For over four months, Canberra school teacher Sarah Payne has been the quiet, behind-the-scenes supporter as her partner has gone toe-to-toe with Attorney General Shane Rattenbury in calling for a wholesale judicial review in the ACT.
But in a heartfelt online post to the campaign page on the weekend, the Canberra Grammar teacher now has added a momentum all her own, even drawing out Labor backbencher Dr Marisa Paterson in public support.
Within days, over 61,000 people had viewed Sarah Payne's moving tribute on the ACTnowforsaferroads online page, with over 440 sharing the post and more than 200 offering supportive comments.
"As a teacher and a parent, I felt I had to say something, to offer my perspective," she said.
"Matthew was our son, and the young man killed that night. But equally anyone's son or daughter could have been the victim.
"I felt it was important that people know what a very special young man he was, what an amazing contributor to the Canberra community he would have become."
Tom McLuckie and Sarah Payne's son was killed in a horrific head-on crash on Hindmarsh Drive in May, the 20-year-old's vehicle hit head-on by a young female driver who was speeding on the wrong side of the road in a stolen car.
Matthew, a student, had been driving home after finishing his shift at Canberra Airport, the blameless victim of another driver's senseless disregard for public safety.
In her post, she described how "as a high school teacher my whole career, so I've been privileged to come across plenty of amazing and inspirational young people. But I've never known anyone as diligent, goal-driven and tenacious as my step-son Matthew McLuckie".
Between his university study, she said Matthew would manage "about 30 hours a week of work as a baggage handler at the airport. We would hear him getting ready at 4.30am for his shifts, or he'd get home past midnight when a plane came in late".
"As I lay in the comfort of my bed, I'd think to myself how incredible it was that he'd head off into the dark into minus degrees, fog and sleet in winter, or into the sweltering heat in summer without complaint.
"Matt put me to shame in so many ways with his no-fuss and pragmatic approach to his commitments.
"Once he set his mind to something he would do everything necessary to make it turn into a reality.
"I wish I was more like him.
"I wish I'd told Matt what an impressive young man he had become.
"I will forever regret that so many of our interactions were about the banalities of coexistence. 'Could you put the bins out please'? 'Could you empty the dishwasher'? Of course, he did everything we asked of him.
"The last thing I ever told him was that his hamburger pattie would be in the fridge waiting for him when he got home from work.
"He thanked me, as he always did, and then off he went."
As the parents grappled with the grief and emotional pain of their terrible loss back in May, they became aware that the incident in which their son was killed was just one of many in which a cohort of recidivist, often drug-affected offenders were running rampant on Canberra's roads.
Car theft skyrocketed across Canberra in the first half of the year, linked to a range of offences such as burglary, robbery, property damage and assault. While police arrested many offenders, they were commonly bailed by the courts or given community corrections orders only to commit further offences sometimes hours later.
Tom McLuckie's relentless pursuit of a full-scale review and tougher court outcomes for recividists has had the Attorney General on the defensive, with even the Chief Minister Andrew Barr obliged to publicly defend his minister as groups such as the Australian Federal Police Association called for Mr Rattenbury to step down.
Ms Payne, the inaugural winner of a national prize for language teaching, said she was pleased with the public response and added momentum that her story added to the campaign.
"My only regret was not mentioning what an amazing role model that Matthew's mother, Amanda, had been," she said.
"She has tried several times to put her feelings into words too but she's completely heartbroken, and we understand that."
