Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its deep regret at the death, on 19 November 2012, of the Honourable Joseph Martin (Joe) Riordan, AO, former federal minister and member for Phillip, places on record its appreciation of his long and meritorious public service and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

Today we mark the passing of another Whitlam-era minister. There has been a succession of ministers from the Whitlam era who have passed away in recent years, a reflection of the age and stage. Today we remember Joe Riordan, who was a unionist minister and a great champion of social justice.

Joe was born in Sydney on 27 February 1930, just before the Great Depression. He grew up in the inner suburbs of Sydney and was educated in the Catholic system at the Patrician Brothers School and Marist Brothers' College. Like many of his generation, Joe did not attend university. However, he could proudly claim to have been part of the visionary Whitlam Labor government that made higher education accessible to all Australians.

Joe found his first calling in the union movement. At the age of 22 he commenced as assistant secretary of the New South Wales branch of the Federated Clerks Union. Two years later he was appointed secretary, a position he held for four years. In 1958, at the age of 28, he rose to the position of federal secretary of the union, a position he remained in until 1972.

He contested the marginal bellwether seat of Phillip in Sydney's eastern suburbs at the 1972 federal election. The seat was one of the smallest in the country, covering the suburbs of Bondi, Bronte, Coogee, Randwick and Waverley. Despite facing a strong Liberal opponent in the then Speaker of the House, Sir Bill Aston, Joe won, and joined the number of new Labor MPs swept into office in the 1972 'It's Time' election. Joe was re-elected at the 1974 election.

He brought to the parliament a deep sense of social justice that stemmed from his Catholic faith. He was part of a generation of Labor MPs who wanted to see a more open and dynamic Australia after so many years of conservative rule. In his three years in parliament he proved to be a very active parliamentarian. He chaired the Joint Committee on Pecuniary Interests of Members of Parliament. This was the committee that in late 1974 recommended the introduction of compulsory registration of members' and senators' interests as well as the creation of a register for public scrutiny. These are recommendations that were finally adopted and which underpin some of the accountability measures still in existence in the Senate and throughout Australian parliaments.

In 1975 Joe was appointed to the ministry as the Minister for Housing and Construction, and the Minister Assisting the Minister for Urban and Regional Development. Joe, obviously, only had a very short period on the front bench; when the government was dismissed by, I understand, a friend of his, Sir John Kerr, Joe failed in his bid to be re-elected as the member for Phillip, losing in the 1975 landslide against Labor. So ended his term in federal parliament.

But his commitment to public life continued long after his life in politics. He went on to a very successful career in a range of industrial relations and appeal tribunal roles. These included being head of the New South Wales Department of Industrial Relations; vice-chairman of the Electricity Commission; and as senior deputy president of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, on which he served with great distinction and was well known to many of the senators and members of parliament in the House of Representatives. He was presiding member of the New South Wales Schools Appeals Tribunal and chairman of Worksafe Australia. He was on the Sydney Airport Community Consultative Committee, and he was chairperson of the Ethical Clothing Trades Council of New South Wales. So he had a very active history in employment and community engagement following his exit from the parliament. His final position before his retirement was as chair of the WorkCover Authority of New South Wales, a position he occupied until 2004, and one that reflected his deep and abiding commitment to the working men and women of Australia.

It was fitting that in 1995 Joe became an Officer of the Order of Australia for his:

… service to industrial relations, to social justice and to the community.

He will be remembered as a man who committed himself to making the lives of working people better. I know he is fondly remembered by a number of senators, and I think that two or three of our senators from New South Wales who knew him personally want to make a contribution. I know that Senator Cameron has spoken to me about his respect for him. I know that he and others attended the funeral last Friday, which I understand that a couple of prime ministers attended. It sounds like it was a good Irish Catholic funeral, which are always some of the best events one can go to—they are always done in style!