Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on the passing of a beloved union and Labor comrade, George Weatherill, who died on Sunday 23 January 2021 at the age of 84. The South Australian trade union movement and the Labor family have lost a great union leader and a friend, a man who represented our party in the Legislative Council and was the father of former premier Jay Weatherill.

George was born in northern England in the late 1930s. He grew up in the shadows of the Great Depression and endured the trauma of World War II. The experiences of poverty and inequality were harsh, to an extent difficult to comprehend today, and they forged the values that guided George and many others through their lives. George was relentlessly optimistic, some might say despite the challenges he faced. I suspect it was perhaps because of them. He was from a working family, from Hartlepool, in northern England. He was one of 10. They lived through the bombing raids and he lost his father young. Perhaps that hardship generated in him, rather than pessimism, that relentless optimism accompanied by both shrewdness and pragmatism.

After arriving in Australia in 1960 it did not take long for George to establish himself as a leader in the trade union movement. In fact, at one of the eulogies the story was recounted that he was elected a delegate despite not actually being there, just because he was the Pommy bloke who must know something about trade unions. As I said, he was elected a shop steward at the South Australian E&WS, Engineering and Water Supply Department, for the Australian Government Workers Association, known as the AGWA. Over the next quarter of a century he won elections to various offices within the union. In doing so he played a critical role in setting the political direction of that union and establishing a political legacy that continues to this day.

When George became involved in the AGWA it was controlled by the Right. It was a union that was regarded as too passive to deliver to its own members. George became a key player supporting Left allies to take control of the union. The response from the Right at the time was brutal. George garnered extraordinary respect amongst comrades and members by staring down threats of violence and for his capacity to bring others with him. The eventual victory of the Left within that union paved the way for the development of a union that would become, and remains, one of the most important agents for progressive change within South Australian politics. The change in leadership and philosophy in the AGWA, brought about through the actions of many, including George, smoothed the way for a merger with the miscellaneous workers union, 'the Missos', the predecessor of what is known as the United Workers Union. This amalgamation cemented its place as one of the important agents of progressive change in our state, a position it has held ever since. It has provided a base of support for progressive candidates like Mark Butler, Jay Weatherill and me into parliament. Before my own generation, George also gathered support to win a fiercely contested ballot and filled a vacancy in the Legislative Council, where he served from 1986 to 2000.

George Weatherill always knew who he was and always remembered where he came from in every aspect of his life, including his work in the parliament. He had a powerful sense of justice and he was moved to correct injustice wherever he found it. He was a man of great courage and seemingly boundless optimism. Perhaps he was the happy warrior poetry says we should all wish to be—an unflinching defender of the rights of working people and their families. He was also a first-class strategist whose struggles helped build a multigenerational legacy for progressive politics in South Australia.

I want to place on record my sincerest sympathy to his family and friends, including his wife, Joy, his children, Jay, Dana and Lea, their partners and his grandchildren. I particularly want to place on record my acknowledgement of how hard this must be for his son, Jay Weatherill, for whom George was an important figure, and to say to Jay and to his family: we are with you in this loss, and George's legacy continues to this day.