Condolence

Creedon, Hon. C.W.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:16): With the leave of the council, I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the passing of the Hon. Cecil William Creedon, former member of the Legislative Council, and places on record its appreciation of his distinguished public service and, as a mark of respect to his memory, the sitting of the council be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

I rise today to pay respect to Mr Cecil William Creedon. Although I did not know Mr Creedon personally and, although he was born in Tasmania, I understand that he raised his family of five children in Gawler, where I understand that he was a very active member of that local community. I understand that he ran a local dry cleaning business and was associated with various sporting and community organisations in the Gawler area.

Mr Creedon was also the president of the Gawler Adult Education Centre. He was clearly passionate about the local community as he served as a councillor on the Gawler council between 1960 and 1968 and then went on to become mayor between 1972 and 1978. In 1973, under a re-elected Dunstan government, Mr Creedon, along with Mr Chatterton, become the first Labor members of the Legislative Council to win seats outside the metropolitan area. At the time the Liberal and Country League, as it was known then, held a significant majority in the upper house, and this win by Labor is said to be the start of the pulling back of that majority, which we have been doing ever since.

Somewhat of a reformist, Mr Creedon was one of the first members to make an affirmation to The Queen instead of swearing on the Bible, and it was considered quite controversial at the time. Mr Creedon spent his time in parliament pursuing his interest in local government, and he also was a strong advocate for consumers. In his maiden speech he raised concerns about unscrupulous land agents, whom he described as willing 'to make as great a profit as possible at the expense of the aged or of young, inexperienced couples'.

Mr Creedon served as a member of the Legislative Council until 1985, and during that time he was a member and acting chairperson of the Joint Committee on Subordinate Legislation and also a member of the Public Works Committee. In closing, I commend Mr Creedon for his service to South Australia and to this parliament and pass on my condolences to his wife, Jessie, children, grandchildren and, I understand, great-grandchildren. We express those condolences at his passing.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): I rise to second the motion and endorse the comments made by the Leader of the Government, and add some of my own. I was saddened to hear of the passing of the Hon. Cecil Creedon. As a fellow member of this place, I extend my condolences to his family and recognise the services to South Australia that he provided during his time in the Legislative Council.

The Hon. Cecil Creedon was first elected to the Legislative Council on 10 March 1973, firstly to the Midland District and, from 1975, the state. This came after two previous attempts to enter the parliament in 1962 and 1968. Mr Creedon went on to serve in the Legislative Council for over a decade, leaving parliament in December 1985.

Mr Creedon's parliamentary career was marked with various committee memberships. He sat on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works as well as the Joint Committee on Subordinate Legislation, where he served as acting chairman in 1975. His career was also not without controversy. In 1973, along with two other members of parliament, he declined to take the oath of allegiance on the Bible, instead making an affirmation of allegiance to the Queen. When asked why he refused to swear on the Bible, Mr Creedon replied, 'That's my personal business.' The other members also commented that they would rather affirm their allegiance to Australia than the Queen.

Cecil Creedon was never afraid to stand up for his beliefs, even when it landed him in a little hot water. Mr Creedon was also slightly embarrassed in 1973 when he failed to vote on the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill which was defeated by—it says in my notes 'the Speaker's' but I suspect it was the President's casting vote. Apparently Mr Creedon was on the phone when the bells for the division were ringing and he failed to hear them, resulting in him missing the vote. I am sure members would find it almost impossible to even speak on the phone here above the loudness of the bells in some of our offices today.

During his time in parliament, Mr Creedon fought for increasing service delivery for poorer members of the community. He fought tirelessly to expand public patient access to the Hutchinson Hospital. He also campaigned for better vehicle access and parking in the Gawler central commercial district. Before entering parliament Cecil Creedon ran a dry-cleaning business (Creedon's Dry Cleaners) and he had been a member of the Gawler corporation for eight years. He was also mayor of Gawler from 1972 to 1978, and the president of the Gawler Adult Education Centre. Married with five children, Mr Creedon lived in Gawler for much of his life and was heavily involved in the community, especially with sporting and community organisations.

I am sure Mr Creedon will be sorely missed by his family and his parliamentary colleagues. I thank him for his services to South Australia and pass on our condolences to his family and friends.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:22): I rise to support the statements made by both leaders in this chamber. Obviously, I am the only member in this chamber who served for a brief period with Cecil Creedon (or Cec Creedon), affectionately known to me and some others as Cecil B. DeCreedon, for what might not be obvious reasons.

I served for the first three years of my parliamentary term learning the ropes in the Legislative Council and, as the leaders have outlined, he was one of the more experienced members of the Legislative Council at that stage, having served for approximately a decade. He was, as many of the members in the Legislative Council were in those days—both Labor and Liberal—a thoroughly decent person, a gentleman in terms of his handling of relationships with other members of parliament and, to my knowledge and understanding, certainly with the staff of the Legislative Council and parliament at the time.

My colleague the Hon. Mr Ridgway has referred to one or two of the more controversial elements of the Hon. Mr Creedon's career but I suspect (certainly to my knowledge) there were not a significant number of those in his 12 years or so of service. He was not noted to be a controversial contributor to the parliament or to the Legislative Council during his 12 years. He was a loyal servant of his party and the communities that he sought to represent.

As I said, he was not a noted and controversial contributor. For example, in recent years we have referred to the service of the Hon. Norm Foster who was known as 'Stormy Normie'. In that case it was for obvious reasons because he was a stormy and controversial contributor on a range of issues in the parliament. I only have one recollection of having a disagreement with the Hon. Mr Creedon (or Cecil B. DeCreedon) and that was in his valedictory contribution, or his parting speech to the Legislative Council. Having served loyally for 12 years or so in the Legislative Council and having thanked everybody and acknowledged his 12 years of service, he then called for the abolition of the Legislative Council—which, as I pointed out to 'Cecil B. DeCreedon' afterwards, I thought it was rather convenient that, having served 12 years in the Legislative Council, he then started the battle for the abolition of the Legislative Council.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Timing is everything.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Timing is everything as the Hon. Mr Hunter indicated. I thought, perhaps, if he wanted to take up that battle he might have started it a bit earlier than his farewell contribution to the Legislative Council. Obviously, on that issue we disagreed, and disagreed strongly, in terms of our view as to the merits and usefulness of the role of the Legislative Council in our system of parliament in South Australia.

My recollections of the three years that I served with the Hon. Mr Creedon, as I said, are fond memories and, certainly, I would like to join with the two leaders in passing on my condolences to his family and friends and also acknowledge the service he gave to his party, the parliament and his community.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:25): I rise to support the motion. It seems as if, other than the Hon. Mr Lucas, I might be the only other member of this chamber who knew the Hon. Cecil Creedon (Cec, as he was well known).

I suppose I remember him well initially because he served in this chamber with my father for nine years, and they also shared another similarity in that, as was mentioned, the Hon. Mr Creedon was mayor of Gawler and for part of the time he was mayor of Gawler he served in this chamber. That was quite common at the time because, when my father first became a member of this place, he was the chairman of the district council of Mudla Wirra, which most of you would never have heard of, but I will keep the name Mudla Wirra alive forever. It was quite a common thing for members of parliament. The Hon. Dr Bruce Eastick was mayor of Gawler when he first entered parliament and went back to being mayor of Gawler at the end of his parliamentary career. That cannot be done now, by law.

Certainly, Cec Creedon was well known for his dry cleaning business in Gawler and for his strong support of his family. I made mention of the Hon. Mr Creedon in my maiden speech because, as a former mayor of Gawler and a dedicated Labor stalwart, he was the most recent resident of the town in which I lived to serve in this chamber, and I said at the time that I enjoyed our conversations when we occasionally met at community functions.

I have not seen a great deal of the Hon. Mr Creedon in recent years. The last time I saw him he was showing the effects of age, and there is no doubt about that, but he greeted me with as much friendship as I ever received from him previously. I appreciate the humour and the regard with which the Hon. Mr Lucas has referred to the Hon. Mr Creedon, because he was one of the first country ALP MLCs, as the Leader of the Government mentioned, but he was always someone who enjoyed friendship across the chamber. Certainly, I know that my father and he got on very well, considering that they were both MLCs based within a very short distance of each other. In saying those things, I extend my condolences to the Creedon family.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.

Sitting suspended from 14:29 to 14:44.