Today I rise to recognise a friend, John Papakosmas, who we lost in early April.

John was born in 1931 in Greece. As the eldest son of seven children, John had to stop his education after primary school to help his family. This commitment to helping others would be a characteristic that defined John throughout his life.

Through his teens John worked as a shepherd, sold timber and made charcoal before being called for military service in 1950.

In 1957 John emigrated to Australia and two years later arrived at Port Kembla train station in the middle of the night having been told there may be work available at the steelworks. He wandered up the main street of Cringila, meeting a man called Peter whom he had met on the boat from Greece who took him in and found him his first job in Wollongong.

In 1965 he made the best decision of his life by marrying his dear wife Niki – a union which produced two children Chris and Angelo, and eventually 3 grandchildren, John, Daniel and William.

John was committed to two things – family and community. His days were spent in his shop working to provide for his family and his evenings at meetings of his beloved Labor Party, various multicultural organisations and labour groups.

John was a Life Member of the Australian Labor Party and in 2018 he received a Premier’s Award for 50 years service as a Justice of the Peace.

John will be deeply missed by our community and I extend my most sincere condolences to his family on behalf of the people of the Illawarra.