Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to pay my respects to former senator Jim McKiernan and associate myself with the remarks of my colleagues. I'd also like to acknowledge Jim's wife, Jackie, her family and friends here today, former Senator George Campbell and former Senator Ruth Webber. I am told that Jim and Jackie were an extremely formidable and effective political team. Jackie was a significant political figure in Western Australia in her own right. My colleagues will have dealt in detail with Jim's contribution to the Senate. Suffice for me to say that Jim was a significant contributor to the Senate and the committee structure. Jim was respected by his friends and political opponents alike. I was going to remark on Senator Wong's position with Senator Marise Payne. I've got that written here. I'll just say that Jim was a good judge of character. He was less praiseworthy of Senator Abetz. As a migrant fitter and machinist, he was like many who came from the UK, from Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland, who came here to make a better life and make a contribution to this country. There is no doubt that Jim made a better life for himself and made a huge contribution to the country.

I want to touch briefly on Jim's role as an education officer for the AMWU. The education officers in the AMWU were critically important to the activities of the union. They had a key role in educating AMWU activists and delegates, who were the backbone of the union and implemented union campaigns and pursued and improved wages and conditions across Western Australia and the whole country. It was Jim's working-class background, his experience and his capacity that ensured metalworker delegates were equipped to negotiate and represent workers across the country. Delegates who were educated by Jim became formidable opponents in workshops across the country. Jim was quoted in the past as saying that 'the only real organisation outside the political sphere which can or is willing to do anything for the working class is the trade union movement.' It does not surprise me now and on reflection that I became involved in that great movement.

He was a Republican. He wanted to reform the Australian Constitution and he also indicated that, because of his involvement with the metalworkers union and the metal unions campaign on industry restructuring and job creation, he had decided as part of his contribution to the Governor-General's speech to remark on the decline in Australia's manufacturing industry. He quoted Joe Ceaser, the National President of the Metal Trades Federation of Unions, a person who he described as hardly being 'a left-wing radical who would take orders from Moscow or Peking'. He said:

Australian workers, particularly metal workers, are sick and tired of listening to theories that 'free markets' will be the saviour of our industries. The stark, cold fact is that more than 75 per cent of world trade is 'managed' or government-controlled trade and is no way free. Workers are blamed by these theorists for our non-competitive situation in world trade. In fact, the root cause is ad hoc decision-making by management and lack of support by successive governments. Australian research and development have been allowed to wither. Consequently, we now import more and more overseas technology and as the technological gap between Australia and overseas countries widens, valuable trade and technological skills are being lost.

He said:

I commend that publication and congratulate the MTF on its initiative in publishing it. I would urge all workers, particularly those in the manufacturing industry, to read it and suggest that it be compulsory reading for all members of parliament.

I'll conclude on what Jim said:

I owe a great debt to my friends and colleagues in the metal workers union. It was their encouragement that gave me the confidence and skills to represent working people in a variety of positions, which culminate now in the Parliament of Australia. I look forward to an on-going relationship with the union, particularly its shop stewards. They are the backbone of the metal workers union and it is they who will continue to remind me of my working class origins and who will ensure that I do not get carried away with my own importance.

I think that says it all about Jim and what a fantastic contribution he and his family have made to this country. I say vale to a great working-class Australian.