Mono fought for decent wages and better conditions for more than 2.2 million Queensland workers. He started in the union movement in New South Wales in 1979, before he saw the light and moved to Queensland 10 years later. Queensland has rarely seen such a passionate and effective warrior for working people as Ron Monaghan. Ron was a man who loved his family, and he treated the Queensland Labor movement as part of that family.

Ron fought his last battle courageously and is survived by his wife, Vicki, their eight children and four grandchildren. When I visited Mono in hospital shortly before he passed away, he was so proud to show me his big family photo and talk to me about all of the things that were happening with his grandkids and kids. He'll always be remembered for his generosity of spirit, his tenacity in pursuing what was right and the leaps and bounds he made for working people. These leaps and bounds were not only in their standards of living but in the respect that he knew they deserved—in our hearts and minds and at the forefront of everything we do in this great movement.