Roe, Mr R.R.

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:25): I want to acknowledge the sad passing of Raymond Ronald Roe JP CMC, a Labor man who gave a great deal to his community and served the Labor Movement with distinction. Rae was born in Adelaide at The Queen Victoria Hospital on 12 June 1936. His early schooling days were at Norwood, Port Adelaide, Flinders Street and Colonel Light Gardens primary schools. He finished his schooling at the Adelaide Boys' High School.

In December 1950, during his school holidays he worked as a telegram delivery boy for the PMG—the second time we have mentioned that great place this week. He enjoyed the job so much that in March 1951 he was appointed junior postal officer to the GPO in Adelaide in the halcyon days of what is now Australia Post. After many positions within the PMG, he transferred in 1959 to Mount Gambier and married his first wife, Margaret. They had four children, Barry, Trevor, Andrew and Anita.

In 1966, he returned to the metropolitan area, living in Elizabeth Downs in 1966 and Elizabeth East in 1977. In 1975, he was a convert from the PMG Telecom and commenced as the assistant secretary of the Australian Postal & Telecommunications Union. He continued in this position until 1985, when he was elected SA branch secretary/treasurer and he held this position until his retirement in 1998.

Ray had a lifelong great interest in sport and began by playing football for the Postal Institute football team representing South Australia against Victoria. He also played for Port Adelaide and Woodville in the SANFL, playing in the first side Woodville played in the SANFL, a game that was played under lights at Norwood Oval against a team he was later to support, his beloved Central Districts.

When he began living in Mount Gambier, he played for Gambier West until he retired from playing in 1965 and took up field umpiring in the South-East of South Australia. In his first year of umpiring, he umpired the grand final of the Naracoorte league at Kingston South-East. As he played for Woodville in his formative years, he supported them until his two eldest sons started playing football for Central Districts, when obviously he changed his allegiances to that team.

Ray's political activism began in 1966 when he joined the Australian Labor Party and was elected the first treasurer of the newly formed Munno Para branch. His involvement in the ALP saw him become a member of the state executive, annual conference delegate and national ALP conference delegate. In 1970, he decided that he should stand for local government and he was elected by one vote to the position of councillor for ward 4 at the Elizabeth City Council. He was re-elected as councillor for three terms until he resigned to contest a vacant alderman position. After 10 years in local government, he was appointed Deputy Mayor of Elizabeth, a position he held until retiring from local government.

In December 1970, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace by the South Australian government and in January 1977 he was appointed one of the first civil marriage celebrants in South Australia. As a JP and civil marriage celebrant, he gave freely of his time for the benefit of others. As previously mentioned, Ray commenced his work at the Australian Postal & Telecommunications Union in 1975 and took an active interest in political and union activities. He was elected to the national executive and national conference of his union, and he was later honoured by being elected national vice president of the union.

He also represented the union as a delegate to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and during this period he acted as the assistant returning officer. As a full-time union official, Ray had the reputation of being firm but fair. He was respected by both management and members alike. In 1998, he retired from all union positions. It was from just before this time that I remember meeting Ray. During his tenure as a full-time union official, Ray assisted in the formation of one of the largest unions in Australia, the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union. On retirement, he held the position of vice president.

Ray went through the hurly-burly of life making many friends and few enemies. His funeral was well attended and both the Hon. Gerry Kandelaars and I were among the mourners. Ray is remembered by our former parliamentary colleague, former state MP and attorney-general, Peter Duncan, as playing a great role in the golden years of Elizabeth when that city was at its most vibrant as a hub of manufacturing.

When Peter was a local member, he worked with Ray in the state-local government partnership that worked hand in glove to make Elizabeth great. Peter was sad to hear of Ray's death and remembers Ray as a bright and enthusiastic personality. He always took the position of the underdog and was a key member of the union movement in South Australia. Ray was a man of the people. Sadly, though, circumstances conspired to deny Ray the opportunity of serving his community here in state parliament where he would have made a significant contribution.

Ray is also fondly remembered by another of our former colleagues, Ralph Clarke, as they worked together on the UTLC executive and in the state's trade union movement on a whole range of issues, particularly in the 1980s in the Hawke-Keating years. Ray's wife Helen was a great and well-respected member of Ralph's union, the then federated clerks union.

Both Peter and Ray, and I know my colleague the member for Ashford, want to add to ours their condolences to Ray's family: children Barry, Trevor, Andrew and Anita, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Anita and her husband, Brendan, carry on Ray's tradition of service, particularly through sport through their contribution to the hugely popular Modbury Vista Soccer Club—one of my local soccer clubs. One of their sons, Zack, is known to me and is a tremendous young man ready to continue Ray's legacy. From his second marriage, to Helen, Ray has three stepsons and two grandchildren. Helen was an inspiration to Ray and they shared many interests. Vale, Ray Roe—a loving family man and a great servant of his community.