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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-04-01 Daily Xml
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Condolence

CAMERON, HON. C.R.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:21): With the leave of the council, I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the death of the Hon. Clyde Cameron, former federal minister of the Crown and member of the House of Representatives, and places on record its appreciation of his distinguished and meritorious public service, and that as a mark of respect to his memory the sitting of the council be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

The Hon. Clyde Cameron AO, a legend of the Australian labour movement, died last month aged 95. Mr Cameron was a long-serving member of the federal parliament for the South Australian electorate of Hindmarsh, winning the seat in 13 consecutive elections.

From the shearing sheds of South Australia, he rose through the ranks of the union movement to champion the cause of working Australians, as well as his constituents in Adelaide's inner western suburbs.

Enduring a long stint on the opposition benches from 1949 until 1972, Clyde eventually realised his political ambitions by becoming a minister for labour in the cabinet of former prime minister Gough Whitlam. After Kim Beazley Senior passed away last October, Clyde became our oldest surviving member of the federal parliament. Clyde Cameron died on 14 March, the last surviving member of the parliament which was elected in 1949.

Clyde Cameron was an influential political figure both in South Australia and nationally. After his retirement from the federal parliament in 1980 he remained a frequent contributor to public debate. In 1982, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. Clyde Robert Cameron was born in Murray bridge on 11 February 1913 to parents Robert and Adelaide Cameron. Clyde left school at age 14 and initially followed his father into the shearer's life.

During the 1930s Clyde worked in every Australian state, and crossed the Tasman Sea to ply his trade in New Zealand. In 1941, at age 28, he became the youngest ever state secretary of the Australian Workers Union, just three years after becoming an organiser for the AWU. In 1946 Clyde became state president of the Australian Labor Party, the first of three terms he served in that role.

Clyde's value as a campaign and policy strategist was crucial in the success of the Whitlam government at the 1972 federal election. His contribution to that, of course, was something that was most eloquently acknowledged by Gough Whitlam himself. As labour minister, Clyde played a key role in the Whitlam government's push to grant equal pay to women. In 1974, Clyde was also handed responsibility for immigration. In 1975 (I remember controversially at the time) he was shifted to the position of science and consumer affairs minister. He retired from federal politics in 1980, passing the baton to a new generation of Labor politicians who, just three years later, would usher in the Hawke-Keating era.

Clyde was a strong supporter of the National Library of Australia's oral history collection, to which he contributed more than 15,000 pages of transcripts from around 600 hours of interviews with his political contemporaries.

I worked for a federal member of parliament, just across the road in what was then the AMP building, from 1976 to 1980 and Clyde Cameron's office was next door. I had the opportunity to talk to him on a number of occasions, and he was clearly very charismatic. Even in those days, which were the final days before he retired from parliament, his influence was still enormous.

On behalf of all members on this side of the council I extend my condolences to the family and friends of Clyde Cameron, especially his wife Doris, his sons Warren and Noel and his daughter Tania, and also to Clyde's nephew John Rau, the member for Enfield.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:25): I rise to second the motion. As the Leader of the Government said, the Hon. Clyde Cameron was a member of the Parliament of Australia for a record time, from 1949 to 1980. He was also a minister during the Whitlam government and was, of course, South Australian president of the ALP from 1946 and member for Hindmarsh from 1949.

I did not realise, until doing some research, that Mr Cameron was born in Murray Bridge and, like you Mr President, worked as a shearer in his younger years. Like many, he experienced the hardest times of the Great Depression, which founded his battle for the everyday people of Australia. He became involved with the Australian Workers Union and the Australian Labor Party throughout a decade which saw him work in every Australian state, and he was very much in touch with the circumstances of average working Australians.

By the early 1940s Cameron had conquered the AWU ladder, educated himself on industrial law, and had been appointed state president of the ALP. Throughout his time Cameron experienced significant personal battles, including witnessing his children suffer serious illnesses, and, while this surely stayed with him for life, it strengthened his advocacy of the rights of the average Australian.

He was described as an assertive and dogmatic parliamentarian and also one of the Labor Party's most aggressive critics. Cameron was very wary of corruption within senior public offices, and he maintained a voice on this issue for the remainder of his life. He was a campaigner against secrecy for his entire parliamentary career.

When Whitlam appointed the Hon. Clyde Cameron as shadow minister for labour, Cameron was given the platform to deliver policies and reformation of the party, which eventually saw Labor end its 23 years in opposition. Amongst his priorities was dealing with restrictive trade practices, and foreign ownership and control of Australian resources and industries. I note that one of his earliest interests was a bill to amend the Commonwealth Employees Compensation Act to provide for the payment of full wages for the full period of total incapacity—interesting in today's context.

Becoming a minister in 1972, Cameron delivered to working Australians by improving the pay and conditions for many public servants and advocating improvements in conditions for the private sector and for women. Gough Whitlam addressed him as the 'principal architect' of the party's victory. Retiring in 1980, Cameron published some of his accounts of parliament, and he indicated in his final speech that he would enjoy seeing the ripples that these publications created. No doubt Cameron created many ripples throughout his career and afterwards, and no doubt he was also greatly admired, appreciated and respected by those whose causes he advocated tirelessly. Cameron had a real impact on the circumstances and quality of life of many of these people. I pass on our condolences to his family.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:28): I also rise to bid farewell to Clyde Cameron, and to offer my thoughts and condolences to his family, in particular his wife Doris, his children Warren, Noel and Tania, and his grandchildren.

Clyde Cameron became a force within the union movement and within the ALP at a very young age, being only in his 20s when he became state secretary of the Australian Workers Union in 1941. In 1949, Clyde Cameron entered federal parliament, where he spent 23 years as a member of the opposition. During those long years, Clyde Cameron became highly skilled in legal and legislative analysis, and he was therefore extremely well prepared when he came to office after Gough Whitlam's historic 'It's time' victory in 1972—which many of us remember well.

Clyde Cameron was appointed as minister of labour, and he had developed a well prepared program that he set about implementing immediately. He championed reforms such as equal pay for women, pension increases for retired workers, the provision of child care to supporting working women, flexible hours for workers, and other industrial rights that most people today take for granted.

Clyde Cameron also had a deep respect for education and the concept of further training. Had circumstances been different for Clyde Cameron in his youth, I do not doubt that he would have gone on to study at university. Indeed, further training for workers became one of his greatest passions. Within the union movement Clyde Cameron believed that, if further training and learning opportunities were offered to workers, this would make the union leadership more accountable and hence workers' representation would be more effective and informed. Clyde Cameron's well documented ideas on this subject foreshadowed the reforms of the Hawke-Keating era.

After 31 years of loyal service to the people of the western suburbs of Adelaide and to the workers of this nation, Clyde Cameron retired from federal parliament. He quickly became a mentor and living legend to a new generation of Labor activists and true believers. Clyde Cameron was always keen to promote talent and offer advice to the party faithful. He was also a well respected author and historian. He contributed 15 500 pages of oral history transcripts to the National Library of Australia and published several volumes of his memoirs.

Clyde Cameron's passion and commitment to the working men and women of Australia never wavered throughout his entire life. His early experience of leaving school at the age of 14 years and being employed as a shearer helped him form his strongly held views about defending the rights and interests of working people. When Kim Beazley Senior passed away in October last year, Clyde Cameron became the earliest surviving member of the commonwealth parliament, and now he too is gone. It saddens me to think we have lost this important link to our nation's history. Nevertheless I am certain that Clyde Cameron's legacy of tirelessly advocating the rights of men and women will not be forgotten by any of us. I know that Clyde Cameron's contribution to Australian society as a minister in particular has benefited many throughout their lives. Vale Clyde Cameron.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (14:32): I, too, rise to add my condolences on the passing of the Hon. Clyde Cameron, former member of the House of Representatives for the seat of Hindmarsh and minister for labour under Gough Whitlam. The house places on record its appreciation of his distinguished public service.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of our friend and colleague, Clyde Cameron, on Friday 14 March at the age of 95 years. He was the son of Robert Cameron, a Scottish migrant and foundation member of the Australian Shearers Union. Mr Cameron was unemployed during the Great Depression, but later in 1939 he became an organiser for the Australian Workers Union, where he subsequently became state secretary and later served as South Australian state president and federal vice president.

In 1946 Mr Cameron became state president of the Labor Party, a position he held on two subsequent occasions. He won the seat of Hindmarsh at the age of 36 in the 1949 election, which felled Ben Chifley's government. He spent 23 years in opposition and, after having aligned himself with Gough Whitlam to provide a majority on the federal executive, served in the former prime minister's cabinet when Labor was returned to office in 1972, first as labour minister from 1972 to 1974 and as labour and immigration minister from 1974 to 1975, and lastly as science and consumer affairs minister in 1975.

During his early years as member for Hindmarsh, Mr Cameron rose to become one of the new leaders of the Left in the Labor caucus, conducting himself with confidence, integrity and tenacity. Mr Cameron quickly gained a deserved reputation for being fair and a great champion of the labour movement and upholding the interests of working people. A major legacy of Mr Cameron's period in the Whitlam government was the introduction of equal pay and maternity leave for working women and wage indexation.

Mr Cameron was indeed a passionate and spirited orator, and he loved a good debate generally. I recall a very lively discussion that I had with him many years ago when I was secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation. There had been a system of collecting union fees that he had been involved in when he was in the union whereby officials went visiting and directly collected dues from members in the workplace. Although that practice had well and truly passed, it was a time when unions were introducing direct debit of union membership fees. He certainly engaged me in a very lively debate and said that he thought that that would have a very adverse impact on unionism. He very much supported the philosophy of getting out there one-on-one and having personal contact and an ongoing relationship with individual union members. That is certainly a commendable view, although it is difficult to sustain in this day and age.

I was also privileged to participate in training programs at the Clyde Cameron college at Albury-Wodonga, a centre named in his honour that underpinned his commitment to and vision of supporting training and education of not only workers but also union activists and officials. I went there on a number of occasions, both as a workplace representative and also later as a union official, and certainly left a very empowered union activist after those experiences.

After the fall of the Whitlam government in 1975, Mr Cameron returned to the backbench and retired five years later in 1980, having retained his seat as the member for Hindmarsh for 31 years, after successfully contesting 13 consecutive elections. That is certainly quite an extraordinary challenge for the current member for Hindmarsh (Steve Georganas), although I am certain that Steve is up to it.

Mr Cameron was mentor to a former premier, the late Don Dunstan. After retiring from public office he mentored other great Australian members of parliament, including the former premier and one-time adviser to Mr Cameron, John Bannon, and former senator Nick Bolkus, amongst others. Of course, it was a true sign of great leadership that he worked so hard to attract new talent to the party, and he was very committed to building on the strengths of the party. He was not afraid to attract and encourage new blood and new ideas.

Mr Cameron's contemporaries were Gough Whitlam, Tom Uren and Jim Cairns. Mr Cameron became an ALP luminary and, of course, an icon. The esteem which others afforded him was demonstrated by the provision of a state funeral, conducted on Thursday 20 March and attended by over 200 people, and I was fortunate to be one of those. They included union representatives and past and present members of parliament from across the political spectrum. It was indeed a very moving ceremony. He will be remembered and respected as one of South Australia's most passionate representatives and defenders of working people and will be sadly missed. In the words of former prime minister Paul Keating, Mr Cameron was, in federal terms, South Australia's most remarkable Labor leader. I send my sincere condolences to his family.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (14:38): I also rise today to express my deep sadness at the passing of the Hon. Clyde Cameron and to associate myself with the remarks made by the ministers and the Leader of the Opposition. As most speakers have already outlined, Clyde cut his teeth as a shearer just as the Great Depression was taking hold, leaving school at 14 years of age and experiencing both backbreaking work and crushing unemployment. These experiences, tempered by constant political discussion around the family kitchen table, led to a lifelong commitment to the labour movement. He went on to become a towering figure in the politics of this state and our nation.

He is best known, of course, as the member for Hindmarsh and as a minister in the Whitlam government but, from the start, Clyde was a leader and, of course, a power broker. As an official of the Australian Workers Union, as president of the South Australian branch of the Labor Party, and ultimately as the member for Hindmarsh and a minister, Clyde was a driving force—and perhaps the driving force—in South Australian Labor politics for close to 40 years. This is certainly true for the Left of the party and, for many of us, he will always be an inspiration and his achievements a benchmark.

I first met Clyde Cameron at a Labor Party meeting at Hindmarsh. My immediate impression as a young man, before I had even contemplated a career in politics, was of an elder statesman who was still on top of his game and who still had a lot to offer. His vast experience and deep political wisdom was always an asset to those of us who took the trouble to consult him. Even in retirement he worked tirelessly in the electorate of Hindmarsh for the election of a Labor government. I know that the current member for Hindmarsh, Steve Georganas, and the former member, John Scott, have both acknowledged the enormous debt that they owe Clyde.

Clyde Cameron's contribution to this nation is impossible to overstate, and the ministers have outlined some of his great legislative achievements during his time in federal parliament, and his considerable contribution to our national life and also our national history following his retirement as an author of numerous books and thousands and thousands of letters. Those of us who benefited from his correspondence will acknowledge the fact that 'prolific' was not the word to describe Mr Cameron as a letter writer: fecund would be better.

Clyde's overwhelming legacy is his enormous contribution to the labour movement itself—to its people and its historic purpose to empower the workers of our nation. He was a friend and mentor to many of the leading lights of the South Australian Labor Party well into the 1980s and 1990s. Don Dunstan, Nick Bolkus and John Bannon were just a few of the bright young talents who Clyde recognised and nurtured. He was also instrumental in modernising the ALP throughout the 1950s and 1960s and preparing the way for the election of the Whitlam government, not least by pushing for the reform of the Victorian branch of the Labor Party.

It is also fair to say that he was pivotal in holding the ALP together in this state during the federal party's darkest years. When the ALP and the rest of the country was riven by the formation of the DLP, Clyde ensured that the South Australian branch was spared. As you know, Mr President, Clyde's enduring passion was the trade union movement, and particularly the education and mentoring of promising trade unionists, which culminated in the establishment of the Clyde Cameron College in Albury-Wodonga.

It is often observed (perhaps a little unfairly, in my opinion) that Clyde was a great Labor hater; a man who could bear a grudge and wore his heart on his sleeve. It is true that Clyde held his principles very strongly and was not afraid to express them. It is also true that he had some spectacular falling-outs, most notably with Gough Whitlam—I understand that they did talk to each other again after about 35 years! However, with Clyde, it was never personal; it was always about principle—which is why this giant of the Left could enjoy a long and friendly correspondence with B.A. Santamaria until the latter's death in 1998, and enduring friendships with Liberals such as Sir Alexander and Lady Downer.

Clyde Cameron's passing leaves a mighty hole in the labour movement. Largely thanks to his investment of his life's work, however, the labour movement has the people to continue his legacy. Clyde Cameron was (to quote Kim Beazley senior) 'the cream of the working class'. I commend the motion to the chamber, and I express my personal sympathies to his wife, Doris, and his loving family.

The PRESIDENT: I also would like to make a contribution. Of course, I knew the late Clyde Cameron very well. Clyde was a second cousin of my mother's, and I also had a lot to do with him when I became secretary of the Australian Workers Union—because I think every new secretary of the Australian Workers Union received a call from Clyde the day after they took office, with some friendly advice on how to run the show. Of course, some of that advice you would take and some you would put to one side.

Clyde was a famous AWU secretary, and during that time he had some famous organisers: Jack Wright, Rocky Ghan, Jim Dunford and Don Cameron. The six organisers during Clyde's time as secretary were all ex-shearers. Not long after Clyde became secretary, the National Executive of the Australian Workers Union sacked the lot of them. It is a wonderful part of AWU history that Clyde and those who were sacked—Jack Wright, Jim Dunford and Don Cameron—took up the fight in court against the national office of the AWU and won that fight, and the court ordered the national office to reinstate them all.

Of course, Ian spoke about the falling out with Gough Whitlam. It had taken some years for them to talk, but I can assure you that Clyde never spoke again to that national secretary at the time who sacked him. For the next 50 years he went out of his way to make his life a misery—and sometimes he succeeded.

Of course, one of the wonderful things Clyde did for the trade union movement when he became minister for labour, as the Hon. Carmel Zollo has touched upon, was to pass legislation which required unions to be more accountable. His reforms led to unions having to present not only their financial balance sheets and financial statements to members at AGMs every year but they also had to lodge them with the relevant authorities. This made unions more accountable than perhaps corporate bodies in Australia. It was a wonderful piece of legislation because, like many other organisations over the years, the unions have had their characters as well.

As I said, most union secretaries in Clyde's day and in my day and in the Hon. John Gazzola's day came from the shop floor. We seem to be getting a lot of academics these days, but they came from the shop floor then; they were not all gifted in managing organisations with $3 million or $4 million in turnover a year. I might say they were very tight with their money, but that made them very accountable and it was a great piece of legislation of Clyde's.

As we all know, Clyde also wrote many books in his time. I had the privilege of his presenting me with a full copy of his diaries some years ago. I must say that I am about a quarter of the way through them, so I am glad he did not ask me any questions about the last couple of diaries before he passed away. He also gave many speeches and a lot of advice to young students. He was always happy to attend universities to speak to students and he was also happy to attend trade unions to speak to them. He did that right into his 90s and he always did it very well. He always had a wonderful presentation.

Of course, he made many friends outside the trade union movement and outside the Labor Party movement, as others have mentioned, and he made many friends in the opposition. He became very good friends with some of the people who were in opposition when he was in the Whitlam government. He was a character who could make you a great friend or make you a great enemy, but he did wonderful things for the trade union movement and I congratulate him on his special efforts and the legislation that he passed that helped the trade union movement in Australia no end. Some secretaries might not think that, but it was great legislation. My sympathy goes out to his family.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.


[Sitting suspended from 14:49 to 15:05]


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