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IN PHOTO: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (C) and his wife Margaret react after talking with relatives of the Australian victims of Malaysia Airlines jet MH17 at a ceremony unveiling a memorial outside Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, July 17, 2015. Australia urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to support the establishment of an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of downing Malaysia Airlines jet MH17 in eastern Ukraine last year. REUTERS/David Gray

More than 500 mourners attended the funeral of Federal MP Don Randall in Perth. Prime Minister Tony Abbott pulled out of the book launch of Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne in Melbourne to attend the funeral.

The 62-year-old politician suffered a heart attack in Boddington and had a sudden death last week. He was earlier found unresponsive in his car close to the local golf course. Prior to that, he met voters in his electorate.

Along with PM Abbott, there were other dignitaries who attended the funeral. Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Justice Minister Michael Keenan, Speaker Bronwyn Bishop and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann attended the funeral service to pay their respects. A number of West Australian MPs were also present at the ceremony. The attendees included Environment Minister Albert Jacob, Education Minister Peter Collier, Treasurer Mike Nahan and Premier Colin Barnett.

The Randall family described him as a "true blue maverick" in a statement. The family said that the deceased politician had never stopped fighting for what he believed in. "What you saw was what you got and we loved that about him," ABC quoted the statement.

The family asked people to make a donation to the Autism Association of WA or Wanslea Grandcarers instead of bringing flowers to the event. Randall is survived by two children, Tess and Elliott, as well as his wife Julie, whom he had been married to for 31 years.

Herald Sun reported that more than 500 mourners occasionally burst into laughter while the story of Randall’s life was told. His staff paid a tribute last week, reminding that Randall had not been worried about “ruffling a few feathers” for the benefit of his electorate.

Randall, a former horse trainer was born in Wheatbelt. His funeral, held in the Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park Cemetery in Padbury on Friday, took two hours.

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