Death
On 14 June Wilton committed suicide alone in a national park near the town of Labertouche, in the Shire of Buln Buln. His death sparked a major reaction, with the media, the Labor Party, and the family law and mental health systems all coming in for some blame in the ensuing days. Many also pointed to the Australian political tradition of voluble, even personal, politics. The Australian Press Council came under fire for not having guidelines as to the reporting of attempted suicide.
Several condolence motions were passed through parliament from political allies such as Anna Burke and political opposites such as Kay Hull. An entire parliamentary day was set aside for condolence speeches. Members of Parliament wept openly in the House chamber as they spoke of their memories of Greg Wilton and their grief about his departure.
Wilton's seat was filled by the Australian Labor Party's Ann Corcoran at a by-election on 12 August 2000.
Read more about this topic: Greg Wilton
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“if thou slip thy troth and do not come at all.
As minutes in the clock do strike so call for death I shall:
To please both thy false heart, and rid myself from woe,
That rather had to die in troth than live forsaken so.”
—Unknown. The Lady Prayeth the Return of Her Lover Abiding on the Seas (l. 19–22)
“Eyes spiritualised by death can judge,
I cannot, but I am not content.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Death, the most dreaded of all evils, is therefore of no concern to us; for while we exist death is not present, and when death is present we no longer exist.”
—Epicurus (c. 341–271 B.C.)