Basheer AM, Mr M.R.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (11:26): I move:

That this house—

(a) mourns the passing of distinguished South Australian National Football League (SANFL) administrator and stalwart, Max Basheer AM;

(b) acknowledges his immense contribution and enduring leadership across nearly 50 years of service to the SANFL, including 25 years as League President and as Chair of the South Australian Football Commission;

(c) recognises his pivotal role in the establishment of Football Park and in securing the entry of the Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club into the Australian Football League (AFL);

(d) acknowledges his long and outstanding career in the legal profession, including his service as honorary solicitor to the South Australian Amateur Football League; and

(e) extends its sincere condolences to Mr Basheer's daughters, Jayne and Ann, and to the Basheer family on their loss.

I rise today to speak to the passing of Max Basheer AM as we mourn one of South Australia's true legends, a man whose life bridged the worlds of law, of leadership and our beloved game of Australian football. In fact, when I was at the Crows game only about a week ago, I looked out into the Max Basheer Stand at Adelaide Oval.

Max Basheer AM was not just an administrator, he was a builder, a visionary and a steadfast guardian of a sport that unites us all. His passing at the remarkable age of 98 leaves a void in our state's sporting heart but his legacy certainly endures.

Born in 1927 in the South-East timber town of Kalangadoo to Lebanese Druze immigrants, Max embodied the migrant spirit of grit and determination. He got his taste for footy playing for Prince Alfred College and then with Adelaide University in the 1950s. It was off the field where his true genius really shone.

For nearly 50 years he poured his soul, literally, into the SANFL (it was the SA NFL then not the SANFL) transforming it from a local league into a powerhouse that propelled South Australia onto the national stage. He was SANFL President from 1978 to 2003 and Chairman of the SA Football Commission from 1990 to 2003. As the Hon. Rob Kerin, current Chairman of the South Australian Football Commission, so aptly said:

The greats of our game are often remembered by their accomplishments on the field but when we remember those who have had such profound impact off the field, there are few others like Max.

Max's service was indeed immense and selfless. It was guided by an unyielding passion to grow the game that we all cherish. Max played a pivotal role in establishing Football Park and securing the entry of Adelaide Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club into the AFL. We can safely say that we in this place are all beneficiaries of such achievements, achievements that stand as enduring testaments to his vision and his leadership. It is therefore appropriate that Max Basheer has been honoured in the AFL Hall of Fame and with the naming of a stand at Adelaide Oval that I referred to.

Max's considerable accomplishments saw him inducted as a Member of the Order of Australia for services to Australian football in 1998, which also was a good year for the Crows, I might add—the last good year for the Crows.

Max's accomplishments for Australian football are complemented by his immense contributions to the legal profession. He is remembered as a much-loved and respected member of the profession but also as a cornerstone of his former firm DBH Lawyers, formerly known as Duncan Basheer Hannon, until his retirement at the age of, can you believe, 92 in 2019. A career stretching across six decades is itself an incredible accomplishment, it really is.

Max said he knew from a relatively early age that he wanted to practise law. He began his legal journey in 1947, when he articled to Povey and Waterhouse as a law student. Under the mentorship of the esteemed Elliott Johnston QC, Max developed a lifelong passion for the law and a reputation for integrity, wisdom and generosity. He was admitted to the bar in 1951 after graduating from the University of Adelaide, and he really did build a formidable career in the law.

He became a partner in 1954, and the firm was renamed to include his name, Basheer. By 1966, he became the sole partner of that firm, the beginning of a significant period of growth for the firm. In the early 1990s, Max practised with Peter Humphries and David Tillett under the banner of Reilly Basheer Downs and Humphries before amalgamating with Duncan and Hannon to form Duncan Basheer Hannon. He remained an active and integral figure at DBH until his retirement in 2019 at that extraordinary age, as I referred to, of 92.

Described by DBH Lawyers' current managing partner, Amy Nikolovski, as a much-loved and respected member of the profession, Basheer's tenure was defined by his integrity, dedication and unwavering commitment to serving both clients and the broader community, qualities that earned him widespread admiration even in his later years. His legacy in the law continues through the profound respect that he commands from colleagues, adversaries and clients alike, underpinned by his renowned sound judgement but also his calm, measured presence.

He left an enduring mark on the profession. Many personal tributes, such as that from close friend and former colleague Peter Humphries, highlight Basheer's approachable and also much-beloved character. His contribution to the profession over nearly seven decades is actually unmatched, that I can think of. As Law Society president Marissa Mackie reflects, Max exemplified the values of integrity, collegiality and public service, and his legacy will continue to inspire generations of lawyers to come.

On behalf of the opposition, I sincerely extend our condolences to Mr Basheer's daughters, Jayne and Ann, and to the Basheer family on their loss. May he rest in peace. He will be deeply missed.

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (11:32): I rise today to support this motion and also pay tribute to the life and legacy of Max Basheer AM, a man who has left an indelible mark on both the legal profession and the great game of Australian Rules football in South Australia. Born in 1927 to Lebanese immigrant parents, Max grew up in Adelaide and was educated at Prince Alfred College before studying law at the University of Adelaide.

Max followed his passion for the law, graduating in 1951 and going on to become one of the nation's longest serving lawyers. His legal career extended for more than six decades, marked by distinction, dedication and integrity. At the same time, Max devoted his life to football. In the early 1950s he was playing for Adelaide University whilst he completed his legal studies, and his administrative career began in 1954 and spanned nearly half a century.

As President of the SANFL for 25 years, he guided the sport through times of great challenge and change. He saw the establishment of Football Park at West Lakes, navigated the long and difficult struggle to have football played under lights and steered South Australian football into the national competition, securing the Adelaide and Port Adelaide football clubs' entry into the AFL—go Crows. Max was deservedly recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988 and inducted into both the SANFL and AFL halls of fame in 2005. His name lives on with a grandstand at Adelaide Oval named after him.

Today, we remember Max Basheer not only for his leadership but for his lifelong service to our state. I extend my condolences to his family, friends and the wider football community. His contribution will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace.

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (11:34): I also take the opportunity to recognise a great of the game of Australian Rules football here in South Australia and acknowledge his service to the legal profession. I thank the Leader of the Opposition for marking this occasion of the death of Max Basheer and bringing it to parliament, because I think it is important to recognise Max in parliament. I would like to concentrate my contribution on talking through Max's contribution to football here in South Australia.

Max had a long 50-year association with the SANFL. For 25 years, one of the key times was when he was the President of the SANFL, going from 1978 through to 2003. I had the great opportunity to play SANFL football at Norwood, and basically Max was the president the whole time that I was playing football. When you play football, everyone naturally thinks straightaway of the greats of the game, because of course that is what makes the game of football.

However, it is also those stalwarts of the game who work behind the scenes and administer the game who actually allow the footballers to go out onto the ground and do what they do best. Max was right up the top as the President of the SANFL. As a young fellow, his early presidency would have been when I was watching football. The association with Max would have been him reading out the Magarey Medal votes, the count and then awarding the Magarey Medal to some of the greats of the game.

The seventies and eighties would no doubt be recognised as the SANFL's halcyon days. Of course, it was before the national competition and it was when the game of SANFL football really developed. We had Sturt in the sixties bring in the handball and the running game, which made the game a lot more open and enjoyable to watch, then in the seventies and eighties other teams replicated that.

We had colour TV come along and bring the games to life and telecast them, and we had fantastic crowds coming to the SANFL games. As a young fellow, that was the pinnacle. Kicking the ball around at lunchtime at school, on the primary school oval, it was taking marks and pretending you were Kernahan or Michael Aish, some of the greats of the game, and so many others thought that too.

Of course, Max was president. I talked about the SANFL and the fact that there was the national game. At the same time, the VFL was also a very good competition, and there were some terrific state games between the two teams. Those competitions got to showcase which was the best competition because you would have players who played in the SANFL basically playing in the VFL as well. It got to the stage where it became State of Origin, because there was the perverse situation sometimes where you had South Australians who were playing in the VFL playing against South Australia, so we had State of Origin games, which I will come back to shortly.

One of the first indelible marks that Max made on football was his work to establish Football Park at West Lakes. The SANFL and SACA were co-tenants at Adelaide Oval, and that was becoming more and more fractious, so the SANFL took it upon themselves to set themselves up and not be beholden to cricket, to be masters of their own destiny and set up Football Park. Max was instrumental in setting up Football Park, which basically became the home of South Australian football for so long here in South Australia.

One of Max's great strengths, when I talk about administration, was trying to push through what seemed like insurmountable hurdles. Of course, one of those hurdles was trying to get the lights up at Football Park. Nowadays night football is basically a part of the game—in fact, a lot of spectators prefer the night football to the daytime football—but back then, in the late seventies and eighties, the only night football here in South Australia was played at Thebarton Oval and at The Parade. Max had to fight through what was a royal commission into the lights at Footy Park and was able to get that through.

Getting back to the state games, the first State of Origin game played under lights at Footy Park was in 1984. While the result was line ball, with the Vics just beating South Australia, as a kid I indelibly remember Stephen Kernahan kicking 10 goals, and just being so proud of the fact that—he was playing at Glenelg at that stage—there was a South Australian who was just tearing up these famed Victorians.

The Victorian push to get South Australian players continued. Of course, great players want to test themselves against other great players, so we saw South Australians going over to the VFL. Max, seeing that as a huge threat to the SANFL, set up the player retention fund, basically giving a financial inducement or incentive for South Australians to stay in South Australia. From Norwood's perspective we had Michael Aish and Garry McIntosh staying to play here, and Glenelg had Chris McDermott playing here. That was great. As a young fellow—getting back to my time as an actual player while Max was the president—I was able to be mentored by greats of the game who, had it not been for Max and his player retention scheme, may not have been there to mentor players.

Of course, at the same time the VFL was trying to expand, and one of the reasons was that a lot of their clubs were broke. Max had run the SANFL very well, and many of the SANFL clubs were more financial than the VFL clubs. The VFL was trying to expand to survive, and it brought the WA team, West Coast, into the competition. There was huge pressure for South Australia to bring in a team, and Max could see that that was what the best South Australian players wanted.

He always had the best interests of South Australian football at heart, so when Port came in 1990 and said they were going to take up a VFL licence, he knew it would have had a major impact on SANFL. I remember I was just playing under 19s at the time, but it was a real febrile time amongst the clubs; they were nervous about it. Max was able to ensure that the SANFL secured the licence of the Adelaide Crows, and basically was able to ensure the longevity of the SANFL.

Looking at some of the quotes from people at the time, Leigh Whicker, who was the CEO of the SANFL and who was the CEO the whole time, commented about Max that:

If you want to know why there is still an SANFL today—and not an AFL-SA—it is because Max refused to have South Australian football and the SANFL become subordinate to the VFL or AFL. When the West Australians caved in in 1986…the pressure on the SANFL was immense. But Max was determined to have South Australia stand firm until we could be part of a national competition on our terms. It was important that this included a strong and independent SANFL.

That is true today: the SANFL would still be the pre-eminent league outside of the AFL in the country. We have the SANFL grand final coming up just this Sunday, where two of the powerhouse clubs of the seventies are playing—Sturt and Glenelg. In the eighties Glenelg won back to back, in 1985 and 1986; fast forward to 2023 and 2024 and they are back to back again. They are playing Sturt this weekend, going for a premiership 'three-peat', so I wish all the Glenelg players the very best. There are so many Glenelg supporters in the electorate of Morphett. They love the Tigers and they are passionate, and they want to see the Tigers bring home a 'three-peat'.

One of those passionate supporters, of course, is Peter Carey, one of the greats of the game, another one I did not mention who stayed here in SA to play. He is a games record holder in South Australia and has won three premierships. People ask him, 'If Glenelg wins that means there are going to be some players who have won four premierships, so how do you feel about that?' He says, 'Great, I could think of nothing better.' He is a Tigers man through and through, and so to the Tigers players playing this Sunday, I wish you all the best and hope that you claim the premiership.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (11:44): I rise to support the motion of the Leader of the Opposition today, and it is well that the house takes this time to recognise a man who has been rightly described as a titan of South Australian football. Mr Basheer, I think, as the member for Morphett has just so eloquently described, occupied a place for those of us of this age of continuity in terms of keeping to the strength and integrity of what was, through the seventies and eighties in particular, the place where you found the best brand of football played anywhere.

You would not ordinarily as a child be conscious of who the lead administrators were, but Max Basheer was known as a constant throughout all of that time. It is just extraordinary how long Max was at the centre of all things football in South Australia. I want to just make that connection again as well about how he was fortunate to have some legal skills. He was qualified as a lawyer and when his playing days ended—and he was a very accomplished footballer; we can sort of hear about what North Adelaide might have to say about whether he might have had a chance to play on at Sturt and so on—he went straight into playing a leading role in the service of football using his professional skills.

So he has done that from the early fifties as a very young man, and then, as the decades have continued, he has demonstrated what passion and commitment to the sport can do in terms of delivering for all South Australians, because we know that South Australians take enormous pride in the brand of Aussie Rules football that we play, and Max was right at the centre of keeping that strong. Max was there for those halcyon days of the SANFL, and that is true particularly in those years through the middle and late eighties prior to the commencement of the Crows in 1991. But, as the member for Morphett has highlighted, when the time came for the Crows to start off in 1991, and then when the time came for the Power to start in 1997, he was making sure that the SANFL stayed strong.

Just one nod to one of those players retained for South Australia: Garry McIntosh was and remains a hero of South Australian football, and maybe Garry was the kind of player who might have stayed anyway. He played all his footy here and he starred as a huge figure at Norwood, of course, but hugely starred as a State of Origin champion. He is very much the SANFL player of the Max Basheer era who sums it up in all sorts of ways, and the legacy pans all the way through to the present day. He coached our eldest daughter to a premiership at Payneham Norwood in just recent years.

I remember bumping into Garry and bringing it to Emily's attention, and I said, 'Do you know who that is over there holding that bag? That's Garry McIntosh.' She was like, 'Oh yeah, righto.' He inhabits that club and continues on, but retained from that great time, I hope in part in thanks to Max's foresight in making sure that players and teams stayed strong when the challenge was on. So as a man dedicated to this state, dedicated to football, and all the people who are integral to it for a lifetime of service, we pay tribute to Max Basheer. Vale Max and thank you for helping to make South Australia this great place that it is.

The SPEAKER (11:49): I would also like to add a few words, and I endorse the Leader of the Opposition's motion. I was lucky enough to know Max when I was a journalist and he was the already long-serving head of the SANFL. He came from Kalangadoo like the rest of the Basheer family, including his brother Fred, and we came from Glencoe, so we were kind of rivals. We did not dislike Kalangadoo as much as we disliked Mount Burr, but it was getting close with the Magpies.

What I really liked about Max was his sense of humour. He was one of the hardest people to come up against in business or in making a decision, but once he had walked away from that negotiating table, he was one of the funniest guys. As a journo, we used to go to the Magarey Room after games, and Max would be there with Leigh Whicker. They made a pretty good team, and we would be in there having stubbies of Eagle Blue or West End super dry and having a good old chat after the game. I just remember Max's great sense of humour. He could always see the lighter side of stuff.

When it came to sticking up for South Australian footy, he made a lot of decisions that were based on a tenacity that few people I think are capable of. Whether he got all those decisions right is going to be debated for decades, particularly that one around Bruce Weber and the Port Adelaide Football Club's ambition to go into the AFL. Of course, that followed on from the decision of the VFL to take in a team from Western Australia, which became the Eagles. I think that was at a time when people were thinking, 'Well, South Australia's team should go in then,' and it ended up being that the Brisbane Bears went in under the ownership of Christopher Skase and Paul Cronin.

It will be long debated whether South Australia should have gone in in 1987 or whether Port should have gone in, as they proposed, in 1990. But in the end we ended up with the Crows going in there as a composite team, and I think Max oversaw the creation of that team. Right from that very first trial game that they had down at Footy Park, which I was at, and then the opening round game a fortnight later, the crowds came in their tens of thousands, and they have not stopped coming for the Crows and for Port. A lot of that is down to Max's ambitions. Also, before that, he took on Sir Donald Bradman when it was Bradman running cricket and Basheer running football in the late sixties, early seventies, and Max had no qualms in saying, 'We are going to go it alone.'

The other thing that people admired about him was that he never placed the sport in great debt. As they built Football Park they would go, 'We can afford to do this much of the building now, then we are going to do part 2, then part 3 and part 4.' So we saw Football Park built up over the years.

I am not sure that Max was that keen on the move back to Adelaide Oval. It was more being driven by cricket and Ian McLachlan, who did a really good job. I remember Kevin Foley as Treasurer and Pat Conlon as infrastructure minister were working really closely with cricket and football. Maybe Max did want to come back into Adelaide Oval, but, again, he always drove that hard bargain that he was so well known for, and footy got a fair few things out of that move. I have absolutely zero doubt that a lot of those concessions that footy got were down to Max's tenacity and his ability to drive a bargain but at the same time being such an affable fellow.

One of the highlights of grand final week in Melbourne was the SANFL commission used to go over there all the time, and if you were anywhere around the Grand Hyatt or the MCG over that that weekend and you bumped into Max or Leigh Whicker or were with them on the plane on the way back there was always a fun time had by all. They were great human beings as well as Max being an amazing administrator and lawyer.

I want to pass on my condolences to his family, in particular to his nephew David, who took over the running of the Strathmore Hotel after his dad, Fred, died. I know David is very, very proud of his Uncle Max. So to all the Basheer family, my condolences.

Motion carried.