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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-09-10 Daily Xml
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Condolence

Keneally, Hon. G.F.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:17): I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the recent death of the Hon. Gavin Francis Keneally, former minister of the Crown and member of the House of Assembly, and places on record its appreciation of his distinguished public service.

In speaking to the motion, I suspect that on my side of the chamber I might be the only member who knew Gavin Keneally. His career spanned 1970 to 1989, so he served for 19 years in the House of Assembly, representing the electorate of Stuart. He was one of a small number of Labor members of parliament who represented regional areas of South Australia.

He was born in Quorn, so I am advised, and was an active member of the Port Augusta Labor sub-branch. He had previously worked as a Commonwealth Railways purchasing officer before entering parliament at the relatively young age of 36 in May 1970. That was the election that saw the start of the Dunstan decade.

He served not only as a local member and representative member for Stuart but he held ministerial office in a number of respective portfolio areas, including the portfolio we used to have of chief secretary for two years from 1982 to 1984. He also served in the portfolio areas of tourism and local government and as minister for transport, as well as serving on various parliamentary committees.

From the information kindly provided by the parliamentary library—and I knew a little bit of this history—he was a renowned country sportsperson. We are told he excelled in football, cricket, tennis, table tennis and basketball. One of the stories the library has recounted to all of us is that in Barrie Robran's very first senior game, when he played in Whyalla as a lanky 16 year old, he stood Gavin Keneally. So that was Gavin's claim to fame.

Of course, members who follow South Australian football, and even national football followers, would know the legend of Barrie Robran in terms of his performances in country football first, then in Adelaide and then for South Australia on the national stage.

Gavin Keneally's main work that would be recognised by people in the community would be as minister for transport. At the time of his retirement, his listed highlights were that he introduced the state's first red-light traffic camera. I am sure that all those who have been caught by red-light traffic cameras will acknowledge that he was the leader of the pack. He, as the minister, and the government made baby safety capsules mandatory in cars and introduced a number of other road safety related measures. In addition to that, his listed accomplishments included commencing planning for the tunnels to improve road safety through the Adelaide Hills roads to the freeway.

As I said, I knew Gavin Keneally through the early part of my parliamentary career. He was an amiable person, a very easy person to get along with. I am sure he had friends within his own party and certainly across the political spectrum as well, but he had a number of friends within the Liberal Party at that particular time. He was certainly someone who made friends easily and was always prepared to listen to constituents or complainants or other members of parliament making representation on behalf of their constituents to him as the minister in his various portfolio areas.

On behalf of members of the government, we thank him for his service to his party, to the parliament and to the South Australian community. We pass on our condolences to his family, his former colleagues, his friends and acquaintances.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Leader of the Opposition) (14:23): I join with the Treasurer and on behalf of the Legislative Council express our regret at the recent passing of Gavin Keneally, a former member of the House of Assembly and a former minister in the Bannon and Dunstan governments. I place on record our appreciation for his distinguished public service. We are honouring a dedicated member of parliament who served our parliament, state and community, as the Treasurer has outlined, for almost two decades.

Sadly, Gavin Keneally passed away on 5 September 2020 at Hope Valley. He was a valued and long-serving representative of the seat of Stuart for almost 20 years, from 30 May 1970 to 24 November 1989. He was elected to Stuart the first time he contested it at the age of 36 and 18 years later retired at 56, as has been noted in media reports at the time, at the top of his game after being re-elected six times. A news article from September 1977 described Gavin as 'one of the most popular on either side, with either side'. He viewed his role of representing people in the district as a great honour.

Gavin was born in Quorn on the edge of the Flinders Ranges. He had five children, six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. He was a proud Port Augusta local and Gavin's early days recount a Central Augusta footballing legend, a loved family man and an industrial worker with a razor-sharp tongue.

He left a strong legacy in the Port Augusta community, particularly, as has been mentioned, on the football ground. He was a well-known legend in footballing circles and was described as a 'nuggety on-baller'—and I think the use of the word 'nuggety' was probably meant in a better way than it is often used when some of us in this chamber are described as being nuggety. He was only five foot seven but played centre half-forward and captained his team, the Central Augusta Bloods.

He represented his community not just in football and as captain of the Port Augusta representative side but in cricket, tennis, table tennis and basketball. He was a basketball player of some renown, much like the current member for Stuart and I dare say with somewhat more basketball skills than the Treasurer has displayed in his basketballing career, which I think has sadly come to an end only recently.

He even ran his own radio program and wrote for the local newspaper. He was a worker in regional SA before starting his career in politics. He had previously worked at the Commonwealth Railways as a purchasing officer in Quorn, making a bit of a name for himself in the railways.

We can reflect on his story as one of ambition, service and support for South Australians—for working people in South Australian regions at a time when they were looking for a better deal for country people. His background as an industrial worker reflects a time when regional South Australia was a stronger, more vibrant place and there were significant industrial opportunities outside Adelaide.

He campaigned to strengthen South Australia's regional centres, advocating for increased amenities, housing, education, transport and health services. He said in his final speech to the House of Assembly, 'there should be no financial penalty imposed upon those who choose to be country dwellers'.

He started his political career as secretary and president of the Port Augusta Labor sub-branch after he left his work at Commonwealth Railways. In parliament he joined the ranks of landmark ministers in both the Bannon and Dunstan governments in the 1980s and was one of the longest serving MPs in the Bannon government. He was a frontbencher during what people can look back on as a golden time in South Australian politics when Don Dunstan was premier and Des Corcoran was deputy.

Over the years, he held a range of ministerial portfolios and contributed to many sectors in South Australia. After being appointed deputy speaker and chairman of committees from 1977 to 1979 he was chief secretary from 1982 to 1984, minister of tourism from 1982 to 1985, minister of local government from 1984 to 1985 and minister of transport from 1985 to 1989.

In his role as minister of transport Gavin oversaw or initiated multiple seminal transport projects. He led such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the sealing of the Stuart Highway between Port Augusta and the NT border, something I am eternally grateful for when driving up to the APY lands a couple of times a year. It is almost unthinkable for younger motorists today that major interstate roads would be unsealed. Only literally in the last few weeks we have heard stories as many South Australians have gone to the Northern Territory on what is now a sealed road that was led by Gavin Keneally.

He was a strong advocate for public safety, introducing, as the Treasurer outlined, the first red-light traffic cameras, pre-licence training for motorcyclists to counter rising motorcyclist deaths and making baby safety capsules mandatory, while establishing a pool of capsules to ensure they were easily accessible to hire.

I know that Gavin, like many Labor MPs, stayed heavily involved in the Labor Party after his time representing the party in parliament. I know that in my time, nearly every time I have been in Port Augusta for a Stuart sub-branch meeting Gavin has turned up as an active contributor. From my time as state secretary of the party, whenever we had country membership forums Gavin was almost always one of the first ones there and left you in no doubt about what his views were and where the party was heading, what it should be doing, what it had done wrong but also what we have done well.

I think that speaks tremendously to the sort of person Gavin Keneally was, that after reaching the heights of service as a minister he still stayed heavily involved with the party at a local sub-branch level in Port Augusta. We bid farewell and remember Gavin Keneally for his landmark, long service to his local community, the Stuart electorate, the Labor Party and the South Australian parliament. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones. May he rest in peace.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.

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