‘Intelligent force for good’: Labor senator Linda White dies following health battle

Key PointsVictorian Labor senator Linda White’s death was announced on Friday morning. She was elected to the Senate in the 2022 federal election.White’s been remembered as “compassionate, smart and unyielding” and an “intelligent force for good”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has remembered Victorian Senator Linda White as a “beloved friend and valued colleague” following her death.

Senator White, who was elected to the upper house at the 2022 federal election, died overnight after a health battle, although the exact cause of death is unknown.

In February, she announced she would take leave from the Senate due to health issues.

Mr Albanese said the hearts of the Labor Party had broken following news of her death.

“Linda was formidable, a beloved friend, a valued colleague, a dedicated parliamentarian and through all her efforts in the wider Labor movement, a devout supporter of working Australians,” he said.

“As it has sadly turned out, Linda was not in the Senate for long, but she made powerful use of the brief time she had.”

Before entering federal politics, she worked for 10 years as a solicitor, while also serving as the assistant national secretary of the Australian Services Union from 1995 to 2020.

She also spent a 10-year period as the vice president of the ACTU.

Workplace Minister Tony Burke said White had left an “extraordinary legacy”.

“Linda campaigned for years in the union movement for

,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.

“As a senator, she helped make it law so no one would have to choose between safety and pay.”

Greens senator David Shoebridge said the upper house had lost a “fundamentally decent, honest, empathetic and intelligent force for good”.

“Right now, I’m remembering all the good she did, the principles she held and thinking of her family, friends and colleagues,” he said.

Opposition leader in the Senate, Simon Birmingham, said the Coalition also extended sympathies following White’s death.

“In her first speech, Senator White made a promise that no one in the Senate would be left wondering what she thought; that people will always know where she stands and know that she is not afraid of saying what’s on her mind,” he said.

“Senator White lived up to that promise.”

In a statement, the Australian Services Union said the organisation was grieving the loss of one of its “greatest warriors”.

“Linda’s influence extends to thousands, if not millions of Australians who never had the privilege of knowing her,” the union said.

“She was relentless, passionate, highly skilled and determined to win, not for herself but for others who deserved fairness and justice.”

Senator White is survived by her brother Michael.

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