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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
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Condolence

Griffin, Hon. K.T.

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) (14:17): I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the recent passing of the Hon. Kenneth Trevor Griffin, former minister of the Crown and member of the Legislative Council, and places on record its appreciation of his distinguished service, and that 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 respects to the Hon. Trevor Griffin, a 24-year veteran of this place and a loyal servant to the people of South Australia. On 7 March this year, Trevor Griffin, one of the state's longest serving attorneys-general, passed away at the age of 74. Our thoughts and condolences go to his wife, Val, their sons, Mark and Tim, and to the extended family.

Trevor Griffin's parliamentary career is one of extraordinary duration. In March 1978, Trevor Griffin was appointed to fill a casual vacancy as a result of the untimely passing of Frank Potter, the council president. As he remarked in his maiden speech at the time, he found himself one week quietly going about his profession as a legal practitioner and the next week up on his feet in this place, the Legislative Council, making speeches and debating, and clearly a little stunned at the suddenness of the transition.

This career shift obviously suited his temperament, as he was to remain here for nearly a quarter of a century. By the time Trevor Griffin retired in February 2002, he had served as the attorney-general under three premiers: David Tonkin, Dean Brown and John Olsen. He was also, at various times, minister for corporate affairs, consumer affairs, justice, police, correctional affairs and emergency services.

He was very highly regarded by many in this building for the admirable qualities he brought to the job: a keen sense of integrity, a reputation for scrupulous fair-mindedness, and a work ethic that was calm, methodical and meticulous. These are excellent qualifications for a legislator, and Trevor Griffin's legacy in that regard is incredibly impressive.

He could point with quiet pride to some of the more significant pieces of South Australian legislation of recent decades, such as the Aboriginal Land Rights Bill, the Roxby Downs Indenture Bill and many, many others. From my perspective, as Minister for the Status of Women, I particularly note his introduction in 1994 of South Australia's first specific legislation on domestic violence. As a result of this law, the crime of domestic violence had a legal definition in this state.

He also introduced specific domestic violence restraining orders, along with the legal recognition that the protection of victims of domestic violence was a priority when bail decisions were being made in court. Despite the efforts of members on both sides of the council, the scourge of domestic violence is, unfortunately, still with us. Trevor Griffin's key role in the 1994 DV legislation inspires us to continue and build upon that tradition of bipartisanship.

In retirement, Trevor was lucky enough to be able to devote some of his time to winemaking in the Kuitpo Forest area south of Adelaide. I understand he had a certain aptitude in relation to his winemaking skills and techniques. Trevor Griffin's political career has been described as being that of a quiet achiever. This would undersell a politician with a very impressive legislative record who was widely trusted across party lines. He was one of those special figures who are a rock of political stability in our history and, as such, is deserving of our gratitude and thanks, and our acknowledgement. Vale Kenneth Trevor Griffin.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): I rise to second the motion and endorse the comments made by the Leader of the Government and add a few comments of my own. First, I would like to extend my condolences to Trevor's wife, his two sons and all of his family through what must be a very difficult time.

The Hon. Kenneth Trevor Griffin had an enviable and distinguished parliamentary career. After being elected to this place in 1978, Trevor was re-elected three times, serving over two decades. He served as a minister, as a leader of the government in this place and in the shadow ministry. Prior to his entering politics, Trevor studied for a Bachelor of Laws and even obtained a Master of Laws from the Adelaide University. He went on to practise as a barrister and solicitor for some years before being elected to the Legislative Council.

In light of Trevor's legal background, it was appropriate that soon after his election in 1979 he was appointed as South Australia's Attorney-General. It was in his capacity as Attorney-General that Trevor was able to accomplish many great feats. Trevor's passion for the law saw him invoke much change throughout his time as South Australia's attorney. I do not think time will permit me to stand here and list all of the legislation that Trevor influenced or, in some way, may have changed for the better.

Perhaps some of Trevor's more notable achievements included ensuring the passage of the Roxby Downs Indenture Bill, the Pitjantjatjara Lands Rights legislation, the court redevelopment which led to the creation of the Sir Samuel Way building, and his work introducing, as the Leader of the Government mentioned, the Domestic Violence Act, just to name a few.

Trevor's distinguished and successful parliamentary career was a great achievement. However, it is something else to gain the respect and trust of your peers, even your adversaries, and Trevor did just that. Trevor was praised as a splendid parliamentary performer by the current Speaker in the other place, a former attorney-general himself and the member for Croydon. It is a testament to Trevor's character and aptitude to win the respect and admiration of his counterpart. I found a little quote from the member for Croydon in an old newspaper article which was celebrating Trevor's 20-year milestone in parliament and all of his achievements. Quite fittingly, the article was entitled 'The Quiet Achiever'.

I personally did not know Trevor as well as some of my colleagues, who will speak on this motion in just a moment, however, I do recall an evening lining up to sign in at our Liberal Party State Council meeting. It was a cold winter's night and we were all a bit annoyed that we had to be out on this night. Trevor was in the queue in front of me and I said, 'This is the sort of night I'd much rather be home with a glass of red watching the Crows or the footy on telly.' He said, 'Oh, no, I'd much rather be home with a good murder mystery and a cup of tea.' It was quite interesting that his appreciation of a good evening was a cup of tea and a good book, and mine was watching the footy with a glass of red.

However, after politics Trevor continued to live an enviable life. Trevor retired from politics in 2002 and, on moving to the family farm in Kuitpo, he ran a vineyard. I am not sure he moved there, but certainly he enjoyed a lot of time down at Kuitpo. This property has been in the Griffin family for over 40 years. Trevor used it as an oasis, his own private getaway where he could relax and escape the hustle and bustle of politics. It was a fitting setting for his retirement and life after politics.

The legislation Trevor influenced throughout his time as attorney-general has affected every South Australian in some way, whether they are aware of it or not. All South Australians have much to thank the Hon. Trevor Griffin for. It is with these comments that I endorse the motion before the house and send my sincere condolences once again to the entire Griffin family.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (14:25): I am honoured to be able to join and support the motion that has been moved by the Leader of the Government and supported by the Leader of the Opposition to pay tribute to Trevor Griffin: a friend, a parliamentary college for 20 years, and someone whom I knew in various capacities over a period of about 40 years; a man of absolute integrity, respected by colleagues all, and someone whose great loves in life in my view were, first, family, secondly, the Liberal Party, and, thirdly and most importantly, Mr President, the Legislative Council as an institution.

My first recollections of Trevor were from the early 1970s when, as a longer-haired, fresher-faced, darker-haired research officer for the Liberal Party—Trevor was the party president at the time, so it would have been the period 1973 through to 1976, some time during that period—I was sent to Trevor's legal office, which was in some street in the city, in the CBD. The name of the firm, I think, was Griffin Hume & Co. (I could not swear to that, but it was his legal firm at the time). I remember climbing the stairs—it was relatively darkly lit—and being invited into the office to speak to the then president of the party about some particular issue or other.

As I think I have said before in this place, my fondest recollection of that office was having to step around neatly placed piles of papers on the floor. Those who know my office know that I followed a very good role model in Trevor. In my office, papers are on tables, drawers and on cupboards, but in Trevor's office then there were neatly piled legal documents not only on the table, on his desk and on the cupboards but also on the floor, which I managed to step my way around to sit down and have the discussion with him.

As I said, that is my earliest recollection. My most recent recollection, I am pleased to say, was late last year when my wife, Marie, and I, joined Val and Trevor at drinks that had been organised by former colleague, Legh Davis, at his home in North Adelaide. It was pre-Christmas drinks some time late last year, where we caught up, and that was the last time that I saw Trevor.

Trevor's background is that he was one of five children and grew up in Goodwood and Plympton. The family originally came from Strathalbyn. The family moved to Adelaide as a result of the depression. His family and parents were heavily involved in the Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Fellowship Association, a connection that Trevor maintained.

Trevor attended Scotch College on a scholarship. While at Scotch he was awarded a sports blue for athletics. His specialities, believe it or not as a relatively diminutive person, were the 100 metre sprint, which is fair enough, but hurdling and long jump. He went on, when at the University of Adelaide, to get a half blue from that university in athletics. He was involved competitively in athletics, I am told, until his early 30s. I know another former colleague of ours who was an outstanding athlete, the Hon. Julian Stefani, who was a 400-metre runner (440 yards I suspect it was in those days), and he indicated that he was aware of Trevor's athletic prowess. Those who knew Trevor as a conservative, diminutive attorney-general would have found it hard to believe that he was an outstanding sportsperson and athlete, from not only his school days and university days, but as an adult into his early 30s.

As others have mentioned, he went on to the law. Trevor was articled to Howard Zelling and became a partner in Dr Zelling's law firm and, as I think the Hon. Mr Ridgway indicated, completed a Masters of Law. I am told his thesis was on the constitutional validity of the income tax act; I am sure it would have been a riveting read at the time.

Trevor's involvement in the Liberal Party started in the 1960s. He was actually a candidate for the Liberal Party in the House of Assembly seat of Brighton in 1970. Thank goodness he was unsuccessful. In that particular election, the three candidates at the time were political giants in a different way for their respective parties: Hugh Hudson, as members of the Labor Party would know very well, was one of the intellectual giants of the Labor Party of the time, and a loyal servant to the party; the DLP candidate at the time was actually someone who will be fondly known to members of the right of the Labor Party, the godfather of the Labor right, Ted Farrell, the father of Don Farrell. Ted had been the DLP candidate half a dozen times, and his preferences assisted, in the end, in part, in getting Hugh Hudson across the line. Trevor, of course, ultimately went on to be successful in the Legislative Council.

Trevor was not only a member of the Liberal Party, as I indicated earlier, but he was party president from 1973 to 1976. Prior to that, he was a vice president of the party for a couple of years. Again, for those students of history, the early '70s was a period of tremendous turmoil in the Liberal Party, with the split of the Liberal Party and the advent of the Liberal Movement. I think one of the great testimonies to Trevor is that perhaps one of his political opponents (internally, anyway) at the time, Legh Davis, who was actively engaged in the Liberal Movement in the early '70s, became, over a period of many years, one of Trevor's closest friends. As I said, the drinks that we had prior to Christmas last year were organised at Legh's house in North Adelaide.

As I indicated earlier, Trevor's great love in terms of parliamentary politics, or in politics, was the Legislative Council. He had been a great defender of the role of the Legislative Council all through his period in parliament and also even when he left the parliament. In preparing for today's speech, I learned a couple of other connections to the Legislative Council prior to his election in 1978. Our Clerk, Jan Davis, tells me that Trevor, as a solicitor, did all the legal work for her husband Peter Davis's business firm prior to Trevor coming into the Legislative Council.

As we looked at one of the old select committees of the Legislative Council in 1977—one of those hybrid bill select committees that we have to establish—in those days, they actually did them in an assiduous way: they actually advertised widely; they took evidence, rather than treating them as a matter of form and process. This select committee was on the Uniting Church, and Trevor was one of many—I think there were 11 separate meetings of that select committee—representing the Presbyterian Church. I think his title, as he is listed in the minutes of the select committee proceedings, was Procurator of the Presbyterian Church of South Australia in 1977. For those of you who need to check, just go off and check your Wikipedia or dictionary to find out about the technical term of 'procurator of the Presbyterian Church'—a challenge for all of you.

As has been indicated earlier, Trevor was elected on 7 March. As we heard from the Leader of the Government, 7 March was the day Trevor actually passed. He was elected to this chamber on that particular day in 1978. For those in my party who sometimes complain about the time to prepare themselves for preselections: Frank Potter died on 26 February, on a Sunday, and my recollection is that four days later, on the Friday night, I think it was, we convened the 220 or 240-member strong state council from all over South Australia.

So, within five days, we had the preselection, and Trevor was elected on the Friday night. He was sworn in on the following Tuesday and then, as the Leader of the Government indicated, he spoke on the local government bill the following week as his maiden speech. It is intriguing how the times have changed. The thing that intrigued me was that, as Trevor gave his maiden speech, there was a point of order from the then president of the Legislative Council, and let me read it in full:

Order! I notice a person smoking in the gallery and I ask him to desist. The Hon. Mr Griffin.

So, times have changed, Mr President, in more ways than one. We actually had people with the temerity to pull out a gaff and have a smoke in the Legislative Council. I presume it was in the President's gallery at that particular time.

As has been indicated, Trevor was a minister from 1979 to 1982 in the Tonkin government and from 1993 to 2002. I will not repeat all of his portfolios but, can I say, having worked with Trevor, as I said, as a parliamentary colleague for 20 years and as a ministerial colleague for just over eight years, Trevor was an intellectual giant. He was a policy powerhouse within all the fora of the Liberal Party; whether it was the party room, the state council, the shadow cabinet or the cabinet, he was a policy powerhouse.

He had a prodigious work ethic. He was a tremendous team player, an attribute that many of us can aspire to, I think, in terms of always putting the team and the party first rather than seeking the personal glory that sometimes some of us in politics seek to do. He was also trusted by all of his colleagues and trusted in particular and most importantly by each of his parliamentary leaders. He was a loyal supporter and servant. Whether in fact he might have been someone who voted for or against them in the leadership ballot that might have elected the particular leader, in the end, he gave loyal, trusted, 100 per cent support to the elected leader of the day.

Whenever there was a crisis—and believe it or not, Mr President, even under Liberal governments there were the occasional crises that eventuated; I am sure ministerial colleagues from the government will know that, occasionally, I am sure, the odd crisis pops up—the steady hand of someone with experience, with knowledge, and who was trusted to provide advice around the cabinet table and around the committees was invaluable.

I have said before on a number of occasions when in 1993 I was first elected as a minister and later as leader here, as a new minister sitting around the cabinet table, having the corporate experience of people like Trevor—and we were lucky that we also had Dean Brown and John Olsen who had previous experience some 10 years prior to that as part of the Tonkin government—was invaluable to newbie ministers. In particular, because Trevor was from the Legislative Council, his corporate experience and knowledge were invaluable. His wise counsel was always sought, and not just by leaders but by ministerial colleagues and by backbench members.

In addition to being, as I said, a policy powerhouse, having a prodigious work ethic, being a team player and trusted by his colleagues, the other comment I would make in relation to Trevor's contribution to the parliament, as well as his great love of and support for this chamber as an important chamber, Trevor was one of the few who I would say, from my long period in the chamber, was an outstanding legislator. He was someone who engaged actively within the party room on all bills, not just the legal bills for which he had responsibility.

He would look at the dotting of the Is and the crossing of the Ts of all the bills that came before the parliament, and he would assist ministers or shadow ministers alike in identifying problems in their own legislation or in the government legislation. He would look at the loopholes and the problems from a legislative viewpoint and certainly legislation, whether it be that of his own government or our government or indeed the Labor governments of the time, was much improved because of the work that Trevor himself devoted to the cause.

In looking at the contributions that people make to the chamber, I want to now refer to some comments that others have made about Trevor's time. Other colleagues have referred to a story headed 'The quiet achiever'—an article written by Greg Kelton, who sadly also has passed away, from the Adelaide Advertiser, on Trevor's 20th anniversary in the parliament. Let me quote Greg Kelton:

Labor MPs say he is a man who can be trusted and trust is something which is not earned lightly in the cut and thrust of the political world. Mr Griffin is credited with having helped pilot some of the most important legislation the state has had to tackle such as the Roxby Downs indenture, Aboriginal land rights and new rights for de facto spouses.

He also refers later on in his article to his ability to keep confidences. He quotes Trevor as saying, and I can just see him saying it now:

'When people talk to me, they know it is not going to go further than me,' he said.

Indeed, that is a quote I have heard Trevor use on a number of occasions. I want to refer to some tributes that other members of the Legislative Council put on the record when I moved a motion on 5 March 2002 to acknowledge the service of Trevor and others who had just left the parliament. The first one was from the former leader of the Labor Party in the Legislative Council, Paul Holloway, who said, and I quote:

We on this side of the Council regarded Trevor as a person of great integrity and decency, and he was respected by all.

Someone well known to the Hon. Kyam Maher, someone for whom he has great regard and worked for, is the Hon. Terry Roberts, who has also sadly passed. Let me read his tribute:

I accept—

this is the Hon. Terry Roberts—

what the Hon. Sandra Kanck said in relation to, particularly, the important bill on native title, which could have been rushed through without the stakeholders having what was regarded as an unusual time for discussion. In relation to dealing with indigenous people and the issues that face them in remote regional and metropolitan areas, it is important that those time frames be extended so that the tyrannies of distance and isolation are taken into account when negotiations are continuing for and on behalf of those people who represent their interests. In many cases—and the Hon. Trevor Griffin understood this—English is their second language, particularly in remote regional areas, and in many cases the representation that they get from metropolitan representatives takes a long time before it actually gets to the outposts where a lot of the people who will be impacted upon, particularly in native title and other major issues, are able to debate and understand those issues.

I had a lot of respect for Trevor in the way in which he handled those sensitive areas of legislation, and I think that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, because we now have an opportunity to introduce land use agreements that will have a negotiated base rather than a legislative or a legal outcome.

So, these are tributes from Labor members of parliament to Trevor. If I can now refer to some tributes from crossbench members of the then Legislative Council, the Hon. Nick Xenophon said, and let me quote:

In relation to the Hon. Trevor Griffin, I repeat what other members have said about his integrity and decency. One example which says something about the measure of the man is as follows. For about 18 months we fought ferociously over the issue of the dust diseases bill and the compensation rights of victims of mesothelioma. Throughout that time the Hon. Trevor Griffin conducted himself fairly. He fought the issues and at the end, when the bill was eventually passed against his wishes, he took the step of ensuring that a technical flaw in the bill was corrected. I think that says something about the measure of the man and his fundamental decency. That is something that I have never forgotten, and I will miss his fundamental fairness.

The Hon. Sandra Kanck said, and I quote:

…Trevor Griffin there are three things for which he will be remembered, that is, the stalking legislation, the domestic violence legislation and the native title legislation. One usually expects that radical legislation such as stalking and domestic violence legislation would come from a Labor government, but it did in fact come from a Liberal government and was very progressive. Trevor and I clearly had a very different point of view in relation to native title. Nevertheless, I believe the way that he approached it was exemplary.

Further on:

I do not think that there are very many MPs or ministers who are prepared to do that, because politics is done as a win-win situation, whereas he looked at legislation in terms of what was possible to be achieved. As I have said, I did not always agree on the outcomes that came from the native title legislation, nevertheless in the discussion and debate that occurred I believe we were able to come up with native title regimes that bettered the other states.

If the incoming Labor government finds itself in a position where it is having to run deadlock conferences on legislation, I would suggest that ministers consult with Trevor Griffin on how to run a deadlock conference. I was involved in a number of them, and none of them did it better than Trevor Griffin.

They were the tributes of Labor members of this chamber, his acknowledged political opponents, and also representatives at the time of the crossbench. It is clear that Trevor's contribution was respected. He was warmly regarded by political colleagues of all persuasions. Clearly, their acknowledgements of his contributions are testimony to his capacities and abilities.

In acknowledging Trevor's parliamentary and political service, we should also acknowledge his community service in very many areas. Let me briefly note his obvious role with the Presbyterian church, to which I referred earlier, but I also understand he served on the board of the St Andrew's Hospital for 44 years, which must be some record.

My colleagues also referred to something about which I was amazed as much as anyone in Trevor's post-parliamentary career. The fact that Trevor retired to Kuitpo on the farm did not surprise me. I said, 'What on earth, Trevor, did you do with all those documents and stuff you took with you?' He said, 'Val wouldn't let me put them in the house, but there's a container out the back and it's got shelving in it,' and I assume it still has all Trevor's documents. I would occasionally ring Trevor up and say, 'Trevor, can you remember what we did on this particular issue?' He said, 'Let me check. I will have to check the container and see whether I can find the document.' Inevitably, a day or two later he would come back to me and say—he would not tell me whereabouts in the container he found it—'I think this is what we did and I found this particular document.'

That was not the thing that amazed me, it was the fact that Trevor then went on to this career of becoming a winemaker. I remember having a meal with my wife, Marie, on the Fleurieu Peninsula somewhere and seeing this bottle of wine called 'Griffin'. I thought, 'God, that can't be Trevor, is it?' Anyway, sure enough, Griffin wine was Trevor's. As the family acknowledges, he must be one of the very few teetotal winemakers in the world or the country. Although he did tell me that, as a winemaker having to sell his product, he was not really completely teetotal after he left. First of all, he started tasting a bit of his own product and then he said occasionally he had to taste some of the other stuff as well, so he could compare it with everybody else's and see how good his product was.

Mr President, my apologies for the length of my contribution but, as members will understand, I served for many years with Trevor and I guess I am in the best position to be able to fulsomely pay tribute to his contribution. Finally, can I pay tribute to Val. Trevor would have been the first to acknowledge that he would not have been able to achieve all he did in his parliamentary and political career if not for the support that Val over very many years provided. Her magnificent love and support over all that time allowed Trevor to achieve what he did. Towards the end, as Val increasingly took on the role of carer, nurse and supporter, her ongoing and undying love for Trevor was evident to not only the family but friends and acquaintances all.

At this very difficult time for Val and the family, I know it can only be a small comfort, but I hope that it is some comfort for them that they note that Trevor is remembered by colleagues all as a highly regarded and widely respected parliamentary and political performer, but also highly regarded and widely respected as a gentleman and as a magnificent contributor not only to the parliament but to the South Australian community as well. My condolences to Val, Mark and Tim, the family and friends, and I do so not only on my behalf but on behalf of my wife, Marie, and family.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:49): It is a privilege to rise to support this motion of condolence in relation to the passing of the Hon. K. Trevor Griffin. Trevor was one of a large number of members of parliament of his era who used his second Christian name. You will forgive me, sir, for referring to the gallery but there is one in our presence, former president the Hon. Peter Dunn, who is one of that variety, as were my father and a number of others.

I have a very long memory of Trevor Griffin because of his association with my father, and that association was well before they served together for four years in this place. Indeed, I first remember Trevor because of the role he played as the party president in the 1970s and, as my colleague the Hon. Rob Lucas referred to, that was a very difficult time for the party, and I think Trevor steered the ship very well. As a result, the two different parties within the Liberal cause as such came together.

Trevor worked with my father in the Liberal Party in the organisation, but also in the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia, as has been referred to by the Hon. Rob Lucas. Certainly, the negotiating skills of people like Trevor and my father represented respectively the Presbyterian and Methodist churches, and there were strong views from both of those churches. I think not too many people here would be surprised to know that there needed to be some compromise. I think Trevor and my father played some great role in the compromises that eventually saw the Uniting Church in Australia formed, although there were—and there still remain—some continuing Presbyterian churches, particularly in the South-East of South Australia.

I had 4½ years in this chamber with Trevor, and it was a great privilege because I happened to sit right behind him, so in that capacity I suppose he was well placed to provide advice to me. He provided a great welcoming mentorship to me, like another great mentor of mine, the Hon. Roger Goldsworthy. Both of them had been great friends of my father and, because Dad died before I was preselected to come into this place, they saw it as part of their role to take me under their wing to some extent.

Trevor provided me with a lot of advice about the role of a member of the Legislative Council and, as was mentioned here earlier, he was a great devotee of the role of this place—the fact that the way we undertake our position in the parliament is far different to that of the lower house, and he was passionate about the fact that that should always remain. His advice was always well meant. I sought out his thoughts early in the piece on a matter of conscience which saw me somewhat different in view to other members of my party, and also I seem to remember different to Trevor, but Trevor said that conscience issues in this parliament are very important and, if it is in your conscience to do that, then that is what you must do, and I will never forget that.

I will also never forget the fact that there was one particular issue—and I can't remember what that issue was—when Trevor was travelling in the United States on a ministerial trip, and he rang me, here in the building, around lunchtime one day to talk to me about it. It must have been some ungodly hour in the United States, but Trevor had decided that that was the best time for him to catch up with me. So as much as I don't remember what the issue was, I certainly remember the phone call.

Trevor was a man of the greatest integrity. He was as straight as a die, and some of those quotes that the Hon. Mr Lucas read out only strengthen my view on that. He had a great devotion to this state of South Australia, and I think that was always in his mind in the work he did. It is with sadness that I note he is the fourth member I have served with in this chamber who has now passed on. I extend my sincere sympathy and that of the Dawkins family to Val and the Griffin family.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:56): I also rise to support this sad condolence motion. First and foremost, I put on the public record that my sympathies are with Val, Tim and Mark and the extended family.

I had the privilege of meeting Trevor when I was quite a young member of the Liberal Party. To be honest, I was probably not ever that enthusiastic about attending state council, but occasionally I did and I first got to know Trevor there. He was always considered in what he contributed to state council, and was respected by the other members of the Liberal Party and the state council.

I also had the privilege of knowing Trevor's father Ken, and saw him quite a bit up and around the Willunga area. When you have had the privilege of meeting the father and then you worked with Trevor, you could see how that development, support and principles of the father filtered through to Trevor, as I am sure did the principles of his mother, whom I did not know. I was in the parliament with Trevor for nine years, and the privilege of working with and being trained by a senior minister was of huge benefit to me. I spent several years working with Trevor, and I will touch on that a little while.

It was not easy coming in as a new member of parliament, particularly with a marginal seat and trying to look after that marginal seat. It was David Wotton, when I was his parliamentary secretary, and then working with Trevor that probably saved me from getting into a lot of the trouble that I could have got into, because even though I was a minister then I had not been in the house for that long and Trevor had all that experience. In fact, Trevor put not only a quarter of a century into public life but also held the attorney-general portfolio for 11 years. From my recollection that is either a record or very, very close to one with what would be one of the busiest portfolio areas, and it was particularly busy when Trevor was Attorney-General.

I want to acknowledge Val. Trevor did put his family first, and his family allowed him to put a lot of his time, effort and energy into working for the public good of South Australia. All of us should be very much appreciative of that. Whilst I did not get a chance to see Tim and Mark much those days, I often saw Val, because she was an absolute Rock of Gibraltar for Trevor and was always there whenever there was a function that required both Trevor and Val to attend. My wife Mandy sends her condolences as well; she used to enjoy saying hello to Val when we were all at functions together.

I said to Mandy only the other day, 'It seems like I have only just the other day finished working with Trevor in the ministry.' Then I thought about it for a minute—it is 13 years. Thirteen years have gone that quickly, but probably not as quickly as the years when I worked with Trevor, because it was a huge pace. We did get from time to time a little bit of time to talk about general issues. We had a common interest in farming, particularly as the Griffin family were developing their vineyard, and ultimately their winery. I think Trevor told me it was actually the boys who pushed him along a bit there; they were pretty keen. Then he started to learn about input costs and things like that, and he started to talk to me a little about, 'Gee, these properties can grab some money, can't they?' I said, 'They sure can,' because Trevor's property was not really that far from where we live and farm.

There are some things I would like to put on the record that I noted with Trevor. Trevor was always immaculately dressed. The tie was right. It was probably not Trevor who ironed his shirts—I never asked him that, or Val—but if you looked at Trevor's shirts when he would take his coat off during meetings the creases were perfect. Everything was perfect about him and that was part of the attention to detail. That is where I thank the Hon. Kenneth Trevor Griffin, K.T. Griffin, for what he did in helping to teach me a lot about the pitfalls of ministry work, the pitfalls of parliament generally.

Back in those days, believe it or not, emails were a relatively new thing, and, as one example, Trevor said to me, 'Be very careful with what you put in emails, because they will be used as legal documentation just like any other document.' He said, 'Make sure that you keep very good records and tracking of your email system.' Of course, at that stage having hardly any IT capacity myself, I had to relay that through to the office staff. They were wise words.

Another thing I noted about Trevor was that he was patient with me. With a marginal seat, you would try to slip a little bit in before you would have meetings, but Trevor was always in his office in Pirie Street—he was a few floors above me. He was always in that office very early and he never left until quite late, unless he had a function to go to, but he was always on time. For someone who has not always been on time, that was another example of Trevor paying attention to detail, and I would try to get to these meetings without being late.

With respect to a brand-new portfolio area, the justice portfolio was pretty new then, where police and correctional services were brought in with the attorney-general and justice minister, and obviously that took some learning and some development. Whilst we were always able to have full and frank discussions and solid debates, once we agreed upon something you always knew that Trevor would stick by you on that.

One thing that Trevor and I were always totally together on was when we had to take on the Hon. Rob Lucas when he was treasurer. We took things like Tim Tam biscuits to try to make a little bit of a peace offering on the budget bilaterals. We had agreed to what we would put forward and we also knew that the biggest problem we would have was not what we had agreed to but trying to get Rob Lucas to agree to what we had agreed to. I am not sure we actually always won there.

The respect that not only Lyn, his chief of staff, and all the other immediate staff, but the broader staff of the public service had for Trevor needs to put on the record, because I never heard one bad word from any Public Service about what they thought of Trevor and their relationship. They were actually very committed to Trevor, because they saw a genuine, professional, committed attorney-general with a real interest in the justice system. He was actually respected by all.

He used to give me some wise counsel on how we could balance up between obviously my position, wanting to have more and more police powers, and on the other side of it the scales that he believed in as a token of what you need to do with justice, where you try to get that balance right. Trevor was always very careful and focused on that, and said to me on many occasions, 'You have to balance up the policing and the police powers with good legislation and with good prevention programs and proactive programs as well.' We then used to talk about how we would go politically on that, and they were good and healthy debates to have.

I think history will show that in those 11 years when Trevor Griffin was the attorney-general, he did always put balance into his legislation. Probably the reality is that since then it has been a race to just throw in tougher law and order policy. Unlike a time when Trevor considered it, it is not always considered that way now; it is more about what you might get as a media grab. I can say that Trevor was not a believer in that; he was a believer in good legal systems.

With cabinet submissions, you always knew that Trevor would have gone through every page when you sat down on a Monday morning and saw the folders with the little tags and the notes. It made me do my work on Sunday afternoons and Sunday night because Trevor would have absolutely been through it all and you knew that was going to happen. It is good working with someone with such experience and commitment. If there was a red tag on a cabinet submission that came in on a Monday morning, you would sit down and talk about it. A red tag is a covering one from the Premier's office, and Trevor would have a solution ready before anything finally went into cabinet about that.

He was a great legislator and a person who crossed his t's and dotted his i's. You only have to look at the huge amount of legislation that was on the Notice Paper over those years to see that he was a very energetic and proactive attorney-general. I am very sad to be making these comments about Trevor today because we lost him too soon, there is no doubt about that. He was a man who looked after himself. I can remember when I would be having a cup of tea or coffee that he would be drinking water most of the time. He had a little idiosyncrasy, a little cough, a little clearing of the throat before he would have a chat to us about different things, and that was part of the memories I have of Trevor.

The parliament is a better place for Trevor having been here. The state is a better place for all of Trevor's efforts. The Liberal Party certainly needs to keep on being appreciative, as I know they are, of the enormous effort that Trevor put into that party over a very long period of time. Again, my condolences and that of my family to the Griffin family.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:07): I rise to support the motion. I thank other members for their heartfelt contributions and, in particular, the Hon. Trevor Griffin's long-term friend and colleague, the Hon. Rob Lucas. I also pass on my condolences to Val, Mark, Tim, family and friends.

I was fortunate enough to have met the Hon. Trevor Griffin on a number of occasions and I feel extremely privileged to have received some kind words of encouragement from the Hon. Trevor Griffin as he was someone for whom I had enormous respect. The Hon. Trevor Griffin was a great Liberal but more so he was a great South Australian. We were lucky to have had him in this parliament. With those few words, I support the motion.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (15:08): I, too, would like to associate myself with the motion to recognise the life and service of the Hon. Trevor Griffin. The Hon. Trevor Griffin was one of the state's longest-serving attorneys-general, taking that office relatively soon after his election. He was elected only 17 months prior to taking up that role which is a challenge for a newly-elected member. However, he did come with a huge depth of knowledge of the law particularly in an era when postgraduate study in the law was rarer than it is now.

The Hon. Trevor Griffin had a Master of Laws. When he presented his credentials to the Supreme Court it would have been a slightly strange experience because he was presenting them to a former Labor attorney-general, Chief Justice King. But I also note that he would have found friends on the bench. Howard Zelling was then a justice of the bench, and in fact Trevor Griffin had been articled to Howard Zelling in 1961.

So, he came into the parliament as a lawyer of great ability, and he proved himself a great legislator. A number of members have already referred to his work in domestic violence. I would like to highlight his work in the area of victim support. Perhaps the best way of paying tribute to that is to read a tribute to him that appears on the Victim Support Service website. It reads:

VSS was deeply saddened to learn that Trevor Griffin, former attorney-general of South Australia, has died at the age of 74. Trevor was a strong supporter of victims' rights, as well as the work and growth of VSS during both his terms as attorney-general. The victims of crime review in 1999 was initiated by Trevor, which led to the implementation of the Victims of Crime Act in 2003. Between 1993 and 2001 the level of funding dedicated to victims' services in South Australia's more than doubled under Trevor Griffin's watch. For VSS this culminated in the expansion of our services to Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, the Riverland and the South-East.

Together with the work of the Hon. Chris Sumner, I know that Trevor Griffin is seen as a great pioneer of victims' rights, not just in this state but around the world. I also pay tribute to the Hon. Trevor Griffin for his service to this state in the high office of attorney-general. The Hon. Trevor Griffin had, shall we say, a traditional view of that office, and when he presented his credentials in 1979 he said this to the Supreme Court:

I am conscious that the office of attorney-general is a high office in government and in the legal profession, and that I, as the person now appointed to that office, carry very heavy responsibilities toward the people of South Australia, to the bench and to the legal profession. The principal responsibilities of my office are to ensure that the rule of law as an essential element of our democracy is upheld and that its administration facilitates that end, and that the review and development of our laws is continued responsibly and sensitively.

You will notice that there is no mention there of the political responsibilities of attorney-general. When the Hon. Trevor Griffin next presented his credentials in 1993, 14 years had elapsed and he did not miss the opportunity to observe that there had been a change in public tone over these years, and he said:

Fourteen years ago I observed that the bench and the legal profession enjoyed a high reputation. That reputation is still high. Now, however, both the courts and the legal profession are the subject of more critical public scrutiny and more controversial public comment. It is, of course, healthy for there to be well-founded criticism, but it causes me concern that the criticism of the legal profession across Australia, for example, in relation to restricted practices, when applied to South Australia's legal profession, have been largely without substance. Similarly, it is of concern that the courts and judges have been the subject of much criticism, some of which has been unjustified and made without having regard, for example, to the whole of what a judge has said.

I have never served in the position of attorney-general of this state, but I have had the privilege of serving as the shadow attorney-general. Certainly in my dealings with the Hon. Trevor Griffin I saw a man who had a very high regard for that office, and I know that he was concerned for the administration of justice to be upheld and for the role of the attorney-general, both as a member of the cabinet but most importantly as the chief law officer of this state. I believe that those of us going forward could do well to revere the Hon. Trevor Griffin and his values, his approach to the law and particularly his deep understanding of the appropriate role of the attorney-general.

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN (15:14): I rise to add my voice to the tributes of the life of the Hon. Trevor Griffin and to support the condolence motion. I did not have the opportunity to serve with Trevor Griffin in this chamber, but I had the opportunity to enjoy the benefit of his wise and considered counsel, especially when serving on the executive of the Liberal Party. My enduring memory of Trevor Griffin will always be that each time I rang him he was either on his tractor or doing something to the tractor, or tending to his vineyard. After advice was dispensed, the conversation quickly turned to all things farming.

When reflecting on his passing, I too read his maiden speech. I thought it was typical of Trevor Griffin that, in his maiden speech, there was nothing about himself, but he went straight to work commenting at great length on the Local Government Act. He was a man of great integrity and his word was his bond. He was a distinguished attorney-general, and it is these endeavours in this portfolio that I would like to highlight.

As has been mentioned by many honourable members, Trevor Griffin was instrumental in shepherding some of the most important legislation South Australia has had to tackle. I wish to also particularly acknowledge his introduction of new laws to provide victims of domestic violence with greater protection by classifying domestic violence assault as a crime in itself, and introducing domestic violence restraining orders.

I would also like to draw to the chamber's attention Trevor's response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. He appointed Aboriginal justice officers to reduce the number of Aboriginal people imprisoned for failure to pay fines. He introduced amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act so that state MPs, judges and local councillors lost their immunity from sexual harassment suits. He said the amendments:

…achieved a balance between respecting parliamentary privilege and ensuring politicians were covered by adequate rules of behaviour.

Trevor sought amendments to electronic surveillance laws to require police to be more accountable for tapping telephones and faxes of suspected criminals in order to provide better protection to the privacy of individuals. He also conducted a comprehensive review of the state's juvenile justice system to determine its effectiveness in dealing with youth crime.

These are only a few of his accomplishments, and there are many others which have been referred to by other honourable members. During his professional life, Trevor support the work of the Law Society and the Uniting Church, was a long-serving member of a local school council, and, as has been mentioned, served on the board of St Andrew's Hospital. In my view, it is a measure of the man in that, in coming to this place, he never left or ceased contributing to the community that nurtured him.

After retirement, Trevor continued to serve the community on the Film Classification Review Board, as well as teaching law part-time at Flinders University. He is an example to us all. We are thankful for his life and his contribution to the Legislative Council and to the state of South Australia. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family. I support the motion.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (15:17): I rise to support the motion, and also to pay tribute to the Hon. Trevor Griffin and to acknowledge his family at this time of grief. I am going to focus specifically on a period, as he was our prolific legislator, in the mid-1990s, and in particular on the areas of the status of women and child protection. These have been touched on, but I think the complete record is worth putting into the Hansard. In 1994,a number of bills were passed or given assent, including the Criminal Law Consolidation Act's stalking amendment, on which Mr Griffin is quoted as saying in the paper at the time:

The government does not believe that a person who is fearful of danger should have to prove that personal property damage has already occurred, or that the threat of damage exists, before being legally protected.

A number of offences were entered into that, including interfering with property, giving offensive material to family members, and keeping a family member under surveillance. We also had the domestic violence and restraining orders, which have been referred to. It is of note that this was the first time that any Australian state gave a specific definition of domestic violence, and, in the matter of restraining orders, this also enabled those who did not have an immediate family relationship to apply for those orders to take place.

Restraining orders were also made available by telephoning a judge, which obviously would greatly assist victims of those particular crimes. I note that, in relation to domestic violence, the crime attracted a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment, compared with two years for imprisonment for common assault. We also had rape law reform, which arose out of a particular case that came before the courts, and so immediate action needed to be taken to define rape and other offences which affected children in particular.

In 1995, the issue of female genital mutilation was addressed by this parliament. As part of the national uniform gun laws, the Firearms (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act was passed in 1996 and, given that one-third of women who were murdered as a result of domestic violence were killed with a firearm, that was a significant reform. In 1997, we had the first domestic violence court established as a pilot in the northern suburbs which, following evaluation, was later expanded, that being a closed court which enables victims to speak more freely about humiliating and confidential matters. With those remarks, I support the motion.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.

Sitting suspended from 15:21 to 15:44.

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