Thursday, 15 May 2025

Daniel Peterson-English

David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:46): I rise to recognise the life of Daniel Peterson-English. Daniel was a kind, generous and sensitive young man who loved films, animals and video games, but most of all he loved his mum Margaret. Daniel suffered from mental illness for many years, and he appreciated everything that Margaret did for him. He reminded her often by leaving flowers for her to find at the door of their home in Eltham when she returned from her shift as a nurse. But the demonisation of people during the pandemic led to a tragic series of events. Margaret tells us that up to 22 September 2021 Daniel had only experienced kindness from local police, but on that morning, after being unsettled by a minor earthquake, he travelled to the city by train, as he often did, to check on his friends amongst the homeless people in the city. Daniel had an exemption from wearing a mask, but this led to an argument with police, culminating in him being thrown violently to the tiles of Flinders Street Station. The footage is sickening and was seen by millions. Margaret ended her long career immediately to care for him, because she felt terrible that she was unable to answer Daniel’s calls for help that day. She says Daniel suffered from PTSD ever since and was never the same. He passed away in March this year. He was only 32. Let the record show that Daniel English was greatly loved by his family and the community and will be missed by all.