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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-02-09 Daily Xml
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Condolence

Bannon, Hon. Dr J.C.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Employment, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:19): By leave, I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the recent death of the Hon. Dr John Charles Bannon, a former Premier of South Australia, minister of the Crown and member of the House of Assembly, and places on record its appreciation of his distinguished 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.

Those who reach the highest echelons of public service know that history can make mixed judgements as to the legacies of even great leaders. Those who accept the mantle of leadership must submit themselves to the judgement of the public—this is well understood. And so, to many people, it often comes across as shrill and sour when former political leaders protest that their good work was misunderstood or unfairly overshadowed by mistakes or misfortunes not of their own making. John Bannon never did this.

He was one, amongst former leaders, who endured more criticism than most, but endure it he did, and he bore everything that was thrown at him with patience, grace and integrity. It did not concern him whether the criticism was or was not fairly deserved. Among the South Australian Labor contingent of this time, it may well have been John Bannon himself who protested the least about how his government's legacy was perceived, and that speaks directly to John's character.

I will leave his character aside for a moment and spend a short while speaking of John Bannon's economic legacy, something that he never himself felt the need to do. A lot of what is South Australia today is because of the input of John Bannon as Premier and Treasurer of this state. Under his stewardship, the South Australian economy was modernised at a tremendous pace, and he remained unfailingly committed to the economic and social development of this state throughout his almost decade of premiership.

He laid the foundations for many things that remain to this day crucial to the South Australian economic landscape. John Bannon's government won the right to build the submarines at Osborne and established the ASC, an institution of South Australian manufacturing, one of which John Bannon rightly remained proud throughout his life and of which many South Australians are rightly very proud. He brought the Riverbank Precinct to life with the development of the Convention Centre and the Adelaide Casino, beginning a project that is still ongoing today and continues to lift the tourism prospects and cultural life of Adelaide, carrying on John Bannon's proud work.

He was a key player in the development, as a member of SACA, of the new Adelaide Oval and footbridge, to which the Riverbank Precinct is closely defined. He lured the Formula One Grand Prix to Adelaide in 1985, which, as it became part of the Formula One World Championship that year, put Adelaide on the world map as an events destination. We continue to benefit from the international recognition that the Grand Prix gained us, and this government honours the work by continuing to expand upon that reputation.

He established the Entertainment Centre and sporting complex precinct at Hindmarsh, which are now fixtures in the cultural and social life of our city and our state. His administration saw the establishment of the Olympic Dam mine, which remains a giant of South Australia's resources landscape, even amidst the current global economic difficulties.

Everything John Bannon did as Premier he did to build a stronger and better South Australia. Everything he did as Premier he did with a keen and highly consistent focus on the future of our economy and our community. Everything he did as Premier he did in a manner consistent with his personal qualities. He served with profound humanity, with unfaltering decency and extraordinary strength of character.

I am sure everyone here knows that, after leaving parliament, John Bannon remained involved and connected in a quiet and unassuming way to South Australia and its people. In particular, he was always mentoring and guiding young people who were finding their way into the South Australian Labor Party. One such young person was myself. During his time as Premier I was too young and not particularly engaged with politics to understand what John Bannon and the Labor Party were doing at the time, but as I got older and my engagement with politics and the Labor Party deepened, I was fortunate to come to know John Bannon as a person and as a mentor.

In the late 1990s, John occasionally would attend the Adelaide sub-branch meeting of the Labor Party and thoughtfully and respectfully put forward his views. Fortunately, he never needed to defend his government's legacy at the Adelaide sub-branch because both Frank Blevins and Anne Levy were members of that branch and did that with great vigour. John also made a very significant contribution post politics to the cultural, sporting and educational life of this state. He served on the board of our national broadcaster, the ABC, and on the South Australian Cricket Board.

He was also the head of St Mark's College, one of the residential colleges in North Adelaide, from 2000 until 2007. It was during this time that I got to know John particularly well. St Mark's is not an institution that is well known for having an abundance of openly ALP-supporting individuals, so having a former Labor premier as the Master of the College was something a bit different.

As a recent-ish former uni student from the country, I lived at St Mark's College for most of the 1990s and was a member of the college's governing council for much of the time that John Bannon was Master. At St Mark's, he oversaw an ambitious program, significantly modernising the college not only physically but in terms of the attitudes of the institution. The way he worked cooperatively and respectfully to overcome obstacles and bring people on board was a valuable lesson.

Just over a decade ago, my wife (also a former St Mark's College resident) and I were married and the reception was held at St Mark's College. Instead of having many lengthy speeches, we had a debate, which was overseen by John Bannon. John was in exceptionally fine form the night he spoke at my wedding and thoroughly entertained the guests, many of whom had not seen that lighter, more mischievous side of John Bannon.

Over the last decade, I would regularly catch up with John for advice or a laugh and I greatly valued his views and thoughts, even though many of them were unsolicited. In everything John did, his most striking qualities were his openness, his accessibility, his kindness and the warmth that he brought to every human interaction. John Bannon offered the fruits of his friendship without seeking anything in return and without discrimination.

He was a profoundly and intensely decent human being who, throughout his life at a number of points, endured awful circumstances with unshakeable dignity and grace. He struggled with a long and difficult illness and to the very end was participating in the shared social life of the community, quietly and unassumingly but with the same enthusiasm and energy that he brought to his premiership.

In his own words, as Premier, John Bannon did the job 'as honestly and as competently' as he could. I do not know that anyone on any side of politics ever questioned John Bannon's honesty, and if you just look around you can easily see what he did and what he built. I think we have come a long way since the John Bannon era, not in spite of what he did but because of it.

His legacy is everywhere in this state both seen and unseen. His influence, his vision, his boldness and his gentleness are written into the South Australian DNA and will remain with us. We are in many ways living in the South Australia that John Bannon helped build and he will always be with us in that way.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:27): I rise to endorse the remarks made by the Leader of the Government in relation to the life of the Hon. John Bannon. The Hon. John Bannon has been described as a fine servant of his party, his state and our country.

The Prime Minister spoke of John Bannon, as he had been involved up until recently with the expert advisory panel on the reform of commonwealth-state financial relations. Malcolm Turnbull commented that John Bannon spoke with the wisdom of experience and the clarity and enthusiasm of someone totally committed to the issues of today and the challenges of tomorrow.

He attended St Peter's College, having won a scholarship, and graduated top of the state in English, going on to complete arts and law degrees at Adelaide University. He was already very interested in politics and became president of the national union of Australian students in 1968 and also represented the state in debating.

The Canberra Times described that period of his life as the archetypal rocket burst of energy and talent that heralds a brilliant career. Sure enough, at the age of 25, he was almost preselected for the Senate. Things might have been very different if he had been preselected for the Senate. Instead, he spent the next few years learning the ropes of the union and the Labor Party from within the Australian Workers' Union. In the Whitlam years, he worked for Clyde Cameron before returning to the South Australian department of labour and industry, where he remained until his election in 1977.

Mr John Bannon, as we know, was Premier of South Australia through a particularly dark economic period, from 1982 to 1992. Mr Bannon's political legacy was overshadowed by the State Bank, but I will use this opportunity to comment on some of the more positive aspects of his time.

As the Leader of the Government mentioned, he is credited with the establishment of the Olympic Dam uranium and copper mine near Roxby Downs, but of course we do have to remember that it was the very hard work done by the previous Liberal government in getting the indenture through this parliament that allowed that to happen.

He also brought the Grand Prix, as the minister mentioned. I think that was a significant step, focusing some global attention on our city and proving that we could run big events. He did, indeed, open the Convention Centre and also the Casino when gambling was brought to South Australia, and the pokies are a legacy of the Hon. John Bannon's time as well.

Another thing that he is credited with is the O-Bahn which was built to the north-eastern suburbs and opened in 1986. While it was opened in 1986, again, it was off the back of a commitment from the Tonkin government to build a busway up that corridor. I think the Labor Party's policy was some sort of light rail transit policy but, nonetheless, in a sign of good bipartisanship, it was Premier Bannon and his government who continued with the O-Bahn and then opened it in 1986. He handed back the radiation-tainted Maralinga lands to the traditional owners in 1984 and, as the minister and Leader of the Government mentioned, he lobbied for the submarine industry to be established in South Australia.

More so than his political achievements, our condolences should touch on the character of those paying tribute, and I respect that, other than his wife, Angela, some of his party colleagues probably knew him best.

I had an opportunity to meet the Hon. John Bannon in 1983. As members would know, I was involved in the Rural Youth Movement of South Australia and we had a fundraising bike-a-thon where we rode from all over the state to Adelaide. I rode from the South-East. It also included the West Coast and Yorke Peninsula. Interestingly, there were no bike helmets, lycra or one-metre rules but, nonetheless, we rode down the main highway to meet the Premier in Victoria Square. We were delighted that he saw fit to come and meet us and welcome us to the city. I cannot recall the charity we raised money for, but we raised several thousand dollars for that particular charity.

At his funeral, Mike Rann said of Mr Bannon that he did not know anyone in public life more deserving of the title 'honourable' and that the respect which many had for him was due to:

…his character, his conduct in good times and bad times, his innate decency, his grace under immense pressure, his self-effacing sense of duty and his abiding courage.

Undoubtedly, John Bannon tirelessly served as a member of parliament because he loved South Australia and was motivated by a desire to make the state a better place, and in many ways he did that.

After politics, Mr Bannon maintained a keen interest in the arts and sport, the Casino complex, and promoting the arts and tourism sectors. He leaves behind his wife, Angela Bannon, his daughter, Victoria, and their two stepsons, and I offer our condolences to them.

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:31): I also rise to pass on my condolences regarding the loss of Mr Bannon. I do not profess to have known Mr Bannon particularly well, certainly not as well as the Hon. Kyam Maher, but throughout the course of 2015 I did get the very gracious opportunity to have a couple of moments to spend with the Hon. Mr Bannon.

In 2015, I gave a speech which was attended by the President of the Australian Hotels Association, Mr Peter Hurley, who had a long-term and ongoing friendship with Mr Bannon. During my speech, I referred to Charles Kingston and Mr Hurley was very quick to point out to me that the ultimate authority on Charles Kingston was, of course, John Bannon and suggested that he and I catch up for a bite at some point and so we did; in fact, we did it twice during the course of 2015.

During those luncheon catch-ups what struck me was the depth of knowledge across a whole broad range of areas that Mr Bannon had. We spoke about a great range of issues, but at the centre of all our discussions were cricket and politics, obviously two passions that we both shared. It is fair to say that Mr Bannon could speak about both subjects with far more authority than I, he being an historian on both particular pastimes or passions.

But what really struck me about my time spent with John Bannon was his enormous humility and dignity. It was impossible to walk away from any interaction with him without really being struck by his humility and dignity, despite the fact that there was so much for him not to be humble about.

Fortuitously, the evening following the first time that we met over lunch was the celebration that the Australian Labor Party was putting on to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the election of the Walsh government. I was emceeing that event and, like all good Labor Party events, there were way too many speakers who thought it was a good idea to speak for way too long. I think there were five speakers that night in total. Each of them took the liberty to speak well beyond their welcome—of course, the Premier was not included in that list—but of all those speakers the one who really stole the show was John Bannon. He had everyone in that room in the palm of his hand. He spoke with authority, passion and a degree of intensity.

He was extraordinarily engaging, but the thing that really took me was that he was incredibly funny. Mr Bannon was able to recite stories from over a lengthy period—some of them not worth repeating here, or should not be repeated here—but they were very engaging and he was very, very funny. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Mr Bannon was truly a scholar and a gentleman, and he will be very much missed by all, particularly by his friends within the Australian Labor Party, and I very much hope that he rests in peace.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:35): I rise to support the comments that have been made by the Leader of the Government, the Leader of the Opposition and the Hon. Mr Malinauskas, and I do not intend to repeat the comments they have made.

I knew John Bannon over a significant period of time. I would have met him sometime in the late 1970s when I was working for the Liberal Party, but my coming to the state parliament was at the time when John Bannon was elected in 1982. As the Labor staffers on Twitter and Labor ministers like to remind me, my first extensive period in opposition was as an opposition member under the Bannon government of that period, from 1982 to the early 1990s.

I can only concur, as a political opponent, with the comments the Leader of the Government and the Hon. Mr Malinauskas have made in relation to John Bannon as a person. Whilst we clearly had significant political differences on a variety of issues, from my viewpoint today is not the time to explore any of those. John Bannon was unfailingly courteous in his dealings with not only members of his own party, I suspect, but also with members of the opposition and the crossbenches (and they were not as prolific in those days as they are now in terms of number) but he was also unfailingly courteous, and I think this is always a testament to a judgement you make about a person, with the staff around Parliament House.

You can find some people who are courteous to their members and colleagues, and even sometimes to their political opponents, but maybe not always as courteous in their dealings with the staff. I would be very surprised if any member who spoke to members of staff of the parliament who had any dealings with John Bannon as a person would find criticism from those staff members in terms of their dealings with him. Let me assure you that is not always true—whether it be of Labor members or indeed of Liberal members. Let me not be political about this: there are members on all sides of the political fence who do not always treat the staff with the dignified approach that John Bannon did and members should in terms of treating their staff.

I agree with the comments that have been made in relation to his sense of humour which belies the public perception of him as a person. What also might belie his public perception is that I had considerable dealing with John through the parliamentary cricket team, a member who was elected with a great passion for maintaining, at that stage, the tradition of the annual press versus parliament cricket game—something which, sadly, has died over the last four or five years.

During those early years, even though he was very busy, John Bannon's love of cricket came through. He could not always attend, but when he did we would sometimes have to squeeze him in for an hour here and there around the lunch break, when he would roll his arm over, have a bit of a bat and then disappear to get on with the business of the state.

John was a very tidy left arm orthodox bowler in those days. I notice that in one of the media commentary someone referred to him as a leg spin bowler. That may have been the case in his youth, but I can assure members that, during his more advanced years as a member of the parliament team that took on the press, he was a very tidy left arm orthodox spin bowler.

He bowled a good length and kept at bay people like Rex Jory, Chris Kenny and others who might have played for the press team (although that might have predated Chris a little bit I suspect). Again, he was courteous and gentle even with members of the media, who probably the other 364 days of the year were engaging in a blood sport of media versus politics; nevertheless, he put that aside in his dealings with the press gallery during that particular occasion.

The other recollection I want to make in relation to cricket, without going into detail, is that John Bannon and I had quite a bizarre mutual acquaintance in Rodney Cavalier who, as Labor Party members would know, was a famed headkicker from the New South Wales Labor Party. He, too, shared a tremendous passion for cricket, and I think he wrote an article recently which reflected on that.

During January, I would occasionally run into Rodney wandering the streets of Adelaide before he headed down to the Adelaide Oval for the annual catch-up with John, and other friends as I read, and he would also reciprocate when John went to Sydney. There was one occasion when I was in Sydney as well, and I think when we were eventually in government at one stage, when I ran into Rodney and John at the Sydney Cricket Ground where Rodney was reciprocating.

Rod Cavalier, from a Labor Party colleague, would tell many a story; again, as the Hon. Mr Malinauskas has indicated, perhaps now is not the occasion to share many of the reflections. Rod Cavalier as a Labor friend and colleague would share very fondly private recollections of his time with John, his impersonations of various people, and the recollections and anecdotes that John was able to reel off at the drop of a hat.

With that, I want to join with the Leader of the Government, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Hon. Mr Malinauskas, in paying public tribute to the commitment from John Bannon not only to his party but to the State of South Australia and to the Parliament of South Australia, and then after that again to the community through the various good works that he undertook, in particular and most prominently through SACA and the work that went into the development of Adelaide Oval. My condolences go to his family and his friends.

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:43): I also rise to support this motion. First of all, I would like to pass on my condolences and prayers to John Bannon's family: his wife, Angela; his daughter, Victoria, and his stepson, Dylan. May I talk about John from the Vietnamese community's perspective. I know that other honourable members have already spoken about his achievements. I did not know John Bannon during his time as a member of parliament or when he was Premier. When I was young, I did not pay much attention to politics.

I only met John a few times when he attended a number of functions organised by the Vietnamese community and I remember seeing him at a number of functions including the Children's Festival (the Full Moon Festival) and the Vietnamese New Year. When John Bannon was Premier, the Vietnamese community was an emerging community. In the last few days, I have spoken to a few people from the community who were involved in those days and they all spoke about the respect John showed to the Vietnamese community.

In those early days, the community was trying to integrate into the wider Australian community. We wanted to showcase our culture and art and also to say thanks to Australia. For John as Premier to attend those functions, it gave the Vietnamese community a sense that they were being accepted in this country. He may not be aware of it but his attendance gave a big morale boost to the organisers, and many people in the community felt a sense of belonging.

I have a personal story which I would like to share. At one of the functions that John attended my sister and her family took a photo with him and, when my sister was trying to sponsor my parents to come to Australia from Vietnam, I believe the application got rejected. The advice was to put further information towards the application, so we used the photo that we took with John as a backup, as a way of demonstrating that we were involved with the wider community. Surprisingly, the application got approved. However, my parents already were accepted into the US where there were nine other children, so they decided it was best that they go there rather than here where there were only three of us. That is my personal story from my family.

In Vietnam and in many parts of the world it is not always easy to get a member of parliament to attend one of your functions, let alone a premier. It was surprising to many people in those days to see the Premier and other MPs attending functions and to see how down to earth the Premier and other MPs were. It was very special to see politicians also joining the celebration. That is why now, as a member of parliament, I always make every attempt to attend as many of those ethnic functions as I can because I know it is very important to those migrant communities. Finally, on behalf of many early Vietnamese migrants who knew him, I thank him for the respect that he showed to the community. May he rest in peace.

The PRESIDENT (14:47): As there are no further speakers, I would like to say a few words. I had the pleasure of being a member of John Bannon's sub-branch in the early 1980s when he became Premier and I was president of his sub-branch for a couple of those years. It was obvious by the Hon. Mr Bannon's contributions to the sub-branch that he was a man of great conviction. He knew where he wanted to take the state and he knew how he was going to get it there. It is amazing how we can forget the contribution of some of our previous premiers. When you read the contributions and what the Hon. Mr Bannon did, it is quite astounding the significant legacy that he left for this state. I send my deepest condolences to his wife, Angela, and his family. He is a person who will be very truly missed.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.

Sitting suspended from 14:50 to 15:05.

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