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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
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GUNN, HON. G.M.

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (11:33): I move:

That this house acknowledges and congratulates the member for Stuart, the Hon. Graham Gunn MP, for his service to the Parliament of South Australia.

It is a very great honour to rise today to pay tribute to one of the longest serving members of parliament in South Australia's history. I think it is very important to acknowledge the outstanding contributions made by the member for Stuart, Mr Graham Gunn, and to put on the record the historic significance of his service to this place. When the member for Stuart retires at the next election on 20 March 2010 he will have given 39 years and 10 months of his life to serve the people of the north and the west of this state.

I would like to thank Alex Grove in the Parliament Research Library for compiling the list of the longest serving members of the South Australian parliament. The member for Stuart is the second longest serving member of the South Australian House of Assembly. His record is only bettered by Sir Robert Dove Nicholls, a long time speaker of the house during the Playford years. Sir Robert was a member from 27 March 1916 to 2 March 1956, which means that he served for 40 years and 11 months, just one year and one month longer than the member for Stuart will have served by the next election.

There have been longer political careers in South Australia, but they have been largely served in the upper house. Sir John Lancelot Stirling holds the all-time record, with seven years and 11 months' service in the lower house and 40 years and 10 months in the Legislative Council, for a total of 48 years and nine months' service between 1881 and 1932. From 1918 to 1962, Sir Walter Gordon Duncan spent 43 years and 10 months in the Legislative Council. Sir Alexander McEwin was a member of the Legislative Council for 40 years and eight months, while Sir George Ritchie spread his time between the houses, with 20 years in the House of Assembly and 20 years in the Legislative Council between 1902 and 1944. One wonders what he did between late 1922 and April 1924, when he was not in either place.

Mr Gunn's commitment to the electorate is legendary, and he has taken on governments of both persuasions over the years. The original seat he won was called Eyre and it comprised 49 per cent of the state. With boundary changes during the past 38 years, Mr Gunn has had a blue ribbon seat where he had 82 per cent of the vote and a marginal seat where he had just over 50 per cent. He has been like a barnacle, and through 12 elections he has been impossible to budge—although the ALP did get close a couple of times in recent years.

The member for Stuart has gone through more motor cars than he can remember and averages about 90,000 kilometres a year of travel. By my quick calculations, that means Mr Gunn has amassed about 3.6 million kilometres during his parliamentary career. There would not be many politicians anywhere in the world, even with the aid of Air Force One, who could have travelled many more kilometres. And, speaking of planes, the member for Stuart learned to fly and gained his pilot's licence after becoming a member of parliament, and he was famed for flying himself around his vast electorate.

There by his side for so many of those trips has been Graham's wife, Jan. Locals in the seat of Stuart to whom I have spoken in recent days have said that it is very unusual for there to be an event in the electorate that Graham and Jan do not attend, and that the member for Stuart is always very approachable. Recently, he left parliament on a Wednesday night and with Jan drove to Hawker for a function and returned to parliament the very next morning. That sort of commitment is the norm rather than the exception for the member for Stuart. When Graham stood for election for the Liberal Party in the 1970 poll, Jan told him to go for the experience, and the experience is still going.

The pair was married in 1968 and, before coming into this place, the member for Stuart was a member of the Streaky Bay council from the age of 21. His brother Ian is the current Mayor of Streaky Bay. When he came to this place, the member for Stuart, fondly known here as the father of the house, had no children. He and Jan now have two sons, Stuart and Kym, and three granddaughters, Courtney, Katelin and Jasmine. The Gunn family has been farming at Mount Cooper since 1904 on the west coast of South Australia and, when asked his profession, Graham has always answered, 'I am a farmer and a member of parliament.'

In fact, we have all heard the phrase from the member for Stuart that he is a humble farmer usually just before he berates a public servant almost always referred to as 'Sir Humphrey'. As a new member of this place, I learnt quickly not to interject while the member for Stuart had the floor. Early on, I yelled out some encouragement to Graham and he thought I was having a go at him. He gave me a quick, sharp response that put me in my place, and I have sat in silence during his contributions ever since.

I have learned a lot from watching the father of the house in action, and I hope I am following his example of sticking up for the individual who is being treated harshly. As he has said many times, people, particularly those from regional and remote parts of the state, often feel that they have no power to fight against decisions or actions of governments, and that is where we, as their representatives, need to step up and be strong advocates for the people who elect us to this place.

I was having a chat with Graham a couple of days ago and he told me, not surprisingly, that his various leaders over the years had found him a little difficult to manage. Former premier David Tonkin used to send him notes on his premier's letterhead summoning him to a meeting. He would simply turn them over and write on the back, 'You know my secretary's number. Give her a call and make an appointment.'

From 1993 to 1997, Graham was speaker of the House of Assembly when our party barely had enough members for a cricket team. I have heard that he was a pretty tough taskmaster, and I am keen to hear some contributions to this motion from people who lived through the member for Stuart's reign as speaker. When I asked him about it the other day, he said the Labor members were a most disruptive group and that he saved them a few times from their own bad behaviour.

The member for Stuart has been a great ambassador for South Australia interstate and overseas. He has travelled throughout the commonwealth and to many rural parts of the United States, including Nebraska and South Dakota, where he has been able to promote the way South Australia does things on the land and pick up good ideas and bring them back to our state.

Last year, the member for Stuart represented the Premier and all South Australians at the Armistice Day 90th anniversary at Villers-Bretonneux in France—the member for Bright may complain about my pronunciation, being the great French speaker that she is—where 52,000 Australians lost their lives on the Western Front during World War I. The member for Stuart described the deeply moving experience in his travel report to the parliament thus:

To walk through the cemeteries of the Somme clearly brings to one's attention the futility of what took place 90 years ago and the thousands of good young people who gave their lives.

The member for Stuart suggested that the South Australian parliament send a member to the ceremony each year to attend the service and to continue to build the relationship started in such desperate times more than 90 years ago.

During his visit in November, Mr Gunn met with the Mayor of Dernancourt and last month, and, while the mayor was in South Australia for ANZAC Day as a guest of the South Australian government, the member for Stuart took him to the Flinders Ranges to show off one of the most beautiful parts of his electorate.

Ms Fox: And he loved it.

Mr BIGNELL: I hear from the member for Bright, who also took the mayor around, that he had a most enjoyable and memorable time with the member for Stuart in the Flinders Ranges. The father of the house has always been a great believer in members of parliament travelling. He says members are not doing their job unless they know what is happening in other parts of the world and he says that anyone who criticises MPs' allowances is not living in the real world.

When Graham Gunn entered parliament in 1970, there were no computers and no mobile phones. In fact, Graham was on a party phone on the farm, so you can imagine the risk of having neighbours overhearing private conversations. There were no fax machines and many of the roads in his electorate were unsealed. However, Graham has been one to embrace technological advances, and he says that we have seen some wonderful developments and technological improvements in education, agriculture and other areas during his political career.

He served with 175 members in this place under countless leaders of the Liberal Party and several premiers. The member for Stuart considers his greatest achievement in this place to be his work on the abolition of death duties. I am sure we all agree that family farms and family businesses have all prospered and benefited from what was a significant and important change to our law.

The member for Stuart is going through his documents as he cleans out almost 40 years of political life—tearing off the little sticky notes with personal comments about people—and will leave those parliamentary papers, his electoral notices and everything else to the Streaky Bay museum. I am sure that we will all look forward to dropping in there to have a look next time we are on the West Coast once that contribution has been made.

I thank the member for Stuart and congratulate him on a job that is not quite done because there are another 10 months or so to go. I look forward to hearing other contributions from members on both sides of the house because, as the second-longest serving member in this place prepares to retire, I think it is good to have his contribution recognised and for stories and anecdotes to be put on the record about the member for Stuart.

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (11:43): One could go on for a long time about this motion. I would have probably left it a few more weeks yet, but I commend the member for bringing it up now. Thirty-nine and three-quarter years is a long time, and I have known the member for almost all that time because he served with my father. The Hon. Graham Gunn came into our house on many occasions. He was driving an F100 back in those days, big fuel guzzler that it was, and he knew how to drive it. He always took the wheel caps off when it was new because he had some rough roads to drive on.

Mr Gunn came here at the age of 27—just think of that! I do not think there are many members around here even today who were younger, even you, Mr Speaker. It was a long time ago. He was a young man and, as a newlywed, he came from the farm at Mount Cooper to this place. What a culture shock that was both for him and for the parliament!

As I said, he served with my father and they did a lot of things together and I have appreciated coming into the house with Mr Gunn being here to talk about the battles of the past, the campaigns that were waged—fought, lost and some won. He served in the Tonkin government. There is a lot of history between those intelligent ears of the Hon. Graham Gunn.

Yes, I also am a farmer and a member of parliament; I still like to be referred to as a family farmer and a member of parliament. He has been a great support to me and a strong advocate for country people and country communities. The member for Stuart has held a marginal seat for almost all of the 40 years he has been in this place. It is a lesson to us all. People say that the pendulum swings and the seats go, but in this case it did not. In the last election, the pendulum swung heavily against us on this side of the house, and the member for Stuart stood resolute in his patch, relying on those people to support him over many years—'I have done it for you. I need you'—and they supported him.

I remind the house that the Labor Party spent a fortune on attacking him. They put a government paid officer in Port Augusta, fully paid with a motor car, to get to him but they did not succeed. Justin Jarvis threw everything at him and still the member for Stuart is here. Let it be a lesson to us all. Good advocacy on behalf of constituents will always win the day against the game of politics.

The Hon. Graham Gunn's attention to detail is legendary. He gives fantastic individual service—no person or issue too small. I want to mention one instance involving one of his constituents in the far flung area of Cordillo Downs. There is not a more isolated place in the state than Cordillo Downs. Graham was in regular contact with these people and the owner's wife was very concerned that the chooks were not well.

What happened? Graham Gunn arrived with four MPs and a vet. Here we were standing in a chook house miles from anywhere with Dr Duncan McFetridge examining these chooks. It was part of Graham Gunn's annual visit around the electorate. We diagnosed these chooks as having a deficiency in calcium and they were eating rocks. I stood there and marvelled; this was such an isolated place. Cordillo Downs is a wonderful place but it is just so isolated. To be standing in this fowl house looking at these six sick chooks, I thought this is the reason that this member fights against the political tide. He pays attention to detail. The service he has given over many years has been fantastic.

The Hon. Graham Gunn, as has been mentioned by the honourable member, travels a lot of kilometres; in fact, I think he is the only member in the place who does more than I.

Mrs Geraghty: What about the member for Giles?

Mr VENNING: Well, she is chauffeur driven at the moment; but, yes, certainly. Graham turns the cars over quicker than anybody. I do not know how he does it. I have to say to you that I am in awe of him because I run against the law sometimes; I have had my brush with the law. I cannot recall the member for Stuart ever having a speeding ticket or anything else. I commend him for that—a man in control. With all the hours behind the wheel, he has never had a brush with the law in relation to speeding. With the hours that he has been there, don't wreck the record. I am amazed.

I want to particularly thank the member for Stuart for his support on issues that were difficult for me personally. To my colleagues, I am sorry, but I will mention the single desk issue. He stuck with us through thick and thin on this. Looking at the events of this week, we were dead right. We should never have gone along that track. He stuck in there. We know that most of the farmers wanted to retain the single desk in wheat and barley. I also commend the member for Goyder for sticking with us. You can see today that we have now gone for what people said would happen. We now have chaos at our ports in relation to marketing and all those issues. But we knew that.

I thank the member for Stuart for being a stalwart. He has been steadfast in his support. I also want to mention the ports. When the Ports Corp was resolved and we put it out there, all sorts of shenanigans were going on behind the scenes. If you had to visit a minister, you took Graham Gunn with you. We sorted out a few problems, didn't we, Graham? I will write a book about this because I have kept a diary, as most members know, and most of this is in the diaries about what happened on certain days and which ministers were recalcitrant and hesitant about what they needed to do.

The member for Stuart certainly reminded a few of them. In the end, I am pleased that the result is good. Most of the work was done by the previous government in getting the ports sorted out. But I will give the final decision to the current minister, Hon. Patrick Conlon, in actually getting the thing in the right place. I thank the member for Stuart very much for the efforts he put in on that occasion over the many years.

Finally, I want to congratulate Graham's wife, Jan. This lady is the epitome of the best supporting wife of a member of parliament I have ever known. She is always there—always happy and smiling. She always has good advice. She is always interested and she is in the know. She has given Graham a lot of advice over the years because she is always—

The Hon. S.W. Key: You'd better mention Kay, though.

Mr VENNING: —up with the matter. Secondly, my own wife, Kay often discusses matters with Jan—of course, not when I or Graham is around. I am sure they compare notes. Their lives are very similar. I have to say that Jan's support of Graham is legendary because she is always there. My wife has done a great job supporting me. There are times when you say, 'Enough's enough', especially after 18 years in my case and 39 in Graham's case. But Jan is still doing it. It is noticed by all the constituents.

We have had several celebrations during Graham's political career. I think the last one was the 30 year celebration in Jamestown, which was a great night. Graham sometimes is not a diplomat. Sometimes he does not walk around dusting up people with a feather; it is more like a crowbar—for example, his attacks on various public servants. I think we need to have on every team people who are prepared to get out there. For both teams, whether Liberal or Labor, you need to have people on your team who do a role, and Graham has given us this role of saying, 'Hang on. We have to keep these Sir Humphreys on notice. We have to make sure that they know we are watching and they are not going to get away with things like this, particularly people in inspectorates and so on.'

I do not know what it is going to be like here without him. I am not used to that idea. One of the reasons that I am coming back is to see what it is like without him.

Ms Breuer: You can be the father of the party.

Mr VENNING: I won't be the father. The Premier has been here longer than I have, as has the member for Fisher.

Ms Breuer: Yes, but you look older!

Mr VENNING: I hope that won't be recorded on Hansard, but, as I referred to it, it probably will be. To the member for Stuart, his lovely wife, Jan—and to his sons, to be farming without their father living there has been hard on them, and I commend them for being the success that they are as their dad has devoted his life to the parliament and the people of South Australia. Graham, all I can say is, thank you very much for being a colleague. Thank you very much for what you have done for the people of South Australia. You deserve a long and rewarding retirement. I support the motion.

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (11:53): I will make a brief tribute to Graham. It is in some ways a bit early because, usually, valedictory speeches come close to the end of the term. Nevertheless, I am happy to be part of this tribute motion today.

'Gunny', as he has been affectionately called over the time I have been here, is one of the characters of this place. I think that, sadly, in the future we will have fewer people that I would call 'characters', because more of the people coming in are likely to be more homogenised and pasteurised and—

Mr Venning: Bland.

The Hon. R.B. SUCH: And bland. A few things stick out. Graham and I disagree on some aspects of bushfire prevention. I certainly support cool burning, so I am at one with him on that. A lot more should have been done in the past and a lot more needs to be done in the future.

One of the important lessons that must be remembered is that, if people had listened to people like Graham Gunn, the Liberal Party would still be in government. That is the harsh reality. When you get people whose ego exceeds their ability you can destroy a party, you can destroy a government, and we have seen the consequences of that. I am sure the member for Stuart can elaborate at the appropriate time upon the silliness that went on resulting in the destruction of the government, which had an incredibly large majority and which was then reduced to a very small number of members.

I also pay tribute to Jan and Graham's family. Not enough people outside parliament recognise the sacrifice that family members make, whether it is your children being teased or harassed at school or snide comments or other inappropriate remarks being made. We should salute any spouse who supports a member of parliament. I acknowledge the work of Jan and her family.

We know Graham can be quite shy and retiring (he often uses that as his introductory line), but he can roar when the occasion requires. Whilst I will not go into the private details of what used to happen in the Liberal Party room, I can tell the house that sometimes the walls used to shake a little bit, particularly with Graham's sparring partner, the Hon. Trevor Griffin, in relation to matters of law and order and juvenile delinquency.

I have to say that history has proved Graham correct in that, for too, long there was this namby-pamby, wishy-washy approach. One of the ironies that helped bring the Labor Party to power was the fact that it realised there were votes in the law and order issue, which is traditionally something the Liberal Party focused on. I do not know how many times that issue was hammered in the party room, but it fell on deaf ears. That advice, not just in relation to places like Port Augusta but elsewhere, was ignored, and I think the Liberal Party paid a very heavy price for ignoring it.

I conclude by saying that I have always admired the tenacity of country members in having to drive vast distances. I do not mind driving reasonable distances. I drive out to the country, and I hope to get up to Moonta on the weekend for the Cornish festival. Distances and time spent driving by country members amaze me and, in one sense, also appal me, because, unless they have a driver, their lives are constantly at risk. If they are tired or trying to get from one venue to another, their life is actually at risk, and I do not think enough people realise that.

Whilst it did not help specifically in relation to the time aspect involved in driving, I was delighted that one of the things that I was able to help achieve in this place was getting a car for country and city members. For those people who criticise it—and there have been one or two in another place over time who have had a cheap shot at it—the least you can do is make sure that both country and city members have a decent vehicle to get around in so that their lives are not unnecessarily put at risk, because they are behind the wheel for such a long period of time. Gunny, as we call him, has spent more time behind the wheel than any other MP that I know of.

I will conclude by acknowledging Graham's service over time. We all have different views, but as we know, whether or not you are in a party, parliament is a bit like a family. After you leave this place, we observe that words that are often exchanged in here do not linger in terms of any harshness but remind us that, ultimately, we are here to serve the public, and Graham has served over a period of about 39 years.

Mr RAU (Enfield) (11:59): I take great pleasure in supporting this motion. I congratulate the member on bringing it forward, because I think it expresses a sentiment that all of us on both sides of the house genuinely feel in respect of the member for Stuart.

I agree with remarks that it is a little early to be getting into all of this in some respects. I would caution members on our side that he has been here for 40 years so far; he might just decide to run again and use these speeches as part of his next campaign. I think the risk is that is small, because he seems to have finally decided that he has had enough of the place. All of us, I am sure, wish Graham and his family all the very best in the years ahead. I can certainly think of a number of government positions—which I will not mention here because it would not perhaps help—where he would have a very important role to play after he leaves this place.

I would encourage the member for Stuart to quietly consider on which one of these government boards or authorities he would like to make a contribution. I can think of several where his wisdom would enrich the board tremendously. Take for example the Native Vegetation Council. If he were to become part of that august body, wouldn't those meetings become interesting! You would be able to sell tickets to Native Veg Council meetings. It would be very interesting indeed .

I have been here for only a relatively small percentage of the time that the member for Stuart has been here. Indeed, when he first came here, I was—as one would say—wearing short pants. The fact of the matter is that, from the day that I first arrived here, the member for Stuart has been unfailingly supportive, certainly of me, and, in my observation, of all other new members of the parliament. It is very important that there are people with experience, wisdom and the common sense to be able to understand when to say things, when not to say things and how to do things to assist younger people in understanding the culture of this place.

I think that the member for Stuart has done an extraordinary job, and I speak from my own experience. I am sure that, in respect of every other new member coming into this place who has spent any time at all talking to the member for Stuart, he always has some wise counsel to give. It does not necessarily mean that he tells you not to do what you want to do, but he may help you do what you want to do in a more effective way, and that is really important. On my own behalf, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the tremendous, invaluable and irreplaceable sort of tuition that you get from an experienced person in this place.

I think it is also important that, whether or not you agree with the member for Stuart on issues, you can be certain that he expresses his view in a forthright way, with honesty and integrity. I am afraid to say that it is actually a reasonably rare thing in politics, but he is one of those people who, if he gives his word about something, that's it. There is no need to keep ringing him and checking, 'Are you still doing this, are you still doing that.' It is finished. If he does not give his word, if he says, 'No, I won't do it', you can be sure that he will not do it. If he says, 'I will do it', you can be sure he will do it. It is as simple as that. It is refreshing to be able to deal with a person either formally or informally in this place (in this environment) for whom those sorts of values are foremost in their mind.

I have had the privilege of looking through the honourable member's maiden speech. Obviously, this was made some time ago, but it is very interesting to see how similar many of the themes in his maiden speech are to themes that he picks up now. It says a great deal about his consistency and his world view, and I have been trying to put this into a few words. Some people might find these words a bit odd for the member for Stuart, but I will give you what I have come up with, anyway. They all start with the letter 'P'.

The first word which people might possibly laugh at is 'progressive'. I will mention in a little while why I think he is progressive. The second word is 'principled', and I do not think that I need to labour that point too much for anybody here. The third one is 'protectionist'. As a longstanding protectionist myself, who is completely off the screen as far as contemporary economic thought is concerned, it is comforting to have a fellow traveller; in fact, somebody who has been advocating these very important issues for many years.

The fourth word is 'pragmatic'. The one theme that comes out of almost everything the member for Stuart says is his absolute respect and support for the rule of law—and this really ties in together pragmatic and progressive. This is demonstrated usually in two ways: attacks on the autocrats and attacks on unaccountable bureaucrats. The member for Stuart understands, and has always understood, that decision-making which is not made by individuals who are accountable is the basis of all tyranny. The tyranny might be a small tyranny—whether you can get a licence for this or a licence for that—but small tyrannies have a habit of becoming bigger ones. The rule of law and the institution of parliament are two very fundamental elements in making sure that this does not happen. Throughout his career, the member for Stuart has been an advocate of these things.

I will turn briefly to the member for Stuart's maiden speech on 21 July 1970. Problems with quotas in the wheat industry were discussed, because there was actually an oversupply issue at that stage. The honourable member made some remarks about that. He talked about low wool prices which, again, were current issues. Then, obviously, there was his touchstone issue: succession duties. Even though it was some time ago, I remember how important that issue was for many people. Eventually, the Queensland government forced the issue by making a move on that, and successive governments actually fell into line. The member for Stuart was out in the vanguard of that particular campaign, and he obviously would have been very pleased with what ultimately happened.

Road funding and the importance of finding adequate funds was another issue. In his maiden speech, the member for Stuart talked about the commonwealth imposing a petrol tax which could then be remitted back for the purposes of sealing all unsealed roads in his area. He also supported the Legislative Council, not on the basis that he particularly liked the people up there, but on the basis that it was part of the democratic system—a check and balance. The only thing that one might say was not progressive about his remarks on that subject was that he supported what was then the franchise, but he might have been speaking tongue in cheek—who knows; he often does that.

Another example of being progressive is that he advocated social studies classes in schools. That is a very progressive idea—the idea that school children should be taught about civics, social studies, politics, or whatever. It is really important, and it does not really happen now, not in a way that I think the member for Stuart had in mind, and not in a way that most of us would think would be useful and important. I think that was a very progressive idea. I am very sorry that over the intervening years nobody has picked that up and run with it in a way that it warranted being dealt with.

Again, here is another ironic twist—remember, we are talking July 1970—the honourable member expressed support for the then current involvement in South-East Asia, but he justified that on the basis of maintaining the integrity and independence of one small nation which he perceived to be suffering from an incursion from others.

The most interesting aspect, I suppose, and the thing that I guess he would like to be judged by, is his conclusion. He said:

In conclusion, I sincerely hope that I can have a friendly working association with all members, even though at times I will differ greatly with them on some matters. I hope that I shall be able to look back on my time in parliament and be able to see that I have been of assistance to the electors of Eyre and to South Australia generally.

I would say to the member for Stuart that his modest request of himself to be able to do that, I think, has been more than amply achieved, and he has far exceeded that. He has made a very valuable contribution to this place and a great contribution to his colleagues, both current and past.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (12:08): I rise to give my strongest support to this motion. At the V8 races in 2006, I think it was a week after the state election, which perhaps was not the finest hour for the Liberal Party, I took great delight in meeting Kevin Foley and I said, 'Gunny sends his regards.' I will not repeat what Kevin said, but he acknowledged the fact that Gunny, Mr Gunn, Graham, the member for Stuart, was still a member of parliament.

The point that I am making here is that despite the swing that was on then, Graham held that swing and he stayed on representing the Liberal Party but, more importantly, representing the people of Stuart. That is why Graham has been in this place for such a long time. I can guarantee that if he wanted to stay for another term he would still be the member for Stuart.

I have had the pleasure of accompanying Graham, as recently as last week, on tours of his electorate. The first time was in 2003 when the member for Schubert, the member for MacKillop, myself and Graham got in a four-wheel drive and went off through the electorate of Stuart.

I will talk about that a bit more later on, but the way Graham was received on that trip, and subsequent trips (as recently as last week), is legendary. Everywhere we went it was 'Mr Gunn' or 'Graham' or 'Gunny.' He is the consummate parliamentary representative. You could not ask for a better person to be in this place.

As I know, if you want some advice or you are seeking an opinion on a matter before this place, as the member for Enfield said, what Graham says is what he means, and what he means is what he says. I appreciate that, because in this place you will often get people who will say one thing and then change and move around, but not Graham, he sticks with his principles. Some of those principles have sometimes brought him into conflict with members of both sides of this house, in opposition and in government, but he sticks by his principles, and that, to me, is something that we all should be aspiring to.

One of Graham's strongest supporters is his wife Jan, and Jan is an absolutely wonderful person. As I know with my wife Joanna, and you ask any male member in this place about their partners, we are lucky to have partners like that. I think women actually make better members of parliament.

The Hon. S.W. Key: Lucky to have partners.

Dr McFETRIDGE: We are lucky to have partners, as the member for Ashford says. I think I would have left me a long time ago because this place is really a trial for any relationship. I think that woman's intuition is something which is real and I look to my wife for advice on many things in this place—

Ms Breuer interjecting:

Dr McFETRIDGE: —and she gives me that advice. The member for Giles is quite right, she does not ask for my advice too often, because I know my wife is always right. I know that Graham's wife Jan has been a stalwart of support for Graham. I think women make better members of parliament because they do have this intuition.

We blokes get in here, and the argy-bargy in this place, the hand-to-hand combat, as some people put it, in this place, maintaining the history of a robust debate, as I tell schoolchildren, is something that I think would not occur if we had more women in the place. Perhaps a woman speaker might make a difference too. That is not to say that Mr Gunn may agree with all of that.

Certainly, Graham has been very forthright on many issues, both in this place and in this state, and in the nation. I have not always agreed with everything that he has said. Some of his attitudes towards the priorities, shall I say, with Aboriginal affairs, he and I differ there, but we are always willing to talk to each other about them and it does not detract from the fact that we both want to advance the issues and the conditions associated with Aboriginal groups in South Australia. I know that Mr Gunn is as passionate as I am and speaking from the heart when it comes to Aboriginal affairs.

As I said, the first country trip was in a four wheel drive and that was when I was first introduced to Aboriginal affairs from a parliamentary point of view. We went up north in a four-wheel drive, dropped in at Marla and then we took a left and went through the Aboriginal lands. We have a video of it, 'Four MPs go Bush', produced by Ivan Venning. Those videos will not be for public distribution, not that there is anything untoward in them.

Mr Venning: They remain uncensored.

Dr McFETRIDGE: Yes, they are uncensored. They are a good recollection. The initial exposure that I had then to Aboriginal communities in the APY lands, to say I was gobsmacked is an understatement. Although the welcome that we received—because the visit was unannounced—was perhaps not the most friendly welcome that we could have wished for, the people there knew who Graham Gunn was and they knew that he was trying to do the best for the population of South Australia. It was an introduction to Aboriginal affairs that I think has given me something to try to champion in this place. We know that there are not many votes in Aboriginal affairs, unfortunately. It is a crying shame that it is not higher on everybody's agenda, with some of the issues that are out there.

To continue with this first trip, we went through the APY lands, across and up to Alice Springs for our return trip. Even in Alice Springs, people from the northern parts of South Australia, from Graham Gunn's electorate, were there, they were welcoming him, they knew him. Once again, that is an indication of how wide his fame and reputation have spread—even to a clothing manufacturer who had a stall at the Alice Springs Show who welcomed Graham and, at the same time, tried to sell me and the other guys a shirt. It was an interesting experience.

It really hits me when we fly around Graham's electorate, as we did last week. We went to Yunta School for morning tea, to the Beverley uranium mine, to Bollards Lagoon and across to Cameron Corner. We continued onto William Creek and Leigh Creek, where everybody welcomed Graham; had we not flown, it would have taken us days and days to get around his electorate. It comprises 42 per cent of the state, and it has changed dramatically, but it would be good to work out how many hundreds of thousands if not millions of kilometres has Graham done during his time in this place.

My tiny electorate of 11.8 square kilometres is wonderful, and it is a pleasure to serve the people of Morphett. At the moment, I have one state high school, but I am losing it because of the boundary change. I will not have a state high school in my electorate; however, I will have two Independent high schools and six state primary schools. I do not have any hospitals, other than the Glenelg Community Hospital. I have 24,000 electors, some of whom are stacked nine storeys high, and I have 106 restaurants and cafes within walking distance of my electorate office.

It is a wonderful electorate, but the contrast with Graham's electorate could not be more stark. It was an amazing experience to see him walk into Yunta School and to have the students stand up and greet us in Japanese, sing the national anthem and have a wonderful morning tea afterwards. We then went to see Grant Rieck at Bollards Lagoon Station and talk to him about their issue with UHF radio and the need to upgrade the airstrips.

I encourage every member of this place to talk to Graham about some of the ways he connects with his electorate and how they can become a better member of parliament. As I said, at the V8 races in 2006, I had the greatest delight (one of the few delightful moments of that election) to say that that Gunny sent his regards

Graham Gunn is the father of this house. Members should get him aside one night, particularly on these trips, and ask him to tell some of his wonderful stories about members of this place—and it is not red wine, it is Graham being Graham. The social history of this place is very interesting and, although Graham may not want that social history included in social studies in schools, I hope for members of parliament that he writes his memoirs and includes some of the stories he has told about his encounters both in his electorate and in this place because he has had a unique experience that may never be repeated.

I wish Graham and Jan the very best for the future, and I understand that they will be doing more travelling overseas. I am not sure that his sons will let him back on the farm and into the header; I think his job may be with the firelighter and the crutching shears. It will be an interesting future and a massive change for him and Jan. I hope to have more time to speak about him in the future, but I wish them both the best.

Time expired.

Ms BREUER (Giles) (12:19): Graham Gunn—I was trying to think of some words to describe him; some I have heard (and some I have used) include cranky, conservative to the right of Genghis Khan, irritating, pompous, annoying, angry and sexist. They all fit the bill, but I know that when I leave this place one of the people I will remember forever and remember with affection is Graham Gunn, and that comes from someone who regularly has repartee with him across the floor.

In fact, in my early days, when he got up to speak I would race downstairs so that I could sling some stuff across the floor at him because I knew he would take the bait every time and lose track of what he was talking about. I have calmed down now with age and wisdom, but we have had some good times in the past.

With Graham, what you see is what you get, and that is what I really like about him. People have mentioned his honesty, his integrity and the fact that he never beats about the bush. You know that if he gives you his word you can rely on him, and that certainly is Graham. He is a great character in this place and in his electorate and, of course, we cross over all the time.

I had a go at him a couple of days ago for not telling me that he was in my electorate last week, but he told me that he was not there. You are never really quite sure because, for example, one side of the road in Oodnadatta is in my electorate and the other side is in Graham's, but out there it really does not matter and we both get phone calls; in fact, I had one last night about dingoes in the North. I said that I would talk to Graham about it today and that we would get back to the relevant minister.

Graham is a great character and, as I said, he is very passionate about his electorate. I really like his knowledge of his electorate and the Outback, which is unsurpassed by anyone in this place. I am trying to catch up with him, but I still have a few years to go before I get to know as much as he does.

However, I have to put this fact on the record once and for all, Graham: mine is bigger than yours. I know that you tell people that you have a big electorate, but mine is bigger than yours by a couple of hundred thousand square kilometres. I think that fact needs to be on the record so that everybody is aware of it. However, in the past, his was much much bigger!

Graham has travelled the highways and byways in the Outback. He has travelled on the bitumen roads, the sandy tracks and where there are no tracks. He can tell you anything and, if I want to know about a track, I ask Graham and he always knows. He has flown over them, driven over them and gone under them. I think we are both lucky to have the two most beautiful electorates in this state; mine is nicer that he is, but his is also pretty good.

As I said, I have always enjoyed repartee with him across the chamber. We say that Graham always makes the same three speeches; he just changes the date and occasionally the topic, but basically it is the same speech. When I looked through his maiden speech I thought, 'Yes, I think that is fairly true, actually.' He has always stuck to his line, all the way through in all his time in this place, and he has done a wonderful job of it.

I really love the terms of endearment he uses about people. When he talks about the 'bureaucrats', you can see a shudder go down the spines of all those public servants out there because he is about to attack someone. The best one I ever heard—and I must say that I have used it on a number of occasions—was the time he referred to the 'shiny-arsed wankers on North Terrace'. That one hit a chord with me. Coming from the bush as he does, I know exactly what he means, so I will continue to use that for the rest of my career.

I hardly ever agree with Graham, but, you know, I like to hear what he has to say. That is not quite true, I do agree with him on a lot of things, but being on the other side of politics I have to pretend sometimes that I do not. In many ways with Graham and me, it is 'us and them'. We do have little quiet chats quite often about issues in our electorates.

I have absolutely no hesitation in supporting this motion. I think that Graham has been a great contributor to this place. I am not going to say that I modelled myself on him, I would not dare to do that, but I have appreciated the fact that his electorate has come before anything else in this place. Party politics has been put to one side when there has been a big issue for his electorate.

I have looked at him and I have to say that I have followed him. I know, Graham, that it does not make you popular with your party sometimes, and even sometimes with your electors, but it is the most important thing. When you live in the country I think you are much more answerable than you are, perhaps, in some of these city electorates. Every time you walk out the door, everyone knows what you are doing. They know where you shop, what you buy and what you have in your rubbish bin. They talk to us consistently, so it is important out there that we do have integrity. I know from my travels around his electorate and mine (many parts of which used to be in his electorate) that he has that integrity. He will be remembered with great affection.

My very best wishes to you and to your wife. I think that the people over in Streaky Bay are a little nervous about you having a lot more time on your hands. I think they are locking up a few of their signposts, tractors, silos and things. They might pass you in their vehicles. I know they are a little nervous about it. I hope you stick to the speed limits from now on, Graham, and that there is no issue with that. All the best to you. I really have enjoyed your time here with us.

Mr PENGILLY (Finniss) (12:25): Along with everyone else in this place, without exception I suspect, I rise to support this motion. Sitting here, thinking, I can recall the late Ted Chapman who came into this place just after the Hon. Graham Gunn. They were great mates. Ted always wanted to sit in that seat before he went. Sir Thomas Playford actually sat there. That was the seat that indicated that you were going at the next election. Ted would talk to me quite regularly about that. Ted was a great mate of Graham's, and I would suggest that, between those two and a few others like us in this place, we shared a fair bit in common.

It will be a sad day when Graham Gunn leaves this place. I know that he has many friends on both sides of the house. I do not know anyone who speaks badly of Graham. There might be a few outside who have been in here, and I will probably come to them later. Ted used to say something to me. He used to have the office where the member for Kavel is now, because he could keep an eye on everything. He said that when he heard 'clump, clump, clump', those size 14 boots of Gunnie's were coming down the corridor and Gunnie had just had a row with someone. That was something that stuck in my mind as well.

Graham Gunn is a remarkable man. It was mentioned earlier that he has spent nearly four decades in this place. A number of members in this place were not born when he came in here and some were not very old at all. It is an absolutely remarkable achievement in this day and age when one considers that Mr Gunn started as the member for Eyre and his seat was based around the Eyre Peninsula and that it now comes right down into the Barossa Valley. Indeed, he is miles away from where he originally came from, so that is even more remarkable.

It is quite an eye opener to see what he has put up with. Mr Gunn does not suffer fools well. There are a few on both sides, but I suspect one fool that he has not suffered and never will suffer is a fellow called Brindal, whom he brings to mind fairly regularly. Another one is called Griffin. They were a couple of dear and close friends of Mr Gunn's. They come up in the regular course of conversation, and I probably will not go any further with that at this stage.

The thing about Graham Gunn, the member for Stuart, is that he is absolutely 100 per cent a man of his word. It was also indicated earlier, but it is worth repeating, that if Graham Gunn tells you something or gives you a commitment, that is it, that is where it stays, there is no going away from that commitment.

What you see and what you hear is what you get. You do not have to shake hands on it. He has absolute integrity, and that has been manifest in his parliamentary career over many years. I understand that in his term as speaker, though I was not in this place (there are a few members who were), everyone knew exactly where they stood. He has been a great source of information for me as a member who came in only at the last election.

I have sat by the Hon. Graham Gunn and you get that dig in the ribs and a few words of advice. But if you need to know something about the procedures in this house, or if you need to know a little bit of history of things that have happened in this house or the protocols, there is no-one better in this place to turn to than the Hon. Graham Gunn. He is always there. He is always ready to offer his advice, and I suggest that it does not really matter whether it is on this or the other side of the house or somewhere on the crossbenches, that advice is always freely available—and it is spot on.

As has also been mentioned, the great joy of Mr Gunn's life has been to have such a supportive wife in Jan and his family. Jan is an amazing woman. When my Jan first came into this place, the first two who grabbed hold of her were Kay Venning and Jan Gunn. They sat her down next door to have a cup of coffee and a chat about things. And, I must say, one of the joys for me is to sit down in the dining room and have lunch or an evening meal with the Hon. Graham Gunn. Yesterday morning, while he was getting ready to come in (he was having a shower or something), his wife got up and cooked him bacon and eggs and had a coffee ready for him. After 40 years, that is a remarkable achievement. Those of us whose wives are not here all the time—

Dr McFetridge: He's never ironed a shirt!

Mr PENGILLY: That is quite right—and neither should he have to. The member said that he has never ironed a shirt. So, that is terrific. Jan is a wonderful woman. She has built a life around Graham's parliamentary service in this place. At the end of the day, regardless of which party we belong to, we are all elected members of parliament and we should not forget that. So, when there is a motion such as the one that has been moved in the chamber today, we have no hesitation in supporting it, because we are elected members of our communities.

Another thing of which the Hon. Graham Gunn has absolutely profound knowledge is the Westminster system. This is a man who has learnt over those 40 years what the Westminster system is all about. He has visited the British parliament on probably a number of occasions (I do not know how many). I guess there is one occasion that he and the member for Schubert would like to forget, which was when they were photographed walking around with Harrods bags (that is another story that was in The Advertiser). The very fact that the member for Stuart can go into the parliament at Westminster and have the Speaker accommodate him and take him to places and command so much respect there is an insight into the capacity of the Hon. Graham Gunn and the way in which he has carried out his duties over nearly four decades.

The Westminster system is the basis of how we operate. We sometimes get frustrated by it, but if a member has an issue with the Westminster system or the proceedings of this place I urge them to go and talk to the member for Stuart, even before the Clerk of the house (with respect), because I reckon that the member for Stuart knows it all; there is no question about that.

The Hon. Graham Gunn has said on numerous occasions that he is just a humble farmer or a simple farmer, and he wears that with pride. There are a number of us in this place who share that same feeling. We have been farmers first and politicians as part of that. I know there is nothing more that the member for Stuart likes to do than get in the car and drive those tens of thousands of kilometres. He loves getting home to the farm (when he gets there, he is probably told what to do by his son these days). He likes to knock down a tree or two and sort out the issues to do with bushfires—and if there is one person who will crack the top of a bottle of champagne when the Hon. Graham Gunn goes from this place it will probably be that parasite Craig Whisson from the native vegetation authority. I reckon he will jump for joy. He has taken a fair belting over the years.

The Hon. Graham Gunn and his former colleague in another place, the Hon. Peter Dunn, worked closely together over many years: two West Coast farmers and two members of parliament who both had their own aeroplane licences and flew themselves around for many years. They used to fly back and forward and shared many trips to the Outback together. Indeed, it is terrific to sit down with both Peter and Graham. They shared many things, some of which included a loathing of out of control bureaucrats and a passion for the bush; that great area of South Australia outside the metropolitan area. They were both able to accommodate themselves living part-time in the metropolitan area while representing the wider South Australian community.

Mr Gunn has had a thing about speed limits over the years, and I share his views in that respect. It is ludicrous nonsense for us (and he has put this forward on many occasions) to be driving around at slow speeds on wide open country roads when the roads are much better than the speed limits imply.

Time expired.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Gambling, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:35): There has been no finer servant of the Liberal Party that I have witnessed in this place than the member for Stuart. I say that because he should have lost two elections and he did not. No matter how much money we pour in and how much effort we make, we cannot defeat him. There is a simple reason for that: the people of Stuart like him. They like him because they see him: he represents them and he is fearless in his defence of them.

Without disparaging any other member in this house (and I mean this in the nicest possible way), I know the member for Stuart well enough to know that he could have had a much safer seat if he had chosen, but he chose not to: he chose to have the most marginal seat. He has been loyal to his party through thick and thin and he gives sage advice. I suspect that, if more premiers and leaders of the opposition had listened to the member for Stuart, they would be in less trouble than they are now.

I just did a quick calculation (and I could be wrong here): the member for Stuart has been in parliament through premiers Dunstan, Corcoran, Tonkin, Bannon, Arnold, Brown, Olsen, Kerin and Rann. He entered parliament a full year before I was born, which is pretty amazing.

The member for Stuart is loyal, and I think that is his most amazing quality in this place, because keeping your word in politics is often the hardest thing you will ever do. If people ever want to talk about loyalty, there is only one person to ask about the member for Stuart's loyalty, and that is the Hon. Dean Brown. I will not go into that saga, but I saw the former premier a few weeks ago and I was talking to him about the member for Stuart. He looked me in the eyes and said, 'You will never find a more loyal man than Graham Gunn.' I think that is his greatest achievement.

The member for Stuart can walk out of this place in March 2010 and hold his head up high. Sure, he has been a character. I am sure that people like Ralph Clarke might have a different opinion of the member for Stuart but, behind all the animosity, there is a growing respect for the man and the way he conducts himself.

The member for Enfield was right when he said that the first thing the member for Stuart does to every new young member of parliament who comes into this place is pull them aside and give them a few words of wisdom. You can choose to accept those words of wisdom, or you can laugh it off as some guy here trying to tell you what to do. The truth is: the wiser ones listen to the member for Stuart.

I am sad to see him go, and I am also glad to see him go because now that he is gone, we can probably win the seat. With him there, I doubt our chances very much, so I hope he does not change his mind. I do wish him and his wife and family all the very best. He has made a huge sacrifice to his family to serve the people of South Australia. He has not been awarded enough citations for his services to this parliament.

People always criticise members of parliament for the way that they perceive them to be treated, in terms of benefits and so-called junkets. The member for Stuart has spent more time away from seeing his sons grow up than most people do. He has spent time away from the thing he loves most—his farm. I think we, as a South Australian parliament, and the people of South Australia owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his service.

It is often a point that is missed in parliament when people leave due to retirement—forced or voluntary. We never thank them for their service because, let us face it: being a politician is tough, as I have realised, and as the Leader of the Opposition has realised. It can be quite costly, as the Leader of the Opposition is about to realise.

However, the member for Stuart rises above all that because he has been here long enough to know what is right and wrong and he has carried himself with dignity. I am glad to say that I have served in the parliament with the Hon. Graham Gunn, and I am sorry to see him go.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mr GRIFFITHS (Goyder) (12:40): I wish to make a brief contribution because, unlike many people here, I have only had the great opportunity to serve with the member for Stuart for three years. However, I know that I am one of those people who benefited from his sage-like advice in those early days.

His case to me was to ensure that I took the message very strongly that I was never to allow alcohol to affect my ability to perform in this house. A truer word was never said because I think history would show that some people have chosen to disregard that advice and it has been to their detriment. To Graham, I say a sincere thank you for the assistance he has provided to me in my three years here but, importantly, today is an opportunity for us to reflect on what he has done for the people of Stuart in 39 years and 10 months.

I first met the member for Stuart in about 1995, when I was living in Orroroo. I was a bureaucrat then, and I use the term loosely because the member for Stuart has since counselled me that it is important to remember that I am no longer a bureaucrat—I am actually a policymaker and a lawmaker now, so I have to create the distinction.

I know that, when Graham came to see me, he would walk around the streets of that community in Orroroo. He would know people, and they all respected him. He would hand out his Graham Gunn pen or the ruler or one of the variety of gifts that he gives to people. Everybody would want to engage him for at least a few minutes to talk about issues important to him, and then he would do something about it for them.

There can be no greater level of respect for a member of parliament than to know that, no matter what community they are in, they can walk down the streets of that town, hold their head high and every person in that town who they meet will respect the effort that they have made in representing them. That is something that we all have to aspire to, and it is the great challenge for all of us.

I do respect also the enormous travel that has been involved for the member for Stuart. As someone who drives 60,000 kilometres per year and has done so for probably nine or 10 years now, I marvel at the effort that he has made with his wife, Jan, to travel to so many different events—never mind the travel that is involved in coming to Adelaide for parliament sitting weeks—because it is a great chore.

I also drive early in the morning and late at night and it is a challenge to stay awake. What Graham manages to do at his more senior years than mine is a wonderful effort, because it is hard to concentrate on what you are doing, but he does it. He arrives at a community cheerful all the time and wanting to engage people in conversation and to talk to them about what is important to them, and he does it in a wonderful way.

The way he has the inner strength to get up every morning accepting the challenge that the member for parliament role provides to him is wonderful and an inspiration for us. The fact that his boundaries have changed so much since first being elected in 1970 really does reflect the fact that Graham did not need to rely on people who knew him to get him elected. He has constantly moved eastwards and southwards. His knowledge of the state, especially everything north of Adelaide, is immense. He knows the people.

As other members of this chamber have reflected upon, I also have had the chance to make a trip up north with him. In my case, it was last year and it was three days wonderfully spent with a man who is a very generous host. At all the schools we went to, the Aboriginal communities and the Oodnadatta roadhouse (the pink one), the people that Graham made sure where there to meet with us came in droves. I remember that for the Williams family at Oodnadatta, it had been a 140 kilometre drive into town to actually meet with us. For these people to do that in the middle of the day was a wonderful effort, but it shows the respect that the people in those communities hold for Graham Gunn. It is a respect that has been hard earned, but one that is very well deserved.

Graham's commitment can never be questioned. I know I have the great privilege of sitting next to Graham in our joint party rooms and sometimes when I am trying to listen to debates that occur, Graham is telling me about something else. I am always respectful of Graham's comments on things so I listen to that while having the other ear open to the other conversation, but his advice is always accurate. I cannot fault the member for Stuart on what he says.

More members actually need to reflect on that, because the history that he possesses is an important guide for us in the decisions that we make for the future. If people start to understand that and to have some insight into the member for Stuart's thinking and the history he possesses and the knowledge of issues that he possesses, it will stand them in very good stead in the years to come when they have the honour to serve in this place because he puts a perspective on it that is realistic. Graham is not over the top. He expresses very firm opinions that he holds and that people in his communities support, and the more we who listen to it the better we will always be.

The support he has had from his family is astounding. Anyone who has been a member of parliament for that length of time must have a wonderful relationship with their partner, their wife, and also their children. In my case, I could not do what I do without Donna's support. In Graham's case, with Jan—

An honourable member: Married for 42 years.

Mr GRIFFITHS: Married for 42 years. To be committed to this role for nearly 40 years is a wonderful effort. There must be times when Graham just wants to sit at home on the recliner, put his feet up, and listen to the radio or watch television, but instead he attends a community event. He puts himself out, and that is the measure of any person in this parliament.

For those of us who want to stay here for a period of time, for those of us who want to have some level of respect in the community, I think we can learn some wonderful lessons from the member for Stuart. His memoirs will be a very highly sought item, when he eventually gets around to writing them. It is a great pleasure to have a meal with Graham. The stories that he tells, for someone who wants to understand the history of it, are outstanding. The more that he can put down so that the rest of us have the chance to reflect upon it the better we will be for it.

Member for Stuart, I pay tribute to you; the people of South Australia pay tribute to you. You are a man who has held his integrity high and done wonderful things not just for the parliament but also for the state and nation as a whole. It is an outstanding achievement. Well done!

Debate adjourned on motion of Mrs Geraghty.

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