Wednesday, 30 July 2025

Esmond Julian Curnow

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (09:41): I want to send my condolences to the friends and family of Esmond Curnow, a stalwart of the Labor Party and the union movement and a proud son of Bendigo. Esmond was born into a Labor family and grew up steeped in the values of fairness and social justice. His grandfather served as the member for Bendigo for a quarter of a century, and those values helped shape Esmond’s life. As a boy he was out there letterboxing, handing out how-to-vote cards and turning up at rallies. By the age of 16 he had joined the Labor Party, and by 23, in what was supposed to be an unwinnable election, he won the seat of Kara Kara from the Country Party and at the time was the youngest MP ever elected. In recognition of that lifelong dedication, Esmond was awarded Labor Party life membership in 2002, a testament to more than five decades of active contribution.

Esmond and I shared more than a passion for the Labor movement. With both of us being elected young and from Bendigo, we shared a patch. It is a community that instils a sense of fairness and a drive to make things better. Esmond served two terms before Kara Kara was abolished and was always a strong and vocal advocate for rural and regional communities. Even after Parliament, his commitment to the movement did not stop. He served Bendigo Trades Hall later with the storemen and packers union, ultimately as assistant secretary. Esmond was passionate, determined, opinionated and generous, and never afraid to stand up for what he believed in. I thank him for his legacy to our movement and the Parliament. Vale, Esmond Curnow.