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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-04-28 Daily Xml
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Condolence

LAIDLAW, HON. D.H.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:23): I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the recent death of the Hon. Donald Hope Laidlaw AO, former member of the Legislative Council, 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.

Earlier this month, I was saddened, as I am sure all members were, to hear of the passing of Don Laidlaw on 14 April, aged 85. I stand today to express my condolences to the family and friends of the Hon. Donald Hope Laidlaw and to recognise his distinguished and meritorious service to the state.

The Hon. Mr Laidlaw served as a Liberal member in this place between 1975 and 1982, but his service to the South Australian community extended well beyond that seven year term in parliament. Don Laidlaw provided long and distinguished service to South Australia's business community and to the state as a manager and director of some of our most well-known business enterprises.

Educated at St Peter's College and the University of Adelaide, where he attained a law degree, the Hon. Mr Laidlaw completed a Bachelor of Letters at Magdalen College at Oxford. Returning to Adelaide still as a young man, he began to study Japanese while working with the Intelligence Corps as a filing clerk at Keswick Barracks and Rymill House. He became proficient enough to serve as a Japanese interpreter at the Loveday internment camp in the Riverland. Mr Laidlaw then offered his linguistic talents to Army Intelligence at General MacArthur's headquarters in Brisbane—an offer that, to his surprise, was immediately accepted. It was a role that would assist in identifying enemy movements in the Pacific through intercepted radio transmissions and would eventually take him from Australia to the Philippines.

After the war, the Hon. Mr Laidlaw began to make his mark in local industry. In 1956, he joined Adelaide firm Perry Engineering, which later became Johns Perry Ltd and is now part of the Boral group. Later he became chairman and director of several key South Australian companies and was the president of the Metal Industries Association. It was an active role in corporate South Australia that he maintained, even after being elected to the upper house in 1975.

The Hon. Mr Laidlaw came to this place after serving as an officeholder in the Liberal Party's South Australian division, including state treasurer of the party from 1974 to 1977. As a member of this place, the Hon. Mr Laidlaw served as chairman of the Industries Development Committee. In that role he assessed the financial plight of the SAJC and was involved in the negotiations with the SANFL that led to the financing of lighting and new stands at Football Park. After 30 years, I do not know what it says about Adelaide that both of these issues of the SAJC and the future redevelopment of AAMI Stadium remain the subject of heated political debate in South Australia.

Mr Laidlaw was one of three Liberals who crossed the floor in 1979 to support the then Labor government's decision to block Alan Bond's attempted takeover of Santos. Again, in a reflection of the changing times, it was only recently that this government agreed to a request from Santos to remove the shareholding restraint imposed three decades ago to thwart that corporate takeover.

The Hon. Mr Laidlaw announced his retirement from this place, citing his inability to balance his corporate workload with that of a government backbencher. In announcing his retirement, he said that there was no longer any room in the upper house for a part-time member with outside interests, as it had become a well remunerated job that required full-time attention—statements that I am sure hard-pressed backbenchers and crossbenchers will wryly observe.

It was in the corporate world—and, in particular, South Australian-based companies—that the Hon. Mr Laidlaw left his mark in this state. His various directorships included the boards of Quarry Industries, Adelaide Brighton Cement, Adelaide Wallaroo Fertilisers, WMC Resources, Johns & Waygood, Perry Engineering and Bennett and Fisher. I am not sure whether such a wide range of board memberships reflected the Hon. Mr Laidlaw's ability to handle such a prodigious workload or simply the limited pool of directorial talent in South Australia. I would like to imagine that it was the former rather than the latter.

The Hon. Mr Laidlaw was awarded an Order of Australia in 1989 for his services to industry, the community and state parliament. In 1996, his corporate endeavours were again acknowledged when he was named by the Australian Institute of Company Directors as the inaugural South Australian director of the year. Of course, most of us here know the Hon. Mr Laidlaw more recently as the father of the Hon. Diana Laidlaw, who also served in this place and as a minister for arts and transport in the previous Liberal government. It was in that guise that I had the opportunity to meet him, as he had retired from many of his directorships by the mid 1990s to concentrate on his wine interests in the Barossa, long before I became a minister in this government.

On behalf of members on this side of the council, I wish to extend my condolences to Don's wife Peg, his daughters Diana, Susan and Sonia and to all his family and friends.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:28): I rise to speak to and second the condolence motion for the Hon. Don Laidlaw. Don entered parliament during a very turbulent time. Throughout his seven years he participated in a lot of key decisions in this place, some of which the minister has already outlined—and I indicate that a number of members from the opposition will also be speaking this afternoon.

A little on his life. Don attended St Peter's College and Adelaide University and completed a Bachelor of Laws. At the Magdalen College in Oxford he became a Bachelor of Letters. Prior to being involved with a number of South Australian engineering, cement, quarrying and fertiliser companies, Don Laidlaw served in the Central Bureau Intelligence Corps. He was, as the minister said earlier, situated in the Loveday camp in the Riverland district when, in 1943, he received the message to transfer to Brisbane to be involved in the interception of Japanese communications in the Pacific. At the time he left South Australia I think that he really had only a vague idea that he would be there for the next 2½ years.

He described his job as the final checker as 'soul destroying', because he spent so much of his time correcting his colleagues' translations and interpretations of partly decoded messages. The job was likened to being a company auditor, and Don Laidlaw announced that he would never wish to do that job again. From the early 1960s, Don was to serve at the executive level of a number of South Australian companies. Under his directorship, the engineering company Johns and Waygood Perry bought a 49 per cent interest in a Singapore steel foundry company. Soon after in 1979 he was made chairman of Quarry Industries. At the same time, he was juggling several board memberships, including chairman of Adelaide Brighton Cement. Suffice to say that in 1975, when he entered the parliament as a Liberal member of the Legislative Council, Don Laidlaw had absorbed an impressive knowledge of industrial relations matters.

He had been deputy chairman of the State Industrial Development Council from 1970, and he had an excellent understanding of the industries which South Australia needed in order to prosper. In his first Address in Reply speech, he addressed two wishes for his career: to maintain a high standard of debate; and never to lose his sense of humour. He endeavoured to focus on what he knew best—industrial development and industrial relations. Don entered parliament at a time of corporate raiders. He was to participate in a number of key decisions; and, as the minister indicated, of course one was the Santos decision.

Of course, Don Laidlaw voted with the government to block Alan Bond's attempt to take over the company. Soon after, one Liberal colleague who voted alongside Don was allegedly pressured into retirement and another was dumped as a shadow minister and subsequently lost his next preselection. However, Don remained in his position, and, whether or not he was pressured to retire, his status and experience within the parliament and his value to the Liberal Party were all the more evident.

Don was a vital link between industry and the Liberal Party (and the parliament), and he was the one member that the Labor Party would readily engage on industrial relations matters. Don Laidlaw also advocated the cause of buying locally, an issue which I have pressed significantly through my post as the shadow minister for small business—even today in consultation with stakeholders we need to focus on buying locally. Throughout his years in parliament, Don shared an office with the father of the Hon. John Dawkins, the Hon. Boyd Dawkins, from whom he learnt a lot and he appreciated the leadership and guidance that came from Boyd Dawkins.

It came as quite a surprise when Don retired from parliament. He wanted to dedicate himself to his business interests. Of course, he became the founding chairman of the Playford Memorial Trust, on which he served from 1983 to 1995; and, following a successful public appeal, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Playford Scholarship in Horticulture in 1987. In the mid 1980s Don started a family-owned vineyard with his wife Peg and his daughter, Diana Laidlaw, whom, of course, we all know and love as a former member of this place. Pancake Estate is situated in the hills above the Barossa Valley, between Lyndoch and Williamstown, in South Australia.

In 1995 when he retired as the chairman of Adelaide Brighton Cement and as a director of WMC Resources, Don initiated the Pancake partnership and progressed a plan to plant the Pancake vineyard utilising all the experience he had gained over his 36 years of involvement in vineyard management. He was recognised in national awards for service to both business and the parliament. A three-hectare site on the University of Adelaide's Waite Campus has been dedicated to him as the 'Laidlaw Planting'—it recognises his contribution to horticulture.

I remember meeting Don on a number of occasions. He was a member of my preselection college when I was preselected to enter this place. Certainly, he did have an exhaustive list of questions on which he pressured me, and I am not convinced that I answered very many of them suitably enough for him to vote for me. However, enough of the other members of the preselection college, thankfully, did. I offer my condolences and those of the party to his family and, in particular, to his grandchildren who are at school with my children. I see them quite often. He can be mightily proud of his grandchildren because they are wonderful members of our school community.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:35): I also rise to make a contribution to this condolence motion. Two things stand out clearly about Don Laidlaw—he was his own man and he was devoted to his family. Much has been said about his involvement in industry. The depth and breadth of what he was involved in is almost mind-boggling, and he was highly decorated for his involvement in industry, being awarded an Order of Australia in 1989. A number of the industries in which he played a key role are some of the great names of South Australia that we all know well—Perry Engineering, Johns Perry Ltd, Boral, Adelaide Brighton Cement, Western Mining and Bennett & Fisher—and he was a director of the Australian Stock Exchange.

I note in some of the material provided by the parliamentary library from the public record that it is stated that he was respected by unions and he also managed to be president of the Liberal Party. His daughter Diana stated at his funeral that he was a great believer in private enterprise, which he distinguished from free enterprise in that he strongly believed that there should be checks and balances on the use of capital.

He had a low profile, which is interesting in itself given his depth of experience and interests. Obviously, he left this place because those other interests, he felt, meant that he could not make a full contribution. I note from the record that he was an active letter writer and continued to contribute long after he had left this place.

I join with others in offering my condolences to his wife Peg, daughters Diana, Susan and Sonia, and also the rest of his family.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:37): I rise to speak in support of the condolence motion for the Hon. Don Laidlaw. Mr Laidlaw left this parliament over 20 years ago. He was a quiet man but was held in huge regard within the Liberal Party family. Don was the only child of Tobe and Linley Laidlaw and, after attending St Peters College and completing a year of law, World War II intervened and he joined the fledgling Australian Intelligence Corps, learning Japanese and honing his language skills through friendships with Japanese internees at Loveday Internment Camp in the Riverland. For the next 2½ years he was a code breaker, decoding Japanese radio signals.

After the war, Mr Laidlaw resumed his law degree, where he met his wife, Vivienne Perry, a fellow law student. After graduating, Vivienne and Don headed for Magdalen College in Oxford. He attended there with another future South Australian parliamentarian in Jim Forbes who, in turn, went on to be minister for the army and minister for the navy in the Menzies government. The strong intellectual life of Oxford was profoundly influential on Don Laidlaw. He was by nature an intelligent, thoughtful and wise man, and Oxford helped him develop his strong analytical skills. He had a strong academic rigour and knew what he needed to know to determine and argue an issue.

After returning to Australia, Don worked as a sharebroker for Ian Potter in Melbourne, and in 1956 he returned to Adelaide and joined Perry Engineering. He was charged with the responsibility of reforming the business. Five years after joining the company, he was appointed managing director and then chairman as well. Under his leadership, Perry's prospered, employing at its peak 1,200 South Australians—South Australians born in 42 different countries—and, consistent with his daughter Diana Laidlaw's advocacy for women, Perry's under Don Laidlaw was a leading employer of women. Don retired as an executive in 1973 but remained on the board until 1988. That is 22 years in all.

Also, Mr Laidlaw served as president of the Metal Industries Association, chairman of Quarry Industries and Adelaide Brighton Cement, and director of Adelaide and Wallaroo Fertilisers and Bennett & Fisher. As my colleague the Hon. Michelle Lensink mentioned, Mr Laidlaw was a champion of private enterprise but he was not an advocate of the law of the jungle. He was active in promoting sound corporate governance and, in this context, he served in the mid 1980s as a director of the Australian Stock Exchange and later as a part-time commissioner of the National Companies and Securities Commission. In 1996, he was named the inaugural South Australian Director of the Year by the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

In terms of his parliamentary service, the Hon. Mr Laidlaw was elected as a member of the council in 1975 and served with distinction until 1982. Consistent with his business background, he took a particular interest in industrial development and industrial relations.

It was in the parliament that his attributes shone. He was regarded as unimpeachable. He was a man of high integrity who inspired trust. He was trustworthy and discreet and was discerning in offering his trust to others. First and foremost he was a South Australian, deeply committed to the best outcomes of the state. He was a man who was able to look at the big picture for the development of South Australia.

As a Liberal he was a team player but was not rigidly bound by the party. It has already been recognised that Mr Laidlaw supported the Labor government in restricting voting rights in two local companies—the SA Gas Company and Santos—to protect them from predatory interstate purchasers. As a Liberal he served as president and treasurer of the party and as the first chair of the Playford Trust. The Hon. Mr Laidlaw did not fear change in his business and political life. He understood that change was inevitable, even necessary. He saw that the critical issue was how to manage change for the best interests of South Australia and for jobs for South Australians.

In 1989 his service was recognised by his being made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia for his services to secondary industry, the South Australian parliament and to the community. That was not to say that his career was over. In 1989 and in latter years he continued to serve on a number of boards. He established Pancake Estates with his daughter Diana, traced his family history and wrote about his war years.

Up until when Don died at 86 years of age, he remained active and involved. In the past two months, over lunch with Don and others, I saw that he remained his usual active self, acutely interested in current affairs and politics. I understand that even in the past three weeks, when in intensive care in the RAH, the doctors and nurses noted that never before had anyone asked for the Financial Review to be delivered daily. On behalf of the Liberal Party and myself, I extend my condolences to the friends and family of Don Laidlaw, particularly his daughter, the Hon. Diana Laidlaw, and his son-in-law, the Hon. Dr Michael Armitage.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:43): I support the motion. As has been mentioned, the connection between the Laidlaw and Dawkins families goes back to 1975 when the Hon. Mr Laidlaw came into this place and shared an office on the lower ground floor with my father for seven years. I think he quickly came to understand that my father was not the quietest of people in this place (something of which I also have been accused) but they formed a good bond and both learned quite a bit from each other's varied experiences in life. In later years the Hon. Diana Laidlaw did not share an office with me but sat to my left for some 18 months or so before she retired from this place.

As the Leader of the Opposition mentioned, following the Hon. Mr Laidlaw's service as president of the Liberal Party for two years, he had an automatic position on the State Council of the Liberal Party and on the preselection colleges for those who wish to serve in this place. I well remember, on my first preselection college, visiting the Hon. Mr Laidlaw at his residence, and he certainly knew of the relationship between Boyd and myself. Although my father had not long since passed away, Don put me through my paces but also gave me wise advice. He took that role very seriously. He was a loyal servant of South Australia and it was a pleasure to know him. I offer my sincere sympathy, and that of my family, to my former colleague Diana and, of course, to the Hon. Michael Armitage and other members of the extended Laidlaw family.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:45): I rise to also speak in support of the motion. I particularly wanted to speak this afternoon as ill-health last Tuesday prevented me from paying my respects to the Laidlaw family at the funeral.

I first met Don Laidlaw some time in the mid-seventies, I think, probably when he was serving in his position as treasurer of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party. We certainly came from vastly different backgrounds (which I am sure is apparent from the speeches already given), so my relationship with Don Laidlaw over the years was one of a political acquaintance and friend as opposed to being a close personal friend. However, in the 30 or so years that I have known Don Laidlaw, I can say that he was held in high regard in all circles in which he mixed—whether business or community, or the parliamentary and political circle with which I am most familiar.

I know, from my time in the Liberal Party when he had a much more prominent role—whether it was as treasurer or as a member of the Legislative Council, or as president and soon after almost the senior spokesperson on our state council—that Don Laidlaw was one of those rare, softly-spoken people. That was certainly the case in all my experiences with him; I guess only his family can attest to whether or not he raised his voice on other occasions. However, in all my dealings with Don Laidlaw he was a very quiet and softly-spoken person, one of those rare people in political circles to whom, when he spoke, most people actually listened. They took note of his comments and, whether or not they ultimately agreed, they respected the man, his integrity and his contribution to the degree that they would listen to his argument and then make their own judgment.

The other point I would like to make—and it is testimony to how times have changed—is that I suspect we will not again see someone of the background of Don Laidlaw serve in this chamber or in the House of Assembly. When you think of his background—and other members have highlighted the significant boards and companies upon which he served as either director or chair, and the significant positions, in terms of regulatory agencies and authorities, that he attained soon after he left the Legislative Council—I suspect that, for a variety of reasons, none of which I will go into today, we are unlikely ever again to see someone with that sort of background coming into the parliament.

I think that is sad, because parliament ought to reflect the community. There is a view in the community that the Liberal Party is the party of big business, but in the 30 or so years that I have been associated with parliamentary representatives I can think of very few who have actually come from a big business or corporate background to represent the South Australian Liberal Party. As I said, my point is that I do not think we will see that occur again in the future, and it is sad that that particular view, which ought not to be a dominant one but which, nevertheless, is a view that ought to have a voice in the parliament, will not be heard. It did have a voice for a brief period of seven years in Don Laidlaw, but in my view we have not seen anyone directly replace that particular view in the period since.

In conclusion, I would like to say that in all my dealings with Don Laidlaw I personally found him to be a man of very high integrity. He was a man of his word, as I think Mr Wade and others have said; if you spoke to him in confidence, he respected that confidence. He was not someone who traded in political gossip and tittle-tattle. He was not someone who betrayed confidences; he was prepared to respect confidences and give advice if it was sought but was never overbearing in wanting to push his point of view to younger members as they came through.

As members have highlighted, his retirement in 1982 opened up a pre-selection in the Liberal Party where there were then three remaining sitting members who contested the preselection. The Hon. Diana Laidlaw was one of the new members who were elected to replace the Hon. Don Laidlaw in 1982, and she commenced her period of service, but two other members of the Liberal Party were elected at that time as the 'newbies': the Hon. Henry Peter Kestel Dunn from the West Coast, well known to the Hon. Caroline Schaefer and others and a past president of the Legislative Council, and I was the third member elected at that time in what was a very intense and hotly contested preselection.

Concluding, because as I said I was unable to be there last Tuesday, I want to convey my condolences to Peg, Di, Sue and Soe, other members of the broader family and in particular the friends and acquaintances of Don Laidlaw as well.

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER (14:51): I too wish to pass on my condolences to the Laidlaw family. Don Laidlaw served at the same time as my father, and I served with both his daughter and his son-in-law, Michael Armitage.

Don was a leading businessman and a leading citizen of South Australia both before and after the seven years he served in this parliament. He was much admired in business circles throughout Australia but particularly within South Australia. Indeed, he did lead the charge, if you like, to retain the ownership and management of Santos within South Australia, and he will long be remembered for that.

Don was also, as has previously been mentioned, a president and treasurer of the Liberal Party. He was a quiet man, but he exerted great influence behind the scenes. He was someone whose advice was often sought by a wide range of people within the Liberal Party, and his advice was always respected. He was not someone who was out there offering his advice, but he always had a strong point of view when approached.

He and Peg were gracious hosts, and indeed they were always respectful of everyone and respectful of the disparity of views both in here and throughout the Liberal Party. He was a particularly devoted father and was devoted to his extended family, but he appeared always to be particularly close to his daughter Diana, and probably his last business enterprise was to enter into partnership with her in their wine business, Pancake Estate.

As has been mentioned, he was a prolific letter writer, but it was also mentioned at his funeral last week that he was an even more prolific user of the telephone. Apparently he would get the paper very early in the morning and then phone the various members of the family who he believed needed to know what was in the paper. Diana mentioned that when she was a minister she knew how severe the problems were that she was going to face that day by how early her first phone call from Don was.

As he got older and even when he was in hospital he still apparently phoned his family many times each day, and they have mentioned that they have vast gaps, not only emotionally but also in the time they would normally expect to be spending on the phone. Again, I want to extend my sympathy to Diana, Sue, Soe and their families.

The PRESIDENT (14:55): I, too, pass on my respects to the Laidlaw family, in particular, the Hon. Diana Laidlaw. I never met the Hon. Don Laidlaw, but I am sure he was behind the scenes in a lot of the negotiations that we had with various companies of which he was a board member. When I was secretary of the AWU, the AWU had the majority membership at WMC, Perry Engineering and Adelaide Brighton Cement. So, the Australian Workers Union had coverage for and substantial membership of 90 per cent of the companies of which Don was a board member.

I remember one particular case involving Adelaide Brighton Cement where there were long, drawn-out negotiations. I am sure Don played a role in those negotiations, even though we never sighted him. Later in my time as secretary of the AWU I had to negotiate with Diana Laidlaw on various transport issues. One of those issues involved the privatisation of the ferry operations on the River Murray. We had long and extensive negotiations with Diana in relation to union members having first option to successfully win the tenders for the ferries. I must say that she agreed and we did win those tenders. So, when I was involved with the trade union movement, I was party to a number of negotiations where the Laidlaw family was involved.

I have also been told that the Hon. Don Laidlaw, the Hon. Frank Blevins and Jimmy Dunford used to conduct a lot of negotiations behind the wall behind me. They would all smoke, and the smoke used to travel out into the chamber. So, things have changed since the days when you were allowed to smoke behind this wall.

I also understand that Don was elected to the Legislative Council at the time when the change was made from members being elected from districts to their being elected from across the whole of the state. I pass on my sympathies to the Laidlaw family, in particular, the Hon. Diana Laidlaw.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.


[Sitting suspended from 14:58 to 15:20]


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