Motions

Byner, Mr L.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (11:35): I move:

That this council—

1. Expresses its sorrow at the passing of Adelaide radio presenter, Leon Byner OAM;

2. Extends its sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues; and

3. Acknowledges the significant contribution he made to Adelaide media for over two decades, raising awareness of issues of interest to the South Australian community, advocating for the people of our state and giving them a voice.

I will speak very briefly today. We have a lot on the Notice Paper that we need to get through, and members would be aware that we had originally intended to do this motion last night. I do want to take a moment to pause and reflect on the really significant—and I would go so far as to say magnificent—contribution that Leon Byner has made to the state of South Australia, He was truly one of a kind and a person I grew quite close to over the years.

He was, of course, a broadcaster, who commenced radio presenting way back in 1966, before I was born. Some people might be shocked to hear that, but yes, even before I was born. He worked in radio in every Australian capital city during his decades-long media career: Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Hobart and, of course, right here in Adelaide. He most recently hosted his top-rating morning talkback show for over two decades on Adelaide's FIVEaa radio station and all the affiliate stations throughout regional South Australia. He was truly a household name in Adelaide and throughout the regions.

He retired from broadcasting somewhat reluctantly, I understand, but nonetheless retired on 2 December 2022. By that time, as I have indicated, he had spent some 60 years on the airwaves. This is the sort of longevity that I think will be almost never equalled, given the extraordinary length of time that he was able to speak to all of us. He was nominated for an ACRA Award 13 times. That is the industry award for one of the most outstanding presenters. He was actually nominated 13 times.

I remember speaking with him when I think he had been nominated for the eleventh time and he said, 'I have no chance.' I said, 'Why would that be, Leon? Your ratings are through the roof. You should win.' He said, 'It always goes to someone in Sydney or Melbourne. It always goes to someone in Sydney or Melbourne,' and the truth is that it does. When you look at the data, he is quite right. I think he was well and truly up against it, but in my view he was very deserving of winning at least one, if not more than one.

I do not think this is widely known, but he was also nominated for Australian of the Year some three times. Again, he was not actually declared the winner, but to be nominated is a great honour, and I think he was truly a worthy nomination. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to radio broadcast media in 2023 in the King's Birthday Honours. Leon was a man who took a great deal of pride in civil society and in the recognition that goes with those highly regarded awards. I know that he was personally thrilled to receive his OAM, as he saw it as not so much recognition of himself but of the impact that he had had on our community.

He, sadly, passed away from acute leukaemia on 11 November this year. He was 77 and other than the disease was a very vibrant, energetic 77 year old. I saw him just a couple of months ago. What did he want to talk about? He wanted to talk about what the government was up to, what the opposition was up to, what the individual players on the crossbench were up to. He was still very astute, very interested in the day-to-day ins and outs of politics. He was indefatigable, which is a word I do not use very often. I do not use it very often because I stumble on it when I say it.

The Hon. T.A. Franks interjecting:

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Okay, there is a pronunciation issue there, but he was. He really was. His energy knew no bounds. Of course, his show brought issues to the attention of South Australians on a daily basis. He would argue with passion, with venom. I remember, before I joined the Liberal Party, I was on the crossbench, and he would often ring me after his show and say, 'What have you got for tomorrow?' I would say, 'Okay. Just give me a minute, Leon, and I will come back to you.' He demanded of you a certain level of activity and vigilance, if you like. That was something that he expected of himself and expected of others as well.

He regularly engaged, of course, with members of parliament. I am sure all of us have been on his show at one stage or another. He was quite exacting in his standards and could be really quite brutal on the air. I remember when I was on the crossbench. He was a little bit kinder to the crossbench, I think, by and large, but used to get stuck into the major parties quite a bit. I remember that was great when we were in opposition but not so good when we were in government. He would get the minister on there and tear them apart on various issues. If you were going on Leon's show, you had to know your material and know it well, because he did not suffer fools lightly at all.

He was passionate about keeping the government of the day to account and advocating for individual groups. When he saw injustice, he would pounce on it, and he would not stop until that situation was fixed. People would ring up his show after having been thrown around the various avenues of government—they might have gone to the Ombudsman or done something, whatever—and he would find a way. Leon would ring that minister personally and say, 'Look, I have had this call today.'

Usually the minister would know about it because one of the staff was listening to it. The minister would try to get a head start so that Leon did not ring them afterwards and say, 'Why are you not doing something about this?' They could say, 'Actually, we are doing something about it, Leon.' He was the last resort advocate, if you like, when people had nowhere else to go. He used to wear that as a badge of honour, and he would fight passionately to get a result for people.

I think it is fitting that I bring this motion to the chamber today. He was a unique man. He was quite different. When I first met him, it is fair to say we did not get along very well. We were just different types, if you like. His pace and energy were a little bit different to mine; I am more of a slightly reserved type, and he just went guns and all. But after a while, I really became quite friendly with him. We became quite close and were good friends right until the end. He will certainly be missed. He has contributed a lot to our state, and I think it is appropriate that we acknowledge him today.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (11:42): I rise to speak on this motion and thank the Hon. Dennis Hood for putting this forward. I also got to know Leon Byner over the years. I think it is fair to say that he was a remarkable contributor to South Australian public life and the political discourse of our state, and in fact I would describe Leon as really being the voice of Adelaide for several decades. He had one of those voices that was so recognisable and really iconic in terms of being the voice of our state. He gave voice often to the concerns of people in our community who were being marginalised or excluded.

One of the things that I really valued about Leon and his advocacy was the fact that, if somebody was not able to get through with government departments or was finding that their issue was being caught up in government bureaucracy, he would provide a platform to cut to the chase and try to get an outcome for that person. There are lots and lots of examples of Leon Byner doing that over the years. I will say that I first went on his program as an Adelaide city councillor. He had me on on multiple occasions over the years in my different roles over the last decade.

I will say there was always a level of trepidation when you got a call from the producer of the Leon Byner program asking you to go on, because you knew you had to be well prepared. You knew that he was going to sometimes give you a hard time. I think he treated all political parties in that way, but he was somebody who cared genuinely about people and cared genuinely about our state. He was a tough interviewer, and we need that from our journalists and people who operate in journalism. I salute him for that. He also was very generous to me over the years in terms of giving me opportunities to appear on his program, and I really appreciate that.

I might also make a remark about his good friend Sean Dinning, whom I know, who was Leon's carer in recent times. I see Sean regularly at the Arab Steed Hotel—he works there, and I live around the corner—and I know that the loss of Leon is being deeply felt by him and, of course, other friends and family too, so my thoughts are with them at this time.

I think it is fair to say we unfortunately are not going to see another person like Leon Byner in terms of someone who really commanded the medium of radio in that way in our state over such a long period of time, so it is certainly appropriate that we recognise his contribution in the parliament today. Vale Leon Byner.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (11:45): I stand today to pay my regards at the loss of Leon Byner, and I thank the Hon. Dennis Hood for putting this on the agenda. We lost a legend of Adelaide and Australian radio earlier this month. Leon Byner was the consummate broadcaster. In an increasingly formulaic radio media too easily filled with morning zoos and shock jocks, Leon stood out, from spinning the discs in the 1970s to dealing with irate talkback callers and helping out even more callers who needed to be heard.

Leon worked for 50 years and in every state in Australia. He was one of Australia's all-time great broadcasters, and South Australia has been lucky enough to have him on our airwaves for most of his career. Leon's career started at just 14, working as an announcer at a hospital fete in Melbourne's St Kilda. There he met a giant of Australian theatre, John Bell, who encouraged him to pursue a career in broadcasting. Three years later, his already smooth radio voice was filling the airwaves at Shepparton in Northern Victoria. In rural media you really learn your stripes as a jack-of-all-trades. It was a great training ground, and it set Leon up to for a brilliant career.

When he arrived in Adelaide, he worked the graveyard shift on radio station 5AD before moving to 5KA, where he became one of its renowned music DJs. Leon Byner was only getting started. The fact that he could be an expert on the songs of the Rolling Stones and the Easybeats and transition quickly to someone filling in on local matters, including politics for the legendary John Laws in Sydney, speaks volumes for his ability.

The move to Sydney would change his career forever and showed he was one of Australia's best broadcasters from a young age. Leon went on to work in every city in Australia during the eighties and nineties. He even worked on Adelaide morning TV and pushed the boundaries further by heading to the US and taking on several roles in Los Angeles. But he had come to love his adopted home of Adelaide and returned in 2000. Very quickly, he became the voice of Adelaide morning radio, working on FIVEaa. Leon went from respected commentator to a legend in South Australian broadcasting.

I first met Leon in around 2011 when I was Minister for Industrial Relations and Local Government, when I introduced quite significant reforms to the work health and safety legislation. Leon was the voice for many of those people who opposed that legislation, and there were quite a few from the HIA and some social commentators. When Tammy used to ring up and ask me to go on the radio, I was very grateful for the fact that I could go and put my point of view, but I always knew that he had three or four other characters who were ready to attack me at every end.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: To hammer you.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Yes, to hammer me. I did not mind that, because that is what Leon was there for. I was a great admirer of Leon's. As long as I got my opportunity of speaking and putting my position, I had no problem with having four or five people basically attacking me.

The Hon. R.A. Simms: How could anyone attack you, Russell?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: No, not Leon; it was all the people there. Leon lived in the seat of Torrens. I know my partner, Dana Wortley, had a lot to do with Leon. We went out to his favourite restaurant, which was the House of Chow in Wakefield Street. We would go out for meals with him and his friend Sean, and we spoke about many, many issues.

It was very funny with Leon in that he very rarely knew what position he was going to take. He actually acted as a mouthpiece for those people who had issues. He loaned his voice to many causes and he gave a voice to callers who needed to be heard. He helped his growing army of callers deal with everything from medical emergencies to banking issues, Centrelink payments and energy bills. He was their way of cutting through the bureaucratic red tape.

When people got sick of dealing with the system, they knew Leon was there to help. There is no doubt he got many people through one crisis after another. He may have even saved the lives of some of the more desperate listeners who had all but given up before he came to their aid. He investigated wrongdoing, gave airplay to stories that others ignored, and was very supportive of local businesses.

For his ongoing service to the community, he was nominated for Australian of the Year three times. He was the mainstay of morning radio for more than 20 years before his retirement in 2022. One year later, Leon was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to radio broadcasting. Leon persevered through illness in his later years and succumbed to acute leukaemia on 11 November. My sympathies go out to Leon, his friends, Sean and the rest of his family. Vale Leon.