Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death on 22 September this year of John Royston Siddons, a senator for the state of Victoria from 1981 to 1983 and again from 1985 to 1987. I call the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Brandis.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That Senate records its deep regret at the death, on 22 September 2016, of John Royston Siddons, a former senator for Victoria, and places on record its appreciation of his long and distinguished service to the nation and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.

John Royston Siddons was born in Melbourne on 5 October 1927. He was educated at the Ivanhoe state school, Preston Technical School and Wesley College before starting work in his father's business, Sidchrome. In 1952 he established Ramset Fasteners Pty Ltd, which eventually joined with his father's firm to become Siddons Industries Ltd, of which he became chairman in 1963.

Although his early forays into business gave him a taste for public policy, particularly industrial relations, John Siddons's formal involvement in politics did not begin until the early 1970s when he joined the Australia Party. That brought him into contact with Don Chipp, with whom he shared a dream of building a third political force to challenge both the coalition and the Labor Party and which led in turn in 1977 to the formation of the Australian Democrats.

John Siddons was elected as a Democrats senator for Victoria at the 1980 election, commencing his term on 1 July 1981. As a senator, he sought to promote industrial and economic reform and developed a bill on industrial democracy, which, much to his disappointment, never made it into law. At the time of his election and because of his background in commerce, he brought a greater knowledge of business to the Senate than most members of the Senate have ever possessed. He was also passionate about conservation and sustainability and actively campaigned to stop the Franklin Dam project in Tasmania.

Senator Siddons's party affiliations throughout his career were nearly as varied and numerous as his accomplishments outside the parliament. Defeated at the 1983 election and then re-elected to the Senate in 1984, John Siddons served as Deputy Leader of the Australian Democrats from August to November 1986 and was the Democrats spokesman on industrial relations, Treasury, finance, industry and commerce from July 1985 to November 1986. At the end of November, he broke ranks with the Democrats to serve out the remainder of his term as an Independent. In the lead-up to the 1987 election, he registered the Unite Australia Party, but he failed to retain his seat as its candidate.

I think we may say that, although his politics were quixotic, it is clear that in the relatively short time he spent in this chamber Senator John Siddons succeeded in winning the admiration and respect of his Senate colleagues. As the then Senator the Hon. Fred Chaney remarked when Senator Siddons first lost office:

… we should all regret losing Senator Siddons because he represented one of the scarcest commodities in this place; that is, a person with independent business experience.

Senator Chaney's regret was short lived as Senator Siddons was duly re-elected the following year.

He was an accomplished businessman and company executive, a pioneer in the field of sustainability and a champion of the Australian manufacturing sector. He was also the author of four published works, as well as being a successful entrepreneur. To be elected to this place twice as a Democrat, John helped to form and lead two political parties, but perhaps it would be more apt to say that John Siddons was always an Independent in the true spirit of the word, notwithstanding his party designations.

On behalf of the government, I celebrate a life well lived and a career in this place, which, albeit relatively short, was a notable one, and I offer the government's sincere condolences to former Senator Siddons's family.

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

I rise on behalf of the opposition to acknowledge the passing of John Royston Siddons, who passed away last month at the age of 88. At the outset, I convey the opposition's condolences to relatives and friends of Mr Siddons.

As Senator Brandis has said, Mr Siddons was a key figure in the formation of the Australian Democrats and one of its early parliamentary members. His six years as a senator came after a significant career in the manufacturing industry. He was first elected as a senator for Victoria in 1980 and, although defeated in 1983, he returned to serve a further term from 1985 to 1987.

Born in 1927 Mr Siddons was raised a devote Methodist, and whilst he might later leave the church it was not before apparently being instilled with the Methodist work ethic. He brought these first to industry and then to politics, coming to the Senate with a strong background in manufacturing, having built the Siddons Ramset business, which was primarily known for fasteners and industrial tools. In addition to striving to produce innovative quality products made in Australia, in the 1970s Mr Siddons set about changing the structure of production line to incorporate self-managed teams. He saw this as industrial democracy and as innovation in its own right.

At the same time, Mr Siddons was taking an increasing involvement in politics. Believing the policies he was implementing in his business deserved a wider platform, he first became involved with the Australia Party. This belief in the need for a progressive centrist party ultimately led to a meeting with Don Chipp, and Mr Siddons was part of the formation of the Australian Democrats. Elected to the Senate for the party in 1980, he served from 1981 to 1938 before re-election in 1985, serving from 1985 to 1987. Consistent with his background, he served on committees and as party spokesperson in trade, commerce and industrial relations throughout his career. He also served as national president of the Australian Democrats and briefly as its parliamentary deputy leader in 1986.

It was also in that year that the party's founder and the leader of the Democrats, Don Chipp, retired. In the ensuing leadership contest, Mr Siddons, then the deputy leader, lost to Janine Haines. In November of that year, he left the party, disillusioned with the party's leadership direction on economic policy. Mr Siddons then launched the Unite Australia Party, but was defeated at the 1987 election. Yet notwithstanding the circumstances of his departure, Mr Siddons would later mourn the decline of the Australian Democrats as a political force.

Following his defeat in 1987, Mr Siddons return to business activities and, not being one to take retirement at a gentle pace, Mr Siddons set about pursuing another interest: ethics and morality. He authored a book that discussed a system of morality that was independent of religion, race or culture. This did reflect a departure from the faith of this youth but also a desire to see children and young people develop an understanding of ethics. He also continued to maintain an interest in manufacturing and in innovation. In 2005, he warned of the demise of the Australian car manufacturing industry. Sadly, that is a prophecy that has come to fruition.

John Royston Siddons bought a different range of experiences to the Senate at a time when third party involvement was on the rise. Both these aspects of his contribution—his personal attributes and his place as an Australian Democrats senator at a time when the party was establishing itself on the Australian political scene—were important for our nation's democracy. The opposition again extends our deepest sympathies to his family and his friends.

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to contribute the thoughts of myself and other One Nation senators to the condolence motion for the former Senator John Siddons. John Siddons left his mark on Australia's manufacturing industry and contributed to the country through his years as senator and his role in the establishment of the now defunct Australian Democrats.

I did not know the honourable senator personally, but after going through his long list of achievements it is clear to me that even after leaving the Australian Democrats he continued in the grand tradition of their founder, Don Chipp, in always striving to keep the bastards honest. And this, I feel, is a sentiment that many Australians wish was a little more common in our parliament today. My thoughts, prayers and condolences are with his family, friends and former colleagues during this difficult time.

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the Nationals to pay my respects to John Siddons, a man of the people who made a notable contribution to this country both inside and outside of parliament. Big John, as he was known, was a passionate Australian and particularly passionate about Australian manufacturing. It was his family that most notably established Sidchrome tools, a brand of tool found in many a garden shed and in many a trusted tool box.

It was only during my research today that I found out that a previous senator was actually involved with a particular brand of tools without which I would never have survived at sea. I started off with very humble equipment. Without those Sidchrome tools, we would simply have never been able to go to sea. I am quite sure, as with a whole bunch of manufacturing industries, that they were actually made in Australia. That is just fantastic. Senator Siddons was always motivated to increase the efficiency and growth of Australian industries, like his family's industry.

Senator Siddons served two terms in this place following his election in 1981. Siddons was unsatisfied with the major parties, I think it is safe to say, and gravitated towards smaller parties, where he believed he could have a greater influence and progress his unique individual agenda. No matter what your politics, the strength of John Siddons's convictions and motivation is apparent and should be commended. In fact, Siddons's principled stance led to him to create his own party—the Unite Australia Party—which enabled him to push his progressive market-based agenda, involving policies from lower taxes and abolishing compulsory unionism to very a strong anti-uranium and pro-environment stance. That is a very unique mix in this place, I have to say.

Siddons's passion for industrialism and small business is something that the Nationals can understand. This passion was clearly demonstrated with his Industrial Democracy Bill in August 1981. This bill aimed to establish an industrial democracy board and encouraged the voluntary establishment of elected consultative bodies in private business. These are ideas that have been revisited on a number of occasions since. During debate for this bill, Senator Siddons said:

This Bill offers a practical alternative to centralised wage fixing. It puts in place a voluntary collective bargaining mechanism alongside the present conciliation framework.

It was this kind of thinking, which many have since described as being 20 years before its time, that made him popular with many in the communities he represented.

In light of his approach to work reforms, John Siddons was awarded the prestigious James Kirby Award in 1977, a testament to a man of intrinsic intellect and innovation. We recognise and remember John Siddons as a leader for entrepreneurs. His reputation for action and not just talk is to be acknowledged. Post-politics, unsurprisingly, Siddons created and commercialised the heat pump water heater. This creation innovatively arose from some basic testing in his family's backyard pool and later developed into a model of domestic water heater which would become an essential feature of all Australian households and internationally. It is a great story of Australian innovation. It is this innovation and entrepreneurial attitude that makes Australia proud. Senator Siddons was a leader in creativity, and his legacy and creativity is something to celebrate.

John retired to Shoreham on the Mornington Peninsula, a beautiful place to spend time with family and friends and enjoy his pastime activities of yachting and tennis. John was well known for his strong interest and passion for the importance of ethics and the morality of life. This is detailed in the book that he wrote, The Immortality of Goodness. Siddons wrote this book because, as he said, traditional morality needs to be taught to young children in schools. It was this strong sense to do right, to be good and to look after his community, his party and his country that I think we can remember and commend for John Siddons's contribution to Australia. On behalf of the Nationals, I pass on my sympathy to Rosemary and his family, his friends and colleagues. Vale, John Siddons.

Question agreed to, honourable senators standing in their places.