PRIME Minister Julia Gillard is likely to be absent from Parliament for the rest of the week as she grieves for her father, John Gillard, 83, who died at the weekend.
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Ms Gillard was in Vladivostok at the APEC summit when she heard the news and flew home to Adelaide to be with her family.
In Parliament yesterday acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan remembered Mr Gillard as a man who gave his two daughters the best possible education and opportunities he could and instilled in them "a love of learning and commitment to values and fairness".
He said Ms Gillard was likely to be on leave for the rest of the week. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Mr Gillard was a "fine Australian" and a "proud dad".
"To have a child become prime minister of your country is perhaps the proudest thing that any parent can achieve," he said.
Ms Gillard has asked for donations to her father's favourite charity Medicins Sans Frontieres instead of flowers.
