By Harper Sercombe
One of the north-west’s longest serving members of parliament, Bob Sercombe, has died aged 75 after a lengthy battle with vascular dementia.
Mr Sercombe served at all levels of government within the north-western suburbs, beginning his career as a councillor for Essendon City in 1983 and 1984 before representing the seat of Niddrie in state parliament from 1988 to 1996. He then moved to federal parliament to represent the seat of Maribyrnong from 1996 to 2007.
In state politics, he was deputy leader of the opposition 1993–94 and a member of the shadow ministry across portfolios including Corrections, Police and Emergency Services as well as Tourism, Sport and Racing.
In federal parliament, Mr Sercombe was an opposition whip from 1998 until 2001 and was elected to the shadow ministry after the 2004 election and appointed shadow minister for Pacific Islands. His portfolio responsibilities were expanded some time later to include overseas development.
Yet it was within the western suburbs where he did some of his most beneficial and rewarding work. In his maiden speech to the Victorian Parliament, Mr Sercombe highlighted some of the issues that he wanted to address while serving his community.
“Aged care has been one of the great positive initiatives of the Cain government. Of course, more needs to be done,” he told the parliament in 1988.
“When one examines the ageing population trend in the Niddrie electorate.
“I shall be pressing for prompt funding for a community health centre. The City of Keilor and the City of Essendon do not have one at present. It will provide a base for preventative programs and home-based care.
“There is already a shortage of nursing homes and hostel facilities in the City of Keilor.”
Mr Sercombe stuck true to his word on this very issue, launching the Holloway Hostel, named after his maternal grandmother, in 1994 in Keilor East.
The aged care facility has provided low-cost care to thousands of ageing residents from across north-western suburbs in its three decades.
Another issue Mr Sercombe worked incredibly hard to resolve during his time in office was the notorious and deadly level crossing in St Albans.
Mr Sercombe lobbied hard for the removal of the crossing throughout his parliamentary career, with the crossing finally removed in 2016.
Despite Mr Sercombe having left politics at the time, he was credited as one of the key champions of the campaign’s success.
Former St Albans retail owner Asip Dimiri took to social media after the news of his death to highlight his contribution.
“Bob was instrumental in getting the wheels in motion to remove the very dangerous level crossings in St Albans as well around Melbourne. Rest in peace my friend,” he wrote.
Mr Sercombe also championed the diverse community he served, regularly going out of his way to talk to multicultural clubs and groups to discuss their needs and wants within the community.
“It has been a very great honour to serve the electorate of Maribyrnong,” he said in his valedictory remarks to the federal parliament in 2007.
“Maribyrnong is an interesting electorate. I am continually impressed by the significant number of people who want to make a difference to the life of the community by contributing.
“It is also an extraordinarily culturally and socially diverse electorate. There are probably in excess of 100 different cultural groups in the electorate. It is rich and diverse.
“I particularly enjoyed working in that part of Melbourne with organisations that are interested in building bridges.
“It is great to be able to work with organisations that are not interested in dividing people; it is interested in uniting them.
“There are the Maltese soccer clubs George Cross and Green Gully. Whilst they have a Maltese heart they bring together people from that rich mosaic of cultures that are the western suburbs of Melbourne. The Italian Community of Keilor Association is another fine organisation.
“My interest in interethnic and interfaith communication and dialogue was reflected in some modest way in this place when I was able.”
It is evident that Mr Sercombe’s legacy throughout Melbourne’s north-west will live on for years to come.
– Harper Sercombe is the grandson of Bob Sercombe.
