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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
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BLEVINS, HON. FRANK

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:47): I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the recent death of the Hon. Frank Trevor Blevins, formerly a minister of the Crown, a member of the House of Assembly, a member of the Legislative Council and places on record its appreciation of his distinguished public service.

The Hon. Frank Blevins will be remembered for a great many qualities, but one that clearly stands out is that he was a man of deep and profound principle. The circumstances of his remarkable life helped mould and form those very same principles. From his very early days in working class Manchester where he was born in 1939 to joining the merchant marines in the United Kingdom at the age of 16, he emigrated to Whyalla in 1965 where he worked on tugboats, I am told, and there became heavily involved in union activism and then ALP politics. Obviously his politics were always on the very left.

For his entire life, the belief in defending and supporting the underdog and that collectively working people could grasp the power to transform their lives was a principle that he stood by steadfastly. It was a principle upon which he brought to bear his own considerable capacities and leadership skills with a mixture of blunt force and mercurial lightness of touch.

On his election to the Legislative Council on 13 August 1975 he made a very passionate speech in this place in which among other things he decried the very need for upper houses of parliament, citing the example of the House of Lords as being proof of life after death. He closed his maiden speech with the following:

I wish to make only one more point, Mr President, and it relates to the word 'socialist'. It is obvious that the honourable members opposite see red every time they hear the word. I am afraid that, unless they get a little more rational about it, they will be upset quite a lot over the next few years as I am a dedicated socialist who takes every opportunity to promote the principles and ideals of democratic socialism.

Clearly, Frank Blevins, the merchant marine seaman from Whyalla, was quite willing to nail his colours to the mast.

In a 22-year parliamentary career, first here in the council for a decade and then in the House of Assembly, that zeal never diminished or waned: if anything, it was fuelled by an unquenchable energy that was sustained throughout his entire life. To bring about the change to match that vision, he needed to learn the ropes of his new parliamentary occupation, which he did with characteristic thoroughness.

As he remarked in an Advertiser interview in 1984, he loved the craft of being a parliamentarian. In keeping with the proud trade traditions of the Labor movement, he brought to the job the skill and finesse of a consummate craftsman. A true craftsman brings to the task the very best of themselves: commitment, passion, experience and a capacity for hard work. All of these things Frank demonstrated throughout his life.

A long list of portfolios in the period from 1983 to 1993—the ministries of agriculture, fisheries, forests, correctional services, labour, health, transport, finance, mineral resources, and deputy premier thrown in for good measure—all demonstrate that he was, indeed, a superb parliamentarian. He handled all of those portfolios with a great deal of acumen.

His reputation as a skilled negotiator behind the scenes meant that time and time again it was up to Frank to bring calm and order to a troubled portfolio or troubled times. The soft Manchester drawl—who can forget that?—belied a fearless resolve and a razor-sharp wit, as anyone who debated against him will well and truly testify. He was always willing to take on a challenge, even when it was one that required difficult decisions that lesser people may have shied away from.

Over a decade-long history of ministerial responsibilities, there were many great battles, nearly all of which he won. There were many achievements throughout his career, but his achievements in enlightened prison reform were particularly significant and, as always, underpinned by the principle that we must treat all human beings decently. Those prison reforms were indeed very significant for this state and they are still there underpinning a lot of what we do today.

As the Premier said earlier today, Frank was also far-sighted in his support for investment in the electromagnetic mapping of the state. Again, this visionary decision led to a resurgence of mining exploration which in turn has delivered and will keep delivering for South Australia. So they are probably a couple of very important legacies that Frank has left for this state.

It also needs to be said here today that, in doing all these things, Frank Blevins had a very impressive personal style. Always impeccably dressed, courteous and charming, he presented as the modern man of the left. He was a class act in many ways. He never lost the fire in his belly, and he never lost sight of where he was from and he never lost sight of whom he was working for. He so clearly demonstrated those aspects in his maiden speech here in this chamber back in 1975.

The man behind that smooth exterior was so much more than just a successful politician. I knew him as a very generous host. He was famous for his curries, which were very specially mixed and selected. They were very specific and exact recipes, which were certainly fiery delights. His cooking was legendary, always wonderfully prepared as well. He was also known, I understand, to have cooked boiled fruitcakes for cabinet meetings, no doubt to sustain the representatives of the Labor movement as they made hefty and good decisions for the state.

When he retired from parliamentary politics in 1997, Frank entered a period when, one could argue, he did some of his greatest work: as counsel and supporter of particularly up-and-coming politicians, and in particular women in the ALP. I will always value the support, encouragement and assistance Frank gave me throughout my political career. Right from the outset he was always happy to extend a hand, always prepared to offer a word of encouragement and, as my responsibilities grew and so did the challenges, Frank was always there with a practical and wise word, and I valued that assistance and support very much and will treasure those memories.

Frank Blevins was a mentor par excellence, always a ready listener, warm and helpful, with advice that was deeply insightful, practical, always constructive and based on many decades of very solid experience. If things were going wrong, his support was far more than just words of comfort—they were the heartfelt expressions of someone who knew hard times and what it took to get through them.

Frank faced many personal and professional challenges throughout his life, and he always faced and dealt with them with the greatest level of integrity and strength. Such wisdom and compassion clearly will be missed. Our thoughts go out to his wife Doreen, his family, his friends and his colleagues. We are the poorer for the loss of Frank's example of immense courage, his strongly-held principles, his generosity of spirit and his unwavering resolve.

Throughout his full life, from a tough working-class upbringing in Manchester, raising a family in his beloved Whyalla, to a dazzling parliamentary career and then his later life, in which he was hugely respected and loved, Frank epitomised right throughout what the Labor movement stands for: that we can all reach our potential and bring out the very best of ourselves to the greater benefit of all people. Vale, Frank Blevins.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:57): I rise on behalf of the opposition to second the condolence motion for the Hon. Frank Blevins, who at the age of 74 recently lost his battle with cancer. In 1956 Mr Blevins left England to embark on what was to become a formative career. He was only 16 at the time, and initially he joined the workforce as a merchant seaman, later became a union official and, at the time of his entry to parliament, was vice president of the Whyalla Combined Unions Council.

In 1975, in his mid-30s, Blevins was elected to the Legislative Council. From a working-class family from inner Manchester, Frank Blevins seemed unintimidated by the prospect of parliament. He quite correctly stated that parliament should be a cross-section of society. He brought real life experience to the chamber and effected real change. Perhaps one of his legacies in this place was the Natural Death Act, legislating that a person could direct that no extraordinary measures could be taken to prolong their life. He believed very strongly in that piece of legislation, and he was indeed the first person to sign on to it.

He was also the curator of legislation that gave Adelaide its first major casino. In December 1985, Mr Blevins was elected to the seat of Whyalla. I know that my colleague the Hon. Terry Stephens, who will of course then have been a constituent of the Hon. Frank Blevins, may make some additional comments shortly. He held various posts throughout this time as a local member, and most notably and later in his career as deputy premier and treasurer. One of his first jobs was boldly reconstructing South Australia's work and compensation laws. It was an issue that had been looming since early in his career.

Regardless of your side of politics, it must be recognised that Mr Blevins was somewhat of a hero to the workers. It was not an easy job; nor was his thankless post as the minister for correctional services. He believed that governments had put prisons at the bottom of the list for three decades, and he took the job of fixing them up very seriously indeed.

He was gifted with great eloquence and apparently was very skilful at handling the media. He described being a parliamentarian as a craft, and it was clear that he was dedicated to perfecting it. Mr Blevins retired in 1997: his achievements were numerous and I would not do justice to them by only briefly mentioning them. I would, however, like to note that he was minister for agriculture and he took that very seriously. It was his passion. He certainly said that our future basically hinged on it, and it was one of the most important portfolios he held.

In fact, in my time I was a young president of the Rural Youth Movement of South Australia; I think I was 22 at the time. We were lobbying the government of the day for extra funding to support the rural youth movement, and it was my job to visit the minister, as it was funded through the department of agriculture in those days. I had to visit the minister. It was a reasonably daunting experience as a 22 year old going into the minister's office, but I am delighted to say that he did see wisdom in giving us additional funding to employ, I think it was, a training and development officer for the organisation. We certainly did so and the organisation continued to prosper.

There were a number of people in the agricultural sector who felt that he did actually understand some of the issues, took a genuine interest and tried to bring about change and improve some of the issues that were confronting agriculture in South Australia at the time. I think he would have been pleased with those achievements and a number of other achievements across a range of portfolios. I extend my condolences to Mr Blevins's family and their friends.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:00): I rise to add my condolences to the family and friends of the late Hon. Frank Blevins. Frank Blevins was one of the generation of politicians who retired prior to my entering parliament, but I know that he was one of our Labor Party members of parliament respected for his competence and hard work. He was also considered a fair man and, as has already been said, an eloquent speaker. Whilst a strong left-wing politician, he was someone who understood that the Labor Party needed to be a broad church and accommodate a spectrum of social and political attitudes.

As we have heard, before being elected to the lower house, he served in this chamber for over 10 years. As has already been placed on the record, he had a distinguished career where he was responsible for a number of legislative initiatives and rose to the position of deputy premier. In looking at some of the media comments, as the former minister for correctional services I particularly took note of those referring to that portfolio and certainly found myself in empathy with his comments all those years ago.

In his retirement, he was just as well respected and sought after for his quiet and effective leadership and sage advice. I know he made a significant public contribution post retirement. He always had a ready smile. He was a regular visitor to the bar, probably not in the last few years, but prior to that. I remember thinking how well he handled and accepted his unfortunate accident when he lost his leg. He did it with good grace and continued helping others in life.

Whilst I was not a close personal friend, I am proud to say that I made it to the fruitcake circle. As we have already heard, Frank was a good cook, though not just of fruitcakes. One day when I dropped into his home, he presented me with one of his boiled fruitcakes. It was very much appreciated by all who got to taste it. While society has lost a respected former politician, at a personal level I know his wife Doreen and family will miss him dreadfully, and I again offer my condolences to them.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:03): I rise to support the comments of both the Leader of the Government and the Leader of the Opposition about the Hon. Frank Blevins. Can I say from the outset that I pass on my family's condolences to Doreen and her family. My wife actually went to school with Frank's children and I certainly knew a couple of them reasonably well. I had the pleasure, or displeasure, of coming second to Frank Blevins in the 1993 Giles contest. I have to say that it was a contest that was conducted honourably. I knew Frank well prior to that contest. I always had a decent respect for him and that continued after he had towelled me up in 1993.

He was a passionate man of the Labor Party. There were no ifs, buts or maybes, but he could certainly have a conversation and was not dismissive of other people's views, for which I respected him. I will share with the chamber that a number of his friends from the tugs, who I also knew and knew quite well, were thrilled that he had taken up the fight for his workmates in the parliament, but most of them could never understand why you would give up a job on the tugs in Whyalla to enter parliament because, I have to say, at different times I was quite envious of their particular role and the terms and conditions of the working men on those tugs. Just with those few words, I pass on my absolute best wishes and sincerest condolences to Doreen and to her family.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (15:05): I just want to add a few comments to those that have been made on both sides of the chamber about the Hon. Frank Blevins. As I indicated in my contribution regarding the Hon. Dr Bob Ritson, my father was the whip for our party for some time in this house on both sides of the chamber. He and the Hon. Mr Blevins were whips together for some period of time. When you look at the contrasting backgrounds of the Hon. Mr Blevins, who came from a left-wing merchant seaman background, as has been illustrated by the Hon. Mr Stephens, and my father, who, while the Hon. Mr Lucas is probably the only one here who knew him reasonably well, thought he was quite progressive. There were some in his own party who described him as a troglodyte—unfairly, of course.

My father and Frank Blevins worked together very well as whips and had an enduring high regard for each other. When Frank became the minister for agriculture, I was in the presence of both of them when we bumped into Frank. My father proceeded to say, as he could quite bluntly, 'You know nothing about agriculture,' although he did not use the word 'nothing', he used a couple of other words instead, 'so you should take advice from good people who do'. I can say that my late father always felt that on balance that was what Frank did in his term as agriculture minister and, from someone who could be quite critical about matters to do with primary industry and their handling by some Labor ministers he had seen, that was high praise. I pass on my condolences to the family of the Hon. Mr Blevins.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:07): I rise briefly to make a few remarks about the Hon. Frank Blevins. He was a member of the Legislative Council for about five years when I joined the Labor Party in about 1980, and I remember very early in my membership seeing him on television when Malcolm Fraser visited Whyalla and there was a massive protest against him closing the shipyards. Frank Blevins was at the forefront of that, and I saw him abusing Fraser on TV and, I must say that from then I had a great admiration for the man for the rest of my life. I remember early in the mid-eighties when we got news that Doug Elkins, who was the preselected candidate for Whyalla, was not travelling very well in the polls so they turned to Frank Blevins to run for the seat of Whyalla, which he did, and he won and served it very well until his retirement.

When he was a minister, we approached him to get representation on the plumbers and gasfitters registration board, and we were vehemently opposed by Bob Fairweather, the secretary of the plumbers union. I remember sitting at the meeting in Frank's office and Bob Fairweather was frothing at the mouth and abusing and screaming at us all, and he threatened to stand as an independent against Frank Blevins in Whyalla. Frank Blevins quite calmly looked at him and said, 'Well, just stand in line.' That was the nature of the man, how calm he was. He went on and appointed me to the plumbers and gasfitters registration board.

As members would know, Frank Blevins resigned in 1994, I think it was, not long after our quite significant defeat. He went on to still make a good contribution to the Labor Party; he was a campaign manager for a number of Adelaide elections. After I was elected, he also would often come into this chamber. He was a very keen Manchester United soccer fan, and he would bring in Manchester United memorabilia and leave it in my letterbox for me to give to my son. We would go around to Frank's place with my lad just to talk about soccer.

Doreen was an amazing woman. She was always in the background, never in the limelight. When you went around to have a cup of tea with Frank and to have a chat about things, she would sit there and keep you there for a long time talking about life, the kids and their family. I remember when Frank had his accident and broke his leg, and lost his leg, we went around to have a talk. He said that it was quite a frightening experience to contract golden staph in hospital, knowing that it could have taken his life. Hopefully, the new hospital we are building will put an end to that because of the very nature of the single rooms in the design.

Frank Blevins was always a decent human being. He was very quietly spoken on many occasions and very relaxed. I pass on my deepest sympathies to Doreen and the family. I support the council's motion.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (15:12): I support the comments already made. Frank Blevins was quite simply a prince of a man and a giant of the left. I did not have the privilege of knowing Frank when he served as an MP, but it was a great pleasure to get to know him very well since that time. It is a pity that I did not know him when he was an MP. When I was looking through some of the press clippings, one quote that stood out was from his first media interview after he became deputy premier, when he was talking about matters to do with one of his former portfolios, labour laws. In that interview, Frank told The Advertiser:

None of our employers are geniuses, far from it I can tell you. Some of them are too stupid to cross the road, some of them. They need some intervention.

He went on to say:

Industry has been revitalised by unions, not redneck bloody thick employers.

You cannot imagine someone even contemplating trying to say that today as a deputy premier or thinking that they could get away with it.

Frank, in a lot of ways, was a South Australian left version of Paul Keating in that he was very sharply dressed, respected by many and had a great way with words. One of the great things I really admired about Frank, which others have referred to, is that he stayed very involved with and contributed to the party long after his time in parliament. Frank would always attend his monthly sub-branch meetings, always did a round of letterboxing when there was material to be distributed and, as the Hon. Gail Gago mentioned, he cooked curries. When he was going to be away for fundraisers, he would have a curry frozen so that his famous goat curries would be there for a fundraiser. He was the sort of party elder that every branch of a political party needs, and I respected that.

One of my earliest very strong memories of Frank Blevins is of a meeting of the Adelaide sub-branch some time in the late 1990s, when a reasonably new, fresh-faced Independent member of the Legislative Council, a new bloke called Nick Xenophon, came to address the branch. As soon as Nick started speaking to the Adelaide sub-branch, Frank ripped into him, really gave it to him about Frank's and Nick's differing views on pokies and gambling. One of the lines that has stayed with me since then—and a number of us who were there at that meeting still use that line on each other to this day—was Frank a number of times asking, 'Nick, why would you come here and tell these good comrades lies?' That line still gets used a lot today.

I do not know whether Nick Xenophon remembers that meeting, but I sure do. I was fresh out of uni, the new president of the Adelaide sub-branch, with no experience at chairing meetings and no idea of how to handle conflict—and Frank just tore Nick apart at that meeting. Frank was a ferocious defender of his views, and I respected that.

As the Hon. Russell Wortley mentioned, Frank helped to run the Adelaide campaign. I remember well, in 2002, helping run the Adelaide campaign with Frank. I treasure not only the effort put into that campaign but the time and effort he put into mentoring others, particularly me, and everything he did since that time. Ever career decision I have taken in the Labor Party, from my first job as a staffer up to deciding to nominate for the Legislative Council, I discussed first with Frank, and the role he played in my career is very much appreciated.

After my first speech in parliament last year, when I was honoured to have Frank in the chamber, I received in my mailbox a package wrapped in tinfoil in a plastic bag. We took it back to my office where my staff and I wondered what to do with it. We did not want a dodgy package sort of thing and were not sure about opening it. Eventually, we decided to open it and it became very apparent who it was from: it was a fruitcake wrapped in tinfoil.

Since then, and up until the last couple of months, every few weeks something has appeared in my mailbox: either more fruitcake, some baked biscuits, political DVDs or notes of encouragement and support, or critiques of speeches I have given. House of Cards, the American version, was the latest one. It also included some very wise advice that he wrote down in relation to one of my speeches saying, 'Good work. Get stuck into Lucas.' That is very wise advice indeed, very good counsel.

I, too, wish to express my condolences to Doreen and to Frank's family. I am going to dearly miss the advice. Frank was a ferocious leftie, a prince of a man and, frankly, the sort of person and parliamentarian that I would like to be.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (15:16): I rise to express my support for the condolence motion for the Hon. Frank Blevins and a nice segue, I guess, from the contribution from the Hon. Mr Maher. As he indicated, we shared some time together in the Legislative Council. Certainly, from my viewpoint, he was a worthy adversary. He, as the Hon. Mr Maher and others have indicated, was a fierce advocate for the particular views that he had. They were sharper and rougher and readier, I guess, at the start of his political career.

He was a fierce opponent of uranium sales anywhere and, in particular, to France at that particular time. As the Hon. Mr Wortley indicated, he was publicly part of major verbal confrontations with the former Liberal prime minister, Mr Fraser, in Whyalla—and I am sure probably in other places as well—but certainly in this chamber he was a passionate advocate of the left view of the world.

He did not see much role for the Legislative Council, as I think one of the contributors to this speech has already indicated. He also did not see much of a role for capitalism in a number of his speeches in the early stages of his career. I think as the suits got sharper, and as he got more used to living in the North Adelaide area as opposed to Whyalla, his views tempered a little bit as they tend to do when you are from the left.

It did not necessarily change what he felt on the inside, but I think he acknowledged in a number of his contributions towards the latter part of his career that he accepted that pragmatism became an ingredient within which he had to mix the fiercely-held views that he might have had and those that the left held. They had to be balanced in those days with that particular creature that members these days do not have to worry too much about other than their remnants—the centre left—that held sway and power for good periods of the time that the Hon. Mr Blevins was active within the Labor Party and within the parliament as well.

In those days Mr Blevins, together with the Hon. Mr Sumner and the Hon. Mr Cornwall—and a number of others from the Labor viewpoint, I imagine—would have been an impressive leadership team. Certainly, as they fiercely defended their particular views, whether it be in this chamber or whether it be publicly, I am sure those who were within their caucus would have been encouraged by the fierceness of the representation of views that they represented on behalf of their party and their government or opposition at the particular point in time.

In part, it was a recognition of that and in some areas he was seen as potentially a future leader of the party in the period post John Bannon. His name and Lynn Arnold's—and to a degree one or two others—were being touted in media circles and within party circles as potential leaders of the party post John Bannon and he then moved through a series of other portfolios, as members have indicated.

I remember well the debate on the Natural Death Bill which the Hon. Mr Ridgway has referred to, and he certainly had very strong views and continued to have very strong views right through the years on that issue and related issues in that particular area. He was never short of having an argument in relation to gambling issues, and the Hon. Mr Maher's description of an internal exchange with the then Hon. Mr Xenophon and those of his ilk in relation to gambling issues was reflected on many occasions in the public arena and the parliamentary arena as well.

I think, and as other members have referred to, he was the instigator of the debate on the first Casino in my first term in parliament and led the charge. My recollection is either he and he alone, or perhaps with a small number of others, were the active ingredients in terms of the introduction of poker machines or gaming machines in the early 1990s. I suspect that is why the particular exchange that the Hon. Mr Maher has referred to between Senator Xenophon, the former honourable member of this chamber, and the Hon. Mr Blevins would have been so fierce because Mr Xenophon would have seen and been aware of Frank Blevins' role in this particular issue. Frank certainly would have been aware of all the arguments against the points of view that Nick Xenophon was putting. As the Hon. Mr Maher would have indicated, he was never backwards in coming forwards in expressing his point of view, and his disagreement. He did not worry too much about the niceties if the situation warranted it and he was prepared to express his views strongly.

On those occasions with the Casino and the gaming machine debate, I was on the same side of the chamber as the Hon. Mr Blevins in terms of supporting the widening of gambling options in South Australia. Many people these days, including some within the Labor Party, of course, hasten to say they would never have supported the legislation, but I am not sure whether they would have actually said that to Frank Blevins—whether it be at a branch meeting of the Labor Party or anywhere else. They might have said it privately to others.

Frank was active as well. As you know, Mr President, you would often see him at the AHA annual Christmas lunch where he was treated with some reverence and respect by the hoteliers, the publicans, and was always regarded highly by the hotel industry for being prepared to take up what was an unpopular view with many in the community in terms of provision of gaming machines and he was prepared to be the public face.

He was also prepared to take up the lot of the ordinary working man in terms of members of parliament. The stories are legendary, and I will not put two of them on the public record of his approach to salary and conditions issues for members of parliament to vis-a-vis the then premier of the day. Suffice to say that when the premier was away on an overseas trip, he did occasionally take the opportunity to ensure that one or two cabinet submissions went to cabinet and were considered by those and the rest of the cabinet who might have had a view similar to Mr Blevins and different from the then premier of the day in relation to the working conditions of members of parliament.

Having had the opportunity through the FOI process of cabinet submissions, I have managed to get a copy of one or two of those old submissions just for historical records in terms of confirming the urban folklore that has come from some within the Labor caucus in terms of his approach to those sorts of issues on behalf of his fellow colleagues within the Labor caucus and within the parliament as well.

I always had the highest regard for the Hon. Frank Blevins. We clashed, as shown by the Hon. Mr Maher's comments, which I am sure were given good-naturedly, on political issues and publicly, but he never once crossed me. If he gave a guarantee or gave his word on a particular issue, he never went back on that word or issue. I am sure, Mr President, that if he had a bet with you he would have paid up as you do, Mr President, unlike some other members of the Labor caucus who come from the western suburbs of Adelaide and who do not follow that principle. They should follow the role modelling of the Hon. Frank Blevins in relation to these sorts of issues.

In terms of being political opponents, there were many issues such as gaming or superannuation or salaries or other issues of state, and if he gave his word to me or other colleagues, I am not aware of him ever crossing members in terms of a commitment that he gave on any particular issue. For those reasons I have always regarded him highly.

We still saw him occasionally as he came to the former members' lunches at Parliament House. I occasionally saw him, as he was active in and around Parliament House lobbying on various issues. He was always very friendly and affable in terms of an issue he might have wanted to put at any point in time. Sometimes he was very free and easy in giving advice in relation to issues that I had a particular interest in at the time. With that, I pass on my condolences to his family, friends and acquaintances.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:27): I also rise to offer my condolences on the recent death of the Hon. Frank Blevins. As we all know, Frank was a Labor legend, a stalwart of the party who served our labour movement and his adopted home town of Whyalla, and indeed the entire state of South Australia, with distinction for many years.

Frank served in both this chamber and the other place during his political career and made friends on both sides of the parliament. Frank was born in Manchester, England, and emigrated to Whyalla in 1965. Like so many people of that era, he sought work within the steel town but also a new start with fresh opportunities. Within 10 years Frank was sitting in this place. Frank embraced the challenges of being a migrant to this country and turned them to his advantage. While working in the Whyalla shipyards, he became a leader of the labour movement and in turn a leader of his community and the state. The Frank I knew hated injustice, and it was this hatred of injustice that was fundamental to his personal politics and it formed the basis of his political engagement with the Labor Party and his community more broadly.

In preparing for this motion today I had the opportunity to reread Frank's maiden speech delivered on 13 August 1975 following his election to this place. In his first parliamentary speech he did not waste any time talking about himself, which is a lesson that perhaps many of us should have taken on board before we made our own first speeches. Frank launched into a full-scale assault on the injustices of the electoral system that at the time saw the Liberal Party hold 46 per cent of the seats in this place after only receiving 29 per cent of the vote during the election of that year.

This theme of fighting injustice was to continue throughout his life. In his parliamentary career Frank tackled all manner of matters, including issues ranging from industrial relations, which was his bread and butter, to matters of conscience such as the alternative treatments for heroin addicts and his own private member's bill, the Natural Death Act 1983. Frank was a champion of the left—we have heard that today and there is no doubt about that—but Frank also understood that the key to achieving improvements in the quality of life for working people was a strong economy and a productive workforce.

Frank dealt with many challenges in the various roles he held within the Bannon ministry. Perhaps his biggest challenge was as finance minister during the late 1980s recession, an era of low growth and dwindling state finances. Frank knew the key to overcoming this challenge, the challenge to continue to deliver a social democratic government in a time of dwindling resources, was contingent on reforming the public sector, so he set out to do just that.

However, Frank did not do this through slashing and burning. He did so through modernising the public sector and focusing the sector on its key roles; a focus on teachers, nurses and police, a focus on the services people needed, the services they deserved as hard-working citizens and taxpayers: a good education for their children, a good health system and a safe community. When he was minister for finance, Frank was quoted as saying:

We believe in this state you can do it in a sophisticated way, rather than take out the knife. The knife's effective but it's short-sighted and I object to that approach.

He went on to say:

I'm not afraid of the creation of wealth and certainly, we want to make it as easy as we can to create wealth—but if there is no such creation, there is nothing to be distributed.

Frank understood where power came from. His battle with the public sector union at the time was, of course, well publicised. Many in the union movement who did not understand the necessity of modernising and reform attacked him personally, but Frank was completely unfazed. His formidable skills as a negotiator and his commitment to a long-term vision of a prosperous state, a state that could afford the necessary services that working people and those less advantaged relied upon, won through in the end.

Through this period Frank never forgot who he represented, and again I will quote from his first speech in this place:

I represent in this council ordinary people, comprising the working class of this state who have been on the receiving end of the Hon. Mr Laidlaw's actions and policies, and I can assure the honourable member that the receiving end is not pleasant.

Frank never lost sight of who he was for. His commitment to the Labor cause continued after he left parliament, as we have already heard from honourable members. He was a regular at the Adelaide sub-branch of the ALP and he attended state convention, engaging in our debates. He supported us in other ways, too. As we have heard, he was a keen baker. He regularly dropped off home-made baked goods on his travels into the city to various ministerial offices because he knew that we needed political nourishment, but he never forgot that an army marches on its stomach and so he took care to nourish his Labor foot soldiers with his baked goods, too.

Frank is no longer with us, but his legacy is. He began his working career as a ship stoker and a tugboat seaman. He spent hours in front of a burning furnace, maintaining the fire of the steam engine with coal, sweat and determination, all to pull much larger and unwieldy ships into harbour. This perhaps can serve as a metaphor for Frank's political career. He burned with a fierce determination to fight for working people, to fight injustice and to steer a course for a better life for South Australians.

His efforts at moving the labour movement and this state into the future—a future of prosperity but one also of fairness for those less advantaged—is stuff of Labor legend and we will not forget it. The Hon. Mr Lucas, I think, talked about Frank's development from a fierce campaigner to a pragmatic statesman. I can remember some of his advice to me when I was a young Labor Party member, when he talked about how we often start out in our political life in the role of the bomb thrower, the shock troops who smash into our opponents, leaving them stunned, when elder statesmen come in to mop up, putting their arm around opponents saying, 'There, there' and driving them towards a compromise that Frank always wanted to get to in the end anyway.

Frank, I think, developed from the bomb thrower of his early days to that elder statesman who came in and cut the deals. That was his forte. That is what he did. He was a negotiator and he was a dealmaker and he usually got what he wanted in the end.

Frank can now cease from mental fight. He can pass on the sword he never let sleep in his hand. For those of us in his Labor family, we will continue his fight to build Jerusalem here in his adopted land. I offer my condolences to Doreen, his wife and lifelong love, his children and his grandchildren.

The PRESIDENT (15:33): I also wish to pay tribute to the Hon. Frank Blevins and support the comments of all honourable members. I acknowledge his exceptional work and his contribution to the community, the union movement, the workers of South Australia and the Australian Labor Party. I did have the privilege of knowing the Hon. Frank Blevins and it is with great sadness to hear of this news. On behalf of Mrs Jan Davis, Clerk of the Legislative Council, I offer our deep condolences to Doreen, family and friends in this difficult time.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.


[Sitting suspended from 15:35 to 15:53]


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