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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
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Condolence

KING, HON. L.J.

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:03): I move:

That the House of Assembly expresses its deep regret at the death of the Hon. Leonard James King, AC QC former member of the House of Assembly, former attorney-general and former chief justice, places on record its appreciation of his meritorious public service, and that as a mark of respect to his memory the sitting of the house be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

Like so many South Australians, I was saddened to learn late last month of the passing of Len King, who died on 23 June aged 86. Len King made an outstanding and enduring contribution to South Australia as a brilliant lawyer and barrister, as attorney-general during a period of profound social and legislative reform, and as a Supreme Court judge, held in the highest esteem, who went on to serve our state as chief justice.

As I noted in a tribute delivered at last week's state funeral held at St Ignatius Church at Norwood, Len King was, by any measure of a civilised society, an outstanding man whose unquestioned gifts of intellect, insight and empathy were complemented by a lifelong commitment to social justice and jurisprudence. He is remembered by all who knew him as a thoroughly decent, fair and compassionate man whose integrity played a profound role in our state's legislative and judicial evolution.

Leonard King was born on May Day, 1 May 1925, and he spent his formative years as an only child in the inner suburban precinct of Norwood. He was educated initially by the Sisters of St Joseph at their school on Beulah Road and then at the Marist Brothers school that preceded the present day St Ignatius College.

His academic potential was immediately obvious to the brothers, who understood that young Len would be forced to prematurely leave school to financially help his family through the Great Depression, and therefore they allowed him to sit and pass his leaving certificate at age 14. This was two years younger than the average age to complete what became matriculation level.

It was during his childhood that Len also developed the passions that were to remain constant throughout his life. He would often visit Victoria Park Racecourse to watch the racehorses train and run. He nurtured a great interest in sport, particularly his beloved team the Norwood Redlegs. He remained steadfast in his faith, with the parish priests of St Ignatius providing Len with his first pushbike, which enabled him to regularly serve mass.

Upon leaving school, Len was employed as a clerk with the Shell Oil Company, but even though his was a protected occupation, upon reaching age Len enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as a wireless radio telegraph operator and spent a great deal of his wartime service in New Guinea.

Following the war, the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme, which was introduced by prime minister Ben Chifley, enabled Len, like many other servicemen who would never have been able to afford a university education, to pursue his lifelong dream to study law.

The late Supreme Court Justice Michael White used to enjoy recounting the tale of the morning in 1946 when, as he made his way to the University of Adelaide campus, he was approached by a quietly spoken young man, whom he later came to know as Len King. The young man politely inquired, 'Can you please tell me where the law school is?'

It was during his university days, when he returned to live with his parents in Norwood, that Len King joined the East Norwood sub-branch of the Australian Labor Party. Among his contemporaries around that time, at law school as well as in grassroots politics, was Don Dunstan. Len had first developed an awareness of politics when his father, a former ALP branch president at Carrieton in our state's Mid North, used to take him to hear the debates that took place in the Speaker's Ring on a Sunday afternoon at Botanic Park.

As was recounted at last Friday's funeral service, Len's father was a man of limited education but of keen intellect. He was an avid follower of politics, and so Len's commitment to social justice and the labour movement was formed at home and was reaffirmed by his and his family's experiences during the Depression.

Len recalled years later that, upon being discharged from the Air Force, he had a further conviction that people should be actively involved in politics. He said, 'I felt that we live in a democracy and it only works if people really get involved.' Having begun as a legal practitioner in Whyalla and Port Augusta, Len returned to Adelaide and soon established a reputation as one of the city's outstanding legal minds.

In addition to his flourishing practice, Len King also served as a member of the state's Law Reform Committee, and in the late 1960s was appointed by Don Dunstan as Counsel Assisting the royal commission into South Australia's archaic liquor licensing laws. It was in that capacity that Len helped to bring about the end of the infamous 6 o'clock swill.

It was several years later, with a state election looming that the ALP appeared set to win, that Len was at Don's home one Sunday morning and was asked by the premier in waiting if he would consider standing for election and, if successful, to serve as the state's attorney-general.

As a man with a thriving legal practice, a family of five children to provide for, and no direct experience in politics, Len advised that he would need a couple of days to talk over the offer with his wife Sheila and even with his older children. When he next spoke to Don he said, simply, 'The answer's yes. You've jogged my conscience.'

Len later explained that he owed his law career to the Labor Party, in particular to Chifley's training scheme that enabled a young working-class boy from Norwood to attend university. He also stipulated, during a conversation with Don Dunstan, that he only wanted to serve two terms in parliament. It confirmed Len's view that, while politics was a strong calling, the law remained his great professional love.

Len, of course, was a terrific member for the seat of Coles, the eastern suburbs electorate with a high proportion of Catholic voters that became Morialta after the 1998 redistribution. He doorknocked tirelessly to meet and listen to as many constituents as possible. He joined local associations, went to local RSL meetings and worshipped at local churches, rather than in his own parish.

In his maiden parliamentary speech in this place Len King outlined the values that were to define his political career. He spoke about the need to fix the state's grossly unfair electoral system, the importance of public education and social welfare, the urgent need for consumer protection laws, the vulnerability of our aged and of our Aboriginal people, and his strong opposition to capital punishment and the ongoing war in Vietnam. He concluded that address by saying:

I hope that when I come to make my last speech in this house, I shall be able to claim that my efforts in public life have advanced, and not hindered, our community's grasp and understanding of the infinite value of every man and woman.

The fact that upon leaving politics to assume a place on the Supreme Court bench Len King was described by Don Dunstan as 'the greatest attorney-general in South Australian history' confirmed that he was true to his words of his maiden speech.

During his two terms as attorney-general, Len King also served as minister for social welfare, minister for Aboriginal affairs, minister for community welfare and minister for prices and consumer affairs. Indeed, it was his trailblazing raft of consumer protection legislation that Len himself considered to be his major political achievement.

When he came to office, Australia had virtually no consumer rights legislation. It was a testament to Len's preparedness to tackle this issue on behalf of everyday consumers and his commitment to preparing legislation, often tailor-made for specific industries, that many of his measures were adopted by other Australian states, even those with Liberal governments.

When Gough Whitlam's government took office in 1972, then attorney-general Lionel Murphy devoted an entire section of his new Trade Practices Act to consumer protection. Don Dunstan was to describe these consumer laws as 'one of the greatest achievements of the Dunstan government'.

Len King also oversaw the revision of South Australia's Social Welfare Act to become Community Welfare, and when the commonwealth took over responsibility for Aboriginal affairs, he amalgamated the remnants of the state's Aboriginal affairs department with the welfare portfolio.

He also set up a committee to recommend on the complete overhaul and revision of criminal and penal law, a review headed by Dame Roma Mitchell, herself one of South Australia's foremost legal figures. He was a driving force behind the revamp of our court system to introduce a third tier, the District Court, to bring about a more efficient disposal of case loads and, therefore, a more effective system of justice.

Taking up a position on the Supreme Court bench when he stood down from politics, Len King then turned his reformist mind to the daily running of our court system and introduced the Courts Administration Authority to achieve that outcome. He was also renowned throughout the legal fraternity for his ability to deliver extempore judgements, effectively off-the-cuff judgements, in even the most challenging cases.

A brilliant technical lawyer, this skill underscored his capacity to synthesise complex legal arguments and deliver learned reasons on the basis of notes he would jot in a notebook as cases unfolded. He also used his daily walks to and from work across Victoria Park to distil thoughts that resonated far beyond South Australia. Indeed, local lawyers appearing before our High Court would be told by eminent minds such as Justice Michael Kirby, 'You are from South Australia. Please tell me what Justice King had to say on this matter.'

As a lawyer and a judge, Len King was as scrupulous as he was cerebral. As attorney-general, he was a pioneer as well as a pragmatist. As a husband and father, as his daughter Sue and son Michael so movingly eulogised at last week's funeral, he was as loving as he was inspiring. As they noted, despite all he achieved and the great esteem in which he was held, one of Len's greatest pleasures in life was simply spending time with his wife Sheila whom he devotedly cared for throughout her lengthy illness until her death in 2004.

In his final years, despite having suffered a stroke, Len remained a keen student of current events, politics and the Catholic Church. He maintained his insatiable appetite for reading and knowledge, with a special interest in the church's international weekly newspaper, The Tablet. His family knew the risks of turning up to visit Len without being fully across the big issues of the day, whether it be carbon pricing or refugee policy. Daily news and daily politics were a very important part of his life until the end.

On behalf of all members of the house, on behalf of the people of South Australia, I extend my deep gratitude for the outstanding and enduring contribution that Len King made to our state. I also extend my condolences to his children, Sue, Michael, Cathie, Joe and Jim, to his extended family and his many friends, colleagues and admirers.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:17): I rise to second the motion. Len King was an extraordinary South Australian. He achieved more in his lifetime than most would dream possible. He served in the RAAF in World War II, became a member of parliament and a minister of the Crown, and eventually retired as chief justice of the Supreme Court. It would be worth noting if he had achieved just one of these successes but to achieve all three plus much more is a considerable feat.

It is interesting to me that not too long ago we did a condolence motion in this place for Kym Bonython, and I remember making a similar comment about his diverse and extraordinary achievements. Perhaps it came from being born into that time after the ravages of World War I, growing up through the hardship of the Great Depression, and then facing the tough prospect of involvement in World War II all before you were out of your teens. Indeed, social commentator and author Hugh Mackay concluded in his book Generations that that generation was the happiest and most satisfied with their lives in spite of, or perhaps because of, the difficulties they faced early on.

Len King was one of the most respected legal minds this state has ever seen. He was also a dedicated family man, and he always knew where his priorities lay. I noted in the eulogy book at the funeral that he was born on 1 May 1925 into a world recovering from the devastation of war. He grew up in the Great Depression and times were tough. In 1943, at the age of 18, he went to war serving both in Australia and New Guinea with the RAAF for three years. He started that when he was just 18. When he returned, he attended Adelaide University and studied law.

He had come from quite an ordinary working-class background, and it was only through the special arrangements made for the resettlement and retraining of servicemen that enabled him to study law. He was admitted to practice in 1950 and, by 1967, prior to entering parliament, Len was made a QC. A pre-eminent legislative reformist, Len was the South Australian attorney-general and member for Coles (which, as the Premier said, is now Morialta) from 1970 to 1975. He had the distinction of being only the second man to enter cabinet with no prior parliamentary experience. Indeed, at the state funeral held to commemorate Len's life, his daughter Sue explained that Don Dunstan had specifically approached him to enter the parliament in order to be Don Dunstan's attorney-general.

In his maiden speech, Len spoke of the great value he placed on humanity but also flagged several critical issues he planned to address as a parliamentarian and as a minister. Prophetically, these issues are still highly relevant on the political agenda today: education, business, aged care, law reform and others. His great sense of justice was evident in that very first speech to the parliament on 15 July 1970, when he said:

Human dignity in society is protected by the rule of law. Respect for the law, like respect for conscience, is vital to the well-being of society.

That says, succinctly and well, why we should all respect and uphold the rule of law.

In his time as attorney-general, Len King was instrumental in implementing significant legal and social reform. Don Dunstan, as the Premier has said, described him as 'the greatest attorney-general this state has seen'. He restructured the justice system by separating magistrates from the Public Service and created the Courts Administration Authority, effectively giving the judiciary independence over their own administration. Len was also a strong advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, saying:

When the state, as a deliberate act of policy, lays aside its power to punish by inflicting death, it demonstrates in a practical and striking way its conviction of the value of human life.

He also drafted legislation to decriminalise homosexuality and liberalise drinking laws. Len was not one to mince his words. As attorney-general, he once famously criticised the then governor of the day, Sir Mark Oliphant, saying that, in his view, the views of the magistrates are:

...greatly preferred to the views of...others, however distinguished, who have no knowledge of the facts of a particular case.

After those somewhat terse comments directed at the governor, Len went on to be sworn in by Sir Mark Oliphant as a judge of the Supreme Court. Len was elevated to the Supreme Court bench following his retirement from politics in 1975 and named chief justice just three years later, in 1978. After an illustrious career, he retired from the bench in April 1995, just two days before his 70th birthday. At that time, he was rightly flooded with well-wishers from both the political realm and the legal fraternity.

As the Premier also mentioned, Len always liked to walk to and from work. Indeed, it was always walking outside the courts that I had occasion to converse with him, as I never appeared before him. One imagines Len on his walks pondering the complexities of the working day that lay before him. However, his interests outside work were wide and varied, too.

A regular churchgoer, Len attended the same church in Norwood for virtually his whole life—St Ignatius. He married there, his children were baptised there and, last Friday, his funeral was held there. He was also an avid tennis player, and many of the longest lasting friendships of his life, and that of his family, revolved around the tennis regulars, some of whom were present at the funeral last Friday. Len also loved the races and was a passionate supporter of the Norwood Football Club. Indeed, I am sure he would be pleased to see the success of his mighty Redlegs, currently at No. 2 on the ladder.

Above all, Len was a family man. He loved nothing more than spending time with his family. When he retired from politics—a career (and I would have to agree with his statement) he said took more time but less intellectual capacity than the law—he was looking forward to having more time with his kids. I know that he was very proud of his family, and he loved his wife Sheila dearly; sadly, she passed away some seven years ago. I offer my sincere condolences to his five children, Susan, Michael, Josephine, Catherine and James, and their partners, and the grandchildren.

Len passed away peacefully on Thursday 23 June, aged 86. In his maiden speech to the parliament, he said:

I express the hope that when I come to make my last speech in this house I shall be able to claim, in that speech, that my efforts in public life have advanced and not hindered our community's grasp and understanding of the infinite value of every man and woman and of the essential equality of all human beings and that my efforts in public life have assisted translation of these great principles into the laws by which the community is governed.

I am sure members from both sides of the house will agree in saying that Len certainly achieved that aim and much more. His legacy will live on in the South Australian parliament and in the legal heritage of this state. He was a truly great South Australian. I commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Urban Development, Planning and the City of Adelaide, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Food Marketing) (14:24): I rise today to join in celebrating the illustrious career and life of the Hon. Len King—a man whom I am sure will be warmly remembered and sorely missed as a former parliamentary colleague, a great jurist and, more importantly, a staunch friend and loving family man. He serves as an inspiration to me personally as the current Attorney-General of the state as I follow in his footsteps towards making, hopefully, a more positive impact on the community.

The role of the attorney-general in contemporary Australia is a different and somewhat complex one. In South Australia the attorney-general is a member of cabinet, and so is bound and constrained by cabinet rules in exactly the same way as any other cabinet minister. This much is clear. What is less clear is the curious amalgam of common law, statutory obligations and custom residing in the office. In reality, it seems that the nature and extent of these responsibilities are primarily a function of the personality and views of each individual attorney. There is, however, clearly an ever-present tension between these two roles.

In some circumstances this could become quite awkward. Former federal attorney-general, the Hon. Daryl Williams QC, attempted to resolve this dilemma by essentially vacating the field. For example, he seems to have been unimpressed by the Shawcross principle. I did not agree with many of his views during his tenure and perhaps members would not be surprised to know that I still do not agree with them.

That is not to say that I would like to take things as far as another former federal attorney, the Hon. Bob Ellicott, but I have taken the time to read Len King's words about the role and importance of an attorney-general at a state level, and they have been very instructive and very helpful to me in my role. I agree with everything he has had to say and I commend anybody who has the opportunity to read them.

Len was born in 1925 and educated at the Marist Brothers School in Norwood. He started, as people have already heard today, from very humble beginnings. He remained in school until the age of 14, at which time he achieved a leaving certificate, which was the standard of education at the time. As the Premier said, he went on then to work for the Shell company, then to be in the Air Force, spending time in New Guinea. Upon leaving the RAAF in 1946 he went on to continue his education, studying law at Adelaide University.

It was during these later years of education that his passion and talent for the law came to be recognised by those around him. From 1952 until 1957 he practised law in his own account, establishing a successful and growing practice, a practice which continued to grow to the point of him requiring the service of a partner. In 1967 he took silk, being appointed a Queen's Counsel and serving with distinction in this important and ancient role.

We know of the Hon. Len King as a man of exceptional ability who excelled in his professional life as a barrister and, as we have heard, later as a parliamentarian, then cabinet minister, judge and chief justice. As attorney-general from 1970 until 1975, he established a reputation of being a reformist in the government of Don Dunstan. He also held a number of other portfolios, including social welfare and Aboriginal affairs, and prices and consumer affairs.

I have taken the opportunity to read the Hon. Len King's maiden speech and I think some of the remarks he made in that speech bear repetition, not simply because of the inspiration that one derives from reading them, but also because of the timeless nature of the message that he brought to the parliament even then in his maiden speech. First of all, in relation to the question of electoral fairness, he said:

At the heart of all governments is the constitution under which government is carried on. The two principles to which I have referred must be reflected in the constitution of a state if that constitution is to be worthy of a society based on freedom and justice. No constitution can be said to meet this norm unless it ensures, so far as laws make this possible, that all citizens have an equal voice in deciding the government of the state.

Further on he said:

An understanding of the worth of each individual human being leads to an appreciation of the importance of education and of the state's role in education. Education enables the child to develop his faculties and to realise his full potential as a human being.…The state must undertake the task of ensuring that the greatest possible education is available to each child.…Class sizes—

remember when this was, 1970—

in the school are generally too large and equipment and facilities are in many cases not wholly adequate.

He then went on to talk about the importance of commonwealth support for state educational institutions. Later in his speech he said:

...a major objective of government is to restore and enhance the dignity and rights of the ordinary citizen living in a modern, commercial society. The nature and organisation of the economy places the ordinary citizen at a severe disadvantage in his business dealings. In almost all his business dealings, the citizen deals with large organisations which are in many cases immensely powerful and in virtually all cases well equipped with the knowledge and machinery to protect their own interests. A proper regard for the dignity of the individual citizen demands an overhaul of the law and to restore justice in the citizen's business dealings.

On the topic of Vietnam he goes on state:

I have stressed as the theme of this speech the intrinsic value of human beings and of human life. How ghastly an affront to this idea is offered by the conflict in which Australian troops are currently engaged in Vietnam.

He then moves on to talk about capital punishment, in similar language, talking about the dignity and rights of human beings. He then moves on to another topic with a similar theme:

No person can fail to be moved by the sight of so many young lives being ruined by criminal behaviour and antisocial attitudes. The prevention of juvenile delinquency and the rehabilitation of offenders will be a primary consideration in the administration of this department. Steps will be taken as soon as possible to implement improvements in the machinery for dealing with juvenile offenders.

Another current, contemporary issue. He then goes on to say:

There is a special group, however, for which, by reason of my portfolio of Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, I have a special concern and responsibility, and that is those of our citizens who are members of the Aboriginal race. It is a regrettable fact of history that human worth and dignity has not always been enhanced by the attitude of the white people of Australia towards their Aboriginal fellow countrymen. All too often the Aborigines have been exploited by white men and at other times they have been over-protected. The policy of my administration will be the recognition of the intrinsic worth and dignity of the Aboriginal citizens as well as the white citizens of this community. My policies will be signed to give the Aborigines the maximum opportunity to assume responsibility for their own lives.

That is just a range of the comments made by this remarkable man in his maiden speech here in this parliament. As has been remarked upon already, however, he told Peter Donovan in November 2004, as part of the Don Dunstan Library Collection, that he regarded his greatest contribution to be in the realm of consumer legislation.

This occurred at a time when there was virtually no consumer legislation to speak of anywhere in Australia. He was very much a pathfinder in that regard. For me, as Attorney-General and, more broadly, for anyone who strives to serve the public, I think we all hope to have such a profound and positive impact on the community, the law and the protection that it offers to South Australians.

After leaving his role as attorney-general, the Hon. Len King was appointed, of course, to the Supreme Court of South Australia, where he was able to apply his tremendous talent and skill for the law. Fittingly, in 1978, he was appointed the chief justice of the court, a position which he held until his retirement from the bench in 1995.

It has already been remarked upon by others that he had a particular talent for delivering extempore judgements. I was speaking to one of the people at the funeral last week who told me an anecdote where, after a particularly complex appeal, the Full Bench had retired to the anteroom and the chief justice said, 'Well, I think we should go in and deliver our judgement. ' One of them said, 'Look, I want to think about it a bit more, I might not agree with you,' and he said, 'Well that's alright; we'll be going out in five minutes, you've got plenty of time'—and out they went and he gave the decision straight off the top of his head. It happened over and over again, where this remarkable man was able to pull together complex cases and deliver judgements in a speedy and well-respected fashion. He was also a remarkable administrator of the Supreme Court.

Of course, outside of the law and outside of politics he was also a man who had a great many friends and who was greatly devoted to his family. Speaking personally, I had the great privilege of coming to know the King family in the late 1970s when I was at university. At that stage, I do not think I had ever met anybody who was a lawyer, let alone somebody who was a judge. To have the opportunity of being invited to the home in Alexandra Avenue and watch people play tennis (because I cannot play tennis), have a chop or sausage and talk to people who were absolutely completely down to earth and welcoming was a remarkable revelation to me. That really, I think, is the important thing I would like to say about Len as a person—that airs and graces, or being high and mighty, were certainly not part of his repertoire. He was an extremely down to earth, easy to engage person.

He leaves behind a legacy of community spirit, maintaining a strong connection to the people of this state throughout his career, and the community as a whole is all the better for his years of service. His legacy is certainly an example that all of us should strive to live up to. I would particularly like to extend my condolences to Sue, Michael, Cathie, Jo, James and the rest of the family.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability) (14:36): The Hon. Len King QC, Companion of the Order of Australia, brought incredible skill, legal insight and knowledge to South Australia's social services sector during his time as minister for community welfare in the Dunstan Labor government. I am told that Len's father lost almost everything during the Depression—his friends and neighbours even more—and from this experience Len learnt and never forgot how suddenly a person's life could change, how quickly you could go from having everything to next to nothing, and how important it was to help those in need. This spurred his passion for justice. It also gave him a sense of compassion and a commitment to protect the most vulnerable in our community.

Among his great ministerial achievements, Len proposed and drove the organisation of the department of community welfare. This included establishing regional offices and community welfare centres where people in need could go and receive face-to-face support from social workers in relation to matters, including foster care, adoption and relief payments, a model which still exists and works effectively 40 years on.

Len was also master of collaboration and understood the value of government working closely with local councils and community organisations to coordinate work to best connect with the disadvantaged. Len King was responsible for major reform in the way young offenders were dealt with in South Australia. The juvenile courts legislation paved the way for juvenile panels, which could deal with first offenders without having to go to court, and a fuller assessment of circumstances and behaviour of children before their committal by a court. He also ensured the juvenile court was presided over by a judge of District Court rank.

Len was ahead of his time in understanding the need to protect the community but also rehabilitate young offenders and help them turn their lives around. Len also acknowledged education as a key to opportunity and a better life. This underpinned his commitment to public education. He never forgot how lucky he was to have the chance to attend university and study law through what was then the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme. Being grateful and never taking anything for granted were the qualities he strove hardest to instil in his children, Sue, Michael, Cathie, Jo and Jim.

While I never had the privilege of working with Len King, I have been lucky enough to work alongside Cathie and Jo, who both carry their father's fierce sense of social justice and commitment to improving the lives of the disadvantaged. When they were teenagers, Len often reminded his kids, 'In your life, you are a lot luckier than most people.' Len King lived by this principle, and South Australia is a better place because he did. I express my deepest condolences to both Cathie and Jo and the King family at this time.

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:39): The Premier, the Leader of the Opposition, the Deputy Premier and minister Rankine have outlined Len King's great history, so I will not repeat their words. As a long-time workers' rights advocate, I will address my contribution to that area of Len King's great work. Some years ago, in researching the area of workers compensation legislation in South Australia, I was heartened to read of the ALP's role in the development in this area and also of Len King's role as attorney-general in the Dunstan government. He was instrumental in developing groundbreaking workers compensation legislation in the early 1970s.

The Dunstan government's track record on workers compensation is second to none, certainly for that era. That is in keeping with Labor's commitment to greater social and economic equality for working people. In 1971, the Dunstan government introduced an entirely new act that enhanced the compensation for significantly broadening the definition of injury and disease, boosted weekly payments from 75 per cent to 85 per cent of average weekly earnings, raised death payments up to 33.3 per cent, increased the total that could be paid by 25 per cent and transferred responsibility for the resolution of claims disputes from the District Court to the Industrial Court.

In 1973, amending legislation lifted weekly payments to 100 per cent of workers' average weekly earnings while, in 1979, the title of law was changed from the Workmen's Compensation Act to the gender inclusive Workers Compensation Act. I should mention also that, in 1978, the government established the Byrne committee. This was the report that formed the basis of the WorkCover scheme in 1986.

As with the WorkCover legislation that we have had before us, the 1971 act was a highly contested instance of law reform. It was the start of the modernisation of workers compensation law in South Australia, after decades of stagnation under the Playford government. Not surprisingly, it attracted widespread opposition from the conservatives, particularly in the Legislative Council. All told, more than 120 amendments were put forward by the opposition. The main focal points of attack were the long-overdue improvements in workers' entitlements put forward by Labor and the proposal to transfer jurisdictional responsibility for the handling of claims disputes to the Industrial Court.

Then, as now, Labor did not have a majority in the council. That emboldened the opposition to attempt to block key aspects of the Labor reform agenda, which inevitably led to a conference of two houses. Len King, in conjunction with the minister for labour and industry, Dave McKee, and the talented workers compensation lawyer Terry McRae, were among the members who took part in that conference. Negotiations over disputed provisions of the bill went down to the wire. In the end, however, Labor—thank goodness—prevailed. While a number of concessions were made, the fundamental reforms regarding the broadening of eligibility, increases in compensation payments and the resolution of disputed claims remained unscathed.

With his extensive legal experience and acumen, Len King played an important role in supporting the complex and protracted negotiations that took place at that conference, thereby ensuring that Labor's commitment to the South Australian community at the 1970 election concerning workers compensation was delivered.

This was a great achievement for Labor and the state's working people. It was an achievement that illustrates what can be done when Labor has politicians of the calibre of Len King. My condolences to the family, particularly Cathie and Sue, both of whom I have worked with. Vale Len King.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (14:43): I join in the debate on the Premier's motion and support it today, seconded by the Leader of the Opposition and ably contributed to by other members of the parliament. I too express my condolence to the family of Len King. His brilliance and his contribution to South Australia have been ably presented, both in the law and in this parliament.

He had, indeed, an outstanding working career and what would some, I think, describe as a privilege of being able to contribute to this parliament, to the executive and to the judiciary, which comprise the three arms of governance in South Australia. He did them not only extremely well, as has been espoused, but in a respectful manner to each of the other arms in that democratic system.

I just wish to mention one other attribute. It is less outstanding and less brilliant, but it is my most recent memory of Mr King QC. There are some older memories, of course, such as a few dust-ups in here between Len King QC and other members—Robin Millhouse QC was one who springs to mind—and if anyone wants to read those Hansards they will be entertained, enlightened and educated. Couple that with his judgements, both as a member of the Supreme Court and ultimately as chief justice of the Supreme Court, is it a wonder that the Attorney's comments will be warmly received by everyone here today.

My most recent memory is of His Honour (as we continued to call him) on the racetrack. I think others have briefly outlined his contribution to the racing industry by being a perpetual punter and contributor in that way, and that was a healthy contribution, and I am sure the industry appreciated it. The late Len King joined with my late husband and my late father, who were also lovers of the racetrack. I cannot actually think of three more different men, in every attribute, but I will say that they loved it, and they loved it passionately. Each one of them had different talents in that regard, and I have to say that on the occasions that His Honour proffered advice or a tip—and it was not often; it usually had to be extracted—it was usually completely unreliable and not highly sought after! But he had a great time, and he made a great contribution to the social fabric of sport and racing in this state. Vale Len King.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon) (14:46): Solicitor Kevin Ward said of Len King:

He walks to work usually and walks home, likes the races and has a modest bet, is a great Norwood supporter in the footy and is a regular churchgoer.

Len King was born in 1925, grew up during the Great Depression, served three years with the RAAF in the Second World War, and attended law school from 1946, where he was a few years older than his classmates. He joined the ALP the same year. He was admitted to the bar in 1950.

The political world in which Len King was active was one in which not every adult Australian citizen living in South Australia could vote for the Legislative Council, one in which some electorates had 3,000 voters and others, such as Hindmarsh, had 30,000, and one in which one party ruled from 1933 to 1965, often polling much, much less than a majority of what we would now call the two-party preferred vote. Electoral injustice was an issue that would win a generation of young people to the ALP.

In 1969 the Liberal and Country League government, led by Steele Hall, decided to compromise on electoral reform and allow a redistribution of electorates in which, while not conceding the principle of one vote one value, the tolerance of the disparate number of voters per electorate was diminished so that, for instance, the new eastern suburbs seat of Coles had 17,000 voters and the far north-east seat of Frome 8,300. For the 1970 general election many new seats were created in the metropolitan area and one of those was Coles, which was roughly the current state districts of Morialta and Hartley combined. Len King represented the ALP before the commission drawing the electoral boundaries of the House of Assembly on Steele Hall's new principles.

He had taken silk three years earlier and was the shadow attorney-general but not yet in parliament. He was preselected by Labor for Coles and went on to win it with 8,802 votes to 6,898 for the Liberals and 450 for the DLP. Labor won the election, Don Dunstan became premier again, Len King became attorney-general and minister for community welfare, and those in the LCL aligned with upper house leader Ren De Garis blamed Steele Hall.

In his maiden speech Len King told parliament that his electorate was a developing area. He spoke about the importance of state parliaments, the rights of the unborn, capital punishment, the Vietnam War, conscientious objection to compulsory military service, consumer protection, retirement villages, community welfare and Aboriginal people. He said:

Notwithstanding that great national issues in our federal system are decided at the political centre of the commonwealth, many of the issues that most directly and fundamentally affect the quality of life of our people are decided at the state level.

He spoke about 'the intrinsic value of each human life, the corollary principle being the essential equality of all human beings', and he continued:

I make the point that in the last parliament the sense of the paramount value of human life suffered a severe wound at the hands of this parliament. It withdrew the protection of the law from the life of the unborn child in many circumstances.

At a time when the expression 'cold as charity' was common, he told parliament:

It is as important that those who seek assistance are treated with the respect due to citizens of the community who have fallen upon misfortune as it is to see that their material needs are met adequately.

In 1972, he told a meeting in Sydney that maintaining law and order was more important to a party of change than to a conservative party. As attorney-general, Len King would appear in court personally on behalf of the state, and in 1975 he took off for London to appear before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, then the final court of appeal on some matters. He travelled with his personal secretary, Greg Crafter.

From 1972, he was in charge of ALP efforts to get eligible South Australians to enrol for the Legislative Council. One political commentator claimed that his efforts could lead to Labor winning two more Legislative Council spots at the 1973 election. This was before the 1975 reforms that saw the Legislative Council elected by a proportional representation on a single statewide electorate and from the same electoral roll as the House of Assembly. The LCL candidate for Coles needed a 6 per cent swing to unseat Len King at the 1973 general election, but that was never a possibility. He continued as attorney-general and minister for community welfare in the Dunstan decade and the advance of what conservatives at the time called the 'permissive society': sex shops, R-rated movies, acceptance of pornography.

On one occasion, without a cabinet decision, he used his status as attorney-general to apply to the courts to try to stop the risqué stage play, Oh Calcutta! In an article in a law journal many years later, when he was a judge, he expressed the opinion that the political rules had changed in a way that would probably prevent an attorney-general making such an application without the concurrence of cabinet. Of another stage play, Stud, staged at Elizabeth's Shedley Theatre, he said, 'A prosecution can at times only excite interest in something that would pass unnoticed.' He told one newspaper:

My own personal convictions as to the morality of pornography did not affect the judgement I had to make as a minister within a pluralistic society such as ours.

He sought to remove capital punishment from the statute book, but the LCL-controlled upper house blocked his path. In 1974, he canvassed spent convictions legislation for offenders who had gone straight, but that had to wait until 2009 and the member for Fisher. He also canvassed the need for statutory protection of privacy, something the former member for Hartley, Terry Groom, took up in 1990 only to be defeated by the power of the media corporations.

In 1974, he announced that he would not contest the general election due in 1976. This cleared the way for the Dunstan government to appoint him to the Supreme Court in 1975 and for Des Corcoran, embattled in the seat of Millicent, to move to the city and stand for Coles. On the eve of the 1975 deadlock election, the Dunstan government appointed Len King to the Supreme Court, and in 1978 it appointed him chief justice as successor to John Bray. Liberal Movement leader Robin Millhouse attacked the 1975 appointment of Len King, which is interesting in light of the Tonkin government appointing him to the same court in 1982 in order to create a by-election, which they hoped they would win but did not. LCL leader Bruce Eastick said:

The appointment is in extremely bad taste, coming as it does on the eve of an election which Mr King will not contest.

Dean Clayton QC, now Judge Clayton, said of Justice King:

He has the ability to grasp the most difficult factual situation, to analyse what's important and what's not, cut through the camouflage and go right to the heart of the matter and come out with a good decision.

According to Dean Clayton, Justice King's judgements were never overturned by the High Court. Indeed, when my son Johnno, who is now at law school, brought his recent torts assignment to me to look at, it featured a Len King judgement appeal to the High Court. The months-long battle between the then attorney-general Chris Sumner and chief justice King that led to the creation of the Courts Administration Authority is still legendary.

Len King retired from the Supreme Court in 1995 with a reputation for running a tight ship, having shortened the waiting list by making the civil courts sit in January, swift delivery of judgements, and being firm but fair and polite. Firm, fair and polite, one cannot ask for much more in a judge. I offer my condolences to Sue, Michael, Cathie, Jo and James. Rest eternal grant unto him O Lord and let light perpetual shine upon him.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers, Minister Assisting the Premier in Social Inclusion) (14:55): I rise to express my most sincere condolences for His Honour Mr King, a man committed, without question, to the protection and enhancement of civil liberties and social justice, a great Labor reformer, a great South Australian.

His strong connection and commitment to the eastern suburbs and community is still remembered very strongly and very fondly by many of my constituents. I am often reminded, in particular by members of the Italian community, of the high regard and respect that they had for him and his commitment to improving their living conditions and rights.

While many in this place—although the Attorney-General did talk at some length—have risen to talk of the reform he made in his capacity as attorney-general and minister for prices and consumer affairs, I want to talk briefly this afternoon about his brief time as minister for Aboriginal affairs. He was minister for Aboriginal affairs between 1970 and 1972.

Members must remember that this was a period of significant change when it came to Aboriginal affairs. In 1967, we had the referendum, marking the beginning of a very important period for Aboriginal Australians, and Mr King, a senior minister, brought incredible status to this portfolio.

Mr King's legal prowess, his capacity to act as a powerful advocate, ensured that real advances were made when it came to Aboriginal South Australians. He set the tone for his agenda in his maiden speech, and the Attorney has touched on this but I think it is worth repeating, and we must remember that this was 40 years ago. He said in his maiden speech:

The policy of my administration will be the recognition of the intrinsic worth and dignity of the Aboriginal citizens...my policies will be designed to give the Aborigines the maximum opportunity to assume responsibility for their own lives. They must have the same opportunities as white men to make their own decisions as to the way in which their lives will be led, to exercise the full rights of citizenship and to assume the corresponding responsibilities. Human dignity and self respect and pride in one's race and culture are qualities to be encouraged among all our citizens, not the least among our indigenous citizens.

In 2004, John Summers of Flinders University wrote about the policy dilemma that faced Mr King: how to enable Aboriginal people to retain their heritage and maintain a separate cultural identity, and at the same time provide the educational opportunities necessary to take an equal place in the wider community, issues that we still grapple with today.

Greg Crafter, the former member for Norwood and highly respected senior government minister, worked for Mr King in the 1970s and reflects on him as the minister that laid the foundation stones for the Aboriginal land rights movement in South Australia. Specifically, in Greg's view, he says that Mr King opened the dialogue with Aboriginal people through meeting and working with communities on the APY lands. In his view, this dialogue was integral—and of course it was—to the development of the APY land rights legislation of 1981, the first legislation that recognised land rights for Aboriginal South Australians.

I have to say that his work in restructuring the community welfare portfolio had a significant impact on improving people's lives and his support to democratise the upper house ensured, for the first time, that all Aboriginal South Australians had the opportunity to participate in the election of upper house representatives.

There is no question that Mr King was a great reformer alongside Don Dunstan. He was a man of great integrity and enormous commitment to social justice and civil liberties. I extend my most sincere condolences to Mr King's family, to Cathie in particular, and know that his legacy in this place and in the community will never be forgotten.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The SPEAKER: Honourable members, thank you for that. Obviously, Len King was a truly great South Australian. He has left an incredible legacy behind him for the benefit of this state. What a wonderful place this would be if we could all leave that legacy behind us when we leave this earth. He was a wonderful man for his family who must be extremely proud of him and proud of his memory. My sincere sympathy to all of you, particularly to Cathie who I have had the pleasure to work with and know for many years.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.


[Sitting suspended from 15:00 to 15:10]


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