Grant Chapman (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Tonight I want to pay tribute to a fellow South Australian, former Liberal senator and President of this chamber Sir Harold William Young, who died last week. Harold was born on 30 June 1923 at Port Broughton in South Australia. On Monday I had the privilege of attending his funeral service in the chapel of the Berry funeral parlour in Adelaide, and therefore I was unable to speak on the condolence motion in this chamber on Monday afternoon.

The funeral service, conducted by the Reverend David Purling, who had been the Methodist minister at Alford when Sir Harold was farming there, was a great celebration of Sir Harold’s life and an appropriate farewell. Sitting atop Sir Harold’s coffin was a sheaf of Alford wheat and two poignant letters from grandchildren. Adjacent to the coffin was Sir Harold’s Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George decoration, and the flowers and message from our Senate President, Paul Calvert, sent on behalf of all of us. Appropriately, looking down on proceedings and the large gathering of mourners from a large plasma TV screen was the smiling, happy face of Sir Harold.

The chapel was overflowing with mourners, among them Senate President Paul Calvert and Don Morris from his office, our Black Rod and several of Sir Harold’s former parliamentary colleagues, among them Ian Wilson, Don Jessop and Steele Hall. From state politics in South Australia, there was Stan Evans, Graham Gunn, Legh Davis and Joan Hall. Apart from Reverend Purling’s words of faith and comfort, Sir Harold’s eldest son, Scott, gave a wonderful eulogy which encapsulated Sir Harold’s character and achievements, while elder daughter Sue read a poem. The mourners joined in Sir Harold’s favourite school hymn, Immortal Invisible. It was an appropriate celebration of Sir Harold’s life.

Growing up and attending primary school in the mid-north farming district of Alford, Sir Harold won a scholarship to Prince Alfred College in Adelaide for his secondary schooling. As a fellow ‘Old Red’, it was great to see his grandsons following this schooling tradition, in their Princes blazers at the funeral. Sir Harold returned to Alford after completing school to become a wheat farmer and grazier. He was a progressive and successful farmer, and later he studied economics by correspondence, apparently attracting disdain from some of his farming colleagues.

Sir Harold served the interests of farmers in several capacities before entering federal parliament. He was Vice-President of the Farmers and Graziers Association of South Australia, a member of the South Australian state wheat research committee, a member of the Australian Wool Industry Conference and, importantly, a member of the federal exporters overseas transport committee. It was in this latter role that he worked in negotiating freight costs in the shipping industry at a time when Britain held the monopoly over it.

I first met Sir Harold during the Senate election campaign in 1967 when, because an early House of Representatives election in 1963 had put elections for the two houses out of synchronisation, there was a Senate-only election. He was third on the Liberal and Country League ticket, as it then was, behind sitting senators Laucke and Buttfield, and was successful in being elected, with the LCL winning three of the five seats in South Australia at that election.

As a Young Liberal, this was my first involvement in an election campaign and I well remember handing out how-to-vote cards in the morning at the Newton polling booth and returning late in the day after cricket for another stint to scrutineer. Little did I then know that, when Sir Harold sought re-election in 1974, I would be a candidate, albeit unsuccessful, on the Liberal Senate ticket with him in a double-dissolution election ticket of six, of which only four were successful in being elected. On that occasion I think they were Senators Davidson and Jessop, Laucke and Young.

Spending time campaigning with him during that 1974 election, I came to know him well and appreciate his warmth, enthusiasm and common sense. I particularly remember a car trip with him and Reg Withers from Adelaide to Maitland on the Yorke Peninsula where, along with the Wakefield MP of the time, Bert Kelly, we all addressed a public meeting. I certainly learned a lot from the conversation during that trip.

Sir Harold’s strong values were expressed in his maiden speech in the Senate. He expressed honour at being in a position where he could maintain the traditions of decorum and the principles of democracy, and uphold the rights of man in the parliament. It was, he stated, his intention as a parliamentarian that the contributions he made would ensure that those opposite maintained every respect for him, in spite of any differences of opinion.

In that respect, there is no doubt that he was exceptionally successful, being elected President of the Senate in 1981 with wide support across the political spectrum. He held this position until his defeat at the 1983 double-dissolution election—a bad one for the Liberal Party, which saw the defeat of the Fraser government. He was the last President of the Senate to wear a wig as a part of his formal dress and the first to appoint a female to the Senate staff.

From 1975 to 1983 we served together in this parliament and his friendship and sage advice was highly regarded by me as a young parliamentarian, as was his willingness to doorknock with me in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, supporting my endeavours to win and then hold the marginal seat of Kingston for three terms. His appointment as Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the New Year Honours List in 1983 for his service to the parliament was well deserved. Later that year he was granted the title ‘Honourable’ for life.

Although during a period well before Sir Harold’s Senate presidency the Democratic Labor Party held the balance of power in the Senate, generally it had supported the Liberal governments of that era. In contrast, Sir Harold Young was the first President in a Senate where the balance of power was held by a more independent party, the Australian Democrats. As highlighted by their then leader, Senator Don Chipp, in his congratulatory speech when Sir Harold became President, this created a greater likelihood of hung and tied Senates, causing many problem days and late nights, with associated difficulties for the President. Indeed, it was again Senator Chipp who said, at the end of Sir Harold Young’s presidency of the Senate:

The last Senate was not an easy one to chair and I place on record my party’s appreciation of your predecessor Sir Harold Young, who, sometimes, under extremely difficult circumstances, did a creditable and worth while job.

It was further pointed out that not once during Sir Harold Young’s tenure as President of the Senate was there any motion of dissent from one of his rulings moved or even contemplated, such was his skill and dedication to the task.

Sir Harold Young’s significant parliamentary career included periods as Government Whip, Opposition Whip, Temporary Chair of Committees, shadow minister on the media, and also chairman of the Senate select committee on offshore petroleum reserves and member of the Senate industry and trade committee. It also included service on the parliamentary publications committee, the Senate standing orders committee, parliamentary public works committee, Senate estimates committees and no less than seven years on the new Parliament House committee.

Sir Harold Young’s first speech contained aspirations for Australia and for South Australia which were ultimately brought to fruition, standardisation of the railway line between Port Pirie and Adelaide and the linking of all capital cities by standard gauge railway being just one of these. He spoke of the pending introduction of containerisation in shipping freight and the gains it would provide for Australia’s exports, the need to develop and make use of Australia’s natural resources, the importance of secondary industry and the diversification of Australia’s production as a trading country.

Senator Sir Harold Young was well regarded by everyone as a very fair and decent President of the Senate. His acumen on political procedure was exceptional. It is people like Sir Harold who have ensured that this parliament retains the decorum of a fully developed democracy.

Sir Harold was highly popular in his home state of South Australia, representing effectively the farming constituency in our state. He will be remembered for having served South Australia with great capacity, enormous skill and great distinction. Sir Harold Young had many great qualities, including his terrific ability to make friends and his great generosity of spirit to all of those around him. He visited here on a number of occasions in recent years to attend the retired members reception, which is usually held around 11 May. I often saw him at those functions. The other occasion on which I regularly saw him was the Adelaide test cricket match, which again, of course, commences tomorrow in Adelaide. I am sure he will be sorely missed by his friends at that match tomorrow. That was certainly one of his regular events of recent years. It was a pleasure to catch up with him there, as well as on other occasions in recent years, and maintain the friendship that was made so many years ago. I reinforce my condolences to his widow, Margaret, and his children, Sue, Scott, Andrea and Rob and their respective families.