In the chamber in which he once sat, former Labor Member for Ginninderra Jayson Hinder's Legislative Assembly colleagues spoke of him with tears and laughter on Tuesday.

Sitting in the packed-out gallery were members of Mr Hinder's family and former members of the legislative assembly Simon Corbell and Bill Stefaniak.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he knew Mr Hinder would want to be remembered as "a good bloke who worked hard and fought hard for what we cared about."

"Jayson spent much of his time with wheels on the road and wind in his hair," Mr Barr said.

"His is a story of resilience, drive and passion for his community."

Labor MLA Tara Cheyne broke down as she remembered his "dogged refusal to accept the unacceptable".

"That Jayson's life has ended prematurely is something I and many others will have trouble accepting for a long time to come," Ms Cheyne said.

Labor's Meegan Fitzharris said Mr Hinder "said it like it was" and had a "simple way of cutting through".

Labor backbencher Suzanne Orr said he was unfailingly kind and Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said he was deeply committed to making Canberra a better place.

Chris Steel, whose own brother died in a road accident overseas, said he had been touched to hear that a California local, who was worried Mr Hinder had died alone and so far from home, travelled to the crash site to place flowers there.

Liberals leader Alistair Coe recalled how Mr Hinder delivered his maiden speech with his nose in a different place to where it had been a few weeks earlier because of a run-in with Mr Stefaniak on the rugby field.

Greens leader Shane Rattenbury said the collision was all the more remarkable given that Mr Hinder and Mr Stefaniak were on the same team.

Mr Hinder, 51, was killed in a motorcycle crash in California last week.

He was born in Canberra, the son of a draughtsman and an art teacher.

His parents, Richard and Colleen, were the second family to move to the Woden Valley.

After his father died aged 43 from emphysema, seven-year-old Jayson was sent to boarding school in the Southern Highlands as his mother was forced to sell the family home and move in as boarding manager at Canberra Girls Grammar.

While working a mechanic, Mr Hinder attended night classes at university to complete his law degree. He graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Laws in 2001.

He went on to found his own firm, Jayson Hinder and Associates, although retained his love of cars and motorbikes.

Mr Rattenbury fondly remembered Mr Hinder bragging to fellow Labor member and motoring enthusiast Mick Gentleman about being a better rider.

Mr Gentleman said Mr Hinder would be remembered during this weekend's the Motorcycle Riders' Association ACT annual blanket run, an event he took part in last year.

His other great passion was sport. He played with the ACT Veterans Rugby Club but was also a coach.

Deputy chief minister Yvette Berry said Mr Hinder's contribution was not limited to the field as he used his extensive community connections to raise tens of thousands of dollars for causes he cared about, including domestic and family violence.

He was a "Labor stalwart", Mr Barr said, and served as an organiser for Country Labor in Yass and the Gungahlin sub-branch president.

Mr Hinder was "immensely proud" to be elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly last March after Mary Porter's retirement but lost his seat at the October election.

He is survived by his wife Lisa and his three children.