John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death on 21 November 2006 of the Hon. Sir Harold William Young, KCMG, President of the Senate from 1981 to 1983 and senator for the state of South Australia from 1968 to 1983.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate records its deep regret at the death, on 21 November 2006, of the Honourable Sir Harold Young, KCMG, former President of the Senate and senator for South Australia, places on record its appreciation of his long and meritorious public service and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

It is with great sadness that I rise today to speak on not only the passing of a former South Australian Liberal senator but also a personal friend. I have known Harold for over 20 years and I, like many of my colleagues particularly from South Australia, am saddened by his passing.

Harold Young was born on 30 June 1923 in Port Broughton, South Australia, and was educated at Prince Alfred College. Before entering parliament, Harold was a primary producer based at Gilberton in South Australia. He became an advocate for the farming industry and served as a member of the Australian Wool Industry Conference, the federal exporters overseas transport committee and the state Wheat Research Committee for South Australia. Sir Harold maintained an active interest in rural industries throughout his parliamentary career.

Harold Young was elected as a senator for South Australia in 1967, representing the Liberal Party, and commenced his term on 1 July 1968. He had a distinguished 15-year career in the Senate, culminating in his election in 1981 as President of the Senate, an office he held until his retirement in 1983, after what is widely regarded as an exemplary, if all too brief, presidency. He was a well-respected member of this chamber and also a popular figure within the Liberal Party in our home state of South Australia.

As a long-serving member of the Senate Harold brought to the office of President of the Senate the qualities of experience, character and dignity. As Presiding Officer his deliberations were marked by tolerance, firmness and objectivity. On the election of Sir Harold’s successor as occupant of the chair, Senator Don Chipp is recorded in Hansard as saying that Sir Harold Young had done a very creditable and worthwhile job, sometimes under extremely difficult circumstances. It is worth noting that not once during Sir Harold’s tenure of office was any motion of dissent from any of his rulings moved. He showed a significant understanding of the operation of parliament and Senate procedure.

Sir Harold distinguished himself as President of the Senate but before his elevation also served the Senate in a number of other significant roles. These included parliamentary party positions such as Government Whip from 1971 to 1972 and Opposition Whip from 1972 to 1975, and he was a member of the opposition shadow ministry from March to November 1975. He also served with distinction on many Senate committees and represented the Australian parliament on a number of overseas delegations. In 1983 Harold Young was honoured for his service to the parliament by being made a Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George.

Our current President, Senator Calvert, is absent today to attend Sir Harold’s funeral service in Adelaide, representing the Senate—and he is being ably represented here today by you, Mr Deputy President. As Senator Calvert has indicated, Sir Harold was widely regarded as a gentleman in the classic tradition, with a fine appreciation of parliamentary democracy and a very good sense of humour.

Sir Harold was a regular attendee at lunches organised through my Adelaide office of current and former South Australian federal members and senators. Harold attended our last lunch just three weeks ago, and it is a matter of considerable sadness to me personally that I will no longer have the pleasure of his good company at such occasions in the future. I imagine we will drink a toast in his memory at our next lunch.

On behalf of the government, I offer our condolences to his wife, Lady Margaret Young, and his children, Sue, Scott, Andrea and Rob, and his extended family.

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

On behalf of the Labor opposition, I would like to support the motion of condolence moved by Senator Minchin following the death last week of Sir Harold Young. I send our sincere condolences to his family and friends at this time and I recognise his service to the Senate. I did not know Sir Harold, and I am pleased that Senator Minchin had a personal relationship with him because I think on these occasions it is much easier to speak if you actually knew the person on a personal level. But it is clear Sir Harold had a very distinguished career representing the Liberal Party and South Australia.

Sir Harold was born in Port Broughton in 1923 and educated at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. He was a well-known wheat farmer and grazier, and prior to entering parliament was obviously involved in a number of industry bodies. He was vice-president of the South Australian division of the Farmers and Graziers Association and a member of the Australian Wool Industry Conference, the Wheat Research Committee for South Australia and the exporters overseas transport committee. Sir Harold enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy in 1942 and served until 1946. He was a councillor for the Bunbury Municipal Council from 1954 to 1956.

Sir Harold was elected to represent South Australia in the Senate in 1967, for a term which commenced commencing in July 1968. He was subsequently re-elected in 1974, 1975 and 1977. He served on a number of committees during his 15 years of parliamentary service. These included the industry and trade legislative and general purpose committee for five years from 1970 to 1975 and the Senate Select Committee on Offshore Petroleum Resources for three years, on which he served as chairman for part of that time. He served on a number of estimates committees, joint committees and Senate standing committees. He was a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and also served on the Joint Standing Committee on the New Parliament House, of which he was joint chair.

Sir Harold served as Government Whip in 1971 and 1972 and then Opposition Whip from 1972 to 1975. It is always a good grounding for a President to understand clearly the chamber and how the parties operate in the chamber. He became President of the Senate in 1981 and held that position until the end of his parliamentary career in 1983. I understand he was chosen for that office from a field of government senators at the time which included senators Reg Withers—alias the Toe Cutter—Donald Jessop and Neville Bonner. So it was clearly a very competitive field, and he must have had political skill as well as merit to win it. I have always thought that taking on Senator Reg Withers in a ballot was a very courageous act; to come out on top says a lot for the man. Senator Young’s time as President coincided with the coalition’s loss of control of the upper house, which the Fraser government had won at the election of 1975.

During his time as President, Senator Young came into conflict with the then Speaker of the House, Sir Billy Snedden, including a dispute they had over the appointment of a new Parliamentary Librarian. I understand there was also a fairly notable difference in 1982 over a report of two years earlier which recommended the merging of the Parliamentary Library, Hansard and the Joint House Department to form a new Department of Parliamentary Services—the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Early in 1982, Senator Young appointed the first woman to a position of attendant in the Senate saying that it was about time women overturned the traditionally male stronghold. That of course has been reinforced in recent years. Senator Young lost his Senate seat at the 1983 election. Speaking of Senator Young following the 1983 election, Senator Chipp, whose passing we remembered recently, said:

He was a great fighter for the Parliament and the Senate against the greedy clutches of the Executive.

We could do with him now. Other senators noted his long and determined service to his core constituency, the rural and farming community of South Australia. In 1983, Harold Young was knighted for services to the parliament. I understand from those I have spoken to that he was very well regarded across party lines in this place.

Sir Harold’s funeral is being held this afternoon at Norwood, and the President is representing all senators there. Once again we pass on our sincere condolences to Lady Young and the family and assure them of our best wishes on behalf of all senators.

Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sir Harold Young finished his term in the Senate at the time I was elected for my first term as a senator. At that time it was a double dissolution, so I never met him in the Senate, although I subsequently meet him.

Sir Harold served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1942 to 1946. He was a wheat farmer and grazier, served on a number of agricultural committees and was a councillor on the Bunbury Municipal Council. Prior to entering federal parliament, he was a member of the federal exporters overseas transport committee. This committee had the job of negotiating freight rates with the shipping industry, which was essentially a British monopoly at that time.

In his maiden speech in 1968, Sir Harold expressed his pride in our democratic system and the preciousness of our freedom and the responsibility that this brings. During his 15 years of representing the people of South Australia, he was a strong advocate for primary industries and the trade process, in particular maritime transport.

He served as Government Whip from 1971 to 1972 and then as Opposition Whip from 1972 to 1975. He was Chairman of Committees from 1976 to 1981. As President of the Senate from August 1981 to April 1983, he was well regarded as a person who strongly supported and defended the Senate process. He presided over the Senate during a time when Malcolm Fraser was Prime Minister and the Senate balance of power had just been won by the Democrats. He carried out his duties in the distinguished position of President of the Senate with fairness and strength while still maintaining a sense of humour during what were often difficult circumstances. It is interesting to note that there was not a single motion of dissent moved against any of his rulings.

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George on the 1983 New Year’s honours list for services to the parliament. On Sir Harold Young’s departure from the Senate in 1983, Senator Scott, the then leader of the National Party in the Senate, paid tribute to Sir Harold Young’s distinguished service not only in his occupation as the chair but also over a very long period in the parliament and all the committees that he served on. On behalf of the Nationals in the Senate, I sincerely extend my condolences to Lady Young and his family.

John Watson (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also wish to associate myself with the condolences for my distinguished former colleague Sir Harold Young, who lived a long and productive life. He was a senator for South Australia from 1968 to 1983—in fact, he was a Senate colleague of mine for the first five years I was a senator. There are very few of us left.

He was President of the Senate for the last two years he was a senator. In fact, he was knighted for his distinguished service to the parliament. I believe that act alone speaks for itself as his work earned him wide respect across the whole community. I believe he was one of nature’s gentlemen, and he also had a very well developed and entertaining sense of humour. It was an honour to have worked with him but, more importantly, to have deemed him as a friend and learned from his approach to parliamentary service, which helped me very much during my early years in this place. I therefore wish to also pass on my sincere condolences to Sir Harold’s family at this time of their sad loss.

Alan Ferguson (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion moved by Senator Minchin in relation to the death of Sir Harold Young last week in Adelaide. I have known Sir Harold Young for the last 20-odd years since he left the parliament, although he was born at Port Broughton, which is only 40 miles from where I live. He was a well-known farmer—both a wheat farmer and a grazier—on the northern Yorke Peninsula not far from my home.

Sir Harold Young’s involvement in primary industry has been well recorded by those who have spoken today. It was his association with the farming organisations of South Australia that helped lead him to become one of South Australia’s rural senators in the mid-sixties. He came almost at the same time as Sir Condor Laucke, who preceded him as President of the Senate, and both men were elected as rural senators from South Australia. As the only senator from South Australia who resides anywhere outside the metropolitan area, I feel some sympathy for those two gentlemen, particularly Sir Harold, as they tried to cover the state of South Australia when it was not as easy as it is today to visit the far-flung parts of the state.

Sir Harold Young was a senator at the time when the Liberal Party had some 60,000 members—or the LCL had 60,000 members, because at that stage we were known as the Liberal and Country League. Senator Young was well known to most of those rural members of the party as he sought to serve them in the federal parliament representing their interests, and represent them he did. His talents were obviously recognised at an early stage because, having come here in 1968, he was Government Whip a couple of years later, and was later Opposition Whip in the Senate before he became the Deputy President in 1976 while Sir Condor Laucke was the President.

I note that Senator Evans mentioned that Sir Harold Young was the first President to appoint a female to the chamber, which showed you the type of person he was. I am not suggesting he was a ladies man! But he was someone who appreciated the role of women in society and felt that this place needed female attendants as well as male attendants, which there had only been for the first 80 years of the Senate. I know that Senator Watson, who knew Senator Harold Young well, would appreciate the fact that that would be something that he would have been proud of.

I was also very proud to be part of what I might loosely term the old boys lunches, which Senator Minchin referred to in his speech, when a number of us new chums and youngsters used to go and regularly have meals with Sir Harold Young, the Hon. Jim Forbes, the late Hon. Bert Kelly and the late Jack McLeay. Those four gentlemen, who were the old-timers, we might say, from the party, used to delight at lunches in giving us young turks a little bit of free advice. It was free advice that we would have been very wise to take note of because, in their retirements, each of these gentlemen—sadly, Bert Kelly and Jack McLeay passed on before Sir Harold Young—had time to reflect on their time in parliament and to put to good use the time that they had in reading the events of the day and giving us their interpretations. I enjoyed Sir Harold Young’s company. He was a wonderful raconteur, great company, and I know that he left a lot of friends in this place when he left the parliament. I join with others in extending my sympathy to Lady Young and to the family.

Question agreed to, honourable senators standing in their places.