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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-23 Daily Xml
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Condolence

CARNIE, HON. J.A.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:17): I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the recent death of Mr John Carnie, a former member of the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council, and places on record its appreciation of his distinguished and meritorious public service; and, as a mark of respect to his memory, that the sitting of the council be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

I was saddened by the news of the passing of John Carnie who died on 10 September, aged 82. John Carnie, like me and the Hon. Mr Brokenshire, had the rare distinction of serving in both houses of this parliament. He worked devotedly for the betterment of South Australia and particularly for rural communities and constituents on the state's West Coast.

He first arrived in parliament as a member of the Liberal Country League, representing the electorate of Flinders from 1970 to 1973. Mr Carnie was prominent in the Port Lincoln community as the local pharmacist, although he was brought up in the Riverland, having worked in most parts of the state, after receiving a diploma in pharmacy. It was this experience that, no doubt, provided his affinity with rural areas of the state and the issues that affected country voters. After the LCL split and the formation of the Liberal Movement, Mr Carnie returned to parliament as a Legislative Councillor from 1975 until 1982. John Carnie is perhaps best known for his role as a founding parliamentary member of the Liberal Movement.

John Carnie was born in Barmera, in the heart of the Riverland, on 30 March 1927, the same year that Australia's original Parliament House was opened in Canberra by the Duke of York. He was schooled at Barmera Primary, and then Kings College in Adelaide, before attending the University of Adelaide, where he graduated with a Diploma of Pharmacy. He also travelled to England, where he studied at the University of London in 1951 and 1952 and earned a Diploma of Biochemical Analysis.

In 1955 John took up a position as a pharmacist in Port Lincoln and soon became involved in the community and in the political life of Eyre Peninsula. He served for several years as a committee member with the Port Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, including a year as its president. He also served two years as president of the Port Lincoln branch of the Liberal and Country League before being elected as the member for Flinders in May 1970.

He used his maiden speech as the member for Flinders to outline the issues that mattered most to him and his constituents in the regional centres and communities on our state's West Coast. Among them were his concerns about school facilities and curricula, the state of country roads, the need for improved police services, the surety of electricity and water supplies and the ongoing viability of the fishing industry, particularly in the Port Lincoln area.

John Carnie made no secret of his opposition to the Dunstan government's one vote, one value policy that was aimed at ending South Australia's rural gerrymander. In his maiden speech John argued that such a move would significantly dilute the political influence of rural South Australia.

John Carnie was a keen supporter of former Liberal premier Steele Hall, joining his Liberal Movement and standing as an LM candidate at the 1973 election. History shows that he lost the seat of Flinders to the National Party's Peter Blacker. It was a result that led him to opine that South Australia probably needed a country party looking after the country and a Liberal Party seeing to city interests, and relying on a coalition to form government. While one might suggest that this has been successfully achieved at the federal level, the coalition envisaged by Mr Carnie is yet to take shape in South Australia.

John Carnie returned to state parliament as a member of this chamber at the July 1975 election. Despite a threatening call warning him to stay away from a vote on a bill to reform country rail services, John Carnie confirmed he was a politician of character, as well as man of courage, by recording his vote in this place.

Mr Carnie was also an advocate for removing most restrictions on shopping hours in South Australia. His advocacy within the Liberal Party put pressure on the then Labor government to set up a royal commission into trading hours. Of course, trading hours in South Australia are a lot less regulated than they were back in the 1970s. While ours are not completely unfettered in this state, we on this side of the chamber believe that the current restrictions on shopping hours strike an acceptable compromise between the retailers' interests and the need for employees to balance work commitments with family life.

On behalf of all members on this side of the council, I extend my condolences to John's wife Bernice, his children Grant and Jane, and all his family and friends.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:22): I rise on behalf of the opposition to make some comments about the Hon. John Carnie. He was one of the few members who served in both houses: as the member for Flinders from 1970 to 1973 and then as a member of the Legislative Council from 1975 to 1982. He was educated at Barmera Primary School, Kings College, Adelaide University and London University, gaining diplomas of pharmacy and biochemical analysis.

Mr Carnie was a pharmacist throughout South Australia, eventually remaining in Port Lincoln for some time where he continued to work in the health sector and enjoy great involvement with the local community. His passions were sailing and golf, and his love of the country community is apparent when reading his words throughout his incumbency as the Liberal member for Flinders.

John had an understanding of South Australia's reliance on the farming sector, which is arguably shared only by those who have lived and worked in country communities. He never understated the contribution of a relatively small country population to the overall economy of the state.

In 1973 the Liberal Party was going through the formation stages of the Liberal Movement. The National Party, through Peter Blacker, successfully capitalised on the strong differences of opinion in the Liberal Party during that period. Mr Carnie was defeated at the election and subsequently served here in the Legislative Council.

He provoked the issue of shopping hours to an eventual establishment by the government of a royal commission into trading hours, the findings of which caused the government to amend the trading hours legislation. This was one particular issue where John was adamant in supporting city businesses, as well as country businesses.

He set out to change restrictive bans placed on bakers in Adelaide. They were not allowed to bake from 6pm on Friday until midnight on Sunday, yet bakers in country towns had no such restrictions placed on them.

Most other states at that time did not have the restricted regimes for trading that South Australia had. It was apparent that John championed opportunities for success and enterprise in business. His hard work was a precursor to the Liberal Party's adoption of flexible trading hours as party policy. John said that too much governmental control was the best way in which to kill individual enterprise and that it was his mission to prevent that from happening. Although I never met him personally, the opposition leader said that he was very humble, he was not inclined to impose his view on new members and he incited a particular level of respect.

Mrs Redmond lives in the area where he resided, and she would run into him from time to time. He struck her as someone who was content with the life he had lived, and I hear that this was especially apparent, as he remained cheerful and content throughout his final days. John passed away at his home on 10 September this year, aged 82. I acknowledge and commend the Stirling hospital staff for their care throughout the final stages of John's life, and I offer my condolences on behalf of the Liberal Party to his wife Bernice and his children, Grant and Jane.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:26): I rise to speak briefly to the condolence motion. I support and endorse the remarks that have been made by the Leader of the Government and the Leader of the Opposition on the motion. I indicate that, perhaps unlike other members, I knew John Carnie, I would not say super well, if I can use a colloquial expression, but certainly I knew him from his period here in the Legislative Council. As the leader has indicated, the early part of John's political career coincided with a period of enormous turmoil, if I can perhaps understate the description, for the Liberal Party in South Australia.

The ructions that occurred during that period, with the formation of a separate party within a party—the Liberal Movement within the then Liberal and Country League—had strong supporters and equally strong opponents and, inevitably, there were casualties of that conflict at the time. As I have said, the formation of the Liberal Party of Australia (SA Division) coincided with John's early days in parliament. The position of the party in South Australia in that period in 1976 was the start of the party which seeks to represent both city and country interests within one party here in South Australia.

I agree with the comments made by the Leader of the Opposition in another place in relation to John Carnie the person. He certainly had strong views on certain issues, but he was not the sort of personality that sought to impose those on everyone else. He listened to the views of others. He certainly did have passionate views on shopping hours. He, with one of his colleagues, the Hon. Martin Cameron, at varying stages in this chamber, led debates not only on freeing up hours in relation to bakeries, as the Leader of the Opposition in this chamber indicated, but he, in the early stages, and, of course, the Hon. Martin Cameron and others in the latter stages, looked to remove some of the restrictions in relation to red meat sales in the metropolitan area during the weekends. Freeing up trading hours was a passion for a number of these members.

I guess it is a salutary lesson to us all that it is really only just over 20 years ago that you could not buy fresh red meat from butchers on weekends and you had these sorts of restrictions not more than 25 years ago in relation to bakeries. Of course, general trading hours were enormously restrictive in relation to what people in Adelaide could and could not buy on weekends, and people such as Martin Cameron, John Carnie and others within the parliament at that particular time were at the early stages of advocating for radical change, which is now accepted.

I think the Leader of the Government would accept that his party traditionally, with its close associations with the STA these days and its predecessor associations, has not always been at the forefront of freeing up trading hours in South Australia. It has tended to be people from the other side of the political fence—people such as Martin Cameron, John Carnie and others—who have taken up the battle and have been joined by others. Of course, to be fair, eventually the Labor Party, in recent times has assisted the process of freeing up shopping hours as well. So, in speaking briefly to the motion, I pay credit to the activism of John Carnie and others on this particular issue.

John Carnie's political career in the Legislative Council ended in 1982. The Hon. Peter Dunn, the Hon. Diana Laidlaw and I were the new members elected by our state council at that particular time. The Hon. John Carnie was unsuccessful during that particular preselection process; nevertheless, he accepted the decision of our state council, as most people expected that he would, and it was to his credit that he continued to be a quiet supporter of the Liberal Party during subsequent years.

I indicate, on behalf of a number of former members of this chamber, and I am sure others who served with or knew John Carnie well, that we pass on our sympathies and condolences to his family and to his acquaintances.

The PRESIDENT: I ask all honourable members to stand in their places and carry the motion in silence.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.


[Sitting suspended from 14:31 to 14:47]


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