among people that makes that progress possible. The point is that my first experience of Pam Buchanan was of someone with the skills and commitment to early childhood education by which she could actually start crafting the groundwork for the changes in attitudes from 732 [ASSEMBLY] which Roebourne benefits today.
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