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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-09-05 Daily Xml
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Giles, Mr B.L.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:37): I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the recent death of Mr Bryant Lionel Giles, former member of the House of Assembly, and places on record its appreciation of his distinguished public service.

In speaking on behalf of Liberal members to this condolence motion, I note from the public record that Mr Giles, at his passing, was at the ripe old age of 90 years. He was born in 1928 and was elected for a brief period to the House of Assembly in South Australia, to the state electorate of Gumeracha, in 1968 and was there for the duration of the Hall government, which only survived to the election of 1970, as a result of Dartmouth-Chowilla and other related issues.

Mr Giles actually won the seat upon retirement of Sir Thomas Playford, and, as I said, was the new member for Gumeracha just for that very brief period. I did know Mr Giles well. I believe I met him occasionally in my early years in the Liberal Party. When he was elected, he was described as an orchardist and grazier and was educated at Adelaide High School.

He was a member of the council of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society, a member of the South Australia Apple and Pear Selection Committee of the SA Fruitgrowers and Market Gardeners Association, and he was also a member of the Onkaparinga Adult Education Council. He obviously fitted the bill in terms of being a local person with widespread community networks in and around the then electorate of Gumeracha. Obviously, that was a principal reason, together with his own qualities, that saw him being elected.

The parliamentary library was good enough to provide all of us with copies of his maiden speech. The issues that were of great concern to him, unsurprisingly, related to generally the apple and pear industry and related issues. He argued passionately in his maiden speech for the need for greater use of biological control of pests, as opposed to, as he said:

Chemical companies offer far more inducement to qualified research officers than do most Governments, so their services are lost to us for this purpose.

That is, the services of people with knowledge and expertise in terms of biological control of pests.

I have to say, having read his maiden speech, I know a lot more about biological control of pests—in the past anyway. I am assuming a lot of these things have now been well and truly controlled. I learnt about how sterilisation saved a lot of money in preventing the spread of screwworm, which had been costing $40 million a year in cattle loss in parts of America. It was completely eradicated through the use of irradiated flies. I also learnt that evidently certain insects excrete a scent when they are ready to mate. One of these insects is the gypsy moth, and he states:

The female moth carries a great load of eggs and is too heavy to leave the ground. When she is ready to mate the males are attracted by a scent. Entomologists have synthesized this scent and are able to use it to attract males to lures or traps where they meet their death. One-thousandth of a gram (or a milligram) is sufficient to act as a lure. This reduces the number of the male members, and this automatically reduces the number of fertile eggs. Surely and effectively, the number of [gypsy] moths is decreased.

There are a number of examples that Mr Giles evidenced in terms of the use of biological controls to control pests, as opposed to the use of chemicals supplied by chemical companies in terms of trying to protect the product of his particular industry then, the apple and pear industry. It was obviously an issue that he had a lot of knowledge about and he shared it with the House of Assembly. Given that he was only there for two years, there is not much of an indication of a long collection of speeches in a variety of other areas.

On behalf of the members of the Legislative Council and on behalf of the members of the Liberal Party, I place on the record our condolences to the surviving members of his family and his friends and acquaintances.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:42): I rise to second the motion and speak on behalf of the Labor opposition on the motion expressing condolence for Mr Bryant Giles, the member for Gumeracha from 2 May 1968 through to 29 May 1970, after which that particular seat, as happens from time to time, was abolished and he retired.

Mr Giles took over the seat of Gumeracha and had to fill the very big shoes of Sir Thomas Playford, the very long-serving 33rd premier of South Australia. He was a powerful advocate for industries in his electorate, including dairy and beef cattle, sheep, cherries, apples, pine forests and also the Woodside Army camp. He spoke about these things in his maiden speech, as the Treasurer has mentioned. Many of these industries still remain an important part of that part of the Adelaide Hills and its surrounds. He was a champion of South Australian agriculture generally.

Before entering parliament, I understand he was a member of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society, chairman of the Lenswood branch of the Agricultural Bureau, a member of the apple and pear section of the SA Fruitgrowers and Market Gardeners Association and he was also a great supporter of the CFS and of adult education. I think he was chair of the adult education branch in the Onkaparinga district.

From what we have been able to read and what we have heard about Mr Giles, it paints a picture of a man who was dedicated to his community, dedicated to education and dedicated to the furtherance of the agricultural industry in South Australia, which remain as important today as they were back when he served. I extend our thoughts and best wishes to his family. I commend this motion to the chamber.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (14:44): I rise briefly in support of the motion and also to associate myself with the comments of the Treasurer. He and I may be the only ones in this chamber who ever met Mr Giles. Certainly, I met him in that period of 1968 to 1970, in the company of my father, when Mr Giles was the member for the relatively small seat of Gumeracha. As I understand it, he did seek to continue in the parliament.

Gumeracha was one of some seats that became part of the new seat of Kavel, and he was unsuccessful in getting the preselection for that new seat. As has been mentioned, he did have the privilege, like some we know, of never serving in the parliament other than in government, even though it was only for two years. There are plenty of people, as I reminded some lower house colleagues today, who served a very long time without ever being in government.

In the latter part of his life he was living in the South-East and I bumped into him on a number of occasions in that part of South Australia. He retained a great interest in politics in general but also in the industries, which have been mentioned by the Treasurer and the Leader of the Opposition, that he was passionate about, particularly horticulture and primary industries in general around this state and the nation. With those words, I offer my condolences to the family of Mr Giles.

The PRESIDENT (14:46): I add my condolences and extend them to his family.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.

Sitting suspended from 14:47 to 15:00.

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