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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-07-05 Daily Xml
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Pollock, Mr J.

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:27): Just over two weeks ago, I was invited by mayor Jim Pollock's family to speak at his funeral. It was an honour to be asked and this is what I said:

It is with a very heavy heart that I stand before you today. We are here to mourn Jim's passing and to also celebrate his life—to acknowledge all that he has done and all that he was.

Our thoughts are with his family and especially Jenny, Steph and Kerri. The days and months that have gone have been hard. The days and months to come will be hard but a whole community is here to embrace you and support you through this terribly trying time.

For nearly the last two decades of his life Jim had what could pass for another family, a sometimes fractious family, his local government family.

Those that came and went and those that stayed, people from Whyalla, the Eyre Peninsula, the Upper Spencer Gulf and elsewhere in South Australia, elected members and council employees.

Jim was elected to the Whyalla City Council in 1997. He served as the Deputy Mayor before running successfully for the position of Mayor in 2003.

As one of his strong supporters in that bid to become Mayor I and many others considered it a very happy and satisfying day when he was elected. We were confident that he would put the community of Whyalla first and that is what Jim did.

He went on to be the chair or president of a range of organisations including the Eyre Peninsula Local Government Association, the Upper Spencer Gulf Common Purpose Group and the inaugural chair of Regional Development Australia Whyalla and Eyre Peninsula. He was on the executive of the Local Government Association and served on the Provincial Cities Association and the Eyre Peninsula Natural Resource Management Board.

Jim always put his family first leading him to passing up the opportunity to become the President of the Local Government Association. The measure of Jim was not the positions he held; it was his character, that combination of qualities he brought to every role.

Over the many years I spent with Jim on local council, I came to both respect him and, in a blokey sort of way, to love him. He was a true gentleman and a decent man to his core. Jim had a deep well of tact and diplomacy to draw upon. He always played a straight bat. Jim was someone who you could instinctively trust and that is something that I really miss. In the years that I served on council with Jim, he always put the elected members, staff and community first. It was never about his ego; it was always about others.

Many people have approached me to talk about Jim and how they were treated by him. The picture presented was consistent—a down-to-earth bloke who treated everyone as an equal with no airs and graces or pomp and ceremony. He was a true grassroots mayor; a people's mayor.

The Premier and Treasurer cannot be here today, but they have sent their condolences. Both have said how they respected Jim and considered him a statesman-like representative for the council and for the City of Whyalla and both considered him to be a decent and honourable man.

It is good to see Geoff Brock, the Minister for Regional Development, here today. Geoff had a long association with Jim going back to his time in local government in Port Pirie. I also acknowledge the member for Grey, Rowan Ramsey. It is also good to see our northern neighbour here, the member for Stuart, Dan van Holst Pellekaan, and our southern neighbour, the member for Flinders, Peter Treloar, and of course the former member for Giles, Lyn Breuer, who was a very close friend of Jim's.

Jim was respected across the political spectrum. Jim was not perfect; he had his flaws. Two come to mind. One was minor and he can be forgiven—he was a Whyalla Centrals supporter. The other was far more serious—he was a Crows supporter, and this is when his almost non-existent cruel streak would come out. He would always take the opportunity to rub it in when the Crows defeated Port. Of course, when the boot was on the other foot, I would not dream of doing such a thing.

Whether you believe it or not, I would like to think Jim is up there now having a beer or a red, a fishing rod in hand, looking down on us. I can hear him say, 'Councillor Hughes, your five minutes is up. Time to resume your seat.' Before I do, a truly good man has gone too soon and he has left a hole in all of our hearts. Jim, you will not be forgotten. Vale, Jim Pollock, the people's mayor.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hear, hear!

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