Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to the late Father Joe Grealy, the Adelaide priest who was a great friend of workers and their families. I believe that his many achievements and fine qualities are worth bringing to the attention of this house. Father Joe Grealy was indeed the ‘People’s Priest’, who could mix with Grand Prix drivers, factory workers and politicians and treat all equally and with great respect.

Father Joe died on Friday, 12 September. His funeral was held in Adelaide last Wednesday at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, which was packed with family, former parishioners, politicians, trade unionists and friends. He was 82 years of age and, looking back now, I know I was privileged to go to his 80th birthday party a couple of years ago at the Star of the Sea parish hall in Henley Beach.

Father Joe was born in Parkside in Adelaide in 1925, the son of Eileen and Matthew Grealy. He was ordained a priest in 1954 and became assistant priest at the Walkerville, Woodville, Victor Harbor and Semaphore parishes over the next six years. He was also a part-time chaplain to the school cadets. In 1962 he was appointed parish administrator at the Semaphore parish. In January 1965 he became the parish priest at Kadina and then went on to Mount Barker in 1970.

It was in 1972 that Father Joe began his formal association with the trade union movement, when he was appointed as the church representative on the board of management of the Inter-Church Trade and Industry Mission. Later, in 1978, he took up a full-time position as staff chaplain within that organisation. Father Joe came to the priesthood later in life, having originally started as a boilermaker with the South Australian railways.

Father Joe’s father was the secretary of the Furnishing Trades Union, so Father Joe instantly understood the industrial jargon of his new job. He would not force his religious views on others and did not take the confessional into the factories, but instead used his vast number of contacts in government departments to provide practical help to his blue-collar parishioners.

One of the things that struck me most about Father Grealy was his commitment to promoting the dignity of work for all workers, no matter what their profession. Father Joe believed that all workers, including those from the retail industry that I previously represented, deserved to feel that their work had meaning and was spiritually fulfilling in some way.

From my involvement in the trade union movement I know only too well how the conditions in a workplace can build workers’ self-esteem and fill their lives with meaning. Part of Father Joe’s mission was to challenge dehumanising aspects of work and instead promote workplaces that were based on caring and respect and that valued the inherent dignity of all workers. He helped encourage people to recognise workers as human beings and not just as an economic input little different from the machines or tools they use to complete their work.

Father Joe loved the limelight. He was never shy or fearful of expressing an opinion. Father Joe’s public profile took a huge leap forward when he began offering mass for the Formula 1 grand prix drivers and crew prior to the big race on the Sundays of the grand prix carnival in Adelaide. He was highly respected by the many men and women of the motor-racing community. The grand prix chaplaincy was originally supposed to be shared around all the denominations, but there was no way Father Joe was going to let go of it and he blessed the grand prix track for 11 consecutive years before the grand prix was snaffled by Jeff Kennett for Melbourne. Nikki Lauda confided in him that he really appreciated the services of a chaplain after his horrific crash in the 1970s, and Ayrton Senna admitted to Joe that he prayed for safety prior to driving. Joe positioned himself 100 metres from the chicane out of pit straight in the event that he was needed, but fortunately he never was so most of the time he just chatted to drivers and service workers. The media loved him, dubbing him ‘the Revy Reverend’ and, wait for it, ‘the Faster Pastor’.

But it was in his one-on-one associations with ordinary people that Joe really shone as the ‘People’s Priest’. He particularly looked after society’s battlers and had great empathy for families struggling to educate their children. As his brother Jack said at his eulogy, Father Joe was the welcoming, understanding face of the Catholic church, a friend of the blue-collar brigade, and always ready for an argument with those in leadership positions. Father Joe was also highly regarded by all within the Defence Force, from the junior ranks of cadets right through to senior officers. A Vietnam veteran told me that Father Joe was a man’s man when it came to his role as chaplain to the Army cadet unit. Father Joe also dedicated the memorial to the Vietnam veterans in the 1990s, adding to his reputation as a priest who could instil a spiritual dimension in many areas of life.

In 1992, Father Joe retired from his full-time appointment with the Inter-Church Trade and Industry Mission after 25 years of service. He retired from active pastoral ministry in 1997. But even after this he remained interested in public affairs. On one occasion Judge McCusker of the South Australian Industrial Relations Court organised my daughter Mary to take Father Joe to a hearing of the High Court in Adelaide that took his interest. Father Joe was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988 for services to religion and the community in his work as an industrial chaplain. On New Years Day 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to the Catholic Church.

Father Joe had a deep love of Catholicism but a very broad and generous approach to religion. For him, it was about the way you live rather than about labels. His generosity and slightly wicked sense of fun will be sadly missed. He is survived by 25 nieces and nephews as well as numerous brothers and sisters. I extend to them my deepest sympathy for their loss. However, I am sure they are very proud of the fine contribution Father Grealy made to this world and his efforts to improve the lives of others. I know that Father Grealy’s dedication to promoting Christian values in the workplace helped enrich the lives of many workers. His efforts deserve to be thanked and acknowledged and tonight I thank him on behalf of all the workers whose lives he made better. Thank you, Father Grealy; may you rest in peace.