Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Michael Frederick Hugh Tumbers, a leader of the South Australian labour movement across five decades, sadly passed away recently at the age of 78.

Mick was a true comrade. There is no-one you would rather know was supporting you in a political fight, and no adversary was more feared. A figure who commanded attention and respect, his physical stature presaged his intellectual heft, and his presence dominated any room. One of the best orators the movement had, his contribution in every context was substantial. He could blow people and arguments away with fierce wit and powerful reasoning built on strong historical and philosophical foundations.

When Mick commenced a metal trades apprenticeship at the age of 13, he found himself in a workshop of militant and active trade union members. With them, he learnt the trade and he learnt much more through their recounting of life experiences, which included living through the Great Depression, and their ideological perspectives, which were well-formed. Mick narrowly avoided national service, an outcome with which he was not displeased. The metal workers union had commenced campaigning against Australia's involvement in Vietnam, and he became involved with like-minded individuals who also opposed the conflict. He recounted that it was a combination of ideological and philosophical opposition to the war that resonated with him.

His increased activism led to Mick filling a temporary organising vacancy in the union, which had a long tradition of its officials being skilled in the trades they represented. Following election, he became a vital contributor to it and its successors for close to 40 years. He became secretary of the union in South Australia and also served at the pinnacle of the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia.

Mick Tumbers was a great union leader who evinced courage and principle in both industrial campaigns and the bitter internal battles he had to fight. Relentless in his defence of workers and their industrial rights, his friend Peter McCusker recalls Clyde Cameron describing Mick as 'the best trade unionist of his generation'. Mick Tumbers held office at a time when the movement was a greater part of peoples' lives. Whilst organising became more difficult as this declined, what has not receded is the significance of his achievements as part of a collective that broke new ground in achieving industrial standards that have since become common expectations.

For the movement as a whole, the 'metals' were the great hope. Comprised of highly skilled members with broad award coverage, time and again they provided breakthroughs on issues like flexible work hours, equal pay, job security and unfair dismissal. Through their navigation of the industrial system and with leaders like Mick, who applied himself indefatigably to solving problems, and thinking laterally to find new ways through they paved the path for other unions to achieve similar gains in their own industries. These achievements are now enshrined in Australians' expectations of basic industrial standards despite decades of attempts by coalition governments to strip them away.

Mick was closely connected with his members, uncompromising in his commitment to their welfare and rights. If an incident occurred in a workplace, he'd be straight down there. He was never about power for himself. Rather than beating his own drum, he was a warrior for those he represented and often underestimated by others. He helped bring people into the movement, too. I understand that, with Doug Cameron, he even interviewed Senator Ayres for his first job at the union.

Following his career as a union official, Mick served as an electorate officer to South Australian Labor senators Nick Bolkus and Anne McEwen. He brought the same tenacious attitude to this role as he did in pursuit of outcomes for union members, dedicated to helping those who needed assistance and advocacy. Within the Labor Party, he advanced progressive causes and people. In every endeavour, Mick Tumbers made the sum of the whole greater than that of its individual parts through his leadership, commitment and passion. Mick Tumbers' character and vision shaped his union and our party, particularly the Left, for a generation and beyond. Without his support I would have struggled to enter parliament, and I have never forgotten this.

Mick may have been a public figure, but he was a private man who loved his family. He and his partner, Max, shared so much politically, philosophically and ideologically. The depth and power of the love between them is something I will always remember. Max said that Mick was the funniest, smartest man she had ever known. They shared a journey in trade unionism and in life and they each were the other's rock when times were tough.

Mick was a progressive man, ahead of his time. He was repulsed by backwards attitudes, particularly when it came to women's rights and racial equality. Some would describe him as a man's man, but he was surrounded by strong women and he was emphatic about the need to organise women in the workplace, especially important in an environment where women were marginalised in male dominated industries. He backed women personally, too, using the power of the union to support their campaigns, and brought men onside to recognise that this advanced the cause of all workers. Through his engagement and community activism, he brought this power to bear to provide assistance where it was needed most, such as gathering signatures to back a motion supporting women's shelters. This was typical of his sense of justice, his inexhaustible commitment to righting wrongs and his uncompromising commitment to the welfare of workers and the marginalised.

Mick Tumbers passed away in July. He was a unionist who pursued industrial objectives for the singular benefit of union members and the broader working class, including when it came to workplace injuries and diseases. After decades representing asbestos laggers and engineers, it was a cruel irony that it would be mesothelioma that claimed his life. I regret I didn't have the opportunity to visit him at Eden Valley in his final weeks.

I want to close this contribution with his own observations. Mick reminded us: 'The trade union movement is a living thing. Despite ultraconservative attacks on workers, it will prevail.' So too will the memory and legacy of Mick Tumbers. I extend my condolences, my deepest sympathy, to his family, especially to Max and to Shauna, his daughter, as well as to his many friends and comrades from across the labour movement, who mourn this most immense loss. I know their grief will never leave them, but I hope they carry it more lightly with time.