HON JOE BERINSON - Condolence Motion

HON SUE ELLERY (South Metropolitan — Leader of the House) [2.02 pm] — without notice: I move —

That this house expresses its deep regret at the death of Hon Joe Berinson, a former member of the Legislative Council for the North-East Metropolitan Province, later reconstituted as the North Central Metropolitan Province, and the North Metropolitan Region; and places on record its appreciation for his long public service, and tenders its profound sympathy to his wife and members of his family in their bereavement.

[Speeches and comments from various members]

HON ALISON XAMON (North Metropolitan) [2.37 pm]: I rise on behalf of the Greens to say a few words in support of this motion. Most times when we mark the passing of a former member of this chamber, I find that many of them were remarkable people who dedicated their lives to the community. It is absolutely clear that Joe Berinson very much fits that profile, with so much of his time and work going into achieving outcomes for the community at all levels, from his local Jewish community to the whole country. He was a minister in both federal and state Parliaments, but I would like to briefly concentrate on his time in this Parliament and particularly his time as Attorney General. Much of the work that he did as Attorney General was to remove discrimination and to focus on the protection of the vulnerable. This is the work that we do in this chamber of which I am most proud and it is how we can best help the people who need it the most.

Joe Berinson was elected to the Council in 1980 and was Attorney General from 1983 until 1993. He oversaw a range of law reforms in this time that reflected both his desire for social justice and his urge for efficient systems. The Equal Opportunity Act 1984 was shepherded through Parliament under his watch, and it is quite clear that Joe Berinson was an advocate for women. Additionally, he worked on removing from the Criminal Code pejorative terms for people with intellectual disability. He removed gendered language from sexual assault legislation and made those laws provide better protection for both the young and the vulnerable. Most recently, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse commissioned a historical review of state laws on sexual offending, especially against children. This review found that a number of the key legal changes to better protect WesternAustralian children from sexual abuse occurred during JoeBerinson’s time as Attorney General. He also oversaw the decriminalisation of sodomy. This was a vital first step towards legal equality for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer community, something that many of us continue to work towards in legal and social equality today.

It is very clear that Joe Berinson was articulate and witty and was focused on substance. He valued expertise and the cultivation of expertise and he had faith that members of Parliament were up to the task of deep engagement in policy and legislation if they were given the right environment in which to do that. He did seem to have very little patience for pomp and circumstance that got in the way of getting things done, and getting things done well. It is clear from his contributions to the chamber that he felt a strong obligation to the people of Western Australia to make good use of his time in Parliament. That is an obligation that I hope we all still feel.

My deepest condolences to his family, in particular his wife, Jeanette, his children and the rest of his family and also to his friends and members of the Jewish community. Vale Joe Berinson.

[Speeches and comments from various members]

Question passed; members and officers standing as a mark of respect.

The PRESIDENT: Thank you, members. I advise that in accordance with our custom and practice, a copy of the Hansard transcript of this condolence motion will be forwarded to Hon Joe Berinson’s family.

 

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