Motions

Byner, Mr L.

Debate resumed.

The Hon. C. BONAROS (11:51): I rise to thank the Hon. Dennis Hood for bringing this motion to this chamber. I echo the sentiments that have been expressed by my colleagues in here today, and I think everyone has nailed it when it comes to Leon. I marvel at how much time Leon must have spent on the phone. You felt like you were kind of unique with Leon, in that he would call you all those times a day—we have heard that he really was a persistent man and like a dog with a bone when it came to pursuing an issue—and it was not just one of us, it was many of us.

I had the opportunity, on radio with Graeme Goodings, to reflect on Leon and his time in here. During that conversation I reflected on some of the things that Leon did, and the thing that always stands out to me the most is the drug-driving campaign. I attribute the changes made to our laws in this place to Leon Byner and Leon Byner only. He was on a one-man mission to change our drug-driving and hoon-driving laws in this state for the safety of our community. You knew he was not going to let up, and he brought people on that journey with him. I think that is one of the exceptional things about Leon.

I do not know that he often appreciated the level of influence that he had over politics in this state, but I think other speakers are quite right: he took what was happening in here on a daily basis and engaged with the public about that. He let them know what decisions were being made about the issues that impact each and every one of our community members. The level of influence that I think he had over those sorts of decisions is, as I said, immeasurable.

The sort of impact that Leon had and the role that he played on radio, as I think everyone agrees, cannot be overstated. There is a lot to be said for trust and information and some truth, and people looked to him for that—and not just that; it went beyond just the big campaigns. People would call Leon with an individual problem, and he would see those people, those individuals, through with phone calls to many of us in here until something was done.

He would be on the phone after somebody called in and said that they had a problem with this issue or that issue. He would call one of us in here and ensure that it was dealt with, whether it was a speeding fine, a housing issue, an electricity issue or whatever the case may be. There was always one of us who was going to get that call, or a minister who was going to get that call. He would be on it until it was resolved. That goes way above and beyond the role our radio presenters play.

I also had cause to reflect on—and this is a question that Graeme put to me—the truth and trust we have in people like him and in Leon. I said at the time when I spoke that we have social media today and you do not know what is true and what is not. People still do turn to their radio presenters and people like Leon for a trusted source of news, and he delivered that in spades over decades in South Australia and we are all better off for it.

He brought decision-making from this place each and every day to the fore of the South Australian public. His service was much greater than just as a radio host. It was a civic duty and a responsibility for Leon, and certainly he brought to the fore many things in SA public life, as the Hon. Rob Simms has said, that people genuinely care about. At this point I, too, would like to extend my condolences to his family, friends and loved ones, and thank him for his invaluable service to the community above and beyond everything else that he provided to us for so many years.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (11:56): I also wish to send my condolences to the family of Leon Byner and his friends. I know that Leon had been in bad health in recent months. I had coffee with him only a few months ago, and we shared a lot of stories and a lot of what he had done in his radio career. Considering my age, I have probably known Leon longer than many people in this place.

I first came across Leon in the 1970s when he worked as a DJ on radio stations in Adelaide after coming here from interstate, on 5KA particularly. His nickname was Binky at the time. He had not only a talented knowledge of music when he was spinning discs but also was a bit of a comedian of sorts and would often do skits mimicking cartoonish voices and writing rather humorous scripts.

Leon progressed from there to the more serious side of radio, which is talk, and of course I got to know him very well during his period on FIVEaa, I was one of his regulars, and what struck me about Leon was his constant ability and interest in setting the agenda on radio each day. He was always looking for something different, rather than just pulling something out of the paper and covering what was already in the paper. Leon was always on the phone early in the morning, wanting to know if there was an issue of importance that needed to be raised on radio or if a particular politician needed to have their cage rattled or appear on the program to make a particular comment.

Leon like to set the agenda on radio, and he did that quite a few times, as has been mentioned here. What he was really strong at was being a watchdog for the community, for his radio community, particularly on consumer issues and also on the lack of fairness that had been given to people, particularly those on Centrelink benefits. He would often have the chief executive of Centrelink on his program and the program would be flooded with people who had issues about the way they had been treated. Leon was probably one of the first to highlight and expose the Centrelink Robodebt scandal. He stayed on that all the way through. He had many listeners who gave him information, and consequently we know what happened in that regard.

That gives you an indication of the type of talkback presenter he was: you gave him a bone and he would not let go until he achieved an outcome. People would ring on his program—and we have experienced it all in our line of work here, and I experienced it in my previous line of work—and sometimes an individual would try to get assistance for some problem that beset them with a government department. You usually find that the government departments or the ministers do not really take much notice of them, because it is only one complaint—'We'll send them a letter.' That is it, nothing happens. They give Leon a call, Leon airs it publicly, and within 24 hours the matter is fixed.

He did that not only with Centrelink issues, he did it with Housing Trust issues. I think the Hon. Michelle Lensink would attest that when she was minister Leon would often be on her tail about these issues. He had other strong issues; he had the consumer ones, of course, and then there were electricity prices. He was really strong on what was going on with the electricity market and how it was impacting on cost-of-living pressures on South Australians.

Leon was also a very competent interviewer. In the mid-nineties, when I worked as the features editor at Channel 10, I produced segments that Leon would shoot in Hollywood and we would air on Channel 10. It was incredible the amount of celebrities in Hollywood who gave Leon time and sat down with him to do interviews; Jackie Collins and Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example, are two who come to mind. He would go there and do a whole bag full of interviews, come back, and then they would be edited and would go to air. Leon certainly was able to show his prowess in being able to do those types of celebrity interviews for television. He was a multifaceted man, not only on radio but also on television.

Last year, Leon was awarded an Order of Australia for his services to broadcasting—much deserved. It did not really get much fanfare, or the fanfare it deserved, in my opinion. Having been involved in the media for something like 50-odd years, I would rate Leon Byner in the same league of radio talkback commentators as the late John Laws, who died recently, as Neil Mitchell in Melbourne, Ray Hadley and, of course, Jeremy Cordeaux, who was a legendary figure on radio here and who also worked with Leon.

As I said, I think Leon will be best remembered for his strong campaigns on issues and the fact that he went in for the underdog. He will always be remembered for that work and what he did on radio. Radio is poorer for not having Leon there. I know he was quite disappointed when he had to leave FIVEaa—again, on health grounds. He would have loved to have gone on. In the discussions I had with him after he had left FIVEaa he was still razor sharp, still interested in what was happening, he still had an opinion on particular issues. He never lost that interest in his craft; it almost became obsessive, in a way, for him. That is the type of person he was; he worked hard, he researched hard.

I still recall my days in 2017 when I was working with Nick Xenophon as Nick's media adviser. A day would not pass without me getting a call from Leon wanting to know what issues he could tackle that morning, or who we needed to tackle or what issues were going to come up before parliament. He certainly had a really good rapport with Nick and would often speak with Nick about politics and issues of the day and have him regularly on his program.

There were many people that Leon helped along the way in their careers, whether it was in politics or in other fields. We will all be thankful for the time he gave us and for his friendship. With that, I thank the mover of the motion.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (12:05): I would like to thank the speakers: the Hon. Mr Wortley, the Hon. Ms Bonaros, the Hon. Mr Simms and the Hon. Mr Pangallo. I think all of us had an affection for Leon. He was a unique and remarkable individual, and he will be sadly missed.

Motion carried.