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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-10-31 Daily Xml
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Condolence

BROWN, MR M.J.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:01): I move:

That the House of Assembly expresses its deep regret at the death of Mr Maxwell John Brown, former member of this house, and places on record its appreciation of his long and meritorious service and, as a mark of respect to his memory, the sitting of the house be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

I was saddened to hear last week of the passing of Maxwell John Brown. He passed away peacefully at home on Thursday 25 October. Max Brown was a Labor Party stalwart, a very competent parliamentarian and trade unionist who served in various roles during his 15 years in this place.

He was born in 1932 in the Flinders Ranges town of Orroroo. He moved to Whyalla in 1944 and, like many young men in Whyalla during that time, worked as an apprentice at BHP. In 1951 he took on the role of assistant secretary of the Boilermakers Society before his appointment as secretary in 1952. In that same year he was appointed secretary of the Whyalla Trades Hall. In 1962 Max was appointed secretary of the Whyalla Combined Unions Council. He was also a city commissioner with the old Whyalla Commission, a councillor with the Whyalla City Council and chairman of the North Whyalla Football Club.

Max was first elected to the House of Assembly on 30 May 1970 as the member for Whyalla and was re-elected in 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1982. A glimpse of Max's maiden speech in July 1970 showed him to be thoughtful and conscientious, demonstrating a great concern for the people of Whyalla. He spoke about the problems of decentralisation of industry, particularly in relation to BHP. He also spoke about his thoughts of the Playford government's social laws, describing them as 'the worst of any in the Commonwealth'.

In particular, he bemoaned that during the growth of Whyalla many of the workers recruited to go to work there came from Europe or Britain and were not used to the idea of 6 o'clock closing. To quote Max, 'To come to such an unholy situation where 6 o'clock drinking prevailed was beyond their understanding.' In his speech he also advocated for improved workers compensation laws and the standardisation of railway gauges across the state.

In February 1984 Max announced his intention to retire at the end of the parliamentary term. He stated that one of the factors which helped him make up his mind was attending the funeral of his close personal friend Laurie Wallis who was the federal member for Grey between 1969 and 1983. He also stated that he wanted to devote more time to his wife who for too long had been 'a political and industrial widow'. At his testimonial dinner former premiers Don Dunstan and John Bannon described Max as being a credit to the party, a good representative to the 'good people of Whyalla' and a 'bloody good battler for the working people of this state'.

John Bannon went on to describe how, during late night sittings when the opposition was filibustering, you could hear echoing throughout the house, not the sound of Don Hopgood's trumpet, which he described as a terrible banshee-like tuneless thing, but the sound of a distant piano playing. The pianist was Max Brown, in a darkened dining room expressing his frustrations and, as the hours went on, more and more members gathered around the piano singing along with Max.

I was not fortunate enough to know Max Brown but, judging from the tributes since his passing, he was a much loved husband, father and grandfather. I pay tribute to the enormous contribution made by Max to the parliament, the trade union movement, and the people of South Australia, especially the working class people.

Certainly, members of Max Brown's family can feel very proud of the outstanding leadership he provided to South Australian workers, particularly to the people of Whyalla. With other members on this side of the house, and I am sure all members of this house, I commend Max Brown's contribution to the state of South Australia. May he rest in peace.

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:05): I rise to second this motion on behalf of the South Australian Liberal Party. Maxwell Brown, as the Premier said, was a longstanding Labor member for what was then the state seat of Whyalla, as you are no doubt aware, Madam Speaker, a district which was absorbed into your seat of Giles during a redistribution of boundaries in 1993. Like so many rural parliamentary representatives, Maxwell's heart was always in the country and, over his 15 years in the House of Assembly from 1970 to 1984, he advocated robustly and tirelessly for a better deal for the people of Whyalla and its surrounds.

Married with six children, and a union man through and through, Maxwell came to Whyalla in 1944 as an apprentice for what was then a quite small steel company concern, going by the name of BHP. He was young and keen and quickly assumed the mantle of union delegate before moving on to a senior role as secretary of the local branch of the Boilermakers and Blacksmiths Society, a role he held for several years prior to entry into politics.

Despite his parliamentary commitments in Adelaide, Maxwell never lost touch with what was going on at home. Whyalla was always at the forefront of his mind and he was active across all aspects of its community life. If something was happening there, Maxwell Brown was the first to know. If there was a problem that needed addressing and solving, Maxwell Brown was the go-to man, the town's trouble shooter, in an era when Whyalla was undergoing serious economic and social adjustment and change.

It was during this period that Maxwell really made his mark. Instead of turning away from the issues threatening to overwhelm his community—and the issues were all big ones—he got involved. He was involved in housing, education, appropriate health care, unemployment and youth crime and he threw himself into finding real and sustainable solutions, fighting for the battlers rather than choosing to paper over the cracks with shallow policy announcements.

He campaigned strongly for standard gauge rail lines to create a uniform national rail network which would benefit industry in Whyalla. He campaigned for changes to the youth justice system when he saw it struggling to cope with the upsurge in young offenders coming before the courts, and this was an especially big problem in Whyalla where work was hard to find, kids were bored, and vandalism and other forms of violence often ensued.

He campaigned for positive community outcomes in the steel city. When $1.5 million of steel assistance money was allocated to dress up the town, Maxwell was a pivotal player and negotiator in ensuring the money was spent wisely, in this instance, on redeveloping the Whyalla foreshore. It is very clear that Maxwell was a hard worker, a no-nonsense man who refused to grandstand or big note himself; he just wanted to get on with the job.

On a lighter note, it would be remiss of me not to remark upon Maxwell's penchant for the piano, particularly the one installed in the parliamentary dining room. I have to say here that in the 10 years that I have been in this place I have never heard a note played on it, so it says something about our failure as politicians that no-one plays it these days.

Max's keyboard skills even made the newspapers when it was ascertained that Maxwell's ear for music was far superior to that of Don Hopgood, whose trumpet playing in the halls of parliament apparently left a little to be desired. I do not know about minister Kenyon's playing of musical instruments in the halls of parliament. It has also been observed that Maxwell was known to belt out the odd tune when parliament was sitting well into the night, encouraging members from both sides of the house to gather around from time to time to conduct an impromptu singalong, and wouldn't that be a lovely thing for us all to do these days. Thankfully, no-one ever thought to record these evening sessions as I am led to believe that, as singers, the Liberal and Labor members of the day made far better politicians.

Maxwell Brown retired at the age of 57, declaring after a long and public life, heavily involved in politics and unionism, that it was time to get to know his wife. My understanding is that he enjoyed his days in retirement, surrounded by his big family and many friends, passing away peacefully last week on 25 October. On behalf of the Liberal Party, I endorse the motion and pass on the opposition's condolences to Maxwell's family at this sad time.

The SPEAKER (14:10): I would also like to make some comments, being the local member. Of course, Max was one of my predecessors, serving between 1970 and 1985. Much has been said about his history in this place, his political history and his lead into the parliament, but being a local from Whyalla, I knew him as a very colourful, larger than life figure, known for his passion for his greyhounds and his greyhound racing. He could often be seen out walking his greyhounds daily.

He had strong connections with the North Whyalla Football Club, of course, served many years there as chairman of that football club, and was well known in football circles. I also knew him from his time on the Whyalla Town Commission, which was the predecessor to the Whyalla council. He served on that for some years.

I was sad that I was unable to be at his funeral yesterday, but because of obligations here, of course, I could not. I understand that Gavin Keneally, who is also a former member of this place, described him as, 'rough as diamonds on the outside, but a softie inside' and that describes him perfectly. He was a Whyalla legend. When you heard people talk about Max Brown, he was spoken of with admiration, but also a lot of humour.

He was a true steel town worker, a very tough local character, and he served our community very well. He lost his dear wife, Nell, recently, and maybe he just did not want to keep up the fight to get that last greyhound win. I pass on my deepest sympathy to all his family, too, because they are very well known to me and have been for many years.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.


[Sitting suspended from 14:12 to 14:17]


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