The Prime Minister has asked me to express his deepest condolences to Stefan’s family here and in Ukraine and Germany. Especially to Anastasia, Peter, Theresa and their partners and children who have lost a devoted husband, father and grandfather. To his cousin Eugene, who he thought of as a brother. And Eugene’s family, to Anastasia’s brothers and sisters, with whom Stefan was very close.
I’m here as a representative of Prime Minister Albanese, but I’m also here as a friend and an admirer of Stefan Romaniw.
We met many years ago in our local community, the Essendon neighborhood at the Russell Street centre, amongst a thriving and proud Ukrainian community.
Our friendship was cemented when I was leader of the Opposition, especially following the horrible, evil tragedy of MH 17 shot down out of the skies over eastern Ukraine.
I’d like to acknowledge the presence of my friend and sparring partner, but never on the Ukraine, former Prime Minister the Honourable Tony Abbott, who led so strongly at that time on behalf of Australia.
It’s actually almost 10 years since July the 17th, 2014, when parts of that shattered plane fell in a field of sunflowers.
An ugly reality surrounded by those bright, beautiful yellow flowers that symbolise hope and strength.
A flower which nature in its infinite wonder dictates that it face the sun, so their shadow falls behind.
The flower synonymous with the resilience, beauty and spirit of the Ukrainian people.
Stefan’s dual loves of Australia and Ukraine converged in these hardest of circumstances.
Stefan had a fire within him. A sense of fairness fuelled from the journey from the Maidan, to the illegal seizure of Crimea, and the Russian interference in eastern Ukraine.
And that fire was ablaze in our friend when Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine began.
He was a most tireless advocate, capable of bringing the political representatives of all stripes together to pledge support for Ukraine.
He understood that our Australia is an island. But Australia is more than an island because Australia is linked to all other nations by our shared humanity.
He understood, and we understand that the illegal Russian invasion threatens all nations.
We don’t need to be told for whom the Ukrainian bell tolls. It tolls for all of us.
That is why we re-pledge ourselves to Stefan’s dream of Ukraine having a just and lasting peace.
My respect for Stefan, and the passion for justice that came to define him and forge his path, is immeasurable.
Today we will, on many of his achievements, some well known, some less known.
He was a man of conviction. He was a man of honour. He was a man of faith. A man of humour, warmth and compassion.
The Ukrainian World Congress has called him “A revered son of Ukraine”.
Despite Matthew Guy’s best tutoring of me, he taught us the phrase “Slava Ukraini”. Sorry, Matthew.
But it is a rallying cry. A rallying cry that invokes more emotion with two words than 10,000 words written about purpose and heart.
It’s said that a person has not gone until the last ripple of their influence stops breaking the water, until the last crop they sowed is harvested, until the clock wound up winds down.
I’ll be honest, it doesn’t quite feel real yet.
In recent days, I’ve glimpsed his imposing presence, even felt I’ve seen his face in the crowds of the airport. But it’s not him.
I’ve gone to call him after being interviewed on television about Ukraine. But then I stopped.
He didn’t even text me to tell me that Essendon had beat Collingwood.
Perhaps in grief, we have a mixture of wishful thinking. We still seek his wise counsel. The urge is still there to seek the vague approval from the charismatic leader.
That’s how I feel. I can only begin to imagine how the community feel, how his friends feel, how his beloved family feel.
Saint Augustine taught us on the continuity of love after the death of a loved one. In a sermon based on that teaching, Henry Scott Holland told us to speak of those who passed with the ease that we’ve always had. Because nothing is passed, nothing is lost. Whatever we were to each other, we are still.
The word spread quickly in Canberra about his passing. Liberal and Labor, Foreign Minister and Opposition Spokesperson.
The world cannot afford to lose Stefan. Ukraine cannot afford to lose Stefan. Australia cannot afford to lose Stefan. We cannot and his family most of all, cannot. But we have.
But we can remember Stefan. We can honour. We can be true. We can rededicate ourselves to his values. The ripples, the crops, the wound clocks of Stefan Romaniw’s life remain with us. Slava Ukrani. Vale Stefan.
